Tuesday, April 30, 2013

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Lime Crime Velvetines (Review, Pictures, Swatches)

Tonight's much anticipated "Under the Microscope" is on the (reasonably new-ish) Lime Crime Velvetines!

The Velvetines have caused quite a stir in the makeup world since their release. Lime Crime were never expecting them to be such a hit! They are always in high demand, with restocks selling out in minutes as everyone tries to get their hands on this much coveted liquid lipstick! Lime Crime's last big restock was April 1st (luckily it was no April fool's joke!), and I was lucky enough to get my hands on both of the Velvetines (Red Velvet and Suedeberry) and the Quill Uniliner (review to come).

Long story short: They've arrived, I've tried them and now to present my findings! (that would have been a fabulous pun if I was reviewing their Carousel Gloss... might keep that in mind! lol)

The packaging of these is very dapper! Metallic red lid with fancy print, and a frosted tube. Inside is the traditional gloss style wand with the velvety tip! (was that another pun...? haha). The packaging is actually a little smaller than I expected, but you still get 3gms of product (equivalent in weight to a MAC lippy!). They also smell like 100's & 1000's Oreo's! But, the smell does disappear when the product is dry! (Which I am quite pleased about!)

When I'd seen the promo pictures of the Velvetines on the Internet, I can't say I was overly excited. Red Velvet looked too dark for my liking and Suedeberry looked like some funny red colour - I didn't know what to think of it! haha. So lets look at some photos!:
Lime Crime Velvetines: Red Velvet (Top) and Suedeberry (Bottom)

When First Applied: Red Velvet (Left) and Suedeberry (Right)
Red Velvet: A beautiful, deep, glamorous red! The sort of red you would wear if you were dressed up to the nines for a fancy occasion! I always seem to think of the 1950's when I see this colour!
Suedeberry: A nice, bright coral (YES, CORAL!! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!! I thought it was just a funny red colour! lol) with a hint of pink (the photos show the orange side, but I do think there is a streak of pink there in real life!). Lime Crime describe it as a "warm, vibrant strawberry red"... Sorry, I only see coral! (which is a good thing for me at least!)
You can see the dry "Velvetine" texture below (does look more velvet-y in real life too!):
When Dry: Red Velvet (Left) and Suedeberry (Right)
I must apologise, I smudged my swatch a little... I got distracted opening parcels and BAM! Smudged :( and due to my very dry/already stained hands I have limited swatching opportunity! lol (pretty sure these will stay put for the next week as no amount of makeup remover can get it out of the dry spots!)
(The smudging did happen while they were still damp, so please don't let it deter your opinion on the product - as you can see the bottom is still perfectly in tact!)

In the interest of honest reporting, I will say I did have better luck with Suedeberry than Red Velvet. So, I will say what is awesome about Suedeberry and comment on Red Velvet where necessary! The formula is FANTASTIC! Once it sets it does stay put really well! (do give it a good chance to set for best results! It can take longer than you expect so be patient!) I can give my fiance a peck on the cheek and he doesn't end up covered in lippy! (usually the case!). There is some transfer, but it isn't excessive like most lipstick products! Suedeberry did not bleed AT ALL! I even wore it WITHOUT lip liner to test it! It didn't budge either! AWESOME! But, you can somewhat expect that from a product that sets dry! (Red Velvet bled a tiny bit (nothing too drastic) but this could be rectified with a bit of lip liner! I may have had it on a bit thick!). You also only need the tiniest amount of either for full, opaque coverage! I worked with a very light hand for Suedeberry (as I was worried about it setting and flaking off like I have had happen with some other longwearing lippies... trust me it's not pretty!). It went on easily (I was actually suprised how accurately I could get it on for such a slippery product!) and I didn't touch it up ALL DAY. It lasted through both lunch and dinner. Of course, after dinner there was much more noticeable fading (I had eaten two meals and had a few bevvies by this point!), but I still had quite a bit of colour! I think where I may have come unstuck is that I may have (unknowingly) been a bit more heavy handed with Red Velvet. I did have a harder time getting it on too, possibly because it's a darker red (which probably explains my issues!). I am super clumsy with dark reds - I manage to get them everywhere and Red Velvet was no exception. Have you ever heard of the saying that red nail polish is always the hardest colour to paint with? I wonder if the same goes for lipstick?!

So yes, I did find Red Velvet did wear well, but Suedeberry, for me, wore much better. Suedeberry was what I was expecting from the Velvetines, where as I found Red Velvet more like a matte red lipstick (which is not a bad thing, just not what I was hoping. Does that make sense?). If I wear Red Velvet again and have better luck with it, I will definitely update this to let you know! (It may not be for a while... So much other stuff to test out! haha).

My pick: Suedeberry. I feel the colour is more everyday friendly, and I also had a better luck with it than Red Velvet.

I was thoroughly impressed with these, and if they are released in other colours (which I believe they will!), I will be chomping at the bit to get my hands on them!

You can buy Lime Crime directly from them (www.limecrimemakeup.com) for USD$16.99 or from Lipstick Republic (www.lipstickrepublic.com.au) for AUD$21.00. At the time of posting, Lime Crime still have some Velvetines in stock and Lipstick Republic will be getting them in soon :)

Happy hunting!
Love,
Your PM x

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