Lipstick Review: Lime Crime Chinchilla

About two weeks ago, I ordered this Lime Crime lipstick from Cocktail Cosmetics online. I had been kind of thinking about buying Chinchilla for months, and to be honest the only thing putting me off was the price tag- in the US, this lipstick retails at $16, and in the UK from Cocktail Cosmetics it costs £12.50- which is a pretty hefty price, considering that this is an indie brand not carried in cosmetics stores. I would have bought a dupe, except that this shade is such a unique balance of lavender and grey, that I couldn't find even a slightly close dupe anywhere. This post will cover unboxing, wearability, and durability of the product. All images are my own except where stated.

First off- the box. Lilac with a holographic unicorn, it matches the lipstick tube design. One thing I have to say about the packaging and design, is that I am not a fan. This particular design makes the product look like something you would pick up at Claire's accessories, and I much prefer the designs on the Velvetines, or the Uniliners. On the subject of Lime Crime's other products, I think that the whole line of cosmetics looks less uniform and united, because of the varying packaging among products. It's a little overwhelming, and I would much prefer all of my LC products to have the same designs and packaging- but that is just my humble opinion. Moving on...

On one face of the box, the ingredients are listed clearly- albeit a little difficult to read when holographic and in such a small font- and fully. The final face of the box reads the weight of the product, the type of product, location of manufacture, and the company's information- clear, concise, and to the point.

The top and bottom of the box show the company's logo and the shade of lipstick respectively. One thing that caught my eye was that the Lime Crime logo isn't completely centre on the box flap.

Moving on to the product, here is the lipstick out of the box. When opening the box, I noticed that the inside of the packaging is Lime green- I actually thought that was a cute little detail, but unfortunately this is not the same in the box for other products. Another tiny detail is that the lipstick is packaged upside down in the box- the littlest things were the most distracting when unboxing this product.

Here is the other side of the lipstick tube, and the label on the bottom indicting the shade of lipstick and Vegan/Cruelty Free information. The tube bears the same holographic unicorn print as is on the box- still not a huge fan, but it keeps to the same theme.

And finally, the lipstick itself! The left image was taken with flash, and the right image without. There is not a massive difference in the shade it appears under natural or forced light, and I feel that it is definitely more of a grey than a lavender- thankfully, as I own more purple and lilac lipsticks than I care to count.

Swatches of the lipstick on my arm- as indicated before, there isn't much of a difference at all when taken with flash (left) and without (right).

Here is the lipstick on. The bottom image is a swatch of the shade on Lime Crime's website (All rights to Lime Crime Cosmetics), and the image above is myself wearing the lipstick. It doesn't help that I had to take this on my phone while I save up for a DSLR, but the shades don't look identical. The lipstick looks more drying, more opaque, and less shiny than the swatch provided by Lime Crime. However, the lipstick looks more drying than it actually is- I use Vaseline and Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub religiously, and when I take this off my lips are not any less moisturised than before I applied the lipstick. 

I tested this lipstick by wearing it to my boyfriend's gig last Wednesday, and it lasted a ridiculous 9 hours. I first applied it at 1.30pm, ate my dinner, and it stayed put. I topped it up at half four with one swipe, and I was good to go until seven at night, just before we headed out to the gig. I didn't touch it until just after ten, when I wiped it all off. This lipstick lasted through a bowl of soup, a medium Quarter Pounder meal, two cans of Diet Coke, three Jack and Cokes, and lots of drunk kisses. To summarise, this lipstick does not budge.

Pro's of Lime Crime's Chinchilla:

-It's a unique shade, and you probably won't find a dupe even close to this product.

-It is long wearing and durable, even on the drunkest nights out.

-It's Vegan and Cruelty Free

-It smells delicious- the same vanilla scent that you would find in a MAC lipstick.

Con's of Lime Crime's Chinchilla:

-Due to the uniqueness of this colour, I couldn't find a lipliner to use with this lipstick. To get a sharper line when applying, I applied using MAC's #209 brush- being an eyeliner brush, it really does give super accurate and clean lines.

-It looks more drying on photos than it actually is.

-This product stains like hell- after wiping the swatch off my arm, there was still a grey smudge staining my skin for a while afterwards.

-The colour of this product appears differently on everybody- if you Google Image search this lipstick, a multitude of colours ranging from purple, to lilac, to lavender, to grey show up. It is the same lipstick, but different skin tones change the appearance of the shade.

Overall, I do think that this is a product worth buying, as the con's aren't so much flaws with the actual product- they are more guidelines for what to expect and how to work with this lipstick, given its unique shade. This lipstick has definitely become one of my favourites, and I hope to add to my Lime Crime collection very soon.

A Letter To James: Moving On

Dear James,

For two years, you were my best friend. You were there through the good times and the bad- for that, I will always be grateful. I cried on you, and celebrated with you, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when I had you. Sometimes I gave up on you, but you didn't give up on me. And other times you gave up on everything and needed help, and sometimes I wasn't able to help you. But I was there regardless. Remember when I passed my driving test on the third attempt and all I could do was sit there, speechless? The time that I showed you to my family for the first time and they all loved you. My friends loved you, and you gave us so many fantastic adventures- things that I couldn't do alone until I had you. These are the memories that I will treasure forever.

Now, two years later, we have grown apart, and I am ready to move on. To find my next love, and to grow as a person. You might be someone's first love, or the thing that somebody has been searching for. You might be hurt, abused, broken and fixed up, but always know that I loved you. I miss you already, and it's only been a week. I cried when we were separated, and I saw you sad and alone for the first time since we met. I have found somebody new, and although the transition hasn't been easy I know that time will help. You never forget your first love, and I know that I will never forget mine.