Real vs. Fake LimeCrime Velvetines

It's well-known that alcohol and shopping don't always mix, but sometimes when you've had a few glasses of Jim Bean you forget that age-old wisdom and find yourself browsing Mercari looking at discounted makeup. It was when I stumbled across a LimeCrime velvetine for half the cost of regular retail AND free shipping that I did damage. I fell in love with the shade called "Bleached", a warm nude and this item the seller claimed was real, just without the box. 

I bought it within a minute of finding the listing, believing her story of the cost being low due to the missing box. Then, right afterwards I noticed a comment that somehow I hadn't noticed. It read "Is it legit?". That's when I realized I had stumbled into the world of copycat makeup. I had forgotten that not just certain brands could be copied, ALL popular brands of makeup can be copied. Velvetines are in high demand, and people are very good these days at passing things off as real.

When it arrived in the mail I immediately tore into my package and inspected the goods. I own 3 real velvetines from previous purchases - two from LimeCrime.com and one from DollsKill.com. At first glance it looked the same, but after a couple minutes there were some glaring differences. I decided to do some research and sadly I write this knowing now that I have purchased a fake velvetine, and hopefully my research and experiences will help prevent you from doing the same.

What Research Says

1.) If there is no flower on the top of the cap, it's not real

Reality

1.) Two of my 3 real velvetines don't have flowers on the caps. Either LimeCrime or Dollskill sent me fakes or not all the batches of real velvetines have them.

What Research Says

2.) All the tags on the very bottom have to be the same with bold print and hot pink color.

Reality

2.) My shade Utopia purchased directly from LimeCrime has a different kind of sticker on the bottom than the other two. It's not a big deal to me but apparently there's not 100% consistency with all real velvetines.

What Research Says

3.) Fakes have shinier caps than the real velvetines.

Reality

3.) It took a bit of staring, but yes, the "Bleached" shade which is fake has a slightly shinier cap than the other 3 real ones.

What research says

4.) Fakes have more space between the bottom and the product.

Reality

4.) "Bleached" very clearly had more space between the bottom and the product.

What research says

5.) I couldn't find anything on the smell difference, but to me real velvetines smell like sweet clay. All the lip products from limecrime have a sweeter smell.

Reality

5.) "Bleached" smelled like chemicals. Nothing sweet about it - dead giveaway.

Even though I knew that "Bleached" was a fake, I didn't mind at first because I thought I had gotten a wonderful dupe for half the cost, until I wore it. I couldn't take it and after half a day at work I ran to Sephora to borrow a makeup wipe and scrubbed it off of my lips. It was terrible. It was very opaque, provided great coverage, and the color was beautiful. It lasted through eating and drinking without so much as budging, but the deal-breaker you ask? It never dried down. It stayed very sticky, causing small patches of color to come up if I would press my lips together too tightly. I couldn't forget about the stickiness because with every word I was reminded with my lips sticking together and then slowly peeling as I went to say something else.

One half day of sticky lips was enough for me, and now it's going into the trash.

LA Splash Liquid Lipstick Review

I have a confession to make - while on the outside I look like a more conservative work type with slight hippie tendencies, on the inside I am obsessed with makeup. Ok, for anyone reading this blog that's probably not a surprise, but I'm especially obsessed with makeup looks I see on models and makeup artists online. I secretly strive for that look that a lot of the models on the Dolls Kill (a favorite) website wear. The models on that particular website have inspired many makeup looks in the last year. Since my body type can't work for a lot of the clothing that they wear, I instead stalk the shoes, accessories and makeup on the site often, patiently waiting for a sale.

In the last month and a half I was granted two, and so I bought a slew of different products, two of which were L.A. Splash liquid lipsticks. They looked like beautiful, easily wearable colors and the prices were too good to pass up.

LA Splash Lip Couture in Rose Garden: $14

This is the most worn shade out of the two, and this one was the first one I used. I must say, these are the most comfortable liquid lipsticks I have ever used. They're not drying and they don't feel weird at all. True to form, they don't transfer, however, I noticed when I drank and ate the inner part of my bottom lip had some of the lipstick come off. It wasn't very much though, and the rest of it remained on there with the color staying strong.

 Reapplying the product was quite easy and it layered nicely, however, because with my job I talk all day, I noticed flaking. Excessive flaking towards the end of the day was kind of a problem. OH GOD THE FLAKING. The interesting thing is that when it flaked off, it didn't leave behind any patchiness, so I think the flaking happened from the second layer I applied, but it took a long time for that to happen. 

The ONLY way I was able to remove the flaking was by removing all the product from my lips and starting over again. The only thing that works well with these lipsticks are oil makeup removers, so that is something to keep in mind.

LA Splash Lip Couture in Lollipop: $4.20

This shade is so bright lovely, and just like Rose Garden it's unbelievably comfortable on the lips. The same flaking problem happened with this shade too. However, this shade didn't flake quite as much as Rose Garden. Once again though, the only way to get the flaking off my lips was to remove the all of the product completely and start over. Both of the shades seem to be pretty much identical in formulation with how they wear and layer, as well as their intense opaque pigmentation.

Extra Pros

Long wearing - I wore all of my liquid lipsticks to bed on the back of my hand. When I woke up the next morning, the only shades that were still going strong were the LA Splash liquid lipsticks.

Vegan & Cruelty-Free: I emailed the company asking them about their animal testing policy and their ingredients for their liquid lipsticks. This was the response I received from their customer service:

"Dear Ashley,

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

 

Our Liquid Lipsticks do not contain any animal by-products, beeswax nor carmine colorants; which, are the ingredients of concern among the Cruelty Free and Vegan communities.

 

The ingredients for our liquid lipstick are listed below for your reference:

 

C10-12 Alcane/Cycloalkane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone, Silica Dimethyl Silyate, Quaternium-18 Bentonite, Propylparaben

 

We do not test any of our products on animals.

 

Our ingredients are FDA approved and cruelty free as well."

 

Verdict

I LOVE these liquid lipsticks, however, if you are wearing them throughout the day and you will be talking a lot, it would be smart to bring a tiny bottle of oil or oil makeup remover and a cotton wipe or two for the flaking issue that happens later on in the day. Aside from that, these are totally worth every penny.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 26 "Purple/Bronze/Nude"

Day 26 "Purple/Bronze/Nude" - Urban Decay 

 

(Inspiration photo)

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick "Naked": $22.00

I was sent an inspiration photo tonight that was so pretty I couldn't pass it up. I love dramatic brown/bronzey looks, so this was really fun for me to re-create. The lipstick is more of a pinky-nude than a true nude like in the photo. Despite my photo's appearance that my makeup is much softer than the inspiration photo, it is actually just as dark and intense - the lighting washed it out tonight a little bit sadly.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 21 "Good Intent Makeup Recreation"

Day 21 "Good Intent Makeup Recreation" - Calvin Klein/Bare Minerals

(Inspiration)

 

Calvin Klein One Color Pure Color Lipstick "LipLock": $16.00

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss "Dare Devil": $18.00

If any of you lovelies out there have heard of the amazing and talented artist Kimbra, then kudos to you, and if you haven't, she was the other half to the world-famous song "Somebody that I used to know". Yep, that women in the video is Kimbra. I've been obsessed with her for a few years now, and one of my favorite videos from her is "Good Intent". In the video her lover has essentially done her wrong and she's trying to decide whether or not to forgive him. Throughout the video she has her angel personality and her devil personality singing to her trying to sway her to each one's side. It's an amazing song and video, and her makeup/wardrobe in it is flawless. Her makeup is full glam in the video, so I decided to attempt to re-create the look from her "neutral" look, which is actually her. There is a "red" look which is the devil on her shoulder, and then there's the "white" look which is the angel on her shoulder, but the look her herself is wearing is black and very dark, smokey and stunning.

(I don't own vibrant magenta colors like what was used for her, I own softer to dark pinks/purples, but nothing vibrant like what's on her lids, so I used different colors for my recreation. I didn't go as dark with my eyebrows because they're so big when I go too dark it doesn't look right)

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 18 "Casual Evening"

Day 18 "Casual Evening" - Buxom "Two-Timer" & "YOW"

Buxom Full-Bodied Lipstick "Two-Timer": $21.00

Buxom Full-Bodied Lipgloss "YOW": $19.00

After a long night of work I changed into my pajamas and went to go take my makeup off when I realized I didn't take my face picture for my blog yet. I put the lipgloss just on the center of my lips on top of the lip gloss. I put a big line of light gold glitter on my eyes to just add a bit of pop to the look since the color is more neutral.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 16 "Indie Darling"

Day 16 "Indie Darling" - Lime Crime Velvetine Lipstick "Utopia"

Lime Crime Velvetine "Utopia": $20.00

I've had my bright Lime Crime velvetines for a little while, but it's hard for me to wear them since I mostly go to work and I can't go too bright at work. I have to go darker or more neutral for my makeup at work, so I definitely wanted to include my favorite color "Utopia" in my challenge. I was thinking about doing brown with the purple, but brown is my go-to and I wanted to challenge myself so I went with silver/grey. I only own 3 shades of grey (Not 50, har har har), so I created a softer but still visible grey look to balance the bright purple on my lips.

Happy Lipstick Day

Today was National Lipstick Day, and I am incredibly enthusiastic about this holiday because I didn't know that a day dedicated to lipstick existed until around 1pm. I am immensely passionate about this beauty product because honestly, I feel so put-together and feminine when I wear lipstick. Lipstick was my first real head-first dive into the world of expressive makeup, so I wanted to celebrate today by bringing a few different organic and vegan lipsticks to light. 

Melt Cosmetics "Dark Room"; $19.00

100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze "Strawberry": $25.00

Devocean Natural Lipstick "Firebird": $14.00

Beauty Without Cruelty Natural Infusion Lipstick "Dusky Pink": $16.63

 

 

Honeybee Gardens Truly Natural Lipstick "Innuendo": $12.99

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 11 "Colorblock Effect"

Day 11 "Colorblock Tango" - J Cats/Kat Von D/Covergirl/Cailyn

J Cat Wonder Lip Paint "Red Potion": $4.99

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm "Acid Pink": $19.00

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick "A-Go-Go": $21.00

Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick "Divine Divine": $10.47

I did an ombre lip the other day, so today I thought I would do a colorblock lip. I've always wanted to try one and I thought this would be really fun. The Covergirl lipstick is a deeper purple in the tube, but once on the lips it softens to a purplish-pink. The Kat Von D orange lipstick has sadly dried out after less than a year of ownership, so I'm going to turn it into an orange lip gloss by crushing it and mixing it with vaseline. This was my first time using the J Cat color and I am in LOVE. The lip paint from J Cat is awesome. I love Cailyn's tinted lip balm, but I don't go for this one as often as I do my other color, even though I feel super confident in this acid pink color.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 9 "Naturally Simple"

Day 9 "Naturally Simple" - L'Oreal Collection Privee "Julianne's Nude"

L'Oreal Collection Privee The Perfect Nudes "Julianne's Nude": $7.99

Today was really simple, I just used two different shades of shimmer on the corners of my eyes. I wanted the main focus to be this pretty pinky-nude by L'oreal. It's so pretty that I decided to rotate it to the front of my collection since it was hidden in the back. I got a lot of compliments at work today because of this shade. It is a bit more sheer, I need at least 2-3 layers for it to be really pigmented.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 8 "Disco Queen"

Day 8 "Disco Queen" - Maybelline "Make Me Pink"

Maybelline Color Sensational "Make Me Pink": $7.49

I've been obsessed with glitter since I was a little girl, so I really wanted to go full-glitter with one of the days of this challenge. Green also happens to be my favorite color, so I thought I'd go with a green eye look after watching a tutorial a few nights ago. In the tutorial Desi Perkins used a green glitter shadow all over her lid, and after that I stumbled across Ali Michael's Instagram picture of a smudgy dark green eyeshadow look while watching "Blow" from Beyonce. The end result from all my inspirations was a sort of smokey 70's smudgy-disco look. I want the glitter to look kinda smudged up above the lid in an imperfect way, and since this was my first time working with glitter, I can say it wasn't easy! It took a bit before I (kinda) got the hang of it. ((Not pictured: my arms and hands covered in green glitter))

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 6 "Pink Lady"

Day 6 "Pink Lady" - Pacifica "Beach Kiss"

Pacifica Enlightened Mineral Gloss in "Beach Kiss": $12.00

I own quite a few glosses but this one I haven't worn very much out of the collection I have. The color is a beautiful, translucent pink, perfect to balance my intense dual pink eyeshadow look I created today. It has a more natural smell to it and it feels slightly sticky on the lips, but it's still a great one that lasts a really long time.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 5 "Lip Love"

Day 5 "Lip Love" - MAC/Lime Crime

MAC "Pink Pigeon" - $16.00

Lime Crime "Futurist" - $18.00

Since I did an ombre eye look yesterday I thought it'd be fun to try an ombre lip look. I love both of these lipsticks - they're really pigmented and beautiful. I love color so this was really fun for me to try. I've seen a lot of ombre lip looks in magazines so it was fun for me to experiment with this look, and because this was a more bold look I kept the rest of my makeup basic. I don't see myself every wearing this look out since it's not really practical, but it was so much fun to do. It was easier blending the bottom lip vs. the top lip for some reason though.

30 Days of Lips + Looks: Day 4 "Sunset in Paradise"

Day 4 "Sunset in Paradise" - Too Faced "Nude Beach"

 

 

Too Faced "Nude Beach": $22.00

I've never done a colorful ombre eye look before, so I thought I'd go for a really interesting eye look today to challenge myself and do a pretty, soft nude lip to balance it. I love this Too Faced lip color, and it's one I haven't used very much. I'm noticing I love and own nudes but I don't use them as often as my pinks. I love Too Faced cosmetics, and their lipsticks are so comfortable on the lips. They're intensely pigmented and go on very smoothly. The look I was going for on the eyes was more of a sunset-type hombre with gold, orange, fuchsia and a slight dark purple in the crease.