After hearing all the rave reviews about these lip products, I thought it was time I checked them out for myself. I'm afraid I'm easily drawn into the hype and hoorah about products these days and sadly, for me anyway, they don't always reach my expectations. I guess everyone isn't the same and we all come with our unique skin quirks and in essence what we are looking for in a product.
Claims:
From the Lime Crime website directly:
"Inspired by the Rose, the Queen of all flowers, Velvetine Lip Stain goes on like a gloss and dries down to a matte, velvety finish - like that of a rose petal. Kiss-proof, long-lasting, and utterly addictive!"
Ingredients:
Isododecane, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Polybutene, Petrolatum, Mica, Synthetic (Cera Alba) Wax, Kaolin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Silica Silylate, Silica, Cyclopentasiloxane, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Alcohol Denat, Hexylene Glycol, Flavor. [+/-] Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), FD&C Red 7 Calcium Lake (CI 15850:1), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77499, CI 77492), FD&C Yellow No 5 Lake (CI 19140), FD&C Blue No 1 Aluminum Lake (CI 42090:2), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Tin Oxide (CI 77861). VEGAN/CRUELTY-FREE.
Shades:
I have the two shades which were available at the time:
Suedeberry - A matte Strawberryesque Pink with a touch of Coral about it
Red Velvet - A matte deep true red
I think there is also a new shade available called Pink Velvet, which from the photo's looks like a brighter more candy-like pink.
Swatches:
In Natural Light L-R: Suedberry, Red Velvet.
So here's the run down:
Price: I purchased mine from Model Rock Lashes for $23.95 each.
Weight: 3.0g
Packaging: A plastic tube with doe foot applicator
Consistency: Not overly thick in consistency, so able to be blended and smoothed onto the lips
Fragrance: Quite sweet smelling, but not overpowering.
Application: Due to the pigmentation of this product, if you are after a sharper lip it was best to apply from the doe foot applicator to the middle of the lips and then with a lip brush smooth the excess to the edges of the lips.
Longevity: It did last very well I have to admit, but what I wasn't too keen on was how drying it felt. This tended to make the product wear off in patches and stick to any dryness on my lips.
Colour Range: Obviously not for you if you are after a "natural" look, however I did quite enjoy just patting some product onto my lips for a hint of colour.
Finish: As promised it was a matte finish.
Overall impressions: Feeling a bit eh about this product if I'm being honest. I thought I would be set to love it, but overall I feel it's very much like the Stila Stay all Day Liquid Lipsticks - a great longwearing formula, but not so good if you have dry chapped lips. I highly recommend applying a lip balm liberally before using this product, as even the next day my lips still felt like they had been sucked dry and required SOS treatment. I will probably be using these Velvetines are more of a Special Ocassion lip product, or tap a little of the product onto my lips for a hint of colour.
On a side note, I'm interested to see how the NYX Matte Creams compare, which if you aren't aware, NYX is now available both instore at Target and online! Finally a win for Australia in the drugstore department..?
Ellen Rozalia xx
*Disclaimer: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own
