Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn Lipstick

For a long time I have debated about whether or not I should try this lipstick/brand. It would be fair to say that there has been very mixed reviews about the lipsticks and that brand as a whole; I did not buy from the Lime Crime site, so I cannot say whether or not the service is good, bad or indifferent and in light of this I feel that it would be unfair to go into it or the controveries surrounding the brand or its owner. I bought from Cocktail Cosmetics (also available from love-makeup) and it arrived in 2 days and cost £14 (cheaper than Space NK, much dearer than the equivalent cost from Lime Crime where it would amount to less than £10, but the UK is a rip off for everything). It is slightly dearer than a MAC lipstick and it as it is not sold in any stores near me, it could not swatched or tested before hand, which made me more cautious about purchasing.

The packaging is one of the most obvious features of the product being a bright purple-y pink with a holographic unicorn. It looks similar to the shape of a MAC lipstick until you see them together and it is apparent that the MAC is narrower and the top is more tapered (although the actual lipstick it not any narrower) and the plastic of the MAC is thicker and feels sturdier. Whilst I quite like the packaging, it is much more dressing table pretty than handbag friendly; as I am going to be working in quite a serious environment and I am 25, not 15, I would look and feel a bit ridiculous if I pulled this out in front of people I know through work/uni and I don't think the casing could stand up to being in my handbag on a regular basis. That said it does look nice in my collection, especially when it is sunny.

As to the actual product itself there are a few things I can say about it, both positive and negative. The colour is a nice medium purple in the tube (looks a bit like Up the Amp by MAC), which applies quite smoothly and evenly on me and it is quite opaque, I haven't tried wearing it in one coat, unblotted straight from the tube as I very rarely do that anyway and it was long lasting and survived 2 cups of coffee without fading too much, it did seem to stain my hand a little but when I removed it with an oily remover it wasn't a problem . The main criticisms people seem to have is that it is drying and that it settles in to the lines of their lips. My experience has been that neither of these hold true from me although it is definitely advisable to exfoliate well before use as it does show up imperfections really clearly. Some of the problem with other reviews could be that the lipsticks when they were first released needed some adjustment to the formula. Some of the earlier swatches I have seen did not inspire me to part with my cash (this is in both positive and negative reviews), in fact some of them looked horrific and deeply unflattering. The lip swatch I have taken is fairly true to life and is an accurate representation of how it looked on me. This leads me to my biggest criticism of all and the one I have difficulty overlooking: the swatch on the Lime Crime website is quite different from the real life colour and texture. The LC swatch makes it looks really thick and luxurious and it looks bolder than it is IRL, of course I do recognise and expect a certain amount of photoshopping but it may prove to be a bit counter productive as there is intially a degree of disappointment when first using it. I have gotten over this but I think by using these swatches and for those expecting that (or at least close to that) effect and boldness it could be really disappointing and could put people off buying another lipstick from LC.

On the whole I do like the lipstick and will buy more LC lipsticks; it is a certainty that I will not be buying the eyeshadows due both the repackaging allegations, which appear to be valid due to the comparisons between LC and TKB colours in that they look identical, plus I really am not a fan of loose shadows, with the exception of Sugarpill Chromalusts (which I absolutely LOVE).

Since the cost of the lipsticks in the UK is so high it might be beneficial to order 3 from the US (approx. £30) instead of 2 from the UK (£30 from Space NK), if you can wait and want to take your chances with the taxman (I have heard everything from £17 to £27).

EDIT: The photos are not showing up as the usually do so I have had to upload the separately.