Lip Product of the Week: Lime Crime Velvetine

I'm all about matte makeup. I think highlighting is great, but I want to keep the rest of my face nice and non-shiny and only highlight where it's really effective. The same goes for lips, I like a little but of shine on the center of the lip but overall I want a long-lasting, reliable color and matte's the way to go for that.

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Lime Crime, for all their troubles with insecure websites and questionable marketing choices, does make some great products. The Velvetines are one of their standout launches: a matte liquid lipstick available in unique and well-formulated shades. Beyond that, Cashmere is probably the most famous shade. It's the signature griege: a cool-toned purple with strong grey and brown tones. The type of shade makes for the perfect go-between for those not wanting to rock a full vampy lip but also don't want to play it too safe.

The formula is remarkably liquid, gliding on the lips with only minor difficulty in sculpting the cupid's bow. Once applied, which usually takes two coats to reach opacity (at least for this shade), the products becomes slightly tacky. After a couple of minutes, the formula sets completely dry and matte, and doesn't move.

Packaging-wise, the tube is pretty, with frosted glass surrounding the product and a red rose-decorated lid. However, the packaging is deceiving. You get 0.088 fl oz, which isn't a lot. The tube, however, makes it look like you get a lot more because the product is cased in thick glass. They're not cheap, one tube is $20, but I've had mine for around a year and haven't run out yet.

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Color-wise, the shade is a little dark for my NW13 skin, and may stray a slight bit too warm to create a nice contrast between my skin and lips. For deeper or warmer skin tones (I'm very pale and very cool), however, this shade will look fantastic. That's not to say that I don't get many compliments when I wear this, and I know others that own it who say the same thing. It's certainly a standout shade unlike your standard pink or even mauve lip.

The scent is slightly paint-like, but, in my opinion, not overbearingly bad. A lot of product is lost being smeared on the inner wand, but as this isn't a shade I wear on the daily this isn't a huge gripe.

Whether or not you agree with Lime Crime's past policies, the Velvetines are a cute, daring lip product that won't smear on your Div School coffee mug. Cashmere is such a cult shade, it'd be a shame to pass on it.

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Do you have a favorite matte liquid lipstick? Let us know in the comments below!