Dupes for Lime Crime Velvetine liquid lipsticks

For me, no matter how matte the lipstick is I really struggle to wear them, even MAC matte formulas transfer easily. In the past year or so I've been obsessed with bright liquid lipsticks, especially the Lime Crime Velvetine collection. They are slightly expensive at £13.99 but I bought 5 over the space of 6 months. However, I didn't know about the controversy surrounding Lime Crime and the founder. Since I researched about the issue regarding stealing from bank accounts, the founder just being unethical and controversy over supposed unapproved chemicals, I decided to look for dupes because I loved the eccentric colours. I found cheap liquid lipstick collections on eBay, my favourites being MeNow, Qibest and iMagic.

I keep all my liquid lipsticks together but each collection has at least 10 lipsticks, so I had a good sort out and got it down to a small selection of lipsticks that I think are duplicates or similar to my favourite Lime Crime colours! Each lipstick is around £1-2 each and you can buy them separately or the whole collection if you want to expand your lipstick collection, like I always want to!

Please bare in mind I have very pale skin and different pigmentation will make colours show up differently! I've done my best to show the swatches in the best light as possible. Some of the colours listed below are no longer available on the Lime Crime website, but I did buy mine a while ago, if you search the colour on Google shopping though you can still get them online.





1. Shroom - iMagic 04 - Qibest 33

Shroom is described as '90s brown' and I feel it shows up very orange-brick toned on my skin. The two closest liquid lipsticks I have don't match completely, but when mixed they show very close to Shroom.  The formula of the Qibest and iMagic shades are much better quality than the MeNow shades so when mixed they're very silky, like Lime Crime.

2.  Pansy - Qibest 09

This is my favourite lipstick, but since dying my hair red I can't really wear it. However I did use to wear it all the time and always was told I was 'brave' for wearing such a bold colour. I did replace the 09 shade once because I'd used it so much. I think it is such a great statement colour and only for the brave.


3. Utopia - Qibest 25

Utopia is a bright pink shade that I don't really wear often but I own a lot of pinks. It's not really a generic pink shade so I think it's hard to dupe, especially in a matte texture but the 25 shade is very similar. Although the shade 25 is much warmer than Utopia, if a bright pink is what your after, this one is wearable.


4. Cashmere - MeNow 18 - iMagic 03

Cashmere is probably the most prestige of the Velevetines collection as it's always sold out. I remember about 6 months ago all of Youtube went crazy for the MeNow 18 being an 'exact dupe' but I don't think they're that close. The iMagic 03 is a little better suiting but I struggle to wear such a pale, cool toned nude being so pale myself. Both the shades are a little too warm for Cashmere but they are similar in shading and once dried on the lips they are very similar.

5. Wicked - MeNow 33

Possibly the closest dupes, these dark brick reds are interchangeable. I love these colours in the winter and I replace the 33 shade quite often because it's so similar to Wicked I prefer to use it rather than using up the more expensive one.

It's worth noting that all liquid lipsticks are hard to remove and it's unlikely you can do it with a wet wipe alone. I like to use some coconut oil along with the wipe but the red and purple colours are quite staining especially the cheaper ones, it just means they don't wear away throughout the day! If you want the bright colour without the drying matte effect, apply a little lip balm beforehand, it will transfer easier though.