i am not advising anyone to stop buying from lime crime if they wish to continue, nor can i say with absolute certainty that these swatches provide proof that the magic dusts are repackaged, this post is just to provide information and comparisons for anyone who wants it.
So as i'm still sparking with anger at the sexist, generalising antics of the self-appointed queen of unicorns *eyeroll* i would post my own swatches of her eyedusts versus TKB plain bog-standard wholesale micas, sold as an ingredient for eye-makeup for $1.50 for a huge sample bag (over a tablespoon).
I made videos showing swatches of these on paper in real time a week ago. At the time i made these videos (and when i made my most recent order from TKB) i hadn't checked the latest list of TKB dupes, so there are some i swatched which didn't match, but that's because i was going on an old list of the dupes.
The updated list is:
Pink Poodle- TKB cloissone red
Snow Queen- TKB Sparkle Turquoise
Elf- TKB apple green pop
Pompadour- TKB Colorona dark blue
Princess Caraboo- TKB Emerald
Primadonna- TKB Strawberry POP
Empress- TKB Grape POP
Nymph- TKB Hi-lite gold
Siren- TKB Hot Mama
Medusa- TKB Blackstar Blue
Circus Girl- TKB lemon drop POP
Fairy Wings- TKB Hi-lite violet
Enchant-TKB Blackstar Green
Shoe Addict- TKB Blueberry POP
Twilight- TKB Ballad Blue
Mermaid- TKB Coral Reef Blue
Duchess- TKB Indian Blue
Mirror Mirror- TKB Antique Silver
Dragon Scales- TKB Chameleon Glitter
Lime Criminal - Actually a blend! 50/50 TKB Lemon POP and TKB Green Apple POP
Next time i make an order i'm going to get the proper dupe of Dragon Scales and then will do a new video and swatches. Also i have a sample of 'vixen' which was one of the discontinued matte shades, which were rumoured to be unaltered oxides, pigments or ultramarines and so completely unsuitable to be used on their own as eyeshadows. I will see if i can find the match for that too.
Anyway here's my videos. There are some coming up showing them swatched on skin (and including the 50:50 blend for Lime criminal, not the incorrect dupes i show in this video.) , but i'm having trouble getting them on youtube for some reason.
If anyone is going to make a ridiculous comment about how I could have just put TKB in the baggies myself, if you watch the first video from the beginning you can see i bring the bags out of a closed envelope sent from the US. Also if anyone thinks that maybe Lorilyn who sent them to me might have just put TKB in herself, why would she have included 3 colours i couldn't match at the time? And on top of that, what on earth would i gain by lying about this?
Anyway today i took some photos of swatches on my skin, both wet and dry. I didn't bother with Dragon Scales or Vixen because i don't have the matching colours.
In each photo the Lime Crime colours are on the left, the TKBs are on the right, colours applied dry at the top and wet at the bottom.
Lime Crime's 'Siren' Vs TKB's 'Hot Mama'
Lime Crime's 'Circus Girl' Vs TKB's 'Lemon Drop Pop'
Lime Crime's 'Medusa' Vs TKB's 'Blackstar Blue'
Lime Crime's 'Lime Criminal' Vs TKB's 'Apple Green Pop' and 'Lemon Drop Pop' mixed in equal qualities (i did this really quickly by just getting a teaspoon of each colour and shaking them together in the pot. I think mine has just a tiny bit more green in it than the Lime Criminal sample, but is basically exactly the same).
As you can see, there is (at least to my eye) not a single distinguishable difference. The colours are also all the same 'vibrancy'. While i'm no expert on mineral makeup, I would assume if they had at least had an eyeshadow base added it would make the colour paler (as the base is white), please correct me if i'm wrong.
I don't know how to feel about the colour 'Lime Criminal' While when i think of a 'unique, handmade eyeshadow' I certainly would assume the creator had done more than just mix equal parts of 2 wholesale micas, but on the other hand it does show that at least she has had the slightest possible hand in making one of her eyeshadows, by deciding to mix 2 colours. At least it is not a straight repackage, but it really is nothing to brag about.
I really wish i had a way to swatch more of the colours, but i certainly am never going to buy her eye dusts just to make the comparison!
Hope this was helpful.
