Mineral Makeup Mutiny:A Letter to Doe Deere

If you follow any number of beauty blogs, You Tube gurus or makeup tweeps, you may have seen the term "Mineral Makeup Mutiny" flying around. Controversy has been swirling around small makeup companies that are reportedly repackaging pigments and micas exactly as they come from the wholesaler and selling them for an astronomical markup.

I myself weighed in on the issue back in September with my post comparing several retail pigment sellers with wholesale micas. Though I compared several companies, I did use several examples from Lime Crime Makeup. For many, Xenia (aka Doe Deere) the ingenue behind Lime Crime Makeup, is the face of the enemy- the Captain, if you will, in this mutiny. I have featured Lime Crime in the past. I was a fan of Xenia's artistry long before she started Lime Crime, and after the line launched, she was generous enough to send me some of her pigments to try. I have since purchased several more.

Because of my respect for both my readers and Xenia, I felt I needed to appeal to her personally. I sent this email to her Tuesday, and I'd like to share it with you. This is an exact copy of the email that was sent to Xenia; the text has not been altered or edited in any way.

Xenia,

I know that recently you have come under a lot of fire about the formulation of your Lime Crime Makeup Line. As you know, I have been a long time follower of yours and have myself featured your products several times on my blog. I consider myself a conscientious blogger and try to be as fair and impartial with my posts as possible- especially where brand profiles and reviews are concerned. I enjoy Lime Crime makeup; the quality as well as the brand ethos. I respect you as a makeup artist, and out of the respect I have for you as well as that which I owe my readers, I'd like to ask you to reply directly to the accusations that you are facing.

I implore you to answer definitively, do you personally formulate and blend your own products? Do you now or have you ever sold any product exactly as it came to you from your wholesale supplier?

I have done my best to remain objective and supportive of your brand, and it is with the most honest intentions that I send you this request. It is my hope that you'll take this opportunity to clear the air once and for all.

Best Wishes,
Jessica Allison

Though I have not received a personalized response, Today Xenia did post a response to the allegations on You Tube, as well as on her website. Of course, should I hear anything directly from Doe Deere, I'll update you all.

I thought it important to bring you both sides of the story. I am neither advocating for or against the mutiny- frankly, no line is completely original or un-dupable. I have Estee Lauder shades that appear to be exact matches of Lancome shades and MAC shades. When MAC released their Rated R eyeshadow, no one made a big deal over the fact that Nars has an extremely similar shade that actually has the same name! Does this mean they're all the same repackaged product? Of course not.

The reality is, there are only so many marketable colors in cosmetics, and I find it completely likely that even someone who is blending their own shades could end up with something that appears to be an exact match for another company's shade- wholesale or not. Does this mean that I think that no one is selling repackaged wholesale makeup? Again, of course not.

I have seen mineral makeup gurus from companies like Calypso Minerals and Beauty From The Earth openly admit that they have sold either un-blended pigments, or have blended only to affect texture and not to change the shade of the mica. I appreciate the honesty, and reject the notion that these companies should have to reveal their trade secrets in order to prove themselves innocent.

While I commend those that have been honest about this particular controversy, from my fellow bloggers to the companies themselves, when it comes down to it, I really think it's our responsibility as consumers to do our research and know what we're putting on our skin & in our bodies. I personally don't blame any of these businesses for trying to make a profit-after all, it's the "American way", isn't it? Will my knowledge affect my shopping choices? Yes, and it is for that reason that I share it with you. What you do with that knowledge is your choice.

The Match of the Century:Retail-vs-Wholesale Pigments

If you're a true beauty junkie, then you've likely noticed a HUGE beauty trend over the past year. Independently run mineral pigment retailers are cropping up like mulberry weeds (they're rampant, trust me!) I've tried a few, and overall have been impressed with the smooth texture, vivid finish, and endless range of colors that these retailers provide.

Ignorance was bliss, until my friend Anastasia over at Lipsticks & Lightsabers did a post pointing out the extreme similarities between pigments from companies like Lime Crime Makeup and Beauty From The Earth and those from wholesalers like TKB Trading. I'd been thinking about ordering some wholesale samples for quite some time, and I decided this was the perfect excuse. Here's what I found.

So, a picture is worth 1000 words- but here you get both! If you're thinking this is a trick, I can assure you, it is not. Here's what you're looking at, read from left to right like a book!

Top: TKB Lemon Drop Pop!, Lime Crime Circus Girl, Calypso Mineral Beauty Bandana

Middle: TKB Apple Green Pop!, Lime Crime Elf, Barry M Dazzle Dust Mint Green #82 (don't worry about the darker green to the right, I've got another pic for that one!

Bottom: TKB Grape Pop!, Calypso MineralsTramp, MAC Violet Pigment

As you can see from the photo, the differences in the shades are almost imperceptible. (BTW, click the images to see the photos supersized!) Looking at the yellow and green shades, Lime Crime's and TKB's are virtually identical, both in color and texture. I tried to be as scientific as I could when applying these, but any small difference I noticed (are the Lime Crime colors slightly more sheer, maybe a tiny bit more pearlized?) could easily be attributed to the amount applied, or the difference of the skin texture in the areas I applied them.

Even the notable differences weren't that drastic. Most apparent, Calypso's Bandana yellow was more opaque than it's doppelgangers. The Barry M Dazzle Dust seemed like the same base shade as the other greens, but had a dose of fine silver sparkle. Even the MAC pigment looks fairly similar to it's counterparts, though the texture of MAC's pigments are almost moist and spongy, and the finish is more metallic. I think it's safe to say these products are different than the others, because though close in color, they'd definitely achieve different effects.

Lets ponder a few more:

Top row is shown with MAC Blackground Paint Pot as a base.

Left: Lime Crime Fairy Wings Right: TKB Hilite Violet

With these pretty violet duo-chromes, I could not tell the difference no matter how they were applied.

Left: Star Gazer Eye Dust #33 Right: TKB True Green

Two more that look identical. If I were going to say any of these pigments were the EXACT same, it would be these two.

So here's my final opinion (for now, anyway.) Other than the exceptions that I talked about, all of these pigments were virtually identical. I'm not going to say they're the same exact formulations, but I'm also not ready to say they're not. All it would take is a pinch in a pound to say a shade is custom blended, that doesn't mean it will look much different on the skin.

Is it somewhat nefarious to repackage wholesale product and mark it up (literally) 4000%? Maybe, but I can assure you, this is nothing new, nor is it limited to small businesses. One major (and I mean MAJOR) cosmetics company I worked for paid around $2.00 for lipsticks that retailed at $22. The justification is that you're not just paying for the product, you're paying for the image. That means that the retailer is including all of the costs involved in producing the item you're purchasing; things like packaging, website production and maintenance, models, makeup artists and photographers that make the company's promotional images, the cost of placing those images in magazines, on-line in banner ads- the list goes on and on. That's capitalism, kids.

There's nothing wrong with buying a particular brand because you like the way their compacts look, or because you prefer supporting small businesses. Just be aware that there are alternatives out there. For anyone shopping around, here's a price by the ounce comparison of the brands I've shown in this post:

Lime Crime Makeup Magic Dusts: $12 for .07 oz= $171.43 per ounce

UPDATE: In October '09, Lime Crime doubled the size of their Magic Dusts, which now come in .14oz sizes for the original $12 price. The adjusted price is $85.71 per ounce.

Calypso Mineral Beauty Pigments*: about .052 oz for $6.00= $115.38 per ounce

Barry M Dazzle Dusts*: about .07 oz for $7.43= $106.14 per ounce

Stargazer Eye Dusts: about $4.96 for .063 oz= $78.73 per ounce

MAC Pigments: $19.50 for .26 oz= $75 per ounce

UPDATE: In January, '10 MAC repackaged their pigments, reducing the size to .15oz with no price change. This brings the current cost of MAC pigments to $130 per ounce.

TKB Trading: prices vary, ,most are $4.00-4.50 per ounce (no, that's not a typo, the $1.25 SAMPLE size has more product than some brand's full sizes!)

*Calypso weight per 5g jar is approximate. According to Jen, the owner, jars aren't weighed, they're just packed until they're full. Price is also an average price provided to me by the owner.

Barry M Dazzle Dust weight was determined by me weighing my own jar (after swatching) I have contacted the company for an exact weight and will update this if I hear back.

Lime Crime Look:The Phoenix

This incendiary look is an update of an old signature look of mine that came to be known as fire eyes. When I first created this look, you simply couldn't find red eyeshadow; I used blush and lip liner to create the flame's vivid red. Now, in honor of Xenia and the launch of her fantastical Lime Crime Makeup, I've been inspired to revive fire eyes. From the ashes of old arose- the Phoenix!

I created this look with eye colors exclusively from Lime Crime Makeup, using only 2 shadows and a glitter for the entire look! Read on for all of the details, and make sure to click here to read my complete review of Lime Crime Makeup.



As always, I started by priming my lids from the upper lash line up to the eye brows. Using a small eyeshadow brush, I applied bright yellow Circus Girl to my lid, starting at the inner corner of my eyes and extending it just up to (but not in) the crease, leaving the outer third of my lid blank. I was very careful not to take the yellow into the crease or outer "V" of the eye, since I wanted the red to be as pure as possible.

Placing my pencil brush in the crease at the outer corner of my eye, I worked Siren (a warm, satiny red) along the crease, extending it just past the center of my lid, blending it slightly into the yellow shadow. Switching to a fluffy, domed shading brush, I used the brush clean first to blend the red crease shade lightly into the yellow, being careful to leave the inner corner pure yellow and the outer corner pure red. Then I applied the smallest bit of red pigment to the brush and applied it lightly it to the center of the lid and out. As you can see in the closeup, the result was a gorgeous coppery orange tone.

As an update to my old look, I added a bold blue "flame" along my lower lash line with sapphire blue glitter. I moistened a flat, angled eyeliner brush with a mixture of glycerin and water, dipped it into the glitter and placed the sparkles just underneath my bottom lashes, thinning and winging the line up slightly at the outside corners. Then, I used a moist smudger brush to apply a bit more glitter to my tear duct, extending it up slightly onto the inner corner of my lids. I applied a deep blue liner to my waterline, and finished the look with black mascara, false half-lashes, and a thin line of black gel liner to disguise the lash band.

Since this look is more editorial than daily wear, I chose to match the boldness of my eyes with a bold red lip. I applied a cherry red shade to my lips, patting a bit of Circus Girl pigment on top before applying clear gloss. When I ventured out on a shopping trip later in the day, I did switch to a more toned down lip, filling my lips with a nude liner before topping it with a bit of Circus Girl mixed into clear gloss.

Product List:

Eyes
Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Inner Lid: Circus Girl Magic Dust (Lime Crime Makeup)
Outer Lid & Crease: Siren Magic Dust (Lime Crime Makeup)
Lower Lash Line, Tear Duct, and Inner Corner: Unicorn Glitter (Lime Crime Makeup)
Top Lash Line: Blacktrack Fluidline (MAC)
Waterline: Blue Jay Duo Eye Pencil (Vincent Longo)
Mascara: Chanel Inimitable in Black
Brows: Automatic Brow Pencil Duo in Soft Brown (Estee Lauder)
Eyebrow Mascara in Auburn (Bourjois)
Lashes: Andrea Accents #305 in Black

Cheeks
Fusion Soft Lights in Dusk (Smashbox)

Lips
Pro Longwear Lipcolor in Lasting Lust (MAC)
Circus Girl Magic Dust (Lime Crime Makeup)


Brushes
MAC 239 (small dense eyeshadow)
MAC 219 (pencil brush)
MAC 222 (fluffy, domed shader)
Estee Lauder 7E (flat, angled eyeliner)
Lancome #10 (small smudger)

Product Review:Lime Crime Makeup

One late, late night years ago, while searching for inspiration, I stumbled across a website called Lime Crime. Run by a color-loving slashie (musician/model/makeup artist) named Xenia, I found looks after my own heart: original, bold use of colors in a "there are no rules" kind of way. This was back in the day when MAC artists were busy perfecting the glam-goth look and if you wanted red eye shadow, you used blush.

Lime Crime was a savior to me when I felt like no other makeup artists were leaning my way. One day, I went to check in on Xenia and she was gone. Crestfallen, yes, but I knew I had to move on. Deep inside though, I always knew that such a vivid soul couldn't be underground for long, and thankfully, I was right! One day I Googled "Lime Crime" and there she was. She wasn't alone though, she had brought friends. Vivid, shimmering pots of glee, as she would call them. Ladies (and gentlemen?) I'd like to introduce you to Lime Crime Makeup.

As a professional makeup artist, I couldn't wait to get my hands on some Lime Crime. When I contacted Xenia to welcome her back, she generously offered to send me a few colors to try out. Knowing that bold is her forte, I chose 2 of her Magic Dusts: Circus Girl (a shimmery bright lemon yellow) and Siren (an intense, slightly warm red shimmer). I also couldn't resist trying one of her glitters; I got Unicorn, an ultra-fine sapphire blue .

In my trials, I've come across some pigments that pack an amazing color punch, but are so opaque that blending is almost impossible. Lime Crime's pigments have amazing color payoff and supreme blending ability. The shadows apply evenly with very little fallout, and are extremely long wearing. I applied mine over Urban Decay Primer Potion and it stayed on for- no joke- almost 24 hours! (Yes, this does mean I slept in them- you can slap my hand the next time you see me!) Not only did the color stay on forever, it didn't seem to fade a bit. I actually took a trip to Sephora and MAC during hour 12 and got numerous compliments from both makeup artists and customers.

I should tell you, I rarely use eye glitters. I even shy away from sparkly shadows and eyeliners because of the inevitable migration that takes place- though I may have only applied glitter to my lash line, 10 minutes after application, everyone in the house looks like a disco ball! I experimented applying Unicorn glitter over liquid and pencil eye liner, black creme shadow, as well as with a mixture of water and glycerin. To my delight, I found that Lime Crime's glitters were so fine and gave such good coverage that adding a liner underneath was an extra step I didn't need- I simply sprayed my brush with glycerin solution and patted on the glitter. Incredible! Though I can't say there was no fall out from the glitter, there was little enough that a pat of de-tackified painter's tape was enough to lift the errant flecks away.

I had high expectations for Lime Crime Makeup, and I will say that when evaluating Lime Crime as stand alone products, I was not disappointed. Yes, you can find cheaper dupes out there, but if you love the Lime Crime ethos and don't mind spending more money to support an independent brand, then why worry? I should also mention that some of the product swatches on the website seem to be pretty far from the mark. The rust-red Siren is pictured on the company's website as a vibrant, true red. It was still a nice shade and I certainly can't fault it for looking different on my skin. In fact, one of the benefits of Lime Crime Makeup's website is the fact that each of her 25 Magic Dusts and 10 glitters are shown applied on a real human (I assume) eyelid. I should also mention, my favorite part of the site: the wonderful fairytale descriptions of each color, which give not only a literal description but also give a feel for the spirit of the color. You can truly tell that Xenia has put her heart and soul into Lime Crime- these are HER products and it shows!

I'd give these products a 7 out of 10. The pigments are very bright and opaque, and they apply evenly and blend well. I honestly appreciate the fact that Lime Crime shades aren't loaded with glitter and different shades of interference. I often find that complex shades like that can be a pain to blend without muddying, and even with a professional eye, can take some work to coordinate. I did, as a matter of good conscience, have to take off a few points for the plain fact that the shades are so easily dupable, but aside from buying wholesale, Lime Crime pigments are a better value for the price than most indie companies.

*UPDATE*

Unfortunately, since this review was first published, Lime Crime has discontinued their glitters. They have since launched a super-cute new range of lipsticks which includes 10 shades.

Pros:
- Highly pigmented powders give great color-payoff
- Pigments are extremely easy to blend without losing depth or vibrancy of color.
- Extremely long wearing and smudge-proof
- Did not cause any sensitivity, itchiness or watering on my eyes (many pigments I've used do.)
- Pigments are multi-use and can be blended into lip gloss, hair products, etc...
- Reasonably priced, fast shipping.
- Lime Crime's website features step-by-step video tutorials by unaffiliated makeup aficionados as well as inspiration from Xenia herself.

Cons:
- Shaker-style sifter jars can be messy (especially the glitter)
- Limited availability- SpaceNK locations in the US and Canadian Urban Outfitters carry the lipstick line, Magic Dusts remain available only via website
- Because of the reflective quality of some of the pigments and glitters, the web site's photographs may not represent colors with 100% accuracy (though this is an issue with all makeup websites, certainly not just Lime Crime)