Swatches + Review: Lime Crime ChinaDoll Palette

Did I mention I bought this palette? I don't believe I did...but surprise! I was totally persuaded by the hype of this palette. I was initially not going to purchase it because I have so many eyeshadows. But after seeing so many positive reviews, I convinced myself that I needed more eyeshadows >_<" What a fickle woman I am! If you guys are intrigued by this maybe this review will help you decide whether to buy it or not.

Price and Availability

$34.99 on the Lime Crime website. 

Packaging

The palette comes in a gold paper box that is folded and inspired by an envelope. It is quite cute in my opinion. The back of the box has an engraved seal with the initials LM as well.

The palette itself is reminiscnet of a tin box for colored pencils or watercolors. The outside is a shiny dark purple with brass colored detailing. The palette has the Lime Crime logo with the unicorn in the middle along with a fish scale-looking pattern on the sides.

The palette opens up exactly like a tin pencil case, and on the inside there is 5 eyeshadow colors. The way these were made looks exactly like a watercolor palette you would use when you are in elementary school. It is both off-putting, yet cute and a little nostalgic.

Do you see the black part that separates the eyeshadows? That is my least favorite part of the palette. It is black plastic so if you press down on it, it gets squished a little and responds to the pressure. I am afraid that this will not be durable. Although it seems like it is inserted very well since it won't move around the palette or anything like that. The good thing about that black part it that it is very easy to clean up (that area tends to have shimmers and eyeshadow fallout).

Overall, I have a love/hate relationship with the packaging. It is cute and great to carry around since it is small and compact. The design on the outside of the palette is really pretty as well~ Of course, I love the fact that it is purple ♥

On the other hand, it is a little childish and it really looks like a watercolor palette to me. It is not something I would like to show off to women who are older or "classier." 

Customer Service

On a little side note, I really wanted to mention the awesome customer service Lime Crime has. This is the second time that I have been graciously given a replacement. When I received my first palette, it sadly arrived shattered. I emailed them and they were so kind to immediately send me a replacement. What I love is that there is no hassle. The staff is always super friendly and ready to help you out in anyway possible. Yes, it is their obligation to send me a replacement, but they are always so nice about it. Many companies can be very rude and it can take forever to receive the replacement. I received mine in less than a week!

Swatches

Two swipes of color for each, except Goldfish is three.

Closeup of last  three shades:

 

Product Review

     Now onto the the actual product: the eyeshadows. That is what we really care about. The main reason for me wanting this palette was for the bright colors. The red, blue, green, and yellow colors look so bright and awesome. The other thing is that the red, blue and green are, to my knowledge, matte colors. It is hard to find really great matte shades that are bright and pigmented. Right off the bat I will say that those matte shades are really pigmented, super smooth, and very easily blended. I really needed a great matte red and green, and these two really are fantastic. 

     At first, I was a little disappointed with the yellow. I initially thought this was going to be a bright yellow with shimmer. But it is more of a yellow/gold hybrid color. And after that first initial shock, I have come to love this. I love gold eyeshadow, and this is something brighter and different from my other golds. It definitely leans more to the yellow that to the gold, but none the less it is very pretty. Note that this is very shimmery, almost metallic, and is prone to some shimmer fall out. It is also the sheerest of the five, although it is a very buildable color.

     Lastly, the satin black eyeshadow. The LM site says this is a matte, but I would argue. It does have the texture of a matte, but it has noticeable shimmers, much more than any of the other three mattes. The black is also a little disappointing because it is not as pigmented as the other mattes and it swatches a little patchy. And although this is a color I can always use, I am very tired of always having black in palettes. I have a bazillion matte blacks, and with such a bright palette, I wish they could have added another bright shade (maybe purple or orange). I understand that not everyone has a black, and that for them the black in the palette is useful, but for the purpose of the palette it seems a little out of place. I guess if we are talking in term of watercolor palette, it makes sense. Most of the colors in the palette are the basic: red, blue,yellow, green and black. The black does add a neutral color that can be used in combination with the other four bright colors. But it still disappoints me because it is 1/5 of the palette and that is a big chunk of the entire palette. 

PROS:

-Compact palette; easy to carry around

-Bright mattes that are VERY easy to work with

-Very pigmented and workable shades

-Suitable for those who love to play around with color

- Decent price; $7 per color (cheaper than high end makeup and much better than MAC eyeshadows)

CONS:

-Design of the inside of the palette can look a bit childish

-Goldfish has some fall out

-Lotus Noir lack some pigmentation and can be patchy

-Lotus Noir is a very basic color that, in my opinion, should have been left out from such a bright and fun palette

Verdict

     Although the palette is not perfect, the red, green, and blue are more than enough reason for me to love this and keep this. Those three shades are superb! I have not encountered shades like this before, so I am very highly pleased. The yellow is really beautiful too! The black is the one thing I would remove if I could. In place of that, an orange, purple, or heck even a matte white of the same formula as the red, blue, and green would have been simply amazing. I personally can't compare these colors to anything else because they are unique in my makeup collection. Overall, I am content with the palette and very glad I bought it. Now I have these bright mattes to use! ;D

Rating: 8/10 

As you can see, the black eyeshadow really bothers me. If it had not been for that, I would have given this palette a 9.5/10.