Lime Crime: Venus XL II Review and Swatches!

Hi Friends!

I’m SO excited to share my thoughts on the Lime Crime Venus XL II today! As a complete spoiler, I have been loving this palette! But we are going to get into why its such a lovely palette soon. I have a few other Lime Crime palettes but this is by far my favorite. I bought it back in February as my birthday gift for me but it took me awhile to test out all of the shades!

The Lime Crime Venus XL II retails for $58 which is really expensive for a palette. But it does come with 18 eyeshadows in four different formulas (4 mattes, 3 foil, 9 metallic, and 2 sheer iridescent topper shades).

Lime Crime describes their four finishes as the following:

• Matte: Buttery smooth and totally matte.
• Foil: High def and ultra reflective!
• Metallic: Ultra-shiny shimmer.
• Sheer Iridescent: Sheer opalescent lid topper.

Other benefits of this palette:

• Cruelty free
• Vegan
• Large mirror on the inside
• Made in the USA

The Packaging

I am obsessed with the packaging for this palette – its so ethereal and absolutely gorgeous! The palette base is a light pink but of course there are a lot of other details that make this palette packaging so fun. The front has a print of a gorgeous goddess with bright green hair and a petite nose ring / septum piercing. She also has long pink nails with a few rings – just looking classy and sassy at the same time!

On either side of the goddess, there are metallic pillars with orange trees with large green leaves and oranges wrapped around them. The inside of the palette has a large mirror on the lid and then the eyeshadows sit in the bottom of the palette which is all metallic silver.

All the details are green, pink, and silver metallic which is just so cohesive  and aesthetically pleasing. I am just BLOWN AWAY with how beautiful the packaging is. It is seriously one of the most beautiful palettes that I’ve ever seen. I know packaging is not what really matters but it does matter to me when you spend so much on an eyeshadow palette.

The Shades and Swatches

In the first row, you have:

In Bloom (matte) – This is the most beautiful mid-tone pink. Its pretty in the crease to soften up a look and make it look girly and sweet.

Crown (foil)  – This is a icy champagne with pink reflects foil shadow. Its pretty sheer on the eyes so I use it more as an eyeshadow topper.

Sage (matte) – Probably my favorite shade in the entire palette is this sage green matte shade. It is so unique and beautiful on the eyes.

Thorn (metallic) – Lime Crime describes this shade as “cocoa with blue sparkle” which was confusing to me at first. This shade is like a milk chocolate shimmer shadow and if you look closely, you can see a hint of blue glitter. But it is very faint so doesn’t show up the eyes really at all.

Ripe (matte) – This is the perfect rich chocolate brown matte shade. Its perfect in the outer corner to deepen any eye look from this palette.

Forbidden (metallic) – This is a peachy copper metallic shade. It is so beautiful as a hint of color on the eyelid.

In the second row, you have:

Stella (metallic) – This is a pink champagne metallic shade. This is such a soft shimmer that it looks so natural and girly on the eyes. Not like other chunky metallic shades at all.

Myth (foil) – Another unique shade from this palette is this silver foil shadow with hits of green. Much like Crown, it is pretty sheer on the eyelids so it is best as just a topper.

Eve (foil) – This is a pinky rose foil shadow – one of the brightest foil shades in the palette. Lime Crime also describes it with “multi colored sparkle” which is very fine glitter throughout the shade. Its so pretty on the eyelids!

Laurel (metallic) – Another favorite of mine is this “olive gold” shimmer shadow. It looks beautiful with every look all over the eyelid. Its so soft so again it looks more natural but its also a unique shadow so it catches the eye. I LOVE THIS SHADE!

Radiant (sheer iridescent) – This is the ultimatepearl shadow. It has a soft peach / pink iridescence in it and looks great as just a topper shadow.

Ivy (metallic) – This is “glazed green with pink sparkle” metallic shade. This was one of the shades that drew me to this palette and it does not disappoint, it’s a beautiful shade.

In the third row, you have:

West (metallic) – This is the darkest shade in the palette, it is a warm brown with a copper reflect.

Obscure (sheer iridescent) – The second sheer iridescent shade in this palette is this soft neon green shadow. This one isn’t my favorite shade because it is so sheer – its hard to actually see on the eyelids.

Mystic (metallic) – This is a soft pink blush metallic shadow. It is slightly darker than Stella but lighter than Eve. Its another pretty shadow!

Phoenix (metallic) – This is a bright orange / rust colored shade. I only used this to had a hint of color on my eyelids because I don’t think I would like it all over the lid. It’s a really strong color.

Locust (metallic) – This is a green-brown shift metallic shadow. Its so UNIQUE and the color is absolutely beautiful on the eyes. Another favorite of mine in the palette.

Classical (matte) – And finally, the last shade in the palette is this dark chocolate brown matte shade. Another one that just looks perfect to deepen up the outer corner for really any look in this palette. It just adds a bit of dimension to a look.

My Review

If you can’t tell already, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this palette. The shades and color story just speak to me – its so beautiful not only to look at in the palette but also on the eyes! The shadows all perform beautifully, especially the matte shadows and the metallic shimmers. I honestly can’t get enough of this palette – I want to wear it everyday!

There is one shade that I don’t care for, which is Obscure because it is hard to see on the eyes but every other shade has my heart. I think the color story is constructed perfectly because you can really pair all of the shades together and they will look beautiful. This palette is perfect neutral shadow lovers that love to step up their looks with ethereal earthy tones.

If you are drawn to the shades in the Venus XL II, then get it! You will not be disappointed in the quality!

What Do You Think?

I need to know your thoughts on this palette! What do you think of the earthy tones and the packaging? Did you pick up this palette? I would love to know!