Why thousands of Instagrammers are boycotting this beauty brand.

Image: Instagram

The hashtag #BoycottLimeCrime is taking over social media as a protest against alleged credit card theft, faulty and repackaged products, and in response to some comments by the founder and owner of the cosmetics company, Doe Deere. It’s closely followed by #FlushYourGlitterDownTheShitter – which, you have to admit, has a certain ring to it.

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 An undisclosed number of customers recently learnt that unauthorised access was gained to Lime Crime’s website server between October 2014 and February 2015. Malware designed to intercept customer data, including credit card information, was installed and while the Lime Crime website has since been moved to a new platform, the length of the breach sparked outrage.

Here are a few of the posts on Instagram under #Boycottlimecrime (post continues after gallery).

Customers took the brand to task on Instagram for not contacting those affected directly and Buzzfeed published a list of ’15 rainbow lip colours that will not steal your credit card information’.

Recent revelations that Lime Crime will only sell many of its latest and most sought-after products to customers attending IMATS NYC have also sparked outrage. An online petition called ‘#BOYCOTTLIMECRIME at IMATS NYC’ currently sits at 7,073 signatures and counting.

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Lime Crime has been riddled with controversy since its launch in 2004, with claims of makeup repackaging, cultural appropriation and firing off cease-and-desist letters when beauty bloggers write negative product reviews. A full history of Lime Crime’s, uh, crimes against beauty reveals that Deere allegedly once threatened to sue a 13-year-old girl over image crediting, created a fraudulent charity raffle for publicity purposes and posted a picture of herself dressed as Hitler for Halloween. Oh dear.

Deere also boasts a lengthy track record of responding to customers in a less than ideal fashion; often going on the defensive and using offensive terms. Thanks to the internet, this has been well documented. The most popular image currently trending under #BoyCottLimeCrime on Instagram is seemingly a screenshot of a seething letter sent by Deere to an unhappy customer.

"If you wanna spend your money on low quality, mass produced pigments from M.A.C," she says, "go right ahead. It’s no skin off my nose. I’ll still be making more cash than most of you imbeciles."

Thus far, Deere has responded to the #BoycottLimeCrime hashtag by posting reminders that harassment and bullying will not be tolerated. Customers are seething, memes are abounding and and pastel lipsticks are being photographed next to dog shit.

The Instagram user responsible for the latter image – @iamskullsnbones – fumed, "This is just part of my collection of Lime Crime. I’ve placed it in dog shit… which is what this woman and her company represents."

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@MsPaynter bristled, "I used to think that people were overreacting and a lot of the stories surrounding this company were unfounded hearsay… Not only have they ruined many lives but they’ve been dicking their victims over." (Post continues after gallery.)

Deere released this statement on Lime Crime following the cyber attack:

Dear Lime Crime Customers,

In mid-February 2015, with the help of a leading forensics firm, we were able to uncover evidence that hackers gained unauthorised access and installed malicious software ('malware') on our server. This sophisticated, self-concealing malware 'scraped' data as it was being inputted into our website. As a result, certain customer data was affected, including names, addresses, credit/debit card numbers and limecrime.com passwords.

We know this cyber security incident caused you frustration and concern. We are deeply sorry. We are focused on doing all that we can to keep you informed and help those affected. We have compiled a FAQ below to help address any questions or concerns you have.

For over six years, Lime Crime’s mission has been to put a smile on your face with the colorful, quality cosmetics that are kind to animals. We refuse to let this external cyberattack get in the way. Making sure you are safe shopping with us is our top priority, and we’ve taken additional steps to secure our website (outlined below). Our efforts continue to be dedicated to restoring your confidence and providing you with the shopping experience you deserve.

Sincerely,

Doe Deere
Founder & CEO
Lime Crime Cosmetics
February 24, 2015

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