Review & Swatches ~ Lakmé Absolute Sculpt Hi-Definition Matte Lipstick in Mauve Fix

Lakmé Absolute Sculpt Studio Hi-Definition Matte Lipsticks launched last year and because they were priced quite reasonable I immediately picked up a shade to try out. The collection doesn’t have a good variety of shades if you’re medium-dusky skin toned and are into nudes and rosy pinks. The only shade that I was drawn to was Mauve Fix.

Almost Perfection : Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation Golden Medium (03) and Almond Honey (06) Review

I already know this is going to be a long post so I’ll get straight to the point!

What Lakme Claims:

An ultra-light, water-based, oil free foundation with Vitamin B3 & SPF 25 guards the skin against harmful rays leaving it visibly fairer, polished & vibrant with 16 hours of complete skin coverage.

-Vitamin B3 -SPF 25 -Oil free -Ultra-light

-Water based

In terms of texture & longevity, the Lakme Absolute White Intense foundation has everything that I want. I found myself repurchasing it (I had previously purchased a wrong shade) because I simply fell in love with it! Here are a few things I love about the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation:

1) Lightweight texture, feels like second-skin.

2) Highly pigmented and gives full coverage. I need a tiny amount. It can cover dark circles as well, over a corrector

3) Works well with other products (i.e BB creams, moisturisers) and its performance is not affected by the dilution.

4) Natural looking matte finish. You can tweak the finish by mixing with other products.

5) Does not look heavy or cakey inspite of being buildable to full coverage.

6) It does not oxidize on me and I have worn it for very long hours

7) Wears for a long time. I have worn it for 10 – 12 hours and my skin still looked fresh!

8) The packaging is very chic

9) I think it is waterproof. You need a proper makeup remover to get this one off!

10) It contains SPF25, while this alone is not sufficient for sun protection, its nice that SPF is present, in case you forget to put one on in a hurry

11) Oil FREE & water based, that's why its so lightweight on the skin.

However, it has a few drawbacks.

Since the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation is long wearing, it has a formula that dries up really fast once I start applying it and most of the times I find myself using a makeup spray on my brush prior to applying this foundation so that I can blend it well. This means thatmay dry up in the container too. No ingredients list is mentioned and you cannot see how much you have used! It is pricey for the quantity. If I sweat A LOT (I’m talking about dancing for 2-3 hours) it does not hold. It has a citrusy scent which I dislike. Also, initially when I apply it to my face it looks much lighter, it takes a while to settle down to match my skin tone, similar to the way a sunblock behaves.

It takes efforts to blend this foundation unless you use a mixing medium, but once its set, its set. I do powder my face after applying this and it wears well under all kinds of powders – loose, mattifying or simple face powders.

Application tips:

I have applied the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation with fingers, makeup sponge & brush and the method I like the best is: I spray my makeup spray on to the brush, dot the foundation on one section of my face, blend it in with the brush. I repeat this procedure for other sections. My face & neck can be divided into 3 sections – 2 halves & 1 neck. I’m partial to using a makeup brush because it gives the maximum coverage and is the fastest. Makeup sponges take a bit more time and coverage is sheerer whereas fingers feel tedious with a foundation that dries quickly. The warmth from my fingers doesn’t aid in blending out the foundation, probably coz my body temperature is cool. However, I do use my fingers to dab the product underneath my eyes.

You do not need a fixing spray as a mixing medium. You can also use your moisturizer or BB cream. I have used it with both and it works beautifully. I would like to add that if you wish the foundation to last long, do not dilute it with too much of moisturizer/BB cream, keep the ratio 2:1 or 50:50.

Shade range:

There are only six shades in the  Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation and the darkest one, i.e Almond Honey (06) is a perfect match for me. It has warm undertones. Initially I had purchased Golden Medium (03) and that was too light. For reference, I am NC42 in MAC. Unfortunately the shade range is very limited, which is a shame!

Suitable skin types: 

I think normal to oily skinned beauties will enjoy this foundation. It may be too dry & matte for dry skinned ladies but it can be mixed 50:50 with your moisturizer to apply.

Price vs Product :

Price: Rs.700 / $11

Qty: 15ml /0.5 oz

Shades : Ivory Fair, Rose Fair, Golden Medium, Golden Light, Beige Honey, Almond Honey

Availability : Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart

The price is steep, however the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation can be bought at discounts online. Currently it is on discount at Nykaa, Amazon, Flipkart & eBay . I got myself shade matched at the store & then purchased it online it during discounts.

Overall Verdict : 4.7 /5

The Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation definitely takes work for blending in, luckily with the right tools you can take full advantage and enjoy its texture and wearability. It gives a beautiful full coverage natural finish and wears for a really long time. I definitely recommend this foundation, do try it out! I wouldn’t purchase just any foundation twice ;)

Lakme Eyeconic 10 Hr Kajal in Brown- Review,Price, Photos, EOTD

Let me start this rant review by saying that I’m one of those few girls in India who doesn’t like to put black kohl/kajal on her water line or under it or over it, unless I’m smoking it out. Yes, I detest black kajal for myself. Why? Because I’ve seen too much of it put wrongly throughout my school & highschool years. Girls would apply black kohl on their waterline and lower lash line and eventually it would smudge and they’d all have racoon eyes, and they still wouldn’t wash it off! I love my Lakme Eyeconic Black kajal, its so creamy and its such an intense black, but I’d never wear it alone! I always wear it over a complementary eyeshadow, and I almost always soften it to a smokey eye look.

That’s why I’ve been on the hunt for an affordable multipurpose brown liner & kohl, to be precise I’ve wanted a twin of the Eyeconic Black, but in brown color. I’ve contemplated trying out the L’Oreal pencil, the Colorbar one , Faces Long Wear one etc.. But the price has always stopped me. And then Lakme decided to do exactly what I was thinking- releasing Eyeconic Kajal in more shades. Needless to say, I brought this as soon as it arrived at the Lakme counter near my house, way back in January.

Is it just like its cousin, the Eyeconic black? Read on to know more. 

Cost: Rs.250.

Qty:0.35gm

Buy Online from: Nykaa, Flipkart,Jabong.
See my experience with Nykaa HERE and Jabong HERE

Hauls! ~ First Haul of 2014

So I’m leaving for college today. The vacations are officially over for me, and I have to go back and start a new semester. I’m really sad about this, for the first time I’m not at all looking forward to college. But I’m not here to weep, I’m here to make you and myself happy. We know all ladies love to shop, and love to see what others have got! Well yesterday I went and brought myself some absolutely necessary things, I wanted to splurge as well but a lot of products that I wanted weren't in stock. Also these are the first products I purchased this year, 2014, so first haul of the year. 

Here’s what I got:

Makeup...

• Maybelline Clear Glow BB Stick in Fawn. Rs.250                                                    You know I love my Garnier BB cream and for me it was going to be the last BB cream that I tried. I actually wanted to buy a foundation but none of the shades at the Lakme, Maybelline and Loreal counters were a perfect match for me. Then I swatched this one and it was perfect, an exact match, so I HAD to get it.
• Revlon Touch and Glow Moisturizing Powder in Ivory Matte. Rs.415                  I’m so sick of cheap compacts. I have two, Rimmel Stay Matte and Maybelline Clear Smooth and the powders of both broke when they were dropped just one damn time. The Maybelline one is still usable, but the entire Stay Matte powder came off the case and was all over the floor. That was it for me, no more budget compacts. Only pricey  reasonably expensive ones. I might buy the Lakme Absolute one next, its packaging is so pretty.
• Lakme Color Crush Nail Polish in 08. Rs.150                                                               It’s a plain white color. You know I wouldn’t need to spend double a white nail polish if MNY Color Show’s Porcelain Party was easily available. But its sold out everywhere, online and offline too.
• Lakme Eyeconic Brown. Rs.250                                                                                       Yes! You read right, brown and all other shades are officially available now! The counter had 3 Eyeconic Whites but only 1 Brown which I was lucky enough to grab before it disappeared.

Skin care...

• Creamy Coconut Shower gel. Rs.249                                                                    Brought from Marks & Spencer, it has the most divine smell, like a cookie with slight hints of coconut. I actually wanted to buy the new Blueberry Shower gel from The Body Shop but it was OOS, so off I strode with vengeance, to M & S. Just look at the pristine white tube with black coconut sketches, such a clean and pretty design
• Nivea Total Face Cleanup. Rs.99                                                                                  You know the face pack and scrub routine that I mentioned here? This is an all-in-one product~ cleanser,scrub & mask. So I don't need to carry 3 different tubes with me. I’m excited to try it out. I’ve used only one product from Nivea before(apart from their lip balm), it was a face wash from Singapore and it was quite impressive.
• Loreal Paris Fall Repair 3x Shampoo.                                                                         I use this shampoo regularly, but this bottle is thinner, has Loreal reduced quantities? I will have to check with the old bottle in my hostel.

So you see, all necessary stuff. I also wanted to buy Lakme Absolute Baked Blush in the shade Day Blushes but its OOS everywhere! Has Lakme stopped manufacturing it?

And the last thing, actually falls in the Fashion category. 

You know the Vero Moda-Only-Jack n Jones stores? At first I used to like their stuff a lot, then I got over it, though my sis still loves their stuff. The material sucked and everything became ridiculously expensive every season. I was walking past their store when I noticed the sale signs. Now Vero Moda is absolutely crazy during sales, and this was the first day of the sale. I walked in just to see if there was something interesting and also to report to my sis because she was working at her job then. And then I found this skirt from Only. I was just lazily sorting through the tops on the table when this skirt just came into my hand. It was so cute, a deep blue color with white hearts and spots. And it was my size, something that’s a rare find during sales. I tried it on and voila! Perfect fit. So I had to buy it, its actually a gift from my aunt to me. 

Later I went to Vero Moda with my sis and we shopped for her till 10pm. By then, they had shut the exits and only 1 was half open, for us. ;-)

Hope you liked the stuff, will review them sooner…or later :-P

Last look for 2013 | Happy New Year!!!

So 2014 finally came, I’m so happy I was at home to welcome it and not at my college hostel. Actually I am bunking the first week of college so that I can be at home. I hope all of you had a wonderful night and bestest wishes for 2014. May this year be prosperous for all of us!

Some fun facts about 2013:

1. 2013 is composed of four different digits, and is the first such year since 1987.
2. 2013 is composed of four sequential digits, although obviously not in order. The last such year was nearly 600 years ago, back in 1432. But the next such year is only 18 years away.
3. More than 16 billion photos have been uploaded to Instagram
4. There are over 1 billion unique monthly visitors on YouTube
5. The Oxford Dictionaries word of the year 2013 is “selfie”. selfie noun, informal (also selfy; plural selfies) a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. The frequency of the word selfie in the English language has increased by 17,000% since this time last year.

 I had an indoors party, so here’s the look I did for the night. I first used a white kajal pencil on my eye lids as a base. Then I used cranberry, pink and silvery pink e/s from a Faces quad and a dark color from another Faces palette. I used Lakme Eyeconic kajal in black, drew a line and smudged it, also used on waterline and to tightline. Then I lined my eyes with Maybelline Hypersharp Eyeliner. These pictures are before I put mascara. I used Maybelline’s gloss in Mirrored Mauve and Inglot blush refill #58. So all in all, very pink look. 

Sources: Fact 1 & 2 from Here, Fact 3 & 4 from Here, Fact 5 from Here.

How did you bring in the new year?

My Fall-Winter Makeup products & More..– Most used products.

*UPDATE: mybeautyexpress is now crazybeautyland.blogspot.com

Opps...Its been so long since I posted. I'm back in my college now, hence there was a huge delay in publishing posts; I'm dependent on college wifi...sigh. It was really frustrating to write posts and edit pictures but never get a chance to publish them!! But anyways, continuing with the fall-winter skincare that I had done last week, here’s all the makeup I've been enjoying for winter.

Starting with the eye make up:

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara: Its a great mascara, especially for my bottom lashes. Definitely false lash effect! Too dramatic to wear it to college though, but perfect for parties and otherwise.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe (Review here):

Its a lovely grey color, has certain lilac tones underneath. Its a good color for fall, I use it as a base for brown colors to make them more taupe-y. On some days I use it as it as with just a black liner and mascara.

Bourjois Ombre Stretch eye shadow in Flexi Brown:

Its a lovely brown color perfect for fall and winters, I love the gold flecks it has. However, I get a decent color pay off only when I use it wet.

Inglot round eye shadow refills in 463DS, 418P, 378M :

(From my Inglot Palette) They are the only neutrals I got from Inglot and I'm loving them. 463DS is perfect for highlighting, 418P is an amazing green color and 378M is dark brown color which is a must have for me.

Faces Single eye shadows in FES00064 and FES00232:

I love FES00064(pale pink one), its a "my lids but better" color for me, some times I use it just to give a wash of color on my lids, some times I use it as a blending color. I also mix both of these to get a nice soft brown color for blending in black smokey eye looks. 

Lakme Eyeconic Kajal in Black:

This one is a recent purchase and I'm loving it! It has got so many reviews already so I won't be reviewing it on my blog. Its a great kajal and liner, I apply it on my upper lash line and then smudge it to get a smokey look.

Maybelline Hypersharp Liner: 

Thanks to this, I'm able to draw on a cat eyeliner and winged liner which I wasn't able to do earlier with gel liner and pencil. Now I can draw them by pencil as well, I’m yet to try with my maybelline gel liner, but its all dried up and using a liquid liner is sooo easy!