Lakme has unveiled its new collection recently, which is inspired by shimmers and shine. Playing with colours, the brand has now a new range of eyeliners, lipsticks, nail polishes, and two new eyeshadow palettes. I spotted Lakmé Absolute Illuminating Lip Shimmer, which consists of fifteen shades of lipsticks that deliver a rich colour sheen with a reflective shimmer finish (INR 700/-), Lakmé Absolute Precision Eye Artist Eyeliner in 3 metallic shades, Emerald Green, Blue Sapphire, and Burnished Brown (INR 850/-), Lakmé Absolute Illuminating Eye Shadow Palette, (Silver and Gold palettes available) comprising of six eye shadow options in satin and shimmer finish (INR 995/-), Lakmé Absolute Precision Eye Artist Kajal, which a twist up kohl that delivers a rich black finish (INR 750/-) and Lakme Absolute Gel Stylist Nail paints available in 10 glittery shades (INR 400/-).
My Take:
Lakme Absolute Illuminating Eye Shadow Palette: I have to admit, I was looking forward to this palette. Although I am far more inclined towards golds, I wanted to have fun with blues and silvers for a change. However, after testing this out both wet and dry, I have realized that although the neutral colours are quite nice (top left, top right, and bottom center) and have okay-ish pigmentation, the remaining are quite low in pigmentation, and lack the vibrancy expected. Plus, there’s a bit of fallout and the finish looks powdery, so, blending is a pain.
As you can see from the swatches, the black and the purple are both colours which I totally wanted to work out, but they, ultimately did not, both in their wet and dry form. However, the grey pearly colour is a rather lovely base colour for my eyelids, and the lighter silver makes a nice highlighter shade.
Lakmé Absolute Precision Eye Artist Eyeliner: If I was going to make my pick, I would choose the eye artist liners. These are super smooth, goes on like a dream, settles within a minute and stays for 7-8 hours easily. I need a makeup remover to fully remove this, and they do not hurt my eyes, which is a bonus. I am especially in love with the brown, which goes so well with the neutral shades I love wearing.
I love the fact that the three shades have micro particles which add to the shimmer, but this make my eyes water (the woes of a worried, asthmatic allergic person).
Lakmé Absolute Illuminating Lip Shimmer: The lip shimmers are sparkly, for the lack of a better word. These are also very glittery, so make sure you like glitters before buying one. I was sent three shades: Pink Flash, Tropical Shine and Shimmer Brick – Tropical Shine washed me out totally, but the remaining two didn’t disappoint. They are hydrating, but not overly so, and can be used easily.
The colours are pretty – Tropical Shine is a glittery peach which applies unevenly if you don’t wear it with a liner (I prefer filling my lips with a neutral peach liner before application, and it is beautiful after that. Crimson Blink is a beautiful red with vibrant red and gold shimmers and looks great on Indian skin tones. Pink Flash is my favourite from the three – it is a very wearable pink with lovely pink shimmers in it, and it is a great colour to wear this summer, especially during the evening. All three lipsticks stayed on my lips for 3-4 hours before wearing off, and as they had glitters in them, they did leave any residue. However, if you like frosty lipsticks, try these out – I like the fact that these are pretty hydrating.
In the photo, I actually didn’t wear any foundation – merely applied a bit of sunscreen and concealed with my favourite concealer. On my eyes, I had used the steel grey colour on my lids and added a bit of depth with the black and added a touch of highlighting with the lighter silver shade on the browbones, then lining my eyes with the gorgeous Emerald Green, and Pink Flash on my lips, and that was it!
You can buy Lakme’s new Illuminate range from their counters or online at Nykaa.
Disclaimer: PR Samples. Personal experience shared after using the products for a considerable period of time.
