With so many new liquid lipsticks dropping left, right and center, it becomes a little hard to keep up with all the launches, and let’s be honest, not all of them are worth the buy either. However, I had been hearing a lot of rave reviews about the Lakme Absolute Matte Melt Liquid Lip Colors, and since I have a soft spot for Lakme because it is the OG Indian makeup brand, I decided to give this liquid lipstick a shot. I picked up the shade Crushed Caramel from the range, and here are my review and swatches for all of you.
The Packaging
The Lakme Absolute Matte Melt Liquid Lip Color comes in a tube packaging which is quite heavy and sturdy. I like the fact that the tube is transparent and one can easily identify the shades among multiples. This product has a very sturdy and stiff wand that reminds of the doe-foot wands of old school lip glosses. I would personally have preferred a wand that hugged the lips better and was more flexible but this one gets the job done too.
The Formula
The Lakme Absolute Matte Melt Liquid Lipsticks have quite a thin formula which is slightly creamy. The product has the same butterscotch scent as the 9 to 5 lip creams but I do not mind the fragrance. Because the formula is so thin, one coat of the product can be a little sheer for pigmented lips and you will have to go with 2 to 3 coats for opaque pigmentation. I personally do not mind this because layering this lipstick is quite easy and it does not bundle up or go streaky when layered. It dries up within a minute or so to a fully matte finish. Once completely dry, it feels quite light-weight on the lips with only a slight stickiness to it.
I would say that this is one of the most comfortable liquid lipstick formulas in India that does not tug at the lips at all. The formula is not 100% transfer-proof though and will come off a little every time you eat or drink and will definitely not survive an oily meal. With light meals or drinks, it transfers quite evenly and doesn’t leave the lips looking patchy, which I appreciate. With light meals and drinks, it will last up to 6 hours on the lips after which it starts crumbling a bit at the creases.
The Shade Range
From the swatches of the entire shade range (20 shades at the moment), I do feel like Lakme has done a good job at bringing out shades that will flatter a spectrum of Indian skintones. The shade I have is Crushed Caramel, which is a rusty maroonish brown, that looks like a rusty nude on my skin tone (NC35) and should not wash out skin tones as dark as NC42. On lighter skin tones, it would show up as a gorgeous muted maroon shade that is again extremely flattering on Indian undertones. Some of the shades from this range remind of the Sugar Cosmetics Smudge Me Not Liquid Lipsticks, so if you liked the Sugar shades but found the formula too drying then you can opt for the Lakme ones instead.
Shade – Crushed Caramel
Shade – Pink Silk
My Final Verdict
The Lakme Absolute Matte Melt Liquid Lip Colors are priced at INR 750 for 6ml of product, which is a little steep, but they are usually available at a discounted rate of INR 400 online, which makes them extremely affordable for the quality that they offer. I will take away 1 mark for the fact that you need to layer the product for opacity, but apart from this con, I do not see any other flaw with this product for the price point after discount. You can definitely pick up at least a couple of shades from this range if you are looking for something that is comfortable yet completely matte and long-wearing.
Click here to buy the Lakme Absolute Matte Melt Liquid Lip Colors.
Mrinalini
Mrinalini is a beauty blogger with over 7 years of experience in reviewing skincare, makeup, and wellness products. Her professional experience in the biomedical space plus her keen interest in testing products spanning decades gives her the upper edge when it comes to reviewing new beauty products, particularly for oily, acne-prone, Indian skin.
Shade to bahut pyara hai, lakin ek coat me cover nahi kar raha na 😊
Right 🙂