Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation | Review

Lakme recently launched their 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation which gained a lot of attention due to its affordable price and matte finish. I finally picked up this foundation recently and have been trying it out with different primers to give you an in-depth review of how this formula works for my skin. Read on to find out my detailed thoughts on this product.

The Packaging of the Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Foundation

The Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation comes in a frosted bottle with a rose gold cap that looks quite beautiful and more expensive than it actually is. The bottle does not have a pump but comes with a spatula instead, which is obviously not as user friendly as a pump but is at least better than having to pour out the foundation.

The packaging is in fact quite similar to that of the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation, and funnily enough, the formulas are pretty similar too. We will discuss this in detail in the next section. Pricewise, you get 25ml of product for INR 475, which is already quite affordable and on top of that you can usually grab an additional 30% on websites such as Nykaa and Amazon.

The Formula

The formula of the Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation is quite liquidy but with some creaminess to it. It is slightly creamier than the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation but is otherwise quite similar in terms of consistency. This foundation contains dimethicone in it, so you do not need to use a separate silicone-based primer underneath it, hence the name Primer+Matte. The product blends better with a sponge than a brush, and I notice a fair amount of streakiness when I use a brush. The foundation provides medium coverage which can be layered to a full coverage, and sets to a powdery matte finish on the skin.

Ingredients (as stated on Nykaa.com)

Water, Colorants – Iron oxides (CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77492 and CI 77499), Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane

I am personally not a fan of the finish of the foundation, because I have a few dry patches on my otherwise oily skin and the product tends to exaggerate the texture around these patches. That being said, any face powder or compact exaggerates my dry patches in a similar fashion so you may not face this problem if you do not have textured or dry skin.

I can somewhat make the formula work for me by applying a facial oil under the foundation and a creamy concealer on my dry patches but it still tends to crack on me after a couple of hours. It looks fine in pictures and from afar but if I look up close I can notice that the product has separated around all those patches. Also, once it separates, I can’t really blend back the foundation because it is a powder matte, whereas with dewier foundations it is quite easy to gently blend back the product with my fingers. You can check what I mean by this in the pic above where the foundation has cracked on my cheek, right above my lips.

The Shade Range

The Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation comes in 16 different shades with warm, cool, and neutral undertones. There are not too many shade choices for deeper skin tones but I am glad that there are at least a few options, and different undertones have been catered to. I picked the shade W240 Warm Beige which is slightly deeper than my NC35 skin tone and is quite yellow toned. I chose it over N220 Neutral Medium because I prefer my foundations to have a warmer undertone to them but if you are an NC35 then you can choose N220 if you do not want your foundation to be yellow.

Those with skin tones ranging from NC37 to NC40 can pick W240 if they like yellow undertones and I too am able to make it work for my skin tone with a lighter concealer under my eyes. The formula has a very slight flashback, so it is fairly suitable for flash photography.

Is the Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation Meant For Me?

If you are a fan of a powdery matte finish and have oily skin with minimal texture then you will like the Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation. However, I will not recommend this product to those with dry or textured skin unless you prime your face very well with a facial oil or primer that has a slip to it.  That being said, it provides a decent coverage and that too at a great price, so if you are oily skinned and are looking for a truly matte foundation this one might be worth a try.

Click here to buy the Lakme 9 to 5 Primer + Matte Perfect Cover Foundation!

Check out a matte foundation that I love!