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 basedIn 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 corrector3) 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 chic9) 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 hurry11) 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 Pro Long Wear. 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 / $11Qty: 15ml /0.5 ozShades : Ivory Fair, Rose Fair, Golden Medium, Golden Light, Beige Honey, Almond HoneyAvailability : Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart | eBay | Purplle 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 /5The 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 ;)