Makeup Products I Love : Lakme, Lotus, Revlon, Maybelline

Beauty Products I’ve Come to Love

Today I want to share some of my favourite beauty products with the IMBB gang. The special thing about this post is that these products weren’t always my favourites. Here are some of the products that didn’t leave a good first impression on me. But later they turned into my favourites and became a staple in my vanity – a total turnaround.

First up in my list is my Lakme High Definition eyeliner. It is a liquid eyeliner that I got for Rs. 165. It has a hard felt tip that gives you a lot of control, especially for lining the corners of the eyes and the lower lash line. My first impression of it was that it was irritating to my eyes and that it was supremely difficult to use since the hard felt tip picks up hardly any product. So you have to keep going back to tube to get more of it every now and then.

Lakme Eyeliner
Lakme Eyeliner

What caused the turnaround – Giving it a second chance, and lots of practice. Now I use it every day to define my eyes.

Needless to say, I won’t be switching to another liquid eyeliner any time soon. It is matte and lush black. Plus it is super cheap compared to some of the other drugstore liners.

Lakme Eyeliener on eyes
Lakme Eyeliener on eyes

I would even go as far as to say that if you are hesitant about shelling out mega bucks for a felt tip liner from Revlon Colorstay or L’Oreal, give this liner a shot first.

Second in my list is Johnson’s Baby Lotion. My first impression of it was that it was just another moisturizer and highly overrated. Besides, to my sensitive nose, it smelled “soapy” and left a shine on my face. It felt thick and took a long time to disappear into the skin. It took so long that I wondered whether the lotion disappeared because it had finally got absorbed into my skin or because it had slowly evaporated into the thin air!

Johnson's baby lotion
Johnson’s baby lotion

What caused the turnaround – Mixing it with my “putty type” sunscreens. I started mixing it with my Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock. I find that a small amount of the sunblock is too thick to spread evenly all over my face and neck. If I just use more of it, then it leaves a white cast. Mixing this putty with Johnson’s “greasy” lotion produces a concoction that glides on my skin and gives me the perfect glow. No white cast, no shine – just a nice, healthy glow. I mix about equal amounts of the two between my hands before applying. The soapy smell gets dissolved at some point during mixing.

Now this third product is not exactly a hate-turned-to-love story, but still, I had my doubts about it when I first started using it. I got my first tube of Lotus Herbals lip balm in Cherry after I ran out of my Fab India lip balm. There was nothing not to like about the Lotus lip balm other than that there was an incomplete ingredient list provided on the packaging. Specifically, I wanted to know exactly what ingredient(s) in the balm were providing the SPF 15 that the product claimed to contain.

Lotus Lip Balm
Lotus Lip Balm

A Sun Protection Factor is the USP of this lip balm, but the makers conveniently forgot to mention the magic ingredient! I was worried whether this SPF ingredient was safe just in case some of it got into my mouth. It is impossible to avoid getting some of the lip balm into your mouth as you talk, eat and drink. Besides, the lip balm tasted chalky to me as some of it crept onto my tongue. I was going to write to Lotus Herbals asking them about this SPF ingredient. I’m still curious to know, if any of the Lotus Herbals folk are reading this.

What caused the turnaround – Due to regular use, I just fell in love with this product! It is one of the best lip balms I’ve ever used. It keeps your lips soft and supple without feeling waxy. It doesn’t just “sit” on your lips. A large part of it gets absorbed into the lips and keeps them moist, as if from within. It doesn’t dry out my lips in between applications, so I don’t have to keep reaching for it every now and then. It is slightly tinted as well. So that makes it my favourite tinted lip balm. The Vanilla version is next on my wish list.

Another surprise turnaround came about for a Revlon product. I had bought some of their Super Lustrous lipsticks from Walmart where I don’t think they had testers for these lipsticks. One such lipstick is called “The Toast of New York” – a rich toasty brown, from what you can figure from the packaging. What put me off about this lipstick was that the shade shown on the packaging is very different from the actual shade of the lipstick inside. These lipsticks come packaged in a plastic wrap, so it it not possible to just open the cap and check out the actual shade of the lipstick before buying. I was expecting it to be a rich brown that I could use once in a while. But not only did the lipstick look deep maroon on my lips, but also it sat as a thick layer on my lips. That made the whole look too severe. It made my lips look thinner and “cut off” from the rest of the face, if you can imagine.

Revlon Lipstick
Revlon Lipstick

What caused the turnaround – After a year of letting the lipstick sulk in a dark corner of my vanity, I tried it on top of a layer of Lotus Herbals Cherry lip balm. Not only did the lipstick glide on my lips this time around, but it also went on quite sheer. The colour actually looks brownish red now, more red than brown, but brownish nonetheless. The finish is quite glossy and the look is soft enough to be worn during the day time. I should note that the lip balm itself is glossy and tinted red and must have imparted something to the final look too. I’m quite liking the shade now as it seems to compliment my skin tone well, even if I say so myself. Now I’m going to give my other Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks a whirl. I must add that the staying power of these lipsticks is amazing. Even if you are standing in the midst of a thunderstorm, these lippies will stay put and make your lips look good.

Revlon Lipstick Swatches
Revlon Lipstick Swatches

If it is going to be a post about beauty products I love, I cannot leave out nail polish, can I? I recently bought this shade from Maybelline Colorama, called Dusty Rose. I think I got sold on the name of the shade more than how it actually looked in the bottle. Once home, I realised that this Dusty Rose looked more like muddy pink on my nails. It seemed to dull down my hands and brought out all the wrong hues from my skin tone. My hands looked almost grayish with it on.

Maybelline Colorama
Maybelline Colorama

What caused the turnaround – I figured that the shade wasn’t so bad, just that it needed a bit of oomph, a lift, a pick-me-up. So I mixed some of my shimmery metallic red nail polish into it and voila! The end result is a nice rosy shade that brightens up my hands. It is the perfect Dusty Rose for my skin tone. Pardon the crappy picture – the lighting was playing games with me.

So you see, never say never. What you hate today, you may come to love tomorrow. I can say that for sure. I found my husband, the love of my life, through such a turnaround and I thank the heavens for it.

What beauty products have surprisingly won you over?

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61 thoughts on “Makeup Products I Love : Lakme, Lotus, Revlon, Maybelline

  1. Loved reading this post Sonal!!!

    Loved how u’ve lined ur eyes in the first pic…I can never line my lower lash w liquid liner neatly…any trick for that??
    I have the lotus lip balm in cherry and totaly love it…it gives such a nice tint of red to the lips, you can wear it as

    1. Thanks HD! I don’t think I can line my lower lash line with a regular brush type liquid liner neatly. Lakme High Definition liner has a hard felt tip that goes on almost like a pen. It is actually easier to line your lower lash line with it than your upper lash line. 🙂 Same pinch for the Lotus cherry lip balm. 🙂

  2. That lipstick is gorgeous. 🙂

    And yeah there are so many things that you don’t love initially but they completely take over you after a while. Skinfinish natural is one of those products in my list. 🙂

    1. Aarthi, try a felt tip liner, either this one from Lakme or one of those soft felt tips from Revlon Colorstay or L’Oreal.. :yes:

  3. And that long cap..I got this NYX liner..same story 🙁 🙁 All my life I have been superb at one thing only..thats putting eyeliner…I can even do it in the train, bus, anywhere…but with this NYX liner…that long cap..I line my eyes like I don’t need eyeshadow after that…liner will be there everywhere right till my eyebrows…grrrrrrrrrrrr

      1. In fact, Radhika… This long handles give you a better and steady grip..

        This lakme liner was my first and I lovvved it a lot.. But now I have wandered off…

      2. Since the brush/tip doesn’t pick up much of the product, I have to tilt the brush and sort of blot it along the lash line. Not the best way to line, but it works, since the whole wand is very thin.

        1. oh that used to happen with me as well. So I started lining my eyes from the center and then move outwards. The center part of the eyeliner gets a little thicker and it looks just fine. Now for the inner part of the eyes, keep your handle straight and then dot the line rather than dragging it.

          1. Everything is so complicated…I have really tiny hands/fingers and this cap is longer than my fingers I think…but I loved the colour..will somehow use it..dot dot..drag..tx for all the suggestions though 🙂

            1. Radhika, the ratio of hand size versus wand size will only matter if you hold it like a “jhaadoo” (broomstick). Hold it like a pen. But you’re the liner expert, so don’t come after me with your jhaadoo if this tip doesn’t work. :stop: *runs for cover*

                1. If I’ve seen the right pic, this NYX liner does have a very long wand. That would probably keep the hand hanging in the air instead of resting lightly on the cheek bone. That would make it difficult to keep a steady hand while lining. Is that the problem? Have you tried using it while resting your elbow on a table to steady your hand?

                2. Yes that is the problem Sonal..hand hanging in air…I need some support for my hands…absolutely right! No I haven’t tried resting my hand anywhere..will do that next time..my mirror is not properly placed for all this!! I won’t buy it again just cos of that..but the colour is so pretttty 🙁

  4. Oh Sonal… I have said this before and i am saying it again… You have beauuuuuuuuuutifullllll lips… :-* :-* :-* :-*

    And Yeah, the article’s good too…. :silly:

  5. Hi, Sonal
    i agree with you, what we may not like now if we give it a second chance, will turn into something beautiful and take us completely by surprise. I love the way you have lined your eyes :yes: . I use the same eyeliner but the line comes out thick.

    1. You’ll probably have to offload the extra amount that gets stuck to the tip, for a thin line. But that will mean that you have to keep going back to the tube a few times to complete the lining process. 🙁

  6. You have done ur eyes very beautifully Sonal.
    I picked up this tip of lining only half the lower lash line from your Smokey Brown eyes tut and it indeed is working out :-)) . Many Thanks

  7. i love liquid liners
    but sonal the way u wear it makes it look so beauitfully intricate peice of work 😛
    thin and precise wow
    and the lip pic is amazing(like a model or something)
    and the color is just waht i dig
    will remember the name for sure

  8. Hi Sonal! Nice review!! Is the lakme liner waterproof?? I mean the lakme insta-liner gave me panda eyes in hot summer days..does this one smudge?? ?:-)

  9. Hi Sonal! Nice review!!Is the lakme liner waterproof??? I say this coz the insta-liner is good at giving panda-eyes during hot summer days..does this one smudge like that??? ?:-)

    1. Hey Anuradha, thanks. This liner is not waterproof, but only water resistant. I mean unless there are tears running down your face, or rain, this liner will stay put. It stays put without smudging from morning till night on my eyes. My eyes water easily, but this one stays put unless they water like rain drops. 🙂

  10. Hey Sonal…wonderful how you made all those things work for you…my baby is not using the JOhnson’s baby lotion and I was wondering what could I do with it…Thanks a ton!!!! 🙂

    1. Hey Jomol! I got this lotion for my baby as well, but after reading the ingredient list, couldn’t get myself around to using it on him (mainly mineral oil). So I’m using it now. 🙂

  11. Lovely read Sonal 🙂 I agree that sometimes you need to give products a second chance. I too have the lotus balm and the revlon lippie. And as with you, the lipstick looks a bit too “grown-up” on me (even tho I’m 24 😛 ). What I mean is, it makes me look much older, so I dab it on with a finger. It doesn’t look like the redish colour you get, but it looks pink and completely wearable.
    Also, do you think the lakme product is good for liquid liner beginners?

    1. Thanks Ame. I’m myself a beginner with liquid liners. Only started wearing them 4 months ago. If you want to line only you upper lash line, then I think a brush type tip will be easier than this one.:) It’s awesome that we both got the lippie working for us one way or another. 🙂

  12. Awesome Post.I’m gonna use the lip balm and body lotion trick to make my lipsticks and sunscreens work..

    Btw,Jomol di has a baby? Wow!!!

  13. I can never line my eyes with liquid eyeliner , haha that needs a lot of patience and practise 😀
    I use the pencil eyeliner to do so.
    Colorbar and revlon have amazing pencil liners which gives an “eyeliner ” effect 🙂
    Many people have asked me whether i use eyeliner under my eyes!
    You guys should try it out !!! 😀

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