Lakme 9 to 5 Eye Color Quartet in Silk Route : Swatches & Review

Guest Review by Sreeparna Ganguly

Today I am reviewing the Silk Route Eye Color Quartet from my all time favourite brand Lakme. This eyeshadow palette is not a new launch; it used to come in Lakme’s Fantasy range I think. Now the brand has worked on the formula and relaunched it in their 9 to 5 range. Though I like eye shadows, they are not included in my everyday makeup essentials. That is why I opted for this small palette where I can get the basic festive eye colours to match my ethnic wardrobe. After a lot of testing today I have come up with the review. Keep reading to know how it worked on me.

About Lakme 9 to 5 Eye Color Quartet in Silk Route

A versatile quartet of high intensity powders that color shape and highlight the eye.

How To Use

Use applicator to smooth-on shade over crease of eyelid. Blend outwards to merge with skin. Use one colour. Combine three or use all four. Go ahead. Experiment.

1. Use dark shade only to line your upper eyelid, in a fairly thin line along the upper lashes.
2. Use the medium shade for the crease.
3. Use the lightest shade for the area under the eyebrow.

Price

Rs.550 for 7gm. Buy here.

Ingredients

Not Mentioned

Packaging

The 4 eyeshadows of this quartet is fixed in a rose-gold plastic square pan with transparent plastic lid. When you open up the lid, you will find a square shaped see-through cellophane flap to protect the shadows. The palette also has a small compartment where a tiny sponge-tip applicator is provided. The entire palette comes wrapped in a rose-gold cardboard slide-open outer cover. This cover contains most of the useful information regarding the product. Overall the packaging is sturdy, compact and very much travel-friendly.

Shade & Texture- Silk Route

As it is a quartet we are getting 4 eye shadows here. There is no way to distinguish them individually because company has not provided any name or number as such. For ease of understanding, I have marked them with numbers from 1 to 4. Let’s check out the colours one by one.

Shade-1. This eye colour is a light pink with rose-gold pearly sheen. I did not keep my expectation too high for this shade but it stunned me with its awesome pigmentation and blending capability. The shade has golden tone to its shimmer particles that makes it suitable for majority of Indian complexion.

Shade-2. This one is bronze gold. The ‘bronziness’ adds royalty to this shadow. Again pigmentation is superb.

Shade-3. Now, this one is my least favourite from this palette. Not for the shade, for the texture. It’s a gorgeous pink shade with rose-gold fine shimmer. The shade looks flattering on everyone regardless of skin’s undertone. It, however, has a peculiar clinging tendency. To take out the product from the pan I need to literally scratch the surface. But once it is placed in the eyelids it shows its exact colour and does not crease a bit.

Shade-4. This shade is a perfect steel grey colour with finely dusted shimmer particles. It is the darkest shade from this palette and is very pigmented.

The shades 1, 2 and 4 are buttery smooth in texture that makes the application and blending process very easy. I have not experienced any fallout issues with any of the eye shadows of this palette.

Fragrance

This eye palette has a very faint medicinal smell. It goes off immediately after application.

Pigmentation

Every shade of this eye palette is quite pigmented and buildable. Even the light shades show their true colour on my pigmented eyelids in 2 swipes. The colours can be intensified further with 1-2 more swipes. The pigmentation is highest with wet application.

Finish

All the eye colours of this palette look shimmery in the palette but they give satiny finish in the eye.

Longevity

The staying power of the eye shadows is not bad in dry weather. They stay as it is for 3-4 hours without any eye primer. Then they start to fade little by little. With a perfect base beneath, the staying power is increased by 1-2 hours.

My Experience

I have experimented a lot with this palette. I used the shadows as per the instruction but it somehow did not suit my eye shape. So, I came up with my own eye makeup looks after a number of trials and errors. Shade-1 is pretty similar to Kareena Kapoor Khan’s eye lid shade in Lakme Eyeconic Advertorial. So, I kind of copy that minimalistic eye look for my daytime look. I use it all over the lid with dramatic winged liner. The 2^nd and 3^rd shade can be used like the 1^st shadow. When I want to define my eyes, I keep them as the lid colour and for the outer V, I use the 4^th shade. I love to create smokey eyelook with the 4^th shade. As this quartet lacks a matte crease colour, I mix a darker shade pressed powder with a coral toned matte blush to come up with my own crease eye shadow.

Likes

• Pigmentation and staying power is impressive considering price
• Buildable colours
• No fallout
• Warm toned colours that suit Indian complexion
• Helps to create a number of eye looks from minimal to dramatic

Dislikes

• Shade 3 is quite hard to work with
• No matte crease shade is provided
• Ingredient list is not mentioned

Summary-4.75/5

Overall I find Lakme 9 to 5 Silk Route quartet a beginner friendly compact eye shadow palette with highly pigmented satin finish shades.

Ciao.