Lakme Rose Powder - Review

Lakme claims: 

It is: Foundation make-up in a powder format- gives a flawless radiant look

How it works: Contains rose fragrance to keep you fresh, contains sunscreen to protect from harmful   UV rays. Gives a flawless radiant look.

Shades available: 

Soft Pink (for fair skin tones) 

Warm Pink (for wheatish to dusky skin tones)

Ingredients: Talc, Zinc Sterate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Titanium Dioxide, Aluminium hydroxide, Steric Acid, Perfume, Rosa Damascena Extract; may contain CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499, CI12085, CI77891; Phenoxy Ethanol, Butyl Paraben, Ethyl Paraben, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben

Pros: 

1. A good light weight and fine, loose powder to help set your makeup post application. It is also good for touch-ups during the day. I have a very oily nose and forehead surrounded by very dry cheeks.So this helps minimize the shine and makes my pores look smaller instantly

2. Non-comedogenic. Although it doesn't say so, I haven't broken out as yet because of this. & I have been using this for a month now. 

3. The packaging is sturdy and good. Although it doesn't seem like that from the picture above, it is a sturdy plastic tub with two lids. The upper lid is screwed on and the inner one is plastic with 5 tiny holes, so that the powder does not fly everywhere when you open it. 

4. It also doesn't have any rose fragrance. (Or maybe my congested nose just can't make it out - Have had a case of the sniffles since a week). 

5. There is small puff with it for ease of application. But that does apply the powder a little heavily. I would suggest you use a face/blush fluffy brush for more subtle application.

6. Although it says pink, the powder upon application is quite translucent. My skin is peculiar in the sense that I have yellow as well as pink undertones. If I use a yellow toned powder, I start looking very pale and made up. This powder suits me just fine as it has both pink and yellow undertones. 

7. Price: Rs. 80 /- for 40 gms

Cons: 

1. Has no shimmer. This is a flat powder, while it won't make you look matt, it also will not impart a glowy look. It is a nice powder to absorb all excess oil and give finishing touches to your look.

2. While I am grateful that their are only 5 holes in the inner lid so the powder doesn't keep spilling out, it rather too effective. It won't even let the powder out easily. I have to hold the box sideways, cover the holes partially with the puff and tap at the bottom to remove powder. Quite irritating early in the morning. 

3. It claims to have sunscreen, but there is no mention of the SPF content. 

4. It has a lot of parabens as you can see in the ingredient list. 

 Parabens come in various forms (methyl, ethyl, propyl and benzyl) and are used as cheap and effective preservatives for personal-care products such as shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and sunscreens, besides they are hypo-allergenic - they don't cause contact dermatitis. Parabens are why products can survive the three-month boat trip from China, sit on store or warehouse shelves for years or be exposed to extreme temperatures.

But how can something applied externally be a concern? A recent Danish study showed that when parabens are applied as a "cream" to the backs of healthy male volunteers, the chemicals can be measured in the blood within hours. This demonstrates that parabens do indeed penetrate the human skin from cosmetic products.

Parabens, though they have been on the market for decades, have now been shown to mimic estrogen, disrupting our bodies' endocrine (hormone) system and have been found in human breast tumors possibly linking them to breast cancer. However for a paraben to have such drastic effects it needs to be used in very large quantities, about 100 to 1000 times the quantity that you would be applying to your skin daily. Besides while parabens do penetrate the skin, they are also rapidly excreted by the body in 36 hours.  

Want more information? Read this post here by a dermatologist.

Will I buy this again: Undecided, if I find a paraben free version I will definately opt for that. Untill then..... 

I really like this product, but you have parabens. But frankly 99% products in India have parabens. 

Don't believe me? Just go and take a look at your Colorbar blush ingredients or your favorite talcum powder or any other powder compact foundation.

On one hand at 80 bucks it is a very good quality loose powder. I use it to set my foundation and make up in the morning, and it helps it last longer - especially my blush. It is also very useful to freshen up my look in the evening in a jiffy, when there are sudden friends or guests over and I am looking tired and haggard at the end of the day. Just a swipe and I look fresh. I also find this easy to carry, though for the sake of safety - polypacked. 

On the other hand is the scary stuff about Parabens. 

Paraben awareness is very low amongst Indian consumers. While abroad a lot of companies have begun to produce paraben free versions of their products, in India, a lot of brands still don't disclose their full ingredient list. I suspect there is hardly any Indian cosmetic that does not have these. 

So as you see, if I decide to take a stand against parabens, I will probably have to throw out all my make up. and wait for the paraben free stuff to arrive (which will take another 10 years). 

Having a masters degree in Science, I can also assure you this that most studies use concentrations and amounts of chemicals under test far greater than we actually are exposed to in real life. In excess everything causes harm. Even simple talc can clog your pores and make you break out. 

So I guess am just gonna use this a little less frequently and in a little less quantity. 

But then what do I do about my lovely Colorbar Blush?

What is your take on this entire paraben issue? Do you know of any products that are paraben-free? please share them on this forum.