Milani Color Statement Lipstick in #17 Plumrose

Yet again, I saw another Milani lipstick in one of Cora from Vintage or Tacky's videos and I had to have it.  And yet again, the Milani lipstick did not disappoint.  This time it was Milani's #17, Plumrose, from their Color Statement line.

Plumrose is a deep warm pink with a cream finish.  This is a lovely lipstick.  It's a lovely formula that applies evenly and opaquely.  It is moisturizing and super easy to wear.  Honestly, the finish on this lipstick really reminds me of a Tom Ford lipstick, though at 1/10th of the cost.

I wear Plumrose both as a full on lipstick, or just gently patted in as a stain.  It wears fantastically well in both applications.

Milani describes the Color Statement line as "The lightweight creamy formula contains Vitamins A, C, & E to moisturize and nourish lips."  I don't know that I'd call it lightweight, but it is lovely.  It is also paraben free.  It contains 3.97 grams and retails for $5.49 wherever Milani is sold.

Overall:  10/10

Milani Color Statement Lipstick in 12 Flamingo Pose

Most of you probably already know about Milani's new Color Statement Lipstick line, but let me tell you about it anyway ;)

Here's what Milani has to say about the line:

Make a statement without saying a word!  True Instant Color. One stroke, full coverage application. This next generation lipstick gives the ultimate in color, texture and finish.  The lightweight creamy formula contains Vitamins A, C, & E to moisturize and nourish lips.  Paraben-free. Available in Vinyl, Metallic, Cream, Shimmer, Pearl & Matte finish.

I had a 20% off coupon for CVS, so I decided to go ahead and pick up one of the Color Statement lipsticks in #12, Flamingo Pose.  Cora at VintageOrTacky used it in one of her recent tutorials and I thought it looked perfect for spring.

Milani describes the color as flamingo coral cream.  That is a pretty apt description.  It's definitely a coral lipstick, but it's a cool coral, so it doesn't look orange on the lips.  It is incredibly pigmented.  It is totally opaque in one swipe and it stains like crazy.

The formula is on the thicker, stiffer side, but I didn't find it uncomfortable to wear.  As I said, it does stain the lips, so the wear time is extended.  I got six hours out of it before it started looking really gnarly.

The Color Statement lipsticks contain 3.97 grams of product and retail for $5.49 wherever Milani is sold.  I got mine on sale at CVS.

Overall:  8/10

Review: Milani Baked Blush in 01 Dolce Pink

Described appropriately by Milani as "pink shimmer", 01 Dolce Pink Baked Blush is certainly both.

Dolce Pink is a medium champagne-y pink with a TON of gold glitter.  Seriously.  This blush is super heavy on the gold glitter.  I found it a bit of a challenge to get the pink to really show up without it being incredibly glittery and having tons of fallout everywhere.  The gold glitter in the product is far more prominent than the pink color.  Sheered out, you pretty much lose the pink and are left with the glitter.

I do certainly have a soft spot for the Milani Baked Blushes.  At this price point and with the amount of product that you get, they're a fantastic deal.  However, depending on how you feel about glitter bombs, this may or may not be the product for you.

For me, it is mostly a miss.  I do think that it would probably work better as a highlighter than as a blush.

Milani Baked Blushes retail for $7.99 and contain 3.5 grams of product.

Overall: 6/10

Review: Milani Runway Eyes eyeshadow palette in 09 Trendsetter

This spring I picked up one of the Milani Runway Eyes palettes in 09 Trendsetter.  Trendsetter is a mix of yellow-green-blue shadows.  

The packaging for these palettes is definitely not my favorite.  The shadows are in raised strips, sticking up above the level of the rest of the palette.  This makes it very easily to accidentally gouge the shadows and makes any fallout practically impossible to reclaim (it's not like you can put it back in the pan, there is no pan).

The shadows are all the Milani baked eyeshadow formula so you will get significantly better color payoff if you use the shadows wet as opposed to dry.  These swatches are dry.

The wear time on these particular shadows wasn't phenomenal, especially since I didn't foil them.  They're a mineralized product and I do realize that if you want to get the full potential, you have to use them wet.  But I hate using shadows wet, so I realize I'm going to get less than stellar results.  Over a base they wore for about 4 hours before they faded significantly.

This is definitely not a go-to palette for me.  These colors are pretty far outside my comfort zone.  But I was wanting something different and this palette certainly filled the bill and was very budget friendly.

The palette contains 9 grams of product total and retails for around $8 in the US.

Overall: 7/10

Review: Milani Baked Powder Blush in Luminoso

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Luminoso is another item I picked up in a MakeUp Alley swap.  Like the other Milani blushes and bronzers I've tried, I was really impressed with this product and totally baffled as to why I never just buy any of these blushes, especially at the fantastic price point.

Luminoso is a pale peach blush with great pigmentation and staying power.  It does have a sheen but does not contain glitter.  I got a good 10 hours of wear out of the blush before it had faded significantly.

Like all of the Milani Baked Powder Blush, it contains 3.5 grams of product and retails for around $7.

Overall:  9/10

Review: Milani Marbelized Baked Eyeshadow

A while ago I picked up 4 of the Milani Marbelized Baked Eyeshadows at CVS in:

• 616 Must Have Fuchsia
• 607 Rich Java
• 606 Drenched in Gold
• 617 Copper Excess.

These are baked shadows so you are certainly going to get better payoff by using them wet, however I don't like to foil shadows, so the swatches are all done dry.  As you can see, the pigmentation is still very good.

swatches under daylight bulbs

swatches in sunlight

The shadows had great pigmentation and with a primer, easily wore 10 hours.  These are probably a little too bold for me on a daily work basis, but they are certainly great performers when I want a bolder look.  The colors are also fantastic for a bronzey summer look.

The shadows contain 1.5 grams each and retail for between $4 and $7 each depending on where you get them.

Overall:  9/10

Review: Milani Baked Blush in Corallina

This is another blush that I picked up in a Make Up Alley swap.  It's the Milani Corallina baked blush.  Given my blush hoarding tendencies, I have no idea how I didn't already have one of these, but I didn't.  

The color is very on trend with the whole Pantone "Tangerine Tango" theme.  It is a stunning coral blush with gold glitter.  The glitter chunks are noticeable so if that's a deal breaker for you, you will want to skip this one.

I love this blush.  LOVE it.  

It applies so smoothly.  It has fantastic pigmentation.  I think it is just perfect for summer.  Since swapping for this blush, I've tried several other Milani blushes and while I think they are fantastic as well, this blush holds a particular place in my heart.

Like the MAC Mineralize blushes, the Milani baked blushes also contain 3.5 grams of product.  But unlike the MAC blushes which retail for $23.50, the Milani blushes retail for around $7.  And depending on where you get them, they may be coupons.

Overall:  10/10

Milani Shadow Eyez!

I've been on the lookout for the Milani Shadow Eyez for weeks and I finally found them at CVS this week.  I was so excited!

I picked up 3 colors:

• 04 Green Safari
• 02 Brown Deluxe
• 03 Champagne Toast

They also have a white, purple and blue, but I passed on those.  I already have the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in milk, so I didn't need the white.  And like so many people, I picked up the Urban Decay 24/7 shadow pencil set so I already have a purple and blue.

I was most excited about the Shadow Eyez in Champagne Toast.  I thought it looked like a dupe for Urban Decay's 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin.  I love that pencil from Urban Decay.  I use it several times a week.

You can still get the 24/7 Shadow Pencils in Sin.  They are $20 for  2.8g of product.  The Milani Shadow Eyez pencils are also 2.8g of product, but they retail for $5.99 at CVS, so they are much more budget friendly.

Anyway, back to the dupe issue.  Here is the Milani pencil and the Urban Decay pencil.

Swatch with no flash:

Swatch in sunlight:

The Milani pencil is pretty much an exact dupe.  I will say that the Urban Decay pencil does wear a bit longer, but the Milani pencil is definitely great quality and it's about a quarter of the price.

Have you guys tried out the Milani Shadow Eyez pencils?  What do you think?

Review: Milani Illuminating Face Powder

The other day at CVS I picked up a bunch of Milani products and one of them was the Illuminating Face Powder in 01 Amber Nectar.  The powders are designed to be used as highlighters, blushes or bronzers depending on your skintone.

I had seen a couple of review for these online and I was most interested in the pinky one, Beauty's Touch, however my CVS didn't carry that one.  They had the other two, Amber Nectar and then Hermosa Rose, which is the darkest of the illuminating face powders.

On my skintone, Amber Nectar is much more of a blush or bronzer.  Like the Milani Baked Bronzer in Glow, I don't really feel like it's dark enough for me to really consider it a bronzer.  And like the baked bronzer, I really had to pile the product on to get it to show up in the swatches.

With patience and a small brush, you could definitely get just the color (or colors) you want for strategic highlighting application.  I'll admit I'm not patient enough for that and I have plenty of highlighters so it's not worth the effort.  But if you're on a tight budget and you need products to do double duty, this may work great for you.

Swirling a cheek brush in the product you end up with a pinky/peachy/tan color.  It reads fairly tan on me, but it has shimmer that keeps it from looking muddy.  Is it significantly different from the effect I get using my Milani Baked Bronzer in Glow?  Eh, not really.

I do think it's a lovely product.  And the packaging is adorable.  If you don't already have something in your stash that gives you comparable results, it would be a great addition.

This retails for about $8 and contains 10g of product.

Overall:  7/10


I haven't tried the Physician's Formula highlighters, but if you have, how do you think they compared?  In this price point, that's pretty much the only thing I could think of that is being marketed this way that might be a close dupe.

Review: Milani Baked Bronzer in Glow

I haven't really tried a lot of Milani products and I have hardly any baked products at all, and I've heard great things about them.  Locally, the only place I can find that carries Milani is CVS.  The cosmetics section at the CVS next door to my work always looks like a disaster area, so I trekked across town to the other CVS and lo and behold, they had a fantastic cosmetics selection, complete with a fully stocked Milani display.  I was so happy to be able to pick up a couple of items including the Baked Bronzer in 04 "Glow".

It's described on the Milani website as a light golden tan with gold shimmer.  To me it is a decidedly pinky gold, which I think is very pretty and flattering.

I really had to build this up for it to be dark enough to show up on camera.  It is incredibly sheer.  For that reason alone, I don't think I would ever use it as a bronzer.  Even on my MAC NW15 skin tone, it doesn't impart much color at all.  Certainly not enough for me to consider it a bronzer.

I like it as a blush.  It's still very sheer, but it has a good deal of shimmer.  It's a little too pigmented for me to use it as a highlighter, but like I said, I do like it as a blush and I wear it often.

It retails for around $8 for .25oz or 7g, but in my experience it's easy to find sales.

Overall:  7/10