These new Milani eyeshadows have been getting a lot of hype on Youtube and blogs lately so I decided to try them out for myself. I wouldn't normally go out and buy 6 new eyeshadows I'd never tried before, but I'd heard such great things I went for it. I purchased these at CVS for $4.69 a piece but they are listed on the Milani website for $3.99.
I love that Milani shrink wraps all their products in compacts because my biggest pet peeve is seeing touched makeup at the drugstore. They also tell you the finish of the shadow as well which is very helpful.
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| The shades I got are (From left to right, top to bottom) Bella Black, Bella White, Bella Purple, Bella Mandarin, Bella Rouge, and Bella Navy |
I was really impressed by the color selection on the Milani website which includes 30 shades, but CVS only seemed to have around 15-20 I'm not positive because when I picked these up they weren't even in a display yet they were in a bin.
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| (Swatches with no primer) Bella Black (Satin Matte), Bella White(Satin Matte), Bella Purple(Satin Matte) |
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| Bella Mandarin (Satin Matte), Bella Rouge(Metallic), Bella Navy(Satin Matte) |
First let me point out that these are powder shadows. I am really impressed with the pigmentation, I don't know if that is the "gel" or what. The finish descriptions are quite accurate because the satin mattes have a matte base with a sheen, and the metallic is actually metallic (WOW! Captain Obvious). After testing these out and swatching them I was surprised at how sheer they applied to the eyes. I first tried with no primer and a normal shader brush, which gave a sheer patchy application. Then I switched brushes to a shorter-bristled denser brush which applied more color that wasn't as patchy, but still not as intense as the swatch. Then I tried them over the NYX HD eyeshadow base which I think is a necessity with these shadows (because it stays tacky which allows the shadows to stick better). But I have found the best application method is with your fingers (if possible, I know you can't be very precise, but for areas like your lid and inner corner it helps a lot with pigmentation). The wear is not different from any normal eyeshadow with a primer, they last around 6 hours before I notice some creasing. They are in no way long wearing, but they aren't marketed as such so I wasn't expecting them to be.
Overall these didn't live up to the hype like I thought, they swatch beautifully but apply sub par unless you work with them a lot. So would I go out and purchase more, no.
Overall these didn't live up to the hype like I thought, they swatch beautifully but apply sub par unless you work with them a lot. So would I go out and purchase more, no.