eyeliner overload!
I’ve done black eyeliner swatches before, and even did a post with a wear test way back when my blog was new, but I have different eyeliners now and I wanted to see how they compared.
Instead of trying to keep track of which swatch was which, I wrote an abbreviation for the brand on my arm. The follow table has the abbreviation, name of the eyeliner, and type of eyeliner. Continue reading
Flora Passion // Warm Petals
Milani recently released a new collection of four limited edition rose shaped blushes, the “Coming Up Roses” collection. There are four colors available, and I purchased two of them: Flora Passion, a matte pinky-coral, and Warm Petals, a slightly shimmery orangey nude.
Milani’s permanent blush line (the baked blushes) are very pigmented and beautiful colors but are too shimmery for my preferences, so I had high hopes for the Coming Up Roses blushes. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by these.
Yesterday, I posted display photos of Milani’s new Naturally Chic Shadow Eyez collection – six neutral toned shadow pencils in their fabulous Shadow Eyez formula. I know a lot of people are disappointed that these are limited edition instead of permanent – and after swatching and doing some testing, you can add me to that group!
Walgreens was full of new products today – in addition to the L’oreal Miss Candy Infallible eyeshadows (swatched here), I spotted two new displays with limited edition Milani products. Above, you see the Milani Naturally Chic Shadow Eyez Pencilz, which are six neutral shades. I was excited when I realized that four of the shades are matte – that means they are likely to work really well as bases, and since they come in multiple shades (including pale cream, light tan, and deep brown) there’s one for every skintone.
Milani recently released six new limited edition textured nail polishes, which are currently available at Walgreens and at a few other retailers (but not CVS or Rite Aid). They’re also available on the Milani website. I found a display at Walgreens this morning, and purchased two shades – Shady Gray and Purple Streak.
Shady Gray, Purple Streak
I’m wearing both polishes now as a full manicure – on my left hand, I have my ring and thumbnail purple and the remaining fingers grey; I’ve done the opposite on my right hand. I didn’t use a base coat, but I don’t see why you couldn’t – it wouldn’t interfere with the texture. Of course, you can’t use a top coat.
The textured polish is slighly sheer after one coat, and the textured effect doesn’t look quite right – it sort of looks like uneven grains of sand stuck in the polish. After two coats, it’s completely opaque and the textured effect is evenly distributed over the nail. Drying time was normal. I don’t know about wear time yet, but I expect that these will wear well – both OPI’s Liquid Sand and Zoya’s Pixiedust textured polishes wear very well on me, longer than regular polish.
Old version // new version
Milani recently discontinued their entire line of lipsticks and released a new lineup. Some of the shades are gone, but some have been rereleased in the new formula. I previously reviewed the shade Black Cherry, and although I loved the color, I found the formula unwearable – it clung to every dry spot on my lips. So, I purchased the new Black Cherry to see if the formula was better!
Old version // new version
As you can see, the packaging has changed from a matte gold to a shiny gold. I prefer the older packaging, but it’s certainly not a dealbreaker. The shape of the lipstick bullet has also changed – the discontinued version has a sort of uniquely shaped bullet (you can see it in the first photo), and the new version has a standard bullet. The scent has also changed – the old version seems to be unscented, and just has that normal lipstick-y smell, while the new version has a strong fruity smell.
Old version // new version
Here are skin swatches of both the old / discontinued and the new version. The color is almost the same, but the old version appears slightly deeper.
Discontinued Version
Here’s the discontinued version. As you can see, it clings to the dry patches in my lips in an unattractive way. If I exfoliate my lips and use a lip primer, it does better, but it’s still not perfect and is just very difficult to wear.
New version
And here is the new version of Black Cherry – the formula is a huge improvement! It is much, much more even. On the lips, the color is just about identical between the old and the new versions – the main difference is the improvement in the formula.
Overall, I am really happy with the reformulation of the Milani lipsticks – or at least this one shade that I have tried. I do prefer the older packaging and I’m not thrilled with the new scent, but it’s completely worth it when you consider that the old version wasn’t really wearable and the new version is gorgeous! Both formulas – old and new – are currently available online at Cherryculture, which ships internationally. Other online retailers only have the old version at the time of this post.
Have you seen the new Milani lipsticks in your area yet, and have you tried them?