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!
Milani’s permanent lineup of Shadow Eyez contains only shimmery shades, though some are labeled as metallics and some are labeled as pearls. I own one of the permanent shades, Champagne Toast (metallic). The texture of the limited edition metallic shade I purchased, Golden Bronze, is identical to Champagne Toast – both are extremely creamy when applied and blend out very easily, but set to an immovable finish. They are easy to sheer out, but it’s also easy to apply them at full strength for an almost-opaque finish, as contrasted with Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Shadow Sticks, which always blend out to a sheer finish.
Golden Bronze: one swipe, blended swatch
Above, the line on the left is just one swipe of the pencil, and the swatch on the right is blended out. You can see how opaque the pencil is – it’s easy to use as either liner or shadow.
I was more curious about the matte pencils, since I don’t think I’ve ever tried a matte eyeshadow pencil. They are FANTASTIC – the texture is just about the same as the metallics: very creamy and blendable at first, but then the pencil does not budge once applied. They are completely opaque in a single pass, and completely opaque when blended out.
Black Ink // Almond Cream: Each has one swipe on the left & a blended swatch on the right
Check out that pigmentation! And if you’re wondering, I removed the black swatch from my arm with a combination of cleansing oil and scrubbing.
I also wanted to compare Almond Cream with MAC’s Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, which is one of my favorite bases. The texture is quite similar, but Soft Ochre is more yellow, while Almond Cream is more neutral. I bet that Painterly Paint Pot would be a touch more pink than Almond Cream, but I don’t have it to compare.
Milani Almond Cream // MAC Soft Ochre
Since I purchased these yesterday, I haven’t tested them out extensively for weartime yet. The permanent metallic shades last extremely well on me (and on everyone else, it seems), so I think it’s a safe bet that the limited edition ones will too.
I’ve tested out both Black Ink & Almond Cream on my waterline. I think one of my eyes must have been watering a lot when I tested out Black Ink, because it had worn off of one eye in about 90 minutes (which is typical for me – not much lasts well on my waterline). However, Black Ink lasted about three hours on my other eye, and Almond Cream lasted about three hours on my waterline (of both eyes). So, I’d guess that waterline weartime is slightly better than average, but not exceptional. I also tested out Almond Cream as a shadow base with a couple poorly pigmented eyeshadows. Almond Cream does a fantastic job enhancing eyeshadow color, and I didn’t have any creasing at all. However, my eyelids are normal to dry, so those with oily lids may want to layer another primer below if you’re using it as a base.
Overall, I really like the Shadow Eyez pencils permanent line, and I love these limited edition pencils – especially the mattes! I think this is the first time we’ve seen skin-toned, matte cream eyeshadows that can be used as a bases in a mainstream drugstore line, so I would definitely recommend snapping up either Almond Cream or Cafe Au Lait (depending on skintone) to use as a base if you see these! I may be going back for Cafe Au Lait and Espresso Lane myself.
Where to buy: According to Milani’s Instagram, these will be available at select Walgreens stores, and commenters have seen them at Kmart and Discount Drug Mart as well. They’re available on Milani’s website, here. Cherryculture frequently sells Milani limited edition products; they don’t have these yet, but I’d keep checking if you’re interested (and they ship internationally and have great prices!).
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