Milani Cosmetics Power Lip Gloss Stain

Swatches & Review

For Spring 2014, Milani has released a while bunch of lip colors, as well as other products as well. A few months ago when they posted a sneak peek of the Power Lips, I originally thought they would be like lip crayons, but these are gloss stains with a brush attached to the tube to apply. Although they were not what I expected, I still wanted to try these so I was excited when I finally found them after a display reset at a few CVS locations. Milani claims that the Power Lips have a long lasting shine, stain, and color coverage. Milani also states that these have a cushion feel on the lips for a comfortable wear. There are a total a eight shades in the Power Lip line, but I have only purchased five of the eight.

All of the Power Lip products are packed individually, which is nice since it discourages people to open these to try in store.

Each shade is packaged in a plastic tube that is supposed to be the shade. Personally, I don't like this too much because I am unable to see how much product is inside so I wouldn't know how much I have used and if I am running out.

The brushes are attached to the tube.

To get the product out, you would have to twist the tube. I didn't like that because I did not know when to expect product and it takes quite a lot of twists before the product comes out. After about ten twists, I recommend twisting them slowly or a bunch of product would just ooze right out of the brush. The brush itself is firm and not too soft to use, so it is nice to be used to apply the product. I prefer the brush of these over the Stila glosses that have similar packaging.

These swatches were taken outside in direct sunlight. The amount of product that was shown above from the brush was the amount I used in all of my swatches because a little goes a long way.

Mango Tango: Orange coral. This was pigmented and applied evenly. The stain it left behind was a slight orange-red stain.
Cabaret Blend: Deep berry. Although this is the only one with the tube that has shimmer on it, I did not notice much shimmer from the gloss itself when applied to the lips. This was very pigmented and applied evenly and smooth. The stain was a medium berry on the lips.
Red Control: Classic red. For me, Red Control was a bit hard to get it to be even on the lips. This was also the only shade that feathered around the lips after only an hour of wear, so a lip pencil is definitely recommended for this. This stained my lips a bit more pink than red.
Raspberry Tart: Medium mauve. This applied evenly & smoothly. I feel like this is one of the neutrals, but not neutral. Definitely very wearable as an everyday lip. This left a slight berry stain, which I liked.
Pink Lemonade: Pink-red. I feel like out of all the shades I have tried, this is the only shade that made my teeth look very yellow. Although I do not really like how it makes my teeth look, the formula on this was good. This left a bright pink stain after wearing it for a while.

The swatches for this set of collage was taken in the shade so you can have an idea of how it would look like in different lighting. The colors are in the same order as the collage above.

Overall, I feel that these are all very pigmented and a little goes a long way. These applied smoothly and does feel comfortable on the lips the first hour, but after about an hour, I feel like these feel a bit sticky and tacky on the lips, which I do not like. The shine does go away quickly so I would not say that the shine is long lasting, but the stain that it leaves behind does last until you remove the product. The color of the product wore off evenly, which is also good because it means that there's no patches on your lips where one part has more color than the others. These did not feel drying, but not moisturizing either, so I would not say these made my lips more smooth. There was only feathering when I tried Red Control, but all of these do transfer since they are glossy to start with. Although I do not like the packaging too much, I do think that the formula on these are nice since they are very pigmented and most applied smoothly and evenly without settling in my lip lines. The shades I would recommend, which are my favorites are Raspberry Tart & Cabaret Blend.

These are supposed to be available this month at locations such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Milani Cosmetics online. These retail for $6.49, however, it does depend on your location depending where you buy these so it could range from $6.49 to $7.49.

What do you think about these new lip products added into Milani Cosmetics line? Have you seen the displays yet?

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Budget Friendly Fall Lipstick Picks

Swatches

I have not posted in a while because of school, but since I was taking a break from all the homework assignments I have for the weekend, I decided to do a lipstick post for Fall. At first, I was going to mix up all the fall lipstick picks I have, but I decided to do one that's for drugstore lipsticks & I will probably end up doing one for the mid-range brands as well.

(This picture is on my instagram as well)

Revlon Pink Truffle: Creamy neutral pinkish-brown. This is lightweight and moisturizing. Not too cool of a nude for fall. Depending on location, this is sold for $5.50 - $8.99
Rimmel London 107: Berry red with a matte finish. This glided on very smooth on the lips, but has a fruity scent to it. This is sold for $5.00 - $7.50.
Wet n Wild Ravin' Raisin: Dusty purple with a matte finish. This is very pigmented, but is a bit heavy on the lips. This retails for $1.99 at many locations.
Maybelline Color Whisper Berry Ready: Creamy pink berry. This is very pigmented, lightweight & moisturizing. Since it's very creamy & lightweight, it wears out fast so you would need to reapply this throughout the day. It kind of smells like fruity pebbles to me. This is sold for $6.00 - $8.00
Wet n Wild Cinnamon Spice: Matte brick red. Like Ravin' Raisin, this is very pigmented & a bit heavy on the lips, but it is not too uncomfortable. This retails for $1.99 at many locations.
Milani Black Cherry: Creamy deep red. This applies a bit patchy and it has a strong fruity scent to it. I blot the first layer so the second layer will not be as patchy & exfoliating the lips before applying is also recommended. This is sold for $5.49 - $6.49.

What do you think about these lipsticks from my picks? What are your picks for Fall? :)

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Pink Lipstick Comparisons

Comparison

I was looking at a few of my lipsticks a few days ago and I was wondering how some looked like when compared to each other. From my lipstick stash, I picked out four lipsticks to compare. The four I chose are Milani's Rose Hip, Maybelline's Fuchsia Flash, Hot Plum & Vivid Rose from their Vivids lip color line.

The lipsticks from the tube each looks different than one another. Rose Hip looks like a warm bright pink, Fuchsia Flash looks like a cool bright pink, Hot Plum looks like a purple-pink & Vivid Rose looks like a red-pink.

When swatched on the arm, Fuchsia Flash and Hot Plum look kind of similar, but there are differences because Hot Plum looks a bit more purple. Rose hip looks a lot warmer, while Vivid Rose is more red than the rest.

All of these haave a shiny finish to them. When swatched on the lips, the one that does not look similar to the rest is Vivid Rose, and the other three looks pretty similar. Although the arm swatch shows that Rose Hip & Hot Plum are different, I feel like they are the most similar on the lips because when I apply Rose Hip, it is slightly purple on my lips for some reason, but Rose Hip is definitely creamier and slightly more pigmented than Hot Plum.

Out of the four lipsticks, I have previously reviewed two of them, which are two of the Vivids in this post from Maybelline. I thought it was pretty interesting to see a slight difference when swatched on arm & lips.

What do you think about bright pink lipsticks? Is there a favorite pink for you? :)

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Romantic Rose

Swatches & Review

Milani's Coming Up Roses Powder Blush in Romantic Rose is the last one that I have purchased from this collection because I did not buy Warm Petals. Like all the blushes in this collection, Romantic Rose is shaped like a rose.

I feel like when I place this blush with the other two (on my instagram), it looks like it is more mauve-y, but when it is on its own, it looks like a rose-y pink.

Like Flora Passion, I feel like this applied way better than Bella Rosa did. Romantic Rose is smooth & not dry, but I feel like when using a brush, it required a bit more layers than Flora Passion. On my swatch, I used two swipes with my finger and about four swipes with my blush brush. On my arms, it looks like a dusty rose pink with a matte finish.

From trying the three blushes, I think the only one I would recommend is Flora Passion (if you really want it for the packaging & want to use it once in a while). This is also nice because it will give a nice flush, but I do not like using too many layers of blush on my cheeks because my cheeks end up looking very dry. If you do not mind using more than two layers to build up the color, this would be nice as well, but I feel like this collection isn't something you would really need. I had high hopes for these blushes because I have had many positive experiences with Milani blushes (baked & their discontinued mineral powder blushes), which is mainly why I am disappointed, but if you are not comparing these to their other items, you might end up liking it just because everyone has different preferences.

These are sold out on Milani's website (which retailed for $7.99) & the price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49.

Have you found these blushes in your area yet? Are you planning to buying some to try?

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Flora Passion

Swatches & Review

A few days ago, I have reviewed another blush from the same limited edition collection from Milani Cosmetics called Bella Rosa (link). Today, I will be reviewing the second shade out of the three that I have purchased, which is Flora Passion.

All of the blushes in the Coming Up Roses Powder Blush collection are shaped like a rose, which is super pretty.

Flora Passion is a pinkish-coral shade.

On the right with the black borders, the blush was applied with a brush with two swipes. The left swatch is swatched with a finger with one swipe.

If you have read my review of Bella Rosa, I was super disappointed with that one because it was impossible for it to show up with using a brush and without having to scrap the item off the pan. Flora Passion definitely applied way better than Bella Rosa, but it still is not too pigmented. Flora Passion is a pink-coral with a matte finish. With a brush, the color of the blush shows very lightly, but it is build-able because the brush is able to actually pick up the product with this. I also noticed that it kicked up quite a bit of powder when using a brush, so it is better to tap the brush before applying it.

The color of Flora Passion is very pretty, and subtle enough for everyday wear. I like this better than Bella Rosa, but I wish this was still a bit pigmented. I am very happy that this was smoother than Bella Rosa, which was very dry. If you are looking for a subtle blush for everyday wear, this would be nice, but I prefer my blushes to be a bit more pigmented. I'm not super disappointed in this like the first one I have tried, but I'm still kind of disappointed since I had high hopes for these.

The price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49.

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Bella Rosa

Swatches & Review

Like all limited edition drugstore cosmetics, I always have a hell of a time finding them. I spent hours making calls to all the drugstores within 25 miles of me and they all said they did not have it, or was sold out. Although one of the stores told me they did not carry Milani, I went anyway to purchase another item & what do you know.. I found the new Milani Coming Up Roses Powder Blushes! Luckily, they had one of each left for the ones that I wanted, and three of Warm Petals, which is the only shade I did not get. The first shade I immediately tried after I got home was Bella Rosa.

The limited edition Coming Up Roses blushes are packaged in Milani's regular plastic packaging with some gold on it. These are shrink-wrapped on the side so you would definitely know if someone has previously opened it.

The blush itself is shaped like a rose, which is gorgeous! It definitely looked way too pretty to use, but what is the point of buying something without using it, right? haha.

Bella Rosa is a cool toned pink with a matte finish.

Okay, so lets start off by saying I absolutely hated the color payoff of these. In the borders on the swatch image, I applied the blush using four swipes & it pretty much did not show at all! In person, I was able to see a very very faint hint of pink, but it was basically nothing. For the hard swatch (which was done by finger), it took a while for my finger to get a bit of color onto it to be able to swatch it. I basically had to rub it down super hard and scrape it a bit to get any color off of it because the blush from the pan was so dry. It did not apply that nice because it was not pigmented, and powdery.

I also tried it on my cheeks, which took a lot of effort because no matter what brush I tried, the blush would barely get onto it. I ended up scraping some off the pan, swirling my brush over the powder and applied it. It actually did not come out too bad, but that effort to just get color to show up is definitely not good at all.

Overall, I am pretty disappointed with this blush. Although it looks super pretty in the pan, it is not worth the hassle to get the color to show. It was not pigmented at all, which is a shame because I love Milani's Baked Blushes and a lot of their other products that I have tried from them. I am definitely hoping the other two I purchased would be better than this.

The price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49 (which is way overpriced).

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Milani Color Statement Lipstick: Uptown Mauve

Swatches & Review


This year, Milani has released a new line of their lipsticks called the Color Statement Lipsticks. Their lipsticks have a variety of colors, as well as finishes, such as cream, matte, vinyl, and metallic. Uptown Mauve is one of the lipsticks with a cream finish.

Milani's Color Statement Lipsticks are packaged in a golden plastic tube. I like how the bottom of the lipstick has the color of what the lipstick color itself would be, which makes it easy to pick out the color that you want.

Uptown Mauve is a creamy berry shade. I have tried some of their lipsticks for a while and what I like about Uptown Mauve is that it is one of the creamiest ones that I have tried from their new lipstick line. Normally, berry shades would be kind of dark, but Uptown Mauve seems like it is a berry that would be perfect to use all year-round. The lipstick scent has definitely improved since their older line of lipsticks, but the scent is one of the things that I do not like because it is a very strong fruity scent. Another thing that I do not like is that the plastic packaging attracts fingerprints like crazy! I feel like after I use it, I have to wipe it down with a microfiber cloth so that it will look nice and new again. For me, Uptown Mauve was creamy, applied without tugging and long-lasting. I applied it with one swipe and it was super pigmented. It lasted about four hours for me with some drinking in between and it left a stain on my lips until I wiped it off with makeup remover.

What do you think about Milani's Color Statement Lipsticks? Have you tried any of their new lipsticks? Which shades are your favorite?

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Milani Baked Blush: Luminoso

Swatches & Review

About a month ago, I entered Milani's 10 10 10 Facebook and Twitter giveaway. One of the days that I entered, I was actually randomly selected as one of their 10 daily winners on twitter. The prize came about two weeks ago and their Luminoso Baked Blush was one of them.

The only blushes I have tried from Milani was their old pressed powder blush that was discontinued about a year ago, but I have been wanting to try their baked blush so this was perfect!

In the pan, it looks like a peachy shade with slight silver swirls around it. It looks like a *pink* galaxy. Since it is baked, it slightly rises up.

Under the blush itself, there is a mirror and a small brush. I am not a fan of the brush because it is pretty stiff/scratchy & it sheds.

When swatched, it is a peachy-apricot shade with slight shimmer. The shimmer is not very noticeable unless you look very closely. The color is light for me, but it is incredibly pigmented. For my swatch, I swiped my finger onto the blush once and onto my skin once & it was not patchy at all. It blended out very easily as well.

Overall, I like this blush. It is subtle, but it gives a nice flush onto the cheeks without looking like it is overdone. The only thing I do not like is the packaging because it feels very flimsy. I dropped it to test it out lid popped opem immediately. The brush and the mirror is a nice addition, but it is definitely not needed, and I think without it, the packaging for it would not be as bulky. The blush itself is great, but the packaging, not so much.

What do you think about this blush? Have you tried any other Milani blushes?

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Milani Orange-Gina

Swatches & Review

The next item I purchased from CVS's beauty sale is Milani's Orange-Gina lipstick.

This lipstick is housed in a gold lipstick tube. I'm not really a fan of the packaging, but I like that the lipstick itself is not like the normal round lipstick.

Orange-Gina is a vibrant orange with flecks of tangerine-gold shimmer. I have not tried many orange lipsticks before, but I actually liked this on me. This orange was not like an orange that is too bright, but it is bold like wearing red lipstick to me. This applied smoothly & it was not sheer. The only thing I did not like about this was the scent. It smelled like plastic & it kind of tastes like plastic as well.

What do you think about Milani Lipsticks? Have you tried any?

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Milani News Flash

Swatches & Review

Yesteday, I posted up some sale items I saw at CVS. From the sale, I purchased four Milani items (I wish I bought more) & News Flash Lip Flash was one of them.

News Flash is a burgundy/dark maroon with pink, violet & blue shimmer.

When News Flash is swatched on the arm, you can see the shimmer, but once it is applied to the lips, the shimmer does not show up as much. It applied on very smoothly, but the first swipe was a bit sheer. After two swipes, it was the perfect maroon color for fall! I really liked that it applied smoothly, but it also applied kind of patchy. I wish these pencils were twist-up because for these, I would need to sharpen them & the product itself is so smooth, it might be kind of hard to not get it all over the sharpener. Overall, I really like this shade. I have been looking for a dark-ish lip color for the cooler weather & this is perfect for it!

With this being 75% off, I picked this up from my local CVS store for $1.99! There are some cons to this, so I probably would not have paid full-price for it, but for $1.99 these are worth it!

What do you think about Milani's Lip Flash? Have you tried them? Are you thinking about picking any of them up from the CVS beauty sale? :)

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CVS Beauty Sale: December 2012

Beauty News:

CVS normally runs beauty sale on select items twice a year & since it is now December, it is time for their Winter beauty sale!

I have taken pictures of some items from the sale, but not all because the sale associate was kind of weird about it, so keep in mind that there are more items.

Almost the whole Kardashian NOPI collection is on sale for 50% off. They normally retail for $7.99, so it should be about $4 after the 50% off.

The older line of Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure is on sale for 50% off, along with some Salon Effects.

The whole line of Milani Holographic finish nail polishes is on sale for 75% off, making them around $1.40 each.

The whole line of Wet N' Wild's Wild Shine is 50% off, which makes them $1.50 each since they normally retail for $2.99.

The two sets of Physicians Formula gel liner sets are 50% off.

All of the Wet N' Wild's single eyeshadows are 50% off, which makes them $1 each.

All of Milani's Lip Flash are 75% off, which makes them $2 each.

The whole line of Milani Lipsticks are 75% off, which makes them about $1.70 each.

Other sales that I have seen that are not posted are:
Revlon's Age Defying Foundation 75% off - $3.49 each after sale
Wet N' Wild's Bronzer in Princess for 50% off
Wet N' Wild's Pressed Powder for 50% off, which makes it $2.50 each
All of Wet N' Wild's line of Foundation for 50% off
Selected shades from Covergirl lipsticks for 50% off
L'Oreal's Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation for 50% off - around $8.50 each after sale
Select Revlon nail polishes are 75% off (from what I remember, Minted was one of them)
Revlon's Mineral Blush are 75% off
Select Physicians Formula eyeshadow palettes & pressed powders for 50% off
The whole line of Revlon's Colorburst Lipstick (black quilted caps) for 75% off - $2.65 each

Those were most of what I remember from the sale, but there are a few more left. If you are interested, you should definitely check out your local CVS. Some items are not marked on sale, but you can always price check it at the scanner to see if it is on sale!

What do you think about CVS's Beauty Sales? Do you usually get anything from their sales?

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