Milani is one of the few brands that our yankee counterparts get to enjoy the exclusivity on. Us UK bloggers can only drool at the gorgeous baked blushes that frequent our screens and hope that we can save up enough money for a plane fare across the pond for our chance to raid the likes of CVS, Duane Reed and Target. That’s exactly what I did on a recent trip to NYC where I purchased the Milani Baked Powder Blush in the shade 03 Rose Amore and the Illuminating Face Powder in the shade 02 Hermosa Rose. So my thoughts on the two?
Let’s start with the baked blush. It’s housed in a plastic compact with a see through top so you can see the product. The top of the compact is a shiny, metallic gold so gives a luxury feel to the compact whilst the bottom is a matte. There’s two parts to the compact; upon opening, you have the powder blush. Under the blush as you lift it up, you are presented with a small, circular mirror and a flat, shaped brush. Handy for touch ups but how anyone uses a brush like this, I do not know. Now to the product itself. Berry Amore is a warm, mid tone peach with a golden shimmer running through it. There are small, glitter particles in it but when applied on the skin, it’s quite sparse and fairly spread so nothing too OTT. It is seriously pigmented so I’d advise going in with a light hand and little product, and build up to your liking (see it in action in my Warm, Smokey Winged Eyes & Neutral Lip video). This is a shade that will suit most skin tones and I think would look especially great with a nice summer tan. It’s warm peachy tones will complement golden and bronze tones on the eyes, and peachy corals and orange based reds on the lips. For those that don’t like to wear shimmer in the daytime on the cheeks then perhaps stick with using this in the evenings or when you’re away on a beach holiday (which is what I intend to do). If you’re after a more subtle blush….
Now the Illuminating Face Powder is an interesting one. I picked up the shade 02 Hermosa Rose thinking it was a blush because of the rosey tones in it, albeit a rather nude blush. So you can imagine my surprise upon closer inspection that it did indeed say that it was a ‘face powder’. It’s definitely not the sort of face powder that you would set your makeup with. No, no it’s definitely not. There is some colour payoff, although quite a natural, neutral tone which reminds me of two of the blushes I own; Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed and Hourglass Ambient Blush in Mood Exposure (note how both names contain the work ‘expose’, coincidence?). As I flip the compact over (wider than the baked blush, but not as deep as it doesn’t contain a hidden mirror, and the top is made of completely clear plastic with a metallic, shiny gold bottom), all becomes a little bit more clear. It’s designed to be used in one of two ways; as a highlight ‘for a brighter complexion with a lit-from-within radiant glow’; or ‘as a bronzer/blush for an instantly healthy, sun-kissed finish’. Ahhhh I see, I’m totally with it now. If you’re after a strong highlight then this isn’t for you. If you’re after a perky, brightening blush, then again, this isn’t for you. This is a soft yet warm iridescent pale peach. It works well as a subtle highlight as it gives off a really low key sheen. No glitter, no shimmer but an ever so slight sheen. And because of it’s warm peachy tone, it works well to add a hint of warmth to the complexion without being obvious. It’s barely there formula will work well on pale skin tones to medium/olive skin tones. Any darker, then this product will fail to show up. For me, it works well as a neutral blush when you are rocking a dramatic eye or a bold lip. It’s the sort of non-offending shade that will not interfere with the rest of your makeup, but merely compliment and bring a look together.
My thoughts on Milani? WHY the hell it’s not available over here in the UK. The price is right, the product is right, Milani just needs to make the distribution of it’s product is right. Overall I’m royally impressed by the quality the products and am definitely interested in sampling more of their products. If you have any suggestions then please feel free to comment down below.