milani

Saving the World $6 at a Time: Milani Instant Eye Makeup Remover Is a Worthy Superhero Sidekick

July 19th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

milani instant eye makeup remover

I figure it’s only a matter of time before it happens…

…a bite from a radioactive spider, a shot of super soldier serum, contact with a meteor fragment from the other side of the galaxy — sooner or later, it’s bound to happen, but since one can never predict the exact moment of their superhero transformation, it’s a good idea to be prepared.

You’ll need an outfit (cape or no cape?), a heroic hairstyle and oh! — can’t forget the makeup.

Superman might be able to just tear off his tweed blazer, toss his glasses aside and slick back his hair, but we ladies like to go the extra mile, like Catwoman, with her black liner and red lipstick (I can only imagine the leaps and bounds her credit card takes at Sephora).

Superhero Karen wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without long-wearing, waterproof eye makeup on her lids and lashes, since saving lives frequently involves 1) perspiration and 2) inclement weather.

(And it’s a fairly safe bet that she and Storm would cross paths every so often.)

One thing’s for sure — she’ll need a really good eye makeup remover, something able to vanquish everything, including waterproof mascara.

Wait! — what’s that?! Up there in the sky! It’s a bird, a plane, it’s Milani Instant Eye Makeup Remover!! 🙂

A dual-phase liquid formula free of oil, silicone and artificial fragrances, it bats aside eye makeup like the Hulk bats aside cars. Cost: $5.99.

milani instant eye makeup remover

milani instant eye makeup remover
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Milani Crystal Gloss for Lips Might Be Making MAC Jealous

May 26th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

milani crystal gloss for lips 1
Milani Crystal Gloss in Cotton Candy on lips

At a quick glance, I might assume that this brownish pink gloss with golden pearl, creamy brownish plum and soft, shimmery neutral pink were all members of the MAC gloss family, but the $4.99 price tag is all Milani.

Yup, the Milani Crystal Glosses have a rep for being drugstore MAC gloss dupes, and I can definitely see the similarities in the three new shades Milani recently released for summer.

Take Milani’s shimmery pinkish brown Fascination. Now, is it just me, or does Fascination look like a shy, sheerer, less golden version of MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass?

And then there’s shimmery pink Cotton Candy, which reminds me of a bookish tween version of MAC’s Creamsheen in Right Image.

And if MAC Spite wasn’t so intense, I’d call it Precious, as in Milani’s Precious.

milani crystal gloss for lips in fascination, precious and cotton candy
Crystal Gloss for Lips in Fascination, Precious and Cotton Candy, $5.45 each (three new shades available at select CVS/Pharmacy stores)

milani crystal gloss and glitzy glamour gloss swatches
Glitzy Glamour Gloss in High Status and Show Stopper; Crystal Gloss in Fascination, Precious and Cotton Candy

milani crystal gloss for lips 2
Precious
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Milani Introduces Two New Glitzy Glamour Glosses, Fresh From the Watermelon Patch

May 25th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

milani show stopper
Wearing Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Show Stopper on my lips

A gloss with a creamy consistency and a formula that feels as light as a feather? — where?

Right here? You’re saying both of the two new additions to the Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss line have both, and they only cost $7 apiece?

Tell. Me. More. 🙂

Between both of these shades — High Stats (a shimmery warm pink a la MAC Nymphette) and Show Stopper (a bright rosy pink) — and my MAC Cremesheen Glasses, I may never have to pick cat fur out of my gloss ever again (#catladyproblems).

Glitzy Glamour feels almost like a liquid lipstick! So smooth and buttery…

Applying a single silky coat with the included doe-foot applicator is almost as satisfying as a Snickers bar (or kissing Tabs’ tum).

If you can, though, sniff it first, because the sticky sweet scent is the subject of intense debate (like the eternal question — vampires vs. werewolves?). Folks seem to either love it or hate it.

My basset hound-like sense of smell detects some unusual scents behind an iron curtain of watermelon hard candy, like heart-shaped diaries, Justin Bieber’s hair clippings and sparkly purple gel ink pens.

Yeah…not my favorite.

Thankfully, for sensitive sniffers, the formidable fragrance and faux watermelon flavor fade after about 10 minutes.

milani glitzy glamour gloss
High Stats on my lips

milani glitzy glamour gloss in high status and show stopper
Glitzy Glamour Gloss in High Stats (left) and Show Stopper (right), $7.49 each (both new shades; available at select CVS/Pharmacy stores
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Plush Pigments for Peanuts! The New Milani Powder Eyeshadows

May 25th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

milani powder eyeshadow

I’m all for a bargain, but the budget versions of some things can be all sorts of wrong, like “discount laser eye surgery” and “bargain basement tattoos.”

Not good.

My favorite deals are on products I lust after and love, like Kate Spade bags, those $20 passes for 20 classes at the yoga studio down the street, and 2-for-1 specials on Tuttimelon fro-yo.

And now, thanks to Milani’s long-lasting and intensely pigmented new Powder Shadows, I can add a new line of drugstore eyeshadows to the list.

milani powder eyeshadows 1 Powder Eyeshadows, $5.99 each

milani powder eyeshadows 2
More Powder Eyeshadows

With these new Powder Shadows, Milani combined two of my favorite-est things — punchy pigments and killer wear time (8-10 hours for me) — and they managed to do it for less than the price of a soy chai latte.

Not bad.

Available in 12 shades and a mix of shimmery and matte finishes (I think the mattes steal the show), the line even features a few possible MAC dupes, like Pitch Black, which kinda resembles MAC Print to me, and French Vanilla, which reminds me of Brule.

Pearl could probably pass for Ricepaper, and Caramel Brown resembles a slightly nuttier version of Woodwinked.

And two of the brightest shades in the group, Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue, could have come out of Dolce & Gabbana based on how silky smoove they feel.

milani powder eyeshadow swatches 1
Powder Eyeshadow swatches from the left: White Lie, Pitch Black, Shocking Pink, Brown Stone, French Vanilla and Tickled Pink

For a quick hit of color, I like to pat a peck of Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue along my lash lines with a small, flat eyeshadow brush (love the MAC 239), but if bold eyes are more your thing (go on with your bad self, girl!), you could sweep either color into the crease, and blend, blend, blend.

If you decide to bring these home, you might want to pick up some extra makeup wipes. With these I do notice some fallout, particularly from the shimmers.
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Will 6 Get You 12 With Milani’s $6 Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow Pencils?

May 7th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

milani shadow eyez
Green Safari

I dream of a world where every eyeshadow on the market lasts from dawn till dusk! A world where shadow pencils like Milani’s purposefully misspelled Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow Pencils last long enough to make it through three cups of ginger tea (two words: tummy troubles) spaced four hours apart, and Aquatic Style, my favorite of the six shades, glows strong through six spontaneous chair dance sessions spread out across the entire day … because there’s nothing quite like seeing that electric teal flashing back at you in the mirror as you rock out to that part at the end of Wanna Be Starting Something. “Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw!”

And most of all, I dream of a world where these $5.99 pigmented pencils last long enough to endure a full 12 hours of being ignored by the huskiest tabby in Novato, who, yes, is back to hating his gravy chef/admin assistant once again.

A full 12 hours? Do dreams really come true?

Like a powerful pegasus sweeping down from my multi-colored makeup dreams, Milani’s Shadow Eyez Pencils deliver saddlebags filled with pigment and shine, and a texture so smooth and soft that it makes baby bunnies envious.

milani shadow eyez 12 hr wear eyeshadow pencils
Shadow Eyez Pencils from the left: Winter White, Brown Deluxe, Champagne Toast, Green Safari, Aquatic Style and Royal Purple