Milani: Drugstores' Most Well-Kept Secret

Milani Cosmetics is not as well-known as other drugstore brands that are already household names, but it is slowly gaining popularity especially for penny pinchers like me who want more value for their money. This cosmetics line is known for creating products that rival high-end, department store brands for less than a quarter of the latter's price. Milani is also popular among teens and young adults who cannot afford MAC eyeshadows because Milani makes perfect dupes that are so rich in pigmentation and have great texture, for an unbelievable price. When Milani came up with their line of eyeshadow quads, I made a bee-line for our neighborhood CVS which is just a stone's throw away from our house. I was amazed at the beautiful pigments, wonderful combinations and silky textures these shadows offer. I snagged six of these quads for an outrageous price of $5 each. I love these eyeshadows and they do indeed rival MAC's in terms of pigmentation. The only difference I notice between MAC and Milani is that the latter's eyeshadows tend to crumble more easily during application and would migrate to the undereye area. However, this is a minor issue, nothing loose powder below the eye area and a powder brush cannot remedy.

And did I mention their blushes and lipglosses are great as well? They have a blush called Luminous which a lot of people swear is a dupe of the cult favorite NARS Orgasm. Their lipglosses are rich and pigmented, and lends a pretty, luscious sheen to the lips. Their nail polishes are great as well. I tried their blackish maroon polish on my piggies and they looked really fab.

My Milani eyeshadow quads (I have singles as well but I opted not to include them in this entry:


Top L-R: Earthy Delights, Wild Violets, Denim Blues
Bottom L-R: Autumn Earth, Dreamy Baby, Sedona Sunset

In the pic below, I used my favorite quad out of all the Milani quads I own, Earthy Delights. The antique gold and olive shades are just to die for, and even the off-white highlighter is tinged with golden green, as well. I am amazed how the colors really complement each other.




I used Bare Escentuals 2.0 Light foundation, Bare Escentuals mineral veil, Milani Earthy Delights e/s quad, Bare Escentuals liner shadow in Black Ruby used wet to line upper lashline, CoverGirl Eye Slicks gel eyeliner in Moondust on inner corners of eyes, Cargo blush in Louisiana, MAC lipliner in Spice, MAC Viva Glam V lipstick and lipglass