$20 Gets You What? Say Hello to Milani's Most Loved Mattes & Bold Obsessions Palettes

Sorry, Wet 'n Wild. Your buzzed about relaunch of your shadows has been dethrowned by a stealthy release. The first time the brand teased this release was January 17, having only been beaten by Reddit by one week and bloggers first mentioning it on January 15. By contrast, we've all heard about the Coloricon reboot for months.

These palettes retail for $20 each on the Milani website, but I picked mine up in-store at Walmart for $14.97 each. I haven't spotted these at local CVS or Walgreens stores that carry the line. None of my local Targets carry Milani in-store, so I can't speak to availability there. Ulta likewise isn't carrying these as of the drafting of this post.

These come in a box that looks high-end. That's the start of the luxe feel. I think these are priced perfectly although they're high for the drugstore. The box and the palettes themselves are a reflective gold- which, as you know, is a bear to photograph.

These honestly look like Stila palettes. However, I'll readily credit Reddit's detectives for researching that these are the same formula as the brand's existing small palettes.

That $20 nets you 12 1g pans (or, 0.04oz if you prefer). These do contain carmine, meaning that they're not vegan-friendly, but the brand is cruelty free (cross-checked with three sources I trust).

There are two palettes in this release- 01 Must Loved Mattes and 02 Bold Obsessions. Let's go in order, shall we?

Must Loved Mattes comes with the tag "a matte color for every mood." I'd say ok, but only if you're looking for a rosy/nude look!

This is the top of the palette- they're simple, chic, and easy to tell apart. Full information and shades are on the bottom:

From daytime to playtime? I like this theme. Now, let's take a look inside.

That's beautiful and perfectly on-trend. I can see this being a go-to, a palette I eventually pan. Daytime is brown, anytime is mauve and plum, and playtime is rich warm oranges.

To show swatches, I've done top two rows together and bottom two rows together. Let's look at the first two rows:

And the bottom two rows:

I really love this as a base palette. These mattes last all day and blend out well (as opposed to other palettes I've been testing... yes, that's shade. You'll see what I'm shading soon).

I don't have a full eye to show you, but these looked awesome after 13 hours. Bravo!


Now, the other palette- 02 Bold Obsessions.

This is the first one that I picked up of the two- and the palette that prompted me to pick up the other.

Same beautiful packing, same luxe feel.

Now, unlike the other palette, this palette has more than one finish.

That's a mix of mattes, satins, shimmers, and metallics. I think I recognize some of these shades from Milani's classic line (and why I'm decluttering most of the classic palettes in favor of these two).

I've been reaching for these quite often- let's go to the swatches.

Rows 1-2:

Rows 3-4:

Admittedly, I usually foil the shadow going on my lid- those swatches are all dry.

This palette, despite being called bold, can be used for some muted looks:

Side note: only thing not drugstore there is my liner (Inglot). The drugstore has come a long way. And that one rogue brow hair is driving me nuts.

I didn't photograph a bunch of looks due to the lighting challenges I'm up against (winter + leaving before sunrise + crappy weather = bad reflectivity).

Here's the deal on these- they're totally worth it. I can do bold looks, or I can do subtle work looks. I'm a little sad that these aren't a new formula, because I should've been using my palettes all along. Since I'm trying to streamline, these are likely to be the two Milani palettes that remain in my collection- I can do most looks that I want out of them.

I tested these over the course of multiple days using the Smashbox lid primer, not even the Milani primer (which I like and it's great). I think they're great for a more natural look that can be bumped up at the end of a workday for drinks and dinner. They blend well, and the shimmers foil wonderfully. I can see these ending up in my "to pan" pile- and that says a lot.

I know they're expensive, but they're fantastic. They're well worth the investment.

October 2017 Favorites

Much like September's favorites, I'm going to try to keep it simple here. I was all over the board in terms of testing new products this month (I hope the diversity of posts- and the frequency- was a tipoff to that.) Consider this the best of the best.

Eyes:

Eyeshadow: Quite unexpectedly, Tarte Clay Play found its way into my heart this month. I find it such a quiet but reliable friend that can rescue most looks gone awry. I also became obsessed once again with putting highlighter on my eyes- in this case, Fenty Beauty Trophy Wife. I've been looking for the perfect gold for years and this is it. I haven't talked about it in this space yet, but my Inglot Eco Palette was a go-to. Marc Jacobs The Lolita continues to be that go-to when I don't know what else to do.

Eyeliner and Mascara: I'll continue to give a written nod to the perfect ABH trio of liners that are the foundation of my work. I continued to enjoy my Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Precision Longwear Eyeliner and the Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara.

Cheeks and Face:

Blush: I got in a rut this month. I think Fiona Stiles Soft Cheek Veil in Valley was on my cheeks all but a few days, and Physicians Formula Butter Blush in Plumrose the other days. It was a neutral month, ok?

Bronzer: I finally finished my Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer this month, and I remembered why I love it. L'Oreal Glam Bronze continues to lurk around.

Highlight: I don't remember what I was wearing before it came into my life, but aside from the days when I was testing something else, MAC Whisper of Gilt has been my BFF. I get it, y'all.

Contour: Kat Von D Shade and Light palette. Enough said.

Primers: I wore quite a few, but nothing's fab enough to shout out. I have a quiet routine, but I'm not going to write the same thing every month.

Concealers and Correctors: I'm trying a new concealer that I'm not yet ready to shout-out... wait for the review.

Foundation: I discovered a new HG foundation this month- Inglot HD Perfect Coverup Foundation. Look for a full review soon. I also rediscovered how much I enjoy MAC Studio Fix Foundation, which is a true classic. An old HG, Chanel Perfection Luminere Velvet, just wouldn't stop jumping into my hands in the morning.

Powders: I rotated through a few powders this month. After taking the sifter off, I rediscovered just how good NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder in Flesh is. I also continued my love affair with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light, RCMA No Color Powder, and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light.



Lips:


I'll be honest, I've been playing with holiday releases for most of this month (for example, all 6 LORAC kits), so I don't have any favorites! I'm looking forward to giving my lips a break in November!

Nails:

I  pulled out some classic shades this month- Chanel Rouge Noir, Chanel Atmosphere, and Chanel Particuliere.

That's it- it's a light October because of all of the testing.  I'm doing something different this month- an entire month-long everyday makeup drawer. Wish me lujck.

New from Milani- Everyday Eyes Basic Mattes & Must Have Metallics and Amore Matte Lipstick in Spicy

Today I'm happy to be bringing some new releases from one of my favorite drugstore brands, Milani.

Milani has added two new palettes to their Everyday Eyes range- 07 Basic Mattes and 08 Must Have Metallics. Each palette contains 6g of product across six pans and retail for $11 on the brand's site. In my experience, you can find them cheaper at Walgreens and Walmart.

I'm a huge fan of these because I think they're one of the best values at the drugstore. Let's dig into these.

Everyday Eyes 07 Basic Mattes is Milani's first foray into an all-matte palette- and my camera rode the struggle bus trying to accurately capture the colors- especially next to the warm metallic palette.

This palette has a great balance- it's slightly warm but some of the shades are a little more neutral.

Let's take a closer look at the palette without that lid.

That photo pulls it a lot cooler than it actually is, but we'll live. I've had some poor experiences with drugstore mattes lately (reviews to come), so the question was if Milani would play me wrong as well.

After testing, swatching, and playing it's clear to me that there are two types of shadows in here. There are 5 true mattes (1, 3, 4, 5, 6) and they're all glorious. There's one shimmery shade (#2), which was really patchy and tough to work with.

Overall, five out of six winners. I'll take that any day! This is a winner.

Next up,08 Must Have Metallics. This is a collection of five warm metallics and one black matte, which is designed to be used as a liner.

This is so very popular and on-trend. For me, the question was what Milani would do with it.

These shades aren't revolutionary, but they are pretty, right?

There are actually three distinct formulas here.  #1 is a satin which pretty much blends in with my NW13-15 skin. #2, #3, #4, #5 are flaky, almost moist (you know what I mean) metallics that flake in the pan. They're so very pretty- and let me point out that my swatches are dry.  #6 is a matte black that I could've done without. It's pretty stiff.

I wanted to show you the pans after I initially swatched. Yikes.

I think this is another great interpretation of the warm eye trend, I'm glad to see Milani expanding this range.

Lastly, let's move onto the only Amore Matte Liquid Lipstick that I picked up- 49 Spicy. These retail for $9 each, and according to the brand, this is a limited edition shade.

For that $9, you receive a matte liquid lipstick that dries down completely and contains 6g of product. This is touted as a "soft terracotta," and the formula is claimed to be vegan.

I'm a little sad that this shade is limited edition- I find that Milani's liquid lip range skews more towards the pinks and reds. Spicy is a fun, pumpkin-esque, fall orange that I'm going to enjoy wearing.

I find the wand easy to handle.

My sensitive lips handle this formula (which smells like vanilla buttercream or cupcakes) well with a primer. It is drying though.

These take a couple of minutes to dry down, but you're seeing one layer, no lipliner here.

I think Spicy's a fall winner!

As a side note, I had to order the Metallic palette from Milani's website because the Walgreens where I discovered the display was out of it. This was my first experience ordering from Milani's website, and I was pleased overall. My order shipped quickly and I received my products within a week- with free shipping. My order also arrived with three sample packets. I won't hesitate to just order from the brand in the future instead of struggling to find the products in person.

Bottom Line: Milani's one of my drugstore favorites for a reason. I think that these Everyday Eyes palettes are one of the nicest drugstore palettes and reasonably priced. If you see either of these, grab them. I like the Amore Matte lip formula as well-it was actually the first liquid lipstick that I ever tried and it's got a soft spot in my heart because of that.

QBB Hauls: Recent TJMaxx/Marshalls Finds

Welcome to another QBB Hauls! I've been lurking around my local TJMaxx a lot and have been finding some real beauty gems there. It's not only drugstore brands- it's also high end. But let's start on the drugstore side of things.

After purchasing two of their baked palettes and watching a number of YouTube videos, I was so pumped to spot some of the larger BH Cosmetics palettes at my local TJMaxx! It ironically happened right after I was browsing their website and didn't know what to purchase.

I found two of the Contour & Blush palettes (1 &2), 2 of the blush palettes (Glamorous & Professional), and the Foundation & Concealer 2 Palette.  The total price for these 5 palettes? $25.49 plus tax! Admittedly the Foundation/Concealer Palette is too dark for me but I wanted to play and test the formula. I can bronze/contour for sure.

Moving on, let's talk some other makeup finds. 

I purchased the Style Essentials All About Glow Palette on clearance for $3 because I wanted to test the quality. Likewise, the Absolute New York True Palettes Element looked like foiled shadows in gemstone shades for $6. I just want to give it a chance. I also spotted a Milani Liquid Eye liner in Brown for $1.99 near my checkout line. For the same price, I also nabbed ELF Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain for the same price.

Oh yeah, I think I forgot something. That's one of the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No 7 palettes in 202 The Tease (the purple one) for $19.99. I've been able to find two of these over the past three weeks. I spotted the MJ nail polishes for $9.99 each but passed.

You can also find some awesome skincare deals at TJMaxx, if you didn't know.

I got a bareMinerals Good Clean Fun cleanser set on clearance for $10, A 6-pack of Precision Beauty nail files (flamingo!), 2 Flamingo clippers from Precision Beauty,  a package of Ole Henriksen Clean Truth Cleansing Cloths, 1 Yes to Grapefruit Lip Balm, a 2-pack of Lavanilla deodorants (for $16.99!), Schmidt's Rose & Vanilla deodorant.

Last up are the masks I nabbed at TJMaxx.  I've got SpaLife Miraculous Moisturizing Hand Gloves (2 pairs, $3.99), SpaLife Under Eye Strips (12 pack, $2.99), and a random Pore-Shrinking mask from CVS. Whoops.

Have you found anything interesting at TJMaxx recently?

QBB Hauls: Various Drugstore Fun

Today's QBB Hauls is lots of fun drugstore products that I've been purchasing lately. I'm waiting for the big L'Oreal and Maybelline releases... I've got Walgreens rewards at the ready!

• Now, this first one isn't from the drugstore, but it's drugstore priced. If you want to know why I purchased it, watch this video. This is the Docolor Multi-function Contour & Highlight Brush- it's a drugstore dupe of the NARS Ita.
• I discovered Milani Rosa Romantica Baked Powder Blush- I think this is a new shade? It's #13. I found it at CVS and it's lovely. In the packaging, it appears to be lighter than many of the other shades. I decluttered most of the blushes from this collection because they were all dark, so this is exciting! Update: After writing the post but before posting, I opened and swatched. This is so a highlight, not a blush.
• Next up, two new Revlon releases. I have the Revlon Youth FX Fill & Blur Concealer in 01 Fair and the Youth FX Fill & Blur Foundation in 110 Ivory. Even though this won't match my body, I'm still curious to try it. At the price (really high for drugstore), I didn't want to get multiple shades.
• I finally picked up the Milani Contour & Highlight duo in 01 Fair because I'm going to try more creams (at least I want to).
• Not from my local drugstore, but I finally got my hands on the L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara! I can't wait to try it out and report back.
• Lastly, one of my local Walgreens was getting rid of L'Oreal Color Riche Extraordinaires. I like the formula with the one that I have, so I picked up 101 Rose Melody and 601 Nude Ballet for 50% off each.
• I also picked up Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 589 Punk-ish Purple at 50% off. I was obsessed with this formula last summer.

Now, a little bit of skincare/hair goodness/self-tanner.

I've got Yes to Blueberries (I love this), Yes to Primrose Oil makeup removing towels, Hask Greek Yogurt Color Protection Deep Conditioner Mask, Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer, and Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer (I can't wait to try this!)

I also have something else that I didn't get in the drugstore but it does fit.

Isn't the exterior packaging beautiful? The studio lights make it dance.

I caved when Wet 'n Wild said there were only 50 kits left. It took forever to get it. I ordered on 23 May and didn't get until 3 June. This is my first purchase from Wet 'n Wild direct, and I'm not sure about future purchases. I can get the brand at the end of my road (literally), so unless it's a special kit I'm not sure because I'm so impatient. Still, this is just special.

For those who have been living under a rock, the Wet 'n Wild Unicorn Glow Collection.

Please let me know if you'd like me to review any of these items.

What have you been purchasing from the drugstore lately?