$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.

Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer

I know, another drugstore concealer. I've been testing a few of them, especially since I'm looking to make a few changes in my routine.

Say hello to the most recent viral sensation, Makeup Revolution's Conceal and Define Concealer ($7, Ulta). Call it exceptional timing with other brands that we won't mention setting fire to their own empires, but customers were on the hunt for a good, inexpensive replacement with an inclusive shade range.

There are 18 shades in the range, which promises full coverage and long wear. For your $7, you receive 0.11fl oz of product.

I really love this large doefoot- it does call to mind the high end product they're coming for with their advertising (and admittedly the product I'm having issues with supporting right now). I've been testing a few new concealers and have come to the conclusion that I like the oversized doefoots, especially since I'm usually getting ready pre-dawn. Every second matters.

I picked up two of the shades on launch day from Ulta.com: C1-fair skin, neutral undertone, C3- fair skin, pink undertone.

I'll readily admit that I expected for C1 to be my shade, but at $7 I was willing to take a chance. This time of year I'm NW13.

Yup, C1 for me.

Now, let's do a quick comparison to a bunch of fair concealers in my stash so you can see where these fit in.

It's not as light as Tarte Fair/NARS Chantilly (they're very close in color, it's a formula preference to be honest, and I'm trying very hard to get back into the NARS), but it's a nice natural looking undereye.

Now, let's talk about the wear. I didn't photograph it in-use, but the fact that I've been wearing it every single day under my eyes since I got it should tell you what I think. This performs all day, doesn't crease that much (at my age, everything's starting to crease, and my undereyes were still rehabbing from the damage from the Maybelline Fit Me. Check out last week's post for details.), and is overall a nice concealer. It's more full-coverage than the Smashbox, which is what I had been testing for most of January.

Bottom Line: At $7, you really do need to try this out. It's already one of my favorites in my expansive collection, and it holds serve against high end favorites. I'm sold.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer Shade Extension 05 Ivory

Fit Me Concealer.

Those are three words that most beauty junkies know well, and hold their tubes near and dear. Sadly, the shade range has been pitiful and even your QBB has been unable to test it. The Fit Me Foundation (in the Matte and Poreless version) has probably the most inclusive shade range in the drugstore... but the concealer? Lacking.

We first got inkling of a shade extension on the brand's Instagram at the beginning of the year, and I spotted the expanded range at my local Walmart when they redid the overall displays in January.

There are also two new darker shades in this release.

Finally, I got to play with the formula.

Now, I'm not totally new to the Fit Me formula; I played around with Shade 10 (the second lightest) last summer when I was really self-tanned and liked it. So, the idea of a Fit Me concealer that would work for me year-around? I was in.

I love that brands are starting to put their products in these blister packs. I'm able to buy with confidence that nobody has tampered with it.

The basics: Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a cream concealer with doe foot applicator, and retails for $6.58 for 0.23fl oz. I've yet to see the shade extension other than in-store at Walmart (and this is post-Walgreens reset that I'm writing this, but pre-CVS/Rite Aid).

Shade 05 Ivory is much, much lighter than Shade 10:

And, keeping it in the parent company family, here's how the lightest shade of Fit Me compares to the lightest L'Oreal Pro Glow:

What a freaking joke, L'Oreal. In what universe is that Classic Ivory?

I reference the L'Oreal Pro Glow for a specific reason that arose during testing.

I remember liking the Fit Me formula. I need to do some research to see if it's been reformulated because my reaction was completely different. The coverage is beautiful and I loved how it looked under my eyes. However, I developed serious sensitivity and a possible reaction after using it for two days in a row similar to what some users have reported with the L'Oreal Pro Glow. It felt like my sensitive undereye skin had been burned; I ended up dabbing aloe where the concealer had been.

So, the shade range is getting better. But for a reaction to the formula, this is a hard pass (and why I wouldn't put it back on my eyes for photography- it's just not worth it.).