Milani Eyeshadow Primer Review

 

 

 

Some people don't think shadow primer is necessary. For people like me with oily lids, primer is a must. For a long time I really disliked wearing eye shadow because it would crease and look awful on me really quickly. I tried another eyeshadow primer from Essence - The I Love Stage shadow base - that did nothing to prevent creasing.

 

 

 

The most important thing to me with primer is one that will keep my lids from creasing. The second most important thing is that the primer keeps my eyeshadow from fading. The least important thing to me is having the primer make my eyeshadows more vibrant.

 

 

Here are the claims on the back of the packaging. I bought it for $8.99 from Well.ca. It is sold wherever Milani is sold such as Loblaws, Superstore and select Wal-Marts. It says the shade number is 01 Nude as if it comes in other shades, but it doesn't. Perhaps Milani is planning to release other shades, like a primer with a shimmer finish or dark finishes for smokey eyes. The nude shade is completely invisible on my skin unless I over apply it. 

 

The directions on the back of the package are right; apply it to clean dry lids. I've tried applying cream under the primer and that compromised the wear of the primer. If I apply cream I wait until my lids are dry. 

What I love love LOVE about this primer is the fact that its a squeeze tube primer! When shadow primer has a doe foot I absolutely hate it. For me it always ends up applying way too much onto my lids. I hope Milani never changes the packaging on this like certain other brands that will remain nameless *cough Urban Decay cough*. 

 

 

Here's a dot of primer on my hand (much larger then what I would actually use for both eyes). On the right side of the dot is a completely blended in dollop of primer. It's basically sheer with the slightest hint of beige.

 

I've had this primer for several months now and I absolutely love it. Whenever I use eyeshadow, this is the first step in my routine. The shadow proved it's worth to me this August. I wore it for eight hours and during that time I was out in the heat, I was sweating, and when I came home I was amazed to see my eyeshadow was still uncreased. If I hadn't been wearing the eyeshadow primer, it would've been faded, and badly creased. After wearing the shadow for ten hours I noticed there was light creasing. My shadows don't fade when I use this primer!

 

Caveats with this primer: When I apply too much primer it makes my lids look ashy. In addition to that it makes my shadows difficult to blend because they just stick in place and won't want to budge.

 

All in all; I absolutely LOVE this primer. It works incredibly well and the price is lovely. I love using it and I love how well it works.

 

Likes:

 

1. Keeps my eyeshadow from creasing

2. Keeps my eyeshadow from fading

3. Dries invisibly on my lids

4. Doesn't irritate my lids

5. Has a squeeze tube!

6. Affordable!

 

Dislikes:

 

1. If I apply too much I get a white cast and it's difficult to blend but that's my own fault

 

A+

Maybelline The Blushed Nudes: I Bought & Reviewed This Palette So You Don't Have To

 

 

So I was browsing my local Wal-Mart's beauty aisle on June 1st and what did I see? The Blushed Nudes! I was so happy (not to mention surprised, Maybelline said we Canadians wouldn't be getting them until early June, but I didn't know they were going to be right on time!) I bought it and forgot to buy several other things. Now I'm kinda wishing I had saved my money.

It cost about $10CDN. As with the Nudes palette it's divided up into quads, trios and duos on the back to assist those needing some inspiration when creating a look.

The palette looks visually gorgeous. It's got a lovely rose gold colour and closes with a secure snap. It comes with two sponge applicators that I leave unused. I think my Nudes palette came with one!

When I swatched these shades, things started to go downhill. I swatched the first row of six on one hand and then the second row of six on the other. They're all numbered for ease of reference.

The first row was a nightmare on Elm Street. It was one disappointment right after the other.

Almost every single shade aside from 1.4 and 1.6 were dry. They were just grey shimmers. I was really shocked at how sheer 1.1 is compared to it's white counterpart in the Nudes palette which has pigment and shimmers. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.5 are grey, chalky and dry with no pigmentation. 1.5 is a matte but there's no pigmentation to it. 1.4 has a bit more colour but it's still incredibly dry and sheer. I can't be too mad at 1.3, it's supposed to be grey but it's sheer, dry and chalky just like the rest of the first row. 1.6 is softer with a creamier texture and has better payoff and actually has a nice pink shift to it. It's rather sheer but it's not a total lost cause.

I knew Row 2 would be better because those shades are darker. 2.1 is a nicely pigmented and smooth rose gold but still applies sheer. 2.2 swatched awfully. It's a matte cocoa brown with rose sparkles but it is so dry and creates incredible fallout with very little payoff. 2.5 was the best shade in the palette, creamy, soft and pigmented with little fallout. 2.6 is another trouble shade. It kicks up plenty of fall out but it's decently pigmented. I stick to Row 2 and 1.6 when using this palette, those are really the only shades worth looking at.

These shades do apply better then they swatch, but the fallout issues and the sheerness prevail. I'm sure these would do better over a primer, but I expected better from Maybelline especially considering how nicer in quality The Nudes is compared to the Blushed Nudes.

I'm on the fence with this palette. The more I play with the bottom shades the more I like them. I just wish the palette had better quality overall as I never had to limit myself to one part of the palette using the Nudes. I really don't like the fact that 5 out of 12 shades are total duds, but the remaining six are nice in a pinch.

Likes:
1. Pretty rose gold colour scheme
2. Row 2 and 1.6

Dislikes:

1. Poor quality shadows in 5 out of 12 of the shades
2. Lack of pigmentation
3. Lots of fallout

C+

My Eyes Spy: Maybelline The BLUSHED Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

Check out what I my eyes have spied.

Didn't discover it myself but I heard about it popping up online at Wal-Mart.com.

Description on the Wal-Mart website: The Maybelline New York Expert Wear Shadow Palette, Maybelline's newest 12-shade collection curated to create infinite sensuous looks, is infused with rose gold pigments for bolder blushes, provocative plums, and risque roses.

Looks like this is a palette Maybelline has coming ahead in the future. I know I am amazingly excited! I adored the fact that Maybelline was trying to come out with bigger palettes with The Nudes and The Smokes. I bought and loved the Nudes and I remember longingly wishing for a rose gold drugstore eyeshadow palette similar to the Naked 3. Looks like my prayers have been answered!

Hopefully Maybelline releases this palette in Canada (I'm not entirely sure because they haven't released The Brights in Canada but they have released it in the states). Because I know that I am really itching to get my hands on this gorgeous palette!! I love rose gold shades and this palette looks like a must have.