I think that I have been watching and reading reviews of the
Milani Color Statement Lipstick line for about 2 years now and I have never
seen or read a bad review of the line. So of course my expectations were high when
I finally made my purchase of Pretty Natural, Plumrose and Uptown Mauve.
It is really hard not to have high expectations of a product
when you have been reading such good reviews of them for such a long time. The
risk of course is that the product can never match up with those high
expectations.
Did these meet my high expectations? I have been wearing
them exclusively for two weeks now and I am a little confused by my reaction to
them.
I think that the best way to describe my feelings is to say that “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s
parts”. Aristotle may not have had lipstick in mind when he said that but
it nevertheless seems appropriate when I consider my opinion of these
lipsticks.
Read on for the review.
Read on for the review.
THE CLAIMS
Taken from Milani Cosmetic’s website:
Description
Bellissimo! You know how some (lesser) lipsticks look one
way in the store, and then completely different in your bathroom mirror?
Color Statement is the antithesis of that. A super-luxe, grown-up girl
lipstick, it delivers true instant colour in a single swipe. Laced with
vitamins A and C to hydrate and nourish, this collection is all about options:
Corals and Reds, Orchids and Plums, Nudes, and Pinks. Trust us, you’ll want an
entire wardrobe.
Application
Begin applying from the center of your upper lips and work
your way to the outer edges. Same application is used for your bottom lips. Tip:
Lipliner helps extend the wear & keeps your lipstick from feathering.
When choosing a lipliner shade, match the lipliner to your lipstick
shade or match your lipliner to the shade of your lips which will work with all
your lipstick shades. Create a custom lipcolor by using a contrasting
lipliner and lipstick shade.
THE SHADES
As said, I purchased three shades that appealed to me
 |
| Pretty Natural ~ Plumrose ~ Uptown Mauve |
Pretty Natural is a lovely 'my lips but better' neutral pink
shade. When I first tried it on I actually thought that I might at last have
found my perfect 'my lips but better' shade but alas not quite. I would need
just a hint more of a mauve undertone for this to be closer to my lip's natural colour.
It is still a beautiful natural pink shade that looks great with all the
different eye looks I tried it with and would probably look great on a wide
range of skin tones.
Plumrose is well and truly my favourite shade of the three that I purchased. It is exactly “me”. Natural enough to wear on a daily basis but still colourful enough to feel like I am adding some pretty colour to my face. The shade is a beautiful deep rosy pink shade that comes close to the colour of my natural lips but is deeper and brighter at the same time.
Plumrose is well and truly my favourite shade of the three that I purchased. It is exactly “me”. Natural enough to wear on a daily basis but still colourful enough to feel like I am adding some pretty colour to my face. The shade is a beautiful deep rosy pink shade that comes close to the colour of my natural lips but is deeper and brighter at the same time.
Uptown Mauve is another stunning shade – it’s a berry shade
but with quite pink undertones. I own a lot of bright pinks, fuchsias and purplely
lipsticks but I don’t have another shade like this. On my NW15-20 skin it
provides a great pop of colour that really stands up and brightens up my face.
I love colours like this because it makes it really easy to be a little bit
more casual with the rest of my makeup but still pull off a nice polished makeup
look.
THE REVIEW
I do want to be up front before you read my review - I have very dry lips and of course my review is based on how these lipsticks perform on my dry lips. For more information about my skin type, colour matches and daily routine click here and it will open in a new window
Colour pay off
I am starting off with the Milani Color Statement Lipstick’s
strongest feature – the colour pay off. When Milani claim that they deliver
true instant colour in a single swipe, they aren’t joking. With one swipe I can
achieve full opaque colour. What could be better?
Application
I will say that I found that the Milani Color Statement
Lipsticks do apply with a little bit of drag and they can apply a little
patchily. The darker the colour, the more I found this to be the case.
It’s nothing serious. A little touch up over those bits of
the lips that were missed and I am good to go.
The Milani Color Statement Lipsticks are still easy enough
to apply straight from the tube (which I appreciate because I refuse to muck
around with lip brushes on a daily basis).
I have actually found that the best way for me to apply the
lipsticks is to apply it to my bottom lip first (rather unusual for me) and
then to apply it to the top lip. I think that by applying it to the bottom lip
first the product just gets warmed up that little bit and it applies less
patchily to my top lip. Then all I have to do is rub my lips together a little
and I can be confident that the colour is on well and good.
Texture, finish and moisture
The shades of the Milani Color Statement Lipsticks that I
have purchased are super creamy to apply, feel creamy on the lips and have
a lovely creamy finish. Definitely no complaints there.
But…..
Milani claim that the lipsticks will hydrate and nourish.
My experience is actually that they can be a little drying
as I reapply them throughout the day. I can definitely feel my lips getting
drier the longer I have them on.
The most disappointing thing for me in terms of the texture,
finish and moisture levels is that they do sometimes ball up on my lips. It’s hard
to explain. Sometimes I can just feel an odd texture on my lips and when I touch
my finger to my lips I discover that the lipstick has balled up and is almost
peeling off. It is something common to all three shades.
I don’t know why they do this and I don’t know why they do
this sometimes and not others. I do know that it is quite irritating when
it does happen and I don’t like it. The only remedy seems to be to wipe it off
and start again.
Longevity and wear
 |
| Attempt to remove swatches |
I am pleasantly surprised with the longevity of these
lipsticks given they don’t claim to be long wearing and they do claim to be
hydrating (in my experience a claim that usually means the lipstick will have a
short life span on my lips).
I can probably get 2 – 3 hours out of each shade. The darker
the shade the longer it lasts. I actually think this is pretty impressive given
my lips have a tendency to repel lipstick like it’s the enemy.
You can see from the picture to the left that they definitely have staying power even as swatches. This is my attempt to remove the swatches from my arm only minutes after they were applied. I have rubbed and rubbed at them and they aren't going anywhere. I actually find this quite surprising given how much they do tend to transfer as discussed a little further on.
You can see from the picture to the left that they definitely have staying power even as swatches. This is my attempt to remove the swatches from my arm only minutes after they were applied. I have rubbed and rubbed at them and they aren't going anywhere. I actually find this quite surprising given how much they do tend to transfer as discussed a little further on.
How do the Milani Color Statement Lipsticks wear? The two lighter colours wear off pretty evenly. Definitely
no complaints.
Uptown Mauve is the only one that has caused me some issues
when it comes to the wear. It does stain my lips when it wears off. This might
both some people but I actually like it when the darker colours leave some
stain behind, so long as it’s fairly even.
Uptown Mauve though does tend to give me the dreaded “ring
around the lips”. You know, when the lipstick on the middle of the lips all
wears off and you’re left with a ring of dark colour right around the edges. It’s
almost like I have lined my lips with a nice berry liner and then forgotten to
apply my lipstick over the top of it. Urgh. The solution of course is just to
be super conscious about reapplying it more regularly but I still find it quite
annoying.
The only other observation I have to make in terms of the
wear of all colours is that they are definitely inclined to transfer onto
things. Even with blotting. The other morning I was wearing Plumrose when I
dropped my son off to day care. I had applied it probably 40 minutes previously
and blotted after applying and it still left a big lip mark on his cheek when I
kissed him goodbye. Again, not the end of the world but a little annoying and
it does of course mean that they won’t last as long as some other lipsticks might.
Scent
The Milani Color Statement Lipsticks do have that plastic-y
watermelon smell that some cheaper lipsticks have. I really don’t like it but
in the end that is personal preference and I am not going to let the smell of a
product totally turn me off so long as I like it’s other features.
Packaging
Nothing to write home about, just a standard lipstick tube.
I do like that the colour indicator at the bottom of the tube is very close to
the colour in the tube. I love it when they match. Makes life so much easier.
THE COST
I purchased these for $13.00AUD from a reputable seller on
eBay.
When you think about how much even standard
Maybelline/Revlon/Loreal lipsticks cost at Priceline/Target etc, $13.00 for
what you’re getting is amazing value. Definitely no complaints about the cost.
THE WRAP UP
It’s funny. When I break them down and consider the
individual qualities of the Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, I can identify a
lot about them that I take issue with. Drying. Applies patchily. Lipstick ring.
Balling up on my lips. Transfer prone.
Yet……
I really really like these lipsticks and I would highly
recommend them. In fact, I have already purchased a fourth Milani lipstick from
their Moisture Matte Line.
I think the good qualities that outweigh the bad qualities are:
- the colours themselves, they are seriously gorgeous, especially Plumrose
- the opacity of the colours
- the finish on the lips when they are freshly applied and properly maintained
I have a fourth on the way and I will definitely be buying more. These are great lipsticks despite some of my reservations and I highly recommend them to all.
