milani

I’m all for a bargain, but the budget versions of some things can be all sorts of wrong, like “discount laser eye surgery” and “bargain basement tattoos.”

Not good.

My favorite deals are on products I lust after and love, like Kate Spade bags, those $20 passes for 20 classes at the yoga studio down the street, and 2-for-1 specials on Tuttimelon fro-yo.

And now, thanks to Milani’s long-lasting and intensely pigmented new Powder Shadows, I can add a new line of drugstore eyeshadows to the list.

Powder Eyeshadows, $5.99 each

More Powder Eyeshadows

With these new Powder Shadows, Milani combined two of my favorite-est things — punchy pigments and killer wear time (8-10 hours for me) — and they managed to do it for less than the price of a soy chai latte.

Not bad.

Available in 12 shades and a mix of shimmery and matte finishes (I think the mattes steal the show), the line even features a few possible MAC dupes, like Pitch Black, which kinda resembles MAC Print to me, and French Vanilla, which reminds me of Brule.

Pearl could probably pass for Ricepaper, and Caramel Brown resembles a slightly nuttier version of Woodwinked.

And two of the brightest shades in the group, Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue, could have come out of Dolce & Gabbana based on how silky smoove they feel.

Powder Eyeshadow swatches from the left: White Lie, Pitch Black, Shocking Pink, Brown Stone, French Vanilla and Tickled Pink

For a quick hit of color, I like to pat a peck of Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue along my lash lines with a small, flat eyeshadow brush (love the MAC 239), but if bold eyes are more your thing (go on with your bad self, girl!), you could sweep either color into the crease, and blend, blend, blend.

If you decide to bring these home, you might want to pick up some extra makeup wipes. With these I do notice some fallout, particularly from the shimmers.
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Green Safari

I dream of a world where every eyeshadow on the market lasts from dawn till dusk! A world where shadow pencils like Milani’s purposefully misspelled Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow Pencils last long enough to make it through three cups of ginger tea (two words: tummy troubles) spaced four hours apart, and Aquatic Style, my favorite of the six shades, glows strong through six spontaneous chair dance sessions spread out across the entire day … because there’s nothing quite like seeing that electric teal flashing back at you in the mirror as you rock out to that part at the end of Wanna Be Starting Something. “Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw!”

And most of all, I dream of a world where these $5.99 pigmented pencils last long enough to endure a full 12 hours of being ignored by the huskiest tabby in Novato, who, yes, is back to hating his gravy chef/admin assistant once again.

A full 12 hours? Do dreams really come true?

Like a powerful pegasus sweeping down from my multi-colored makeup dreams, Milani’s Shadow Eyez Pencils deliver saddlebags filled with pigment and shine, and a texture so smooth and soft that it makes baby bunnies envious.

Shadow Eyez Pencils from the left: Winter White, Brown Deluxe, Champagne Toast, Green Safari, Aquatic Style and Royal Purple

Green Safari

Aquatic Style
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