http://www.beautybroadcast.net/2011/05/fresh-from-oven-milani-baked-shadow.html

Fresh from the Oven: Milani Baked Shadow!

Hey everyone! Hope your week's going well so far. I just posted a tutorial video using a technique I've been loving lately for eyeshadow! It's nothing terribly new or revolutionary... just something I hadn't done a whole lot of until a particular product came into my life. The Milani Baked Eyeshadows are designed to be worn wet OR dry- and let me tell you... it's pretty eye-opening (no pun intended) when you see how great these look with a little water added! Watch my tutorial & you'll see what I mean!

I've purchased a few of these, and not too long ago, the fine folks at Milani wanted to send me some more. Let's just say- I've had entirely too much fun sitting in my makeup room swatching, creating color combinations, and coming up with ideas for new videos. Of course, these are my honest opinions on the products. Hope you enjoy my swatches & reviews...

♥

A Little Background...

According to Milani, these shadows are baked on Italian terracotta tiles... as soon as I read that, I thought- hmmm... perhaps this is something that will rival the wonderful Baked Eye Rimz from Laura Geller! Milani shadows come in two versions- Metallic and Marbled. Something I noticed across the board with these shades is this... if you use them wet, you'll get more intensity and more staying power. Using them dry will get you a soft look, and color that's not especially bold. All in all- it's like you're getting 2 different colors with each shadow because of how different most of them look going from dry to wet. Almost every shade is buildable when worn wet- meaning you can pile on more color for a look that's even more bold, and you'll still get good staying power. It's important to note that all shades have a shimmery, sparkly, or metallic element. If you're looking for matte, these aren't for you.

I don't like the curved applicator- it can feel kind of awkward when you flip it over & want to apply in a certain direction. Also, the blunt-cut, tiny brush on the other end is not good... it hardly picks up product and doesn't blend. I'd like to see another sponge tip. I know that's a minor detail, but still worth noting, especially if anyone on the Milani team sees this & wants to improve the product.

Metallic Shades

left to right: Pink Twice, I Heart You, Blue My Mind, Purrr-Fect Purple, Teal the Truth, Rich Java

The metallic colors look like absolute jewels in the packaging, and while they're pretty & soft when swatched dry, they are much more impressive with a little water added (see my video to check out my wet-shadow strategy). I was very happy with the pink, red, blue, and teal colors. The intensity & staying power when worn wet is nothing short of amazing. For some reason, I couldn't get a major color payoff with the purple, and while the brown shade was fairly rich, it wasn't really metallic. As always, these are swatched with no primer. I'd imagine the dry colors would look better with a primer... currently they aren't as rich as other metallic shadows I've tried. You know how with some shadows, you put your finger on them to do a swatch, and even though they're powder, they practically feel creamy? Not the case with these. They are as powdery as it gets until you get them wet.

Marbled Shades

left to right: Drench in Gold, Melange, Mix it Up, Intermix, Fusion

While the marbled shadows are more neutral, they are no less impressive when worn wet. It's really fun to see what the swirled colors will mix together to give you. If you have no interest wearing eyeshadow wet, I believe these are better in dry form than the metallics. As you look at my arm-load of swatches- don't you think it sort of resembles shades from the Naked palette? You really get 2 shades for every one shadow because of the difference when worn wet. I've noticed a big trend on American Idol is a high concentration of shimmer/sparkle on the lids... these shades will give you that very same look. I think Fusion- the lilac/mauve shade that I used in my tutorial is my favorite... but Mix it Up with the teal sparkle is also pretty breath-taking. Add water & use Mix it Up or Melange as liner shades! LOVE THESE!

Final Thoughts...

Are you willing to wear your eyeshadow wet? If so, you'll be really excited and impressed by what these shadows will do, and how long they'll last. If you don't want to wear them wet, these are more hit and miss... some will still look fairly bold, others won't- you can kind of tell by the swatches. There is nothing for the matte shadow lover in this collection, so while that may be disappointing to some, the sparkle lovers rejoice. I like the fact that I've found something that costs way less than Laura Geller (around $7 or less at drugstores), but still offers the same functions. I'd like to see Milani continue to expand it's range of shades, and maybe make some palettes or duos! Have you tried any of these yet? Let me know what you think! :)

♥