Sparkled Beauty

No burning desire was stronger than me wanting to show you Vasanti Ultra Luxe lipstick in Zimbabwe after I swatched it.

It is quite different from what I normally reach for. And as you can see, the good tube of Zimbabwe does not have too much shine and is a true burgundy with strong brown tone. Here it is today, on top of Beautique lip liner in Sienna :)

On my eyes are the Milani Bella Eyes gel powder eyeshadows, in action.

Bella White is the bright star of the look, popping in the inner half of the lids :) Paired with it is Bella Bronze in the outer half and Bella Purple in the crease blended upward.

The eyeshadows appear on the eyes more subtle than the swatches you see in the review cause I did not intend to build them up too much. Love their blendability!

Other products used:
- L'Oreal Magic Nude liquid powder foundation in True Beige
Bought this foundation a long while ago but just got around to try it now. Love the light finish but it barely gives me any coverage at all
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium and Annabelle BB Skin Perfect concealer in Medium
- Sephora + Pantone Universe Foiled waterproof eyeliner in Silver on inner half of lower lash line
- Yves Rocher eye pencil in Copper Brown on outer half of lower lash line
I love the pigmentation of these pencils but could not wear Copper Brown too much, due to its red tone
- CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara in Black
- Milani baked blush in Fantastico Mauve, very light-handed as it is super pigmented
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

We are slowly thawing out of our winter "white coat". It was actually warm (i.e. near zero) yesterday lol. Have a great one!

It is "Spring" in full swing here with -20 (-4F) windchill, but "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional" so let's talk about Milani Bella Eyes gel powder eyeshadows, new arrivals in Canada, CAD8-9, 0.05oz/ 1.4g each.

I bought mine during Milani's 50% off sale on their site (reg. $4.49). My friend kindly shipped them over cause I didn't want to pay $16.45 flat rate shipping to Canada.

First row, from L-R: Bella Taupe, Bella White and Bella Navy.
Second row: Bella Purple, Bella Rouge and Bella Bronze.

All come with safety wraps, yeehaw!

Formulated as gel powders, these eyeshadows apply like regular powders, with a hint of smoothness of a gel. They are easy to blend, do not have much fallout and last quite well.

Bella Taupe is appropriately described as a taupe brown (satin matte), almost looks duochrome in certain lighting.

Bella White is a semi sheer (satin matte) white, the only light shade I got.

Bella Navy is described as a (satin matte) navy blue but swatches like a sheer charcoal black with blue shimmers to me.

The swatches were done with a damp brush, 2-3 swipes of the products for pigmentation.

The next 3 shades are more exciting :)

Bella Purple (satin matte) is darker than Bella Violet (the other purple in the range) but still not purple-y enough to me.

Bella Rouge turns out to be more pink than red. I might use it as a blush instead.

Bella Bronze, sharing the same metallic finish as Bella Rouge, shows good sheen of shimmers. It is the most pigmented of the bunch, only takes one swipe for what you see in the swatch below.

Overall, I enjoy the metallics more for the pigmentation. No duds in the bunch but wait for a sale please! Here is a FOTD I did with 3 of the shades. You can find them now at Walmart, Superstore and Lawtons.

I bought two shades of Milani Color Statement lip liners on clearance for a few bucks at Lawtons before going on vacation.

They are 07 Brandy and 10 Cocoa. Besides the fact that I am embracing the dark/ brown lip trend, I decided on these 2 shades for particular reasons:
- Brandy is the perfect liner to pair with Maybelline creamy matte lipstick in Touch of Spice
- Cocoa is rumoured to be the same colour as Lime Crime Velvetine in Salem (different finish).

I already owned 02 True Red from the Color Statement lip liner line, which goes well with a few MAC famous red lipsticks, so I trust the quality replicates in Brandy and Cocoa. They are creamy, easy to apply and don't feather on me.

Since I have been wearing Touch of Spice so often, Brandy got its fair share as well. Cocoa is saved to tone down Siren in Scarlet (another Maybelline creamy matte lipstick) when I don't want a strong red lip.

They swatch pretty true to colours too. Brandy (right) is leaning more purple while Cocoa (left) is more brown, equally pigmented. If you haven't owned some Milani Color Statement lip liners, get some :)

As we are heading toward the end of the year, my vacation comes to an end. I am in the worst state of mind having to leave my family, plus long travel and jet lag to follow, I will not be blogging until we are way into the new year. Have a great holiday and see you soon!

Happy Monday! Thank you so much for all your amazing support of the giveaways. If you are one of my readers and haven't entered, please use the "Giveaways" tab at the top for quick access. You still have 10 more days to enter :)

On to my little haul at Lawtons! Physicians Formula is 40% off this week, with bonus 25 Airmiles when you buy 3.

What I got, from L-R:
- Glow Boosting BB bronzer in Light to Medium, reg. $19.98. The Glow Boosting bronzer is not new but this version has added BB benefits
- Nude Wear Glowing Nude powder in Light, reg. $19.98, with $9 rebate sticker on it
- Mineral Glow Pearls powder palette in Bronze Pearl , reg. $ 19.59 (for medium skin tone)
I was going for the youtube fav item here but don't know if I got the right one, couldn't remember lol.

A little bronze theme going on here eh? I didn't even notice until I took the pic :)

And a very exciting find that I don't want you to miss - Milani matte baked blushes are here!

I had no idea they have arrived, as they quietly made it to the wall shelf with the rest of Milani baked blushes.

Here are Delizioso Pink and Bella Rosa, looking crazily beautiful. What's even more exciting: they rung in only $6.39. Baked blushes were $9.99 regularly and Milani is 25% off this week. so I thought I would pay a little more for them. Not that I would complain lol.

I assume that they are permanent, but if you want them for $6, this week is the time :) Don't forget the "win cosmetic for a year" contest all month - you get 1 entry for each $25 you spend in store.

As natural looking as I said Make Up For Ever HD Second Skin cream blush in #510 Raspberry is, here it is, with a light hand, on my cheeks. See why I like this blush? :)

Co-staring in this look are the Milani makeup I have just reviewed:
- Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Beach Sand in 2/3 of the lids and under the brows, with a damp brush
- Liquid Eye Liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black
- Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner in Blackest Black on the outer half of the upper lash line
- Runway Lashes Instant Volume mascara in Black
- Color Statement lipstick in Best Red.

Told you Best Red is a beautiful red, it brightens up my face like no business without the shine. Even without a lip liner, it does not bleed on me and wears quite long.

Other products I used:
- Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover foundation in 123
Haven't been using this foundation for a while, it's nice to come back to it.
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes Full coverage waterproof concealer in Neutral Medium
This one is still going strong but the tube has gotten a bit hard to squeeze. Why?
- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Stroke of Midnight as base near the upper lash line and on the outer V only
I wanted a base for Beach Sand but didn't want to overwhelm it, so went for a one-eyeshadow look with darkened outer V.
- Marcelle Eyebrow pen in Universal Dark.
Been using this pen every day. It makes shaping the brows an easier task. Just a suggestion though: limit the pen to just that and fill in the brows with a pencil. Otherwise, the ink will run out quite fast and the fab slanted tip on the pen will be a waste :)

Excuse my scarf, if it is distracting. It is still freezing cold in March this year and I was still fighting this cold I have for like 2 weeks already. Time seems to pass by so slowly when you are sick, don't you agree?

Thank you to those of you who commented about wanting to see this FOTD. Hope I do a decent job in showing you the makeup on me.

I can't wait for Burger Week to start tomorrow, I need some good burgers to get through this week. We have it good here with things you can imagine on a burger - fried eggs, peanut butter, kimchi, yogurt with lamb, mac n cheese, etc. Squirt and I are more than excited!

Talking about her, we are in the planning mood for her 11th birthday. I am out of ideas, as we have done it all lol.

I received a few Milani products from Lawtons for review. They are not newly released products but will give you some highlights to the brand, if you are looking for products to try.

From L-R:
- Liquid Eye Liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black 
- Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner in Blackest Black
- Runway Lashes Instant Volume mascara in Black
- Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Beach Sand and
- Color Statement lipstick in Best Red.

I can already imagine the look I would go for using these products :)

Milani Liquid Eye Liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black is not new to me, as I have it in the stash for a while already and included it in a few FOTDs in the past.

This liner is soft, smooth with great pigmentation. It lasts all day on me, hardly any smudges. I reach for it every time I want a black liner on the lower lash line.

It is an automatic liner, so you don't have to sharpen the tip most of the time, unless it becomes blunt due to heavy lining work. It does not come with a built-in sharpener, unfortunately, when that happens.

The liner retails for $6.29 at Lawtons.

I have heard a lot of buzz about the Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner but didn't try it until now.

First off, the grip handle is extremely handy for newbies I can hold the pen comfortably with good control over the tip. Great selling point, at least for me.

This liner is also pigmented (I got Blackest Black), waterproof, dries quickly and stays on for a good amount of time. The fine tip offers precision, but with a bit of pressure, it can make thicker lines effortlessly as well. I tried both ways and had no complains.

This liner retails $11.59, quite a bit more than other liquid liners at drugstores.

Now this Runway Lashes Instant Volume mascara is a surprise. Milani mascaras aren't talked about much on blogs at all, so I didn't know what to expect.

The brush is in the typical shape, easy on the eyes (literally lol). The size works well for my eye shape and it gets the volumizing job done very nicely. No clumping happened, even when I layered more than two coats, and no smudging either.

The bright yellow cap and gold holographic letters on the black tube make the mascara stand out among other black tubes in the stash. Feels like they designed it just for me :) The mascara is $5.99, not bad at all.

This Color Statement lipstick in Best Red is one of the prettiest reds I have tried. It is semi matte but not drying. It was so comfortable on that I actually swiped my lips couple times, forgetting I had it on.

Best Red only costs you $6.99. Note that it does have a light floral scent like the rest of the Color Statement lipstick line, not a problem for me.

Now the Runway Eyes eyeshadows ($8.39 each) are meant to be used both dry and wet. This particular shade - Beach Sand - is too close to my skin tone to show up dry but it is quite pretty when wet (see a swatch below). It does have a bit of shimmers, not overwhelming on the lids. Application and blending are easy.

Swatches from L-R:
- Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Beach Sand, with a damp brush
- Color Statement lipstick in Best Red
- Liquid Eye Liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black
- Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner in Blackest Black in thick and thin lines.

If you have a skin tone like mine, Beach Sand would work best dabbed on mid lid or inner corner or as a brow bone highlight.

Best Red shows up well with two swipes, without a lip liner underneath. The two liners are dark and easy to swatch.

Here is the FOTD with all products I feature here. Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts?

This post is to prove how much Canada has been missing out in the beauty world. My CP package from the US arrived couple days ago. Awesome products, and we were able to pair up some godo sales too.

First off, Wet n Wild. The Maritimes is lucky to have Lawtons who carries the brand but not all LE collections make it up North.

Here are two of the latest trios they released in the Tough Girl collection - I Don't Do Camouflage and Enlisting for Beauty.

At this point, I am not sure Canada will get this collection as the last collection I saw was the Pop Art Craze.

Since these were on sale for $2 each, I did not want to miss the chance. Temptalia hasn't been giving the Pop Art Craze very good grades, I hope these are better.

Similarly, with Physicians Formula, certain products seem to be either not available here at all or out of stock all the time, as I couldn't find them anywhere.

When these were on BOGO plus +UP reward, I couldn't help myself:
- Matte eyeshadow quads in Canyon  Classics and Classic Nudes, $7.25 each reg.
- Shimmer Strips eyeliner trios in Warm Nude Eyes and Hazel Eyes (the later shade is available in Canada, I think), $11.95 each.

Notice a trend so far? I've been into matte and neutral eyeshadows lately, almost feel like I need to collect all the matte neutrals or something lol. I heard these are good ones.

These Milani rose blushes are LE and Canada won't be getting them, which made me want them even more.

I got Warm Petals and Romantic Rose, retail $9.49 a piece, also on Extra Bucks promo at the time.

Reviews on YT have been mixed though, some raved about them, some said they weren't anything special.

This Maybelline Dream Sun bronzing face illuminator ($9.49) was a LE product quite a while ago. I almost had no expectation of my friend being able to find it but she did. Feels like I own a piece of "history" lol.

Also from Maybelline are the LE Color Sensational lipsticks in Lavender Voltage and Violet Intrigue, reg. $7.99 on BOGO1/2.

The On the Runway collection hasn't showed up in Canada, I don't think. Maybelline Canada did mention the Color Show Vintage Leather will arrive soon though, so let's hope for the rest.

One of the latest raves in the drugstore range is Jordana's new products. The brand is not available in Canada, so no chance of me getting anything.

My friend got me the Twist and Shine moisturizing balm stains in Cranberry Crush, Sweet Pink and Honey Love ($2.99 each), and a 12hr Made to Last eyeshadow pencil in Eternal White, $3.99.

I could have asked for the whole line at this kind of price, but I tried to be good there :)

Same availability situation with Jordana is Flower Beauty. I told myself that I only wanted to try their cream eyeshadows and asked for 4 (4, $7.98 each).

First row: Orchid-ing Around, Midnight Garden.

Second row: Awesome Blossom and Time Willow Tell.

I haven't swatched them, but first impression, these have bulkier packaging which will take up more space in storage. I might look pass that if the quality is good :)

The biggest rave of them all recently is the L'Oreal (LE) La Lacque lip colours.

As I mentioned before on this blog, L'Oreal Canada confirmed that we won't get these, and they were not very easy to find in the US either.

My friend found Lacquer-ized, Never Lacque-ing and Lacque-onic for me, and even better, they were on sale, with +UP reward promo.

I am super happy to finally own these, almost want to ask for backups now. We might have better luck with the Revlon ColorBurst lacquer balms and matte balms as they are permanent, with wider colour range. The matter is when :)

Only a few nail polish from Salon Perfect, $3.98 each. Canada does get some the brand's core shades but none of the special releases. So unfair, as their permanent colours are boring, I have to say.

I got:
- Zapped, Jolt and Kaboom from the Summer collection
- Ivy League, Cafe Ole, Red Dahlia (dupe of the famous Chanel Malice) and Raisin the Roof from the Fall collection.

There are certainly many more products and brands that I wanted from the US, but I stopped there, for now :) I hope I don't make my fellow Canadian readers feel too bad. We certainly have some good Canadian brands here who start opening their doors to (at least) the US market - Annabelle/ Marcelle, Lise Watier, as examples. Why can't US brands do the same eh?

So July was done, I was so busy getting the apartment cleaned out to finish the lease, didn't get around drugstores very much until this (long) weekend.

At Lawtons, I found some 50% off red tags:
- Marcelle BB trial kit (reg. $16.95) in Medium to Dark with BB cleanser (30ml), BB cream (15ml) and BB cream to powder (4g). Also available in Light to Medium, selections vary by stores
I don't need any trial to this line but the minis are great for travelling, I wouldn't mind to stock up on these.

- Marcelle Jelly Cheek Flush blushes in Rosy Tint and Flushed Coral (reg. $16.95)
Was lucky to find a display that was not fully picked over. I heard good things about them, couldn't wait to test them out.

More red tags - Milani (LE) Shadow Eyez eyeshadow pencils in Black Ink, Espresso Line, Cafe au Lait, Almond Cream and Sand Dunes (reg. $8.99).

I was really excited to see the display at Lawtons a while back but tried to hold off on these. However, they are LE, with 4 neutral matte shades (the first 4 shades in the pic) and now are cleared out, I certainly didn't want to miss out.

Sand Dunes has metallic finish but is a versatile shade to wear all the time, so I grabbed it too. Passed on the darker bronze (metallic) shade called Golden Bronze.

Last week, Shoppers had L'Oreal Youth Code skin care for $19.99, including the new Texture Perfector line. I got the serum and Day/ Night cream with beautiful pink and silver packaging. The line is supposed to help with the look of pores, fine lines and uneven skin tone. Let's hope eh?

On the far left is the L'Oreal Colour Riche eyeshadow quad in Cupa Joe, on sale then for $8.99. All matte shades, being dupes of MAC eyeshadows (Wedge, Vanilla, Omega and Charcoal Brown), that's a small price to pay right?

At Winners, I was over the moon to find 2 cute bags on clearance - Steve Madden Bidoll $36 (comparable at $128) and MMS Design Studio circle studded satchel $20 (comparable at $70).

Also bought a cute pair of oven mitts with a "Born to shop, Forced to cook" print, so me lol.

From Claire's Splatter nail polish line, I got Flashing Lights and Paparazzi, reg. $8 (15ml), BOGO1/2 (i.e. $6 each when you buy 2). Considering the Hard Candy nail polish (7.8ml for $4), these are better bargains.

There are about 7-8 shades in the line, I'm hoping for more. Claire's also has about 3 shades in the Sand (texture) line, great to see them catching up with indie trends.

Note that 10 for $10 sale is on at Claire's (at least it was in the weekend), and there is a bonus buck promo - when you spend $20 now until August 24, you'll get a bonus buck card to get $10 off a purchase of $20 or more between August 25 - September 15.

And lastly, if you didn't see my tweet already, Wet n Wild Pop Art Craze collection has arrived at Lawtons. The eyeshadow trios are $3.99 each, and there are nail polish too.

I am a minimalist today, that doesn't happen very often :)

Just wanted to show you the Milani and LA Colors/ LA Girl products I reviewed in the last 2 days on the face:

- LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer in Pure Beige
- Milani Baked powder blush in Corallina
- Milani Illuminating face powder in Amber Nectar
- Milani Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Golden Touch all over the lids and on brow bone
- Milani Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black on upper lash line
- LA Colors Grafix eyeliner in Black on lower lash line
- LA Colors moisturizing lip gloss in Tickled Pink, no liner.

Other products used:
- Sunscreen: Vichy Bare Skin Feel lotion SPF45 (review coming soon)
- Serum: Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10
- Moisturizer: Yves Rocher Anti-age Global Day cream
- Powder: Annabelle CC pressed powder in Light/ Medium
- Outer corner eyeshadow: the purple shade from Wet n Wild Petal Pusher palette
- Mascara: Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Collector Ultra Volume mascara in Black
- Brows: Yves Rocher eyebrow pencil in Brown.

Notice anything missing? Yes, I did not use any primer nor foundation. Excited to see I could get away with just a concealer on acne scars and pimples (not all over the face).

It's fair to say I am very happy with the LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer. Can already predict I'd wear this look a lot in the summer, probably will add Annabelle CC Instant Perfecting bases to even out the skin tone a bit more.

Have a great day with whatever season you are having :) I think it's spring around here today, was summer yesterday.

If you haven't seen, the Milani shelf at drugstores has been updated with more exciting new products. Before I get to those, I have a quick review of some current products that are worth checking out while you're there, courtesy of Lawtons :)

Here I have:
- Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black
- Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Golden Touch
- Baked powder blush in Corallina, and
- Illuminating face powder in Amber Nectar.

I'd say this is a good representation of what Milani had released. As a harder-to-find brand in Canada, Milani does have some good products to offer.

First up is the Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black.

I think I looked pass this product for a long time, am happy to see that it is quite awesome.

As claimed, it is waterproof and smudge proof, last all day on my waterline and lower lash line even when I didn't set it with a powder eyeshadow on top. I enjoyed the easy application and auto sharpening mechanism.

5 shades available, all paraben free, 0.01oz/ 0.28g, retails $6.29.

Another eye product is the Runway Eyes eyeshadow in Golden Touch.

The Runway Eyes eyeshadow line can be used wet or dry, which I like. Even though the glitters are only an overspray, I still prefer the eyeshadows without them (or matte finish would be great).

This shade in particular is quite close to my skin tone (see below) that I can only use it as a quick wash of colour on the lids to even them out, or as a brow bone highlight.

On top of a primer, it has decent wear time, but again, because it is my skin tone colour, fading is harder to notice. No creasing though, which is good.

0.07oz/ 2.1g with good selection of shades, $8.39 a piece.

Swatches of the liner (left) and the eyeshadow (dry in the middle, wet on the right).

The Golden Touch is quite a light touch (pun intended), with better payoff when applied wet. The glitters don't transfer much, which is good.

Notice how pigmented the liner is? It would be a good liner to travel with, now that I don't have to worry about the sharpener :)

Now to the Baked powder blush in Corallina.

Don't you love the look of baked blushes with multi-coloured veins running through the product. Corallina is an intense coral pink with light gold shimmer that does not show up much (which is a good thing for daily use).

And they don't only have the look. Pigmentation is really good and long lasting (no touchups required for the whole day I wore it). Application is smooth and easy.

The compact was a little bulky because of the mirrored compartment that houses the brush underneath the blush. People don't use it anyway, I'd rather have a thinner compact to carry around.

8 shades available, 0.12oz/ 3.5g, $9.99 each.

Another treat-to-the-eye face product: the Illuminating face powder in Amber Nectar. Looks like a bouquet of roses, this powder is a multi purpose product - highlighter, bronzer and blush.

On my skin tone, Amber Nectar is not really a highlighter unless I pick only the white rose spots to touch my brush (not very easy, considering how small the spots are). It works best as a bronzer for me, and it does very good job at that with a subtle glow.

0.35oz/ 10g, with 3 colour options, $15.99.

Swatches of the blush and the powder. The glow on the powder was intensified by the flash, it is not that intense IRL, rest assured.

I was happy to see these products all have safety seals/ plastic wraps or are with boxed-in packaging. I cringe every time I see someone swatching a product (not testers) in store.

What are you favorite Milani products? Now that we are in June, I probably should ask what your favorite summer products are, to be more specific :) Here's the FOTD that I did using these products to show you. Have a great one!

This is a (blog birthday) look I did using Stila Countless Color pigments in Acoustic and Finale on my eyes and cheeks. Did I look as cheerful as I felt toward these little beauties lol?

Breakdown of the eye makeup:
- Base: CoverGirl Flamed Out eyeshadow pencil in Red Hot Flame
This shade is a perfect base for Acoustic. It is more pigmented on the lids than other CoverGirl Flamed Out pencils I tried, loved it! However, it stained my lids slightly pink after removal
- Eyeshadows: from Finale - the light peach in the inner corner and the reddish pink in the outer corner; from Acoustic - the mahogany in the crease and the beige on the brow bone
I used a blending brush with the darker colours and my fingers for the lighter colours. Worked pretty well
- Eyeliner: Annabelle Smoothie eyeshadow pencil in Licoriche, topped with the mahogany from Acoustic, and Gosh Velvet Touch eyeliner in Banana near the tear duct
- Mascara: Lancome Definicils HD mascara in Black.

For blush, I swiped the brush across Acoustic only ONCE for each cheek. As mentioned in my review, these pigments are insanely pigmented when used as blushes, so start with a light hand. If you are after a sheer look, one swipe is enough for both cheeks.

Other face products:
- Sunscreen: La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL cream SPF60
- Serum: Hydraluron moisture booster
- Moisturizer: Yves Rocher Anti-age Global day cream
- Primer: Annabelle CC Instant Perfecting base in Luminous finish
- Foundation: Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation in Fresh Beige
- Concealer: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlight concealer in Buff
- Powder: CoverFx Setting Fx translucent mineral powder
- Brows: Avon Ultra Luxury liner in Dark Brown.

On the lips:
- Lip liner: Annabelle waterproof lip liner in Carnation
Rediscovered a love here. Carnation is a great liner to neutralize my pigmented lips, helping the lipstick show up closer to its true colour 
- Lipstick: Milani Color Statement lipstick in Nude Creme
One of the best "nude" shades on me. I can't do pale nudes as they wash me out, but this pink toned nude, I can do.

I'm on a roll in finding new makeup to try and fill my blogging schedule way into August. I never thought I could do a "makeup no buy" but a few youtubers have inspired me to decide to slow down, against my blogger nature. I trust that lots of you will understand how hard that is!

The stress of house hunting and my little girl turning 10 also start getting to me. I am doing all by myself and I am overwhelmed. But I'll stay on the positive side and wish Squirt and Sparkled Beauty a happy birthday today! Will you all hold my hands? :)

This is the start of a review series of new Milani products I have recently bought. Today is all about the Color Statement lipsticks, as they rocked my socks :)

Pictured are, from L-R: Uptown Mauve, Black Cherry and Nude Creme.

The lipsticks are available in vinyl, metallic, cream, shimmer, pearl and matte finish, but I somehow ended up getting all cream. Described as full coverage, with lightweight creamy formula infused with Vitamins A, C & E, these lipsticks are to moisturize and nourish your lips. And I find this claim quite true.

Let's see the colours first.

Uptown Mauve is supposed to be a violet mauve, swatched more like a fuchsia.

Black Cherry is, well, a black cherry but more cherry than black :) It can definitely go a little darker to fit the name, IMO.

Nude Creme is a pink nude, one of the better nudes on me.

Are you surprised seeing a nude lipstick in my haul? Well, I was lol. I tried to be more liberal in choosing lip colours to fully test out the range. So far, I'm impressed.

Swatches were done with only 2 quick swipes of the lipsticks each time.

I love how opaque the colours are, very smooth and comfortable to wear. They last well on my lips, about 4 hours with eating and drinking (tea) :) I always wear a lip balm underneath all my lip products, and the lipsticks did not feel drying on top of it.

Another lighting angle, the colours show a little brighter here.

I am happy with the formula of this lipstick line and might have to try more shades :) I am not sure we get all 28 shades that Milani released in the US, but will look for Best Red, Hot Pink Rage or Sangria (matte), High Voltage (vinyl) and maybe a purple - Violet Volt (metallic).

The lipsticks are paraben free, retail $6.99 a piece at Lawtons and Superstore. Followed is a look I did with Nude Creme.