Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Milani Shadow Eyez 12 Hour Wear Eyeshadow Pencils Swatches and Review

Yet another new release from Milani this year: a line of long-wearing eyeshadow pencils in vibrant colors. They're called Shadow Eyez and the promise a creamy formula with crease-proof, water-resistant all day wear.


Ingredients and instructions
(click to enlarge)

Left to right:
Winter White, Brown Deluxe, Champagne Toast, Green Safari, Aquatic Style, Royal Purple



Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in 01 Winter White

Winter white is a sheer, bright white shimmer. It's a little chunkier shimmer-wise and a little more sheer than the other shades in the collection.


Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in 02 Brown Deluxe

Brown Deluxe is a gorgeous sparkling brown. It has a bronze-brown metallic base with a good amount of gold and copper shimmer on top.


Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil on 03 Champagne Toast

Champagne Toast is a medium peach metallic base with heavy silvery-champagne shimmer. It can appear darker or lighter at different angles due to the way the reflective metallic shimmer sits on top of the base color.


Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in 04 Green Safari

Green Safari is the green I've been wishing for forever. It's a true green- not teal, not sea green, not aqua. It has a more yellow-toned base than any green shadow or liner pencil I own. It has a metallic finish that adds a nice reflective glow to the already bright color.


Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in 05 Aquatic Style

Aquatic Style is an aqua blue metallic. It has a darker blue base with a bit of green and the metallic shimmer is lighter and more cool toned.


Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencil in 06 Royal Purple

Another impressive color. It's a bold purple and the only matte shade in the collection. There is some blue shimmer in the color but it doesn't appear shimmery on the lids.


What I really like about these pencils is that you don't have to use them as eyeshadow, you can use them as eyeliner just as easily. I'm not much of a fan of cream shadows, but I do love a good waterproof liner...


Milani Shadow Eyez in Green Safari used as eyeliner

What I liked:
  • I don't think I could have asked for a better color selection. The colors are bold, vibrant and shiny, there's a good mix of brights and neutrals, and every single one is gorgeous. The only thing this collection is missing is a grey or taupe smoky eye color and maybe a good orange, gold or red.
  • Smooth, easy application. The pencil is soft and glides on without any skipping or tugging whether you're applying it to your entire eyelid or just using it as liner.
  • Most of the colors are opaque in one coat.
  • When I wore these as a lid color, I didn't experience any fading, creasing or flaking. They really do last all day.
  • They make a good sticky base for sparkly pressed or loose eyeshadows. Good at holding shimmer and glitter in place.
  • Cheap! MSRP is $5.99.
  • Easy to remove. It recommends dual-phase eye makeup remover but they came off just fine with plain facial cleanser for me.
  • They are water resistant, they won't run if they get wet. They're not completely waterproof, though, and will start to come off if you rub your eyes a lot.
  • The packaging is attractive and I love the way the color of the pencil matches the product inside.
What I didn't like:
  • The lids don't fit very well. They tend to fall off even when I thought I'd capped them tightly. You have to really jam them down onto the pencil, but I can see that leading to the cap splitting eventually. Be careful carrying them in your purse or makeup bag because they will come open at some point.
  • Shadow Eyez? Really? That's the best name they could come up with? Eyezzzzzz. Urgh.
  • They take a little longer to set than I'd like and they're kinda sticky, which could cause the shadow to come off in some spots if you blink too much while waiting for them to dry.
  • Winter White and Royal Purple are the two sheerest colors. They will become opaque if you apply two coats, but it can be hard to apply a second coat without smudging or removing the first coat.
  • Can look chunky and thick if you apply too much product/too many layers.
  • They interfere with shadow blending too much for me to use them in the crease with a powder shadow on top. They really grab onto powder shadow, which makes them great as a base for other shadows on the lid, but create harsh lines if you try to blend them out. They're lid and liner only colors for me.
  • You need a large-barrel sharpener for these. I'd prefer if they were twist-up pencils, that way they waste less product and are more convenient.

I like these a lot. I am not really into cream shadow, so I can't see myself using them for that purpose very often, but they rock as eyeliner. You wouldn't think that such a chubby/wide pencil would make a thin enough line for eyeliner, but they actually do! The bright color combined with the shiny metallic finish makes them really eye-catching. They're just as nice as the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils, but about a quarter of the price. Better/brighter color selection and slightly smoother application, too. These are really similar to the Milani Liquif'Eye eyeliner pencils I love, just a lot bigger.

Milani Shadow Eyez 12 Hour Wear Eyeshadow Pencils are a CVS exclusive and retail at $5.99 for each 0.1 oz / 2.8 g pencil.

(This was sent for review.)

42 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It's so shimmery and pretty, I liked it a lot more than I'd normally like a brown. Deluxe is exactly what it is!

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  2. So pretty <3 That green is gorgeous!!

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    Replies
    1. I've been hoping for a green pencil in this exact shade for so long!

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  3. Thanks for sharing. I saw these two weeks ago and wondered how they compare quality wise to Urban Decay. Now I'll just wait for a sale to snatch some up.

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  4. Wow Green Safari and Aquatic Style are lush! Funky names too, which I always dig! These look lovely and creamy in consistency too. Love the look you created x

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  5. Champagne Toast yes please!...right up my street indeedy!
    Shame I'm sure we can't get these in the UK :(

    Thanks for sharing!
    ..xX

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  6. Oh my gosh - these look amazing. I wish they'd release a matte white pencil though - you never seem to be able to find just a regular matte white anywhere haha.

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    Replies
    1. I agree about the white! I've never been able to find that NYX Milk pencil and I haven't wanted to order it online... And this white is not that great if you want it to be opaque. A matte would definitely be nice.

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  7. Excellent swatches . . . thanks! I'm eyeballing Champagne Toast.

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    1. Thank you! It is very pretty and shiny, I really like it

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  8. i need them all, they are stunning .

    PS i love the way you paired them! looks beautiful on you

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  9. LOL "Shadow Eyez"! I wonder if someone in marketing said "Let's spell it with a Z so all the cool kids buy it".

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    Replies
    1. Haha exactly! It's more XTREME that way, lol

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  10. I have the purple and the white. They're...okay.

    Like you, I hate the caps, especially on the white. It keeps popping off!

    I wish the white was more opaque and to get the purple opaque makes it feel really thick. I also find it a bit too dark to use as a color base since it seems to eat color.

    For the price, they're okay, but they don't wow me as much as say the UD version.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, the purple and the white were sheer for me and building them up to full opacity makes them feel thick... I had the same experience as you. I love the purple as a liner, it doesn't seem so sheer that way. The rest of the colors are a lot more opaque, I think a purple with the same type of metallic/reflective shimmer finish might have turned out better/more opaque like the others.

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    2. I think the shimmer might have made the purple more flattering on me too. It's a -hair- warm for the skin tone and just looks a little off. I think I'll try it out as a liner though!

      Not sure what I'm going to do with the white. Not only is it sheer, but it's so creamy that all the messing with the cap has caused little bits to kind of ball up. Not that impressive, really.

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    3. Can you return it? I can't remember how CVS' return policy is, but most places seem to have a really good cosmetic return policy nowadays. Maybe they'll let you exchange it for a different color.

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  11. Will definitely have to check these out. Brown Deluxe and Champagne Toast looks like must-haves for me.

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    Replies
    1. I think they're excellent colors, especially for six bucks!

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  12. these are all gorgeous but i agree about green safari. it's the best green.

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  13. Wow I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I love the brown color. Its beautiful! I need that one and the green one.

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    Replies
    1. Same here! I rarely get googly-eyed over brown anything, but it's so luminous and shiny, I love the way it look on my eyes!

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  14. Milani Germany is closing their website :( I have purchased over 35 items before they shut their doors :( but this pencils were never online at the store? really great colours :( it's a pitty to loose this onlinestore :(

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  15. I'm very interested in Milani and debating what products to go for (since I've never used them before) and these seem awesome. Do you know if they are cruelty-free as a brand? Do you have any 'must have' recommendations for a Milani newbie??

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  16. You have so beautiful eyes *.* I love brown eyes, but unfortunately my eyes are green :(

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    Replies
    1. Your eyes are beautiful too, even if they are green! Be thankful that you HAVE eyes!

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  17. Oh wow, these look great! Love the colors.

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  18. Hmm...you make me want to buy things that I wouldn't otherwise... Lol.

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  19. Is it just me or do these REALLY look like the shadow pencils from Annabelle (Canadian brand)?
    Whatever - the brown one looks just like the brown I'd been lusting after from Annabelle so yay, no having to hit up a Canadian friend/swapper to get it now!

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  20. Don't you just hate this buzz word spelling, add a z and be oh so edgy, er no, it actually isn't! I like the cool colours especially, as I don't have your coloring. Your look was great though, I don't have much faith in crimes, after buying a few benefit ones about 10 years ago. But you make them look great!

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