Milani Conceal & Perfect Shine-Proof Powder | Foundation Friday

Foundation Friday

Jan 29

Hello and thank you for joining me! Today I will be sharing the second entry in my new Foundation Friday series and we will be covering the Milani Conceal & Perfect Shine-Proof. I wanted the second entry in the Foundation Friday series with a foundation at an affordable price that is comparable to my beloved MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation. If this sounds interesting then keep reading for my favourite application, companion products, and who this will work best for.

Base Layer

With any powder foundation, skin preparation is crucial for the smoothest application. My favourite way to prime my skin for this is with the L’Oreal True Match Lumi Glotion and ELF Mist & Set! Since my skin is more on the normal-to-oily side, I keep the Lumi Glotion on the side perimeter of my face and then mist Mist & Set generously over my face.

With any powder foundation I always like to use any cream or liquid products first, before I apply foundation. When blending out products under the powder foundation, I like to start with concealer and then blend it out with a larger brush or a sponge. For things like liquid or cream blush, bronzer, or highlighter, I like to apply them as a wash of colour without being overly concerned with precision application as they will shift when the foundation is applied. However, if you are applying something like a cream blush and you want that to make a statement in your final look, then you need to apply it a little heavier than you normally would, as the foundation will mute the colour slightly.

Foundation

If you want to preserve your product placement then start by lightly stippling the foundation over your face in a sheer layer, then adding whisper-thin layers until you achieve your desired level of coverage. Once you have the foundation to your liking, I recommend using a damp beauty sponge to gently bounce over the foundation to add back some moisture to the skin and create a more realistic look by helping the powder melt into the skin.

Brushes

When thinking about the level of coverage you want to look at the brush you are using as the denser the brush the higher level of coverage you will achieve. Some examples of brushes I love for different level of coverage are:

Real Techniques Powder Brush , for sheer application (my personal favourite),
Real Techniques 200 Expert Face Brush, for medium application, and
Real Techniques Expert Concealer Brush, for heavy application.

Wear Test

I wore the Milani Concealer & Perfect Shine-Proof Powder every day for six days with different priming layers each day. My serum, moisturizer, and SPF stayed the same for all six days.

Also, I didn’t touch up the foundation any of the days I tested it, however, I never really felt like I needed to touch up. I assume you could touch up with this powder, but, like MAC Studio Fix Powder, I feel like it gets very heavy very quickly, so proceed with caution when layering.

Day 1: No primer and ELF Mist & Set

Day 2: MAC Strobe Cream and ELF Mist & Set

Day 3: Revlon ColorStay Prep and Protect Primer and ELF Mist & Set

Day 4: ELF Poreless Putty Primer and ELF Mist & Set

Day 5: Catrice Prime and Fine Pore Refining Anti-Shine Base and ELF Mist & Set

Day 6: L’Oreal True Match Lumi Glotion and ELF Mist & Set

Days 1, 2, and 6

The foundation wore well and lasted for eight hours. There was some oil coming through around the four-hour mark. At the 10-hour mark there was some minor signs of wear on the sides of my nose.

Day 3

The foundation was slightly more luminous than it was on days 1, 2, and 6. The biggest difference was I had an oily breakthrough around the two-and-a-half-hour mark.

Day 4 and 5

The foundation wore as well as it did on days 1, 2, 3, and 6; however, I found it took me a few more minutes to get the foundation smoothed out to my liking and the foundation stayed matte until the 10-hour mark!

Is the Milani Conceal & Perfect Shine-Proof Powder Right for You?

I honestly feel that the Milani Concealer & Perfect Shine-Proof Powder – much like the MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation – can work well for all skin types with the appropriate preparation.

If you have normal to dry, very dry, or dehydrated skin, I would suggest applying a more occlusive moisturizer and/or SPF, followed by a more luminous skin-illuminating primer. My top picks are the Olay Regenerist Ultra Rich (moisturizer) or, if you have very oily skin, I suggest trying the Cetaphil Oil Control Moisturizer SPF 30 (moisturizer/SPF).

Mini Reviews!

L’Oreal True Match Lumi Glotion in 901 Fair Glow

This product had been on my radar since it launched back in winter 2018 but I skipped it because the $19 CAD price seemed a little too high for a drugstore illuminator. I finally purchased it and I honestly wish I had gotten it when it originally launched because it’s STUNNING!

For those who love liquid illuminators like I do, this lies somewhere between MAC StobeCream in Pinklight and the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in 2. The texture is more like StrobeCream but it has the skin-smoothing effect of the Flawless Filter and the colour is a gorgeous pale champagne pinky nude. In short, I really love this product!

ELF Mist & Set Setting Spray

While this wasn’t my first time using this setting spray it had been MANY years since I tried it. I remember originally buying it from a Roanoke, VA, K-Mart for a few dollars – falling in love – and needing to repurchase this tiny bottle of goodness weekly. As new products came out, I forgot about it and totally missed that ELF launched it in a large size! It’s safe to say when this bottle runs out I will be purchasing the large bottle.

Milani Conceal & Perfect Longwear Concealer in 110 Nude Ivory

This concealer wore extremely well and looked very skin-like when applied in a thin veil to the areas where I wanted more coverage. I will note that when I exceeded two thin layers, I noticed the product began getting patchy and would lift as I tried blending it out with my sponge. Also, this colour was a phenomenal shade match for me!

Milani Strobelight Instant Glow Powder Highlighter in 01 After Glow

While this product lived up to its “instant glow’ title I found it to be too much for my personal taste. Being a male with normal-to-oily skin, I have large pores and average skin texture. This product’s metallic-like shine reflected light brilliantly, however, it emphasized texture that otherwise wouldn’t be noticeable. If you have minimal skin texture or you want a “blinding” highlight and you don’t mind seeing texture, then I think you will love this highlighter.

Milani Silky Matte Bronzing Powder in 01 Sun Light

Next to the powder foundation that I was testing, this was an absolute home-run! There’s no exaggeration when I say this bronzer out-performs 90% of the bronzers I have in my collection, and I will be adding this gorgeous product to my favourites rotation. While this bronzer packs a lot of pigmentation, it’s easy to build up gradual layers for sheer natural warmth on the skin; and the colour is a perfect neutral bronzer that will suit many fairer-skinned people like myself who find most other bronzers too orange or muddy. I strongly recommend trying this bronzer if you haven’t already!

Milani Baked Powder Blush in 03 Berry Amore

The shade Luminoso in this range has been a long-time cult-classic amongst beauty lovers but Berry Amore is an underrated gem! Those of you who remember MAC’s Mineralized Blush in Warm Soul (the original) will love this colour as much as I do. The colour is a blend of gorgeous peachy-plummy-bronzy goodness swirled together in a marbleized blush that is beyond magical. I will note that in the pan it looks quite shimmery, however, once applied I didn’t notice any major shimmer or glitter flecks.

Annabelle Lip Liner in Demure

As I mentioned in the YouTube video, this colour could be a great alternative if you are looking for a more affordable option to MAC Lip Pencil in Dervish or the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in OG Pillow Talk. While this colour isn’t an exact dupe, you still get a similar look and the biggest texture difference I notice is that the Annabelle is slightly stiffer than MAC which is stiffer than the Charlotte Tilbury – although if you apply a lip balm first then you should be good to go!

NYX #ThisIsEverything Lip Oil in Sheer Sky Blue

While I cannot agree with NYX that this lip oil is everything, I will say that it’s nice. The initial slip absorbs quickly but the sheer tint and the lovely taste of carnival cotton candy lingers for a bit. If you are a massive lover of NYX, be sure to give it a go; but if you are on the fence I would say skip it and opt for something like Vaseline Lip Therapy (I’m unashamed to admit I am obsessed with the Pink Bubbly variant).

Hopefully you found this Foundation Friday along with the additional affordable product mini-reviews to be helpful and thank you for spending your time with me!

Warm Wishes,

Zack