Milani Illuminating Face Powder in 01 Amber Nectar Swatches and Review

A few weeks ago I spotted Milani Illuminating Face Powder on clearance at my local Meijer while shopping for groceries, because no grocery shopping is complete without venturing into the beauty isle, am I right? 🙂 I didn’t really need a new blush, or a highlighter, and I almost never wear bronzers, but I was totally sold on the design [let’s be honest, those roses are irresistible!], and the price was low enough to feed my curiosity without any potential guilt trips. These blushes were released in Spring 2012, and due to their popularity eventually became part of permanent collection. There were two other shades on the shelf, but I was only interested in the lightest one, I felt like Amber Nectar would be easier to integrate into my makeup routine than the rest.

PRODUCT CLAIMS
An ultra-smooth, multi-color blush, bronzer & highlighter. Gives skin a hint of color with a lit-from-within radiant healthy glow.

When I try a new product, I always begin by swatching it on my wrist to make sure I won’t get an allergic reaction. Right off the bat, I noticed that the shimmery pigments looked quite big in the pan, but that doesn’t really bother me as long as I don’t get them all over my face. Swatching was easier said than done, because this product is seriously lacking pigmentation, which I’m not really surprised about, considering it’s kind of cheap even at full price. I eventually gave up torturing those poor roses, and decided to counterattack with a primer. Now we’re talking! Using heavy strokes, I layered each color over my HG Tarte Clean Slate Creaseless primer, and actually received the desired results.

The pan contains the following shimmery colors:

• Frosty cream – This color was the toughest one to swatch, because it has the worst pigmentation. I think in theory it’s supposed to slightly prime the surface of the skin so that other colors show up better. Considering how much trouble it gave me, I wonder if it actually works.
• Light taupe – Turned out to be the same shade as my skin, the swatch was nearly invisible, but the color payout is quite nice. There were only two of these in the pan, suggesting that it’s merely meant to bind darker and lighter shades together.
• Deep bronze – It’s actually not too dark for my light skin tone, this shade would be great for contouring. 
• Golden bronze – Golden hues are great highlighters, which is probably why this color was included. It gives some warmth, without being too over the top yellowy.
• Peachy coral – The most prevalent color in the pan, there are four full-sized nodes and they are all strategically spread evenly around the perimeter. The pigmentation was also the best of the bunch.
• Rosy mauve – Another very pretty shade, I wouldn’t mind having a blush in this color.

There are many factors that determine what color you will end up with when you blend them all together, here are some things to consider:

• What do you apply with? – Is it a sponge? A brush? What kind of brush? Milani recommends using a Kabuki brush for this blush for the best results. I used one for my blended-together swatch.
• How do you apply? – Light-handed or heavy-handed? Wet or dry? These things can affect the color payout and how well the pigment will adhere to your skin, especially shimmer.
• Primer or no primer? Pretty self-explanatory. If you apply over a primer, the final color will look completely different, because each rose will actually give you plenty of pigment. If you don’t apply the primer, then the colors with better pigmentation will stand out more (in this case it will be more rosy and look like a real blush)

THE VERDICT
Keep in mind that due to poor pigmentation I had to use a primer to get the colors to show up on my skin. Now with that said, I googled some reviews and it seems like everyone’s swatches look different from each other (for the reasons I listed above), but they were all gorgeous. I think it’s a great product for the price, and even without the primer it’s very buildable until you reach the desired color intensity. I think this color is suitable for literally every skin tone, from very pale (like me!) to deep complexions. It will work well for contouring and bronzing for fair skin; and provide all-over glow and great highlights for medium and deep skin tones. If you are looking for a product like this, I encourage you to give it a try. Or you could jokingly ask your better half to get it for you as a gift instead of real roses next time you two go out on a date. After all, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and won’t wither in two days 🙂

PRICE & AVAILABILITY
$8.99 USD, 10g. Available at Milani, Amazon, local drugstores.

Have you tried Illuminating Face Powder before? What are your favorite Milani products?

INGREDIENTS
Talc, Triethylhexanoin, Dimethicone, Magnesium Myristate, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Sorbic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Alumina, Disodium Edta, Tin Oxide, Barium Sulfate, Rosin, Phenoxyethanol. +/-Main Contain: Red 36 (CI 12085), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Red 21 (CI 45380), Red 21 Lake (CI 45380), Red 22 (CI 45380), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 27 (CI 45410), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 28 (CI 45410), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Violet 2 (CI 60725), Green 6 (CI 61565), Red 30 (CI 73360), Carmine (CI 75470), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Titanium Dioxide (CI77891), Mica.