For the most of 2018 my everyday makeup routine was very minimal and stayed pretty much the same the entire year. It included the wonderful yet cheap and cheerful NYX HD Wand Concealer. I barely wore any foundation that year and used to use just a few swipes of this concealer in the centre of my face. I used up 4 tubes of this consecutively so I think it's safe to say it has certainly earned itself holy grail status.

The NYX HD Wand Concealer comes in plastic tube and has a doe foot applicator, simple, easy and convenient to use. Comes with 3g/0.11oz of product which isn't much (for e.g. the Nars RCC comes with double the amount at 0.22oz of product) but at £6 it ain't too much of an issue since it's still half the price. I find the packaging a little on the cheap side, if you screw the lid on a little too tightly it cracks the outer casing and you usually end up pulling the outer casing off whilst the actual screw part of the lid is still attached to the main body. Minor glitch but I would prefer if the packaging stayed intact, better quality packaging perhaps if you’re reading this NYX?

Shade

You know I love a good shade match and NYX haven't failed to deliver. After scouring the net for swatches I had my eye on the shade CW04 which is also known as 'Beige'. I'd seen other olive tan people use this shade so I was eager to try it out my self. I love this shade! I've been searching for a concealer shade that will brighten my under eyes but still look natural and this shade is perfect, it has the right balance of olive/yellow/peach to brighten yet blend into my skin for when I don’t want to wear any foundation. There have been many a times where a concealer shade just doesn’t have the right tones in it so it just looks silly under my eyes and usually ends up making my under eye area look worse than it started. This shade blends into the rest of my skin wonderfully, you can't tell where the concealer ends. I would use a peach corrector underneath for when I wanted more fuller coverage under my eyes.

I also looked into buying a darker shade as I'd gone on holiday and caught a tan, again after carrying out a little swatch search I discovered they had a new shade launch and it included some lovely warm medium shades. I picked up the shade CW6.3 which is also known as Fresh Beige. It's much warmer and a touch more neutral than Beige but done a good job while I had my tan. I've also realised that under yellow lighting this particular shade looks completely undetectable on my skin, it's literally seamless and I'm obsessed! They have some brilliant brilliant shades for anyone with warm yellow olive undertones, several people in my family also use and adore this concealer and they use different shades to me, so it's obvious it's great for Mediterranean or South Asian skin tones.

Formula, Texture & Finish

It’s not super thick but quite creamy but not super emollient and feels really really light on the skin. I found the cult favourite Nars RCC quite thick and it caked up quite easily on me, it also looked rather obvious on my skin. I personally find the NYX concealer really skin like. I’ve also tried the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer which is another cult favourite and I found that super light. In comparison to that I’d say the NYX comes in between the Nars and the UD, I did love the formula of UD but none of the colours worked for me unfortunately.

The NYX HD concealer is not one of those formulas where you have to work super fast to blend it in before it sets and dries on you, you have plenty of time to play around with it. I personally find the NYX HD concealer really easy to work with, no need to faff around, just apply and blend. I actually like using a brush for everyday light application and it blends in nicely. Like I mentioned it’s quite skin like in finish and does exude a slight skin like radiance. Skin texture being my biggest pet peeve I also find it doesn’t exaggerate my skin texture too bad rather it gives me a smooth undetectable finish which is a major bonus!

Coverage

I would say it's medium to medium/full, definitely buildable. What I sometimes do is let the concealer sit on my skin for a while to let it dry up a little before I blend it in, this gives me a little more fuller coverage, I’ve seen a lot of YouTuber’s do this and it works really well with this concealer. I love that this gives me coverage yet looks really natural, there’s been a few times where people have asked me if and what I have on my skin because it makes my skin look naturally even. I prefer my makeup to look as undetectable as possible and this gives me just that.

Longevity

The NYX HD concealer isn’t the most long lasting formula but on myself once set with powder it does stay on a decent while. I have quite creasy under eyes so I always have to set with powder. For me personally it's a decent everyday concealer and performs how I want it to. It's not very heavy duty but great for everyday light makeup.

Overall Thoughts

I think the fact that I've repurchased this so many times shows how much I adore it. I do think there's always room for improvement when it comes to shades and definitely packaging with this one but other than that for the price and performance it's great! If you're after a lightweight, easy to use concealer and you're on a budget definitely give this a go, you won't lose that much if it doesn't work out for you. Anyway I hope this was helpful, thanks for reading guys!

Hello lovelies! I'm reviewing the Milani Conceal + Perfect Foundation today. This foundation had been getting so much rave last year and I've been desperate to get my hands on it, plus I had major hopes for the shade 06 Sand Beige. I was sort of under the impression and slightly hoping that this would be the drugstore dupe of my favourite foundation formula the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation (review here), solely based on how smooth the application and finish looked in demos on youtube. I've had some interesting yet slightly disappointing finds with the Milani Conceal + Perfect and have a bit of a love / hate relationship with it, if you'd like to know more just keep on reading...

What the website says:

Combat under eye circles, redness and other skin imperfections with this full coverage, water-resistant foundation plus concealer in one. A no mess, no drip pump dispenses just the right amount of fluid needed to achieve a flawless look and works around the clock to keep skin looking naturally perfect!

Shades Available:

·        01 Creamy Vanilla - For fair skin tones with cool undertones.

·        02 Natural - For light skin with golden undertones.

·        03 Light Beige - For light skin with neutral undertones.

·        04 Medium Beige - For light to medium skin tones with neutral undertones.

·        05 Warm Beige - For medium skin tones with rosy undertones.

·        06 Sand Beige - For medium skin tones with warm undertones.

·        07 Sand - For medium skin tones with neutral undertones.

·        08 Light Tan - For medium skin tones with cool undertones.

·        09 Tan - For medium to deep skin with neutral undertones.

·        10 Golden Tan - For medium to deep skin tones with golden undertones.

·        11 Amber - For medium to deep skin tones with warm undertones.

·        12 Spiced Almond - For deep skin tones with neutral undertones.

·        13 Chestnut - For deep skin tones with golden undertones.

·        14 Golden Toffee - For deep skin tones with warm undertones.

Packaging

The Milani Conceal + Perfect Foundation comes housed in a sturdy glass bottle, it's quite weighty because of this, I'd be wary of dropping this on hard surfaces. Thankfully it comes with a pump and a good controllable one at that, it's up to you if you want to dispense a full pump or a little dot. The foundation has a scent, but I can't seem to decide whether I like it or not, I liked it at first but I find it strange as well at times.

Shade & Oxidisation

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Stromboli, Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless 220, Milani Sand Beige 06

Before and after Oxidising

I was very very hopeful of the shade 06 Sand Beige, it's really hard to get hold of samples or try any testers out as the only store that sells them is Beauty Base in Westfield. I looked up on swatches online and went into the store couple of times to swatch and it looked really promising. It's a really good shade and I personally think it's a rare olive shade here in the UK drugstore (Maybelline 220 being the other). It's a wonderful mix of golden yellow beige with some olive. On myself it's a really nice match, it matches and flatters my skin tone nicely. This does oxidise on me, when first applied I absolutely love it, it looks so nice and glowy and pleasantly flatters my complexion, then it gradually starts to oxidise and develops a slight dullish tinge, it's not too bad -I wish it didn't- still an excellent shade and still retains it's yellow undertones but I don't think I'd go down a shade as the undertones don't look as promising. Though something I need to mention is that the oxidisation colour looks horrible around my hyper-pigmentation, I've noticed that when shades are a bit warm or have a dullish tinge in it, it makes my hyper pigmentation look grey regardless of whether I've colour corrected with orange or not. Strange but true, has anyone experienced anything similar?

Texture

The texture of the Milani Foundation is really thick and creamy, it won't budge when you pump it out onto the back of your hand. It's a proper dense liquid foundation. I've used both brushes and sponges and both work well in blending the foundation in but I think the beauty blender is a little more effortless compared to the brush. This formula is interesting, it's really thick but isn't super duper heavy on the skin considering how dense it is. I wouldn't call this a lightweight formula at all, like I mentioned earlier I was hoping it had the skin smoothing yet lightweight texture of the CT Magic Foundation but this one is quite an obvious/heavy texture on the skin. I would recommend this formula for those with combination oily skin. On my dehydrated combination textured skin it's quite heavy and obvious and sinks into all my lines whilst looking unflatteringly satin-y. If you have dry skin or really oil skin I'd stay away from this foundation as this exaggerates dry flakes and can also look and feel oily and greasy if you're very oily. When I've used this with a primer it's not so dewy looking and more of a demi-matte which I prefer with this formula.

Finish

When first applied the finish is beautiful, it's a gorgeous glowy satin finish, my skin looks smooth, poreless and plump, it's kinda obvious that I have makeup on but it looks really good. I absolutely love how flawless it looks at the beginning but then after 5 mins it all changes and starts to go downhill. It hurts me to say this but it looks gross on my skin after it sets. It highlights EVERY minuscular bump and imperfection on my skin, ALL the tiny dots and pores on the surface of my skin are exaggerated, it also settles into all the tiny fine lines running across my entire forehead, the area around my mouth looks really cakey. It exposes all the imperfections that I didn't even know I had. This actually looks worse on me than the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation (review here) because it's a thicker and heavier formula. I can make the Nars ADLW work for me but I can't always get the Milani to work. It just looks thick, heavy, cakey and obvious on me unfortunately.

Seriously this foundation gets me so upset about my skin, I know I have skin texture issues and it's my biggest downer but I try my best to tackle and treat it, it's not terribly awful but with the Milani Foundation it looks much worse than it actually is and the result is the complete opposite of what I would want from a foundation. Like with every new foundation I always get opinions from others and my sister said it aged my skin so that speaks for itself really. 

This is also quite glowy for an oil free foundation, it does look nice and glowy on my skin at first but after it settles in the shine looks awful, like I always say bumpy shiny skin isn't an attractive look so I make sure to powder it with a skin smoothing powder. I've used my Kick Ass Powder (review here) specifically with this foundation because that the Kick Ass Powder is a foundation perfecter for me and it always makes my base look better, it does help a lot but I can achieve a full flawless look with other full coverage foundations that perform and look better on me (e.g. Too Faced Born This Way (review here)) so the negatives of the Milani aren't worth it.

I've been writing this blogpost in over a span of a month so trust me when I say I've given this foundation many goes and have trialled it with different techniques, so I've been updating and tweaking the post here and there following my experiences. On a positive note I've figured out a way how to make it work with my skin, because this foundation is quite pigmented I've realised I don't need to use a lot of product to achieve the finish and look I want. On well prepped and moisturised skin I use a few drops of The Ordinary High Spread-ability Fluid Primer (let me know if you want a review), I use only 4x 5p dabs of foundation and blend it out with a brush or sponge and achieve medium coverage, minimal caking and settling in lines and a smooth natural finish. At first I used to use around a pump and a half and it was far too cakey for my liking, now I use around 3/4 of a pump. I finally set it lightly with either Soap & Glory Kick Ass Powder or the Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Powder.

Also like I mentioned earlier this looks horrible on my under eye and around my mouth, it makes me look awfully grey even when I've colour corrected which is strange because my under eye circles aren't that bad at all, so what I do is avoid those areas and use a concealer there instead or just go in lightly with the foundation using minimal product.

Feel

The Milani Foundation doesn't feel as heavy on the skin than how it looks but I wouldn't regard it as a super lightweight formula because of how dense and creamy the formula is. I think there are definitely formulas out there that are much lighter on the skin. Even though there's a setting factor there is no tight or tautening feeling on the skin and it's not drying either. Being oil free it's quite a creamy formula, I would recommend setting this as it can feel quite tacky and emollient without any powder. Once set with powder you may be able to feel product on the skin as the product build up might make it more obvious, though this is dependable on how much you use, otherwise it's a fairly comfortable formula. I use probably 3/4 of a pump and get a light comfortable feel.

Coverage

One thing that I can rate is the coverage of this drugstore foundation, you can definitely achieve full coverage with it even though full coverage with this formula makes me look cakey. It's quite impressive how well this covers and most definitely performs to its name and claims. I usually prefer medium coverage but don't mind a flawless face once in a while hence why I was willing to give this a go. Like I mentioned earlier I love how it looks on me when I first apply it, full flawless glowy coverage but how it looks afterwards is what puts me off. I can't stand how mask like it looks on me. As a concealer its not bad, but it's not the most pigmented concealer, it's more of a full coverage foundation than a highly pigmented concealer so if you have dark or stubborn imperfections you may want to go in with a separate concealer. For example one layer of this doesn't conceal my hyper pigmentation or my dark circles and my dark circles aren't that bad. It also creases a lot under my eyes and laugh lines so make sure you set it well if you use it there. I personally think there are better foundations out there which offer full coverage but are much more lighter on the skin but for a drugstore foundation and the price point this is great.

Build-ability

This foundation blends pretty well on the skin and does build equally well too, I haven't needed any more than two layers and have never had any issues of patchiness or cakiness whilst building the Milani, the foundation looks cakey on my skin but its not a cakey formula if that makes sense, meaning I think it's my skin type that disagrees with the formula. 

Longevity

When I first used to use this foundation it made my skin look awful and I usually ended up running to the bathroom to wash it off after 20 minutes because I refused to display such awful makeup to anyone. As the minutes went by it used to look worse and worse, by the 8th hour it started to separate and break up as well as look quite oily, not pretty. But now that I've figured out a routine that works with me I can make this last a decent amount of time without it looking horrible. This formula does sink and mesh into the skin well which is why I think it emphasises every irregularity on my skin but it's not at all transfer proof, it does transfer really easily onto anything it comes into contact with so definitely set it well. 

Overall Thoughts

I do feel really alienated when the vast majority of masses rave about a certain product and I feel the complete opposite way about it. The Milani Foundation is one of those products unfortunately (like the Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless Foundation (review here)). Like is my skin really that difficult to cater to? I'm just not keen on how the Milani looks on me, when I wear foundation I want it to make my skin look as perfected as is possible working in line with my issues whilst keeping it as skin like as possible, this formula isn't skin beautifying on me at all, I can make it work and the shade is pretty decent but I have other foundations and formulas that don't require as much work. I know that when you have skin imperfections and irregularities it's harder to imitate beautiful healthy skin in an undetectable way but I usually tend to strike a balance where you might be able to see makeup on my skin but it's smooth even looking makeup and skin enhancing at the same time. I reckon the smoother your skin is the better the Milani Foundation will look on you. Please if there's anyone out there that feels the same way as I do, do comment down below as I feel awful for feeling and writing so negatively about such a raved product. All in all as usual I hope this review was helpful.

P.S. I think this may be very similar to the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation (review now HERE- It's SO much better than the Milani! I frickin' LOVE it!!!), I have a sample and they're very similar.

Quick Round-up

Pros

- Medium to full coverage

- Very pigmented

- Smooth creamy texture

- Looks really flawless and glowy (at first - on me anyway)

- Satin finish

- Shade 06 Sand Beige is a good yellow olive shade for those who struggle to find good olive shades

- Best for combination to slightly oily skin types

Cons

- Thick texture

- Sets and sits horribly on my skin

- Highlights texture and sinks into my lines and pores (on me)

- Can look cakey and obvious (on me)

- Oxidises

- Not suitable for very oily skin or very dry skin

- Formula just didn't work for my skin unfortunately 

Shade

You can clearly see the olive tones of the Luminous Silk Foundation in 6.0. Nars ADLW Stromboli is pure yellow and EX1 F200 is a beige yellow olive mix.

Again you can see Luminous Silk's olive tones. The bottom half of EX1 F200 has oxidised and has disappeared into my skin.

I picked the shade 6.0 Golden Beige after watching Vilma Marie on YouTube, she's another fellow yellow complected lady who struggles with finding a good match and she bought 6.0, she mentioned it's a bit too olive for her which got me real excited and intrigued about the shade and I knew I had to try it out! I've only heard 6.5 Tawny being mentioned as a shade match for people my skin tone but I'd read that it lacked a golden undertone. I've taken pictures of swatches with different backgrounds as you can see it helps to bring out the different tones in the shades, I've noticed using a white background distorts the shade a lot and makes it look rather grey, dull and blotchy and you don't get an accurate representation of the tones.

The shade 6.0 Golden Beige is an amazing amazing match for me! I really really really like it, Vilma was right when she said it's a bit too olive, I do feel like it's a touch, literally a touch too olive for me as well but I LOVE how the undertone works so brilliantly well with and mimics my undertone PERFECTLY. I'm so surprised that a premium brand actually has such a perfect shade match for me, usually these fancy high end brands have only pink and beige undertoned shades but this one is beautifully beautifully olive! It does make me look ever so slightly tanned but in a gorgeous olive way, it only enhances the olive in my skin and really actually gives me the ideal tan shade, not bronze, not brown, not muddy but a deep golden olive. This shade is just pure wonderful! 

I haven't been to a Giorgio Armani counter before but I would love to have a play around with the other shades because I know there've been some newer shade releases since the initial ones. But yes a big big thumbs up from me!

Texture

The texture of GA LSF is a semi runny liquid, i.e. it'll run down the back of your hand, it's not too runny and not too thick. It's quite a lightweight texture and blends effortlessly! I use my favourite H&M BB Cream Brush as well as the newly released Angled Buffer Brush and it works so well with it, I sort of use a pat pat swipe motion and the foundation moves and manoeuvres easily, I would say it isn't as easily blended as the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation which is even more effortless or the Urban Decay One & Done but it's still very easily blended-able and doesn't require a lot of buffing in. I haven't used a sponge but I can imagine it working well and you can expect the usual, which is a little bit of absorbency and sheered out coverage. Personally I think this texture would work for all or combination skin types, especially if the right skin prep was done accordingly.

Feel

This feels very lightweight on the skin, at first it's quite emollient but my skin drinks it up and becomes one with the foundation so it then feels a little bit tight. Though after it has rested for a bit, around 10 minutes or so it settles and feels very comfortable on and I can hardly feel any product on my face. Obviously this is dependable on the amount you use, I don't use a lot of product, probably around 6 flat pea sized dots but I still think it's a lightweight enough, comfortable feel on the skin.

Finish

This goes on looking quite glowey and skin like at first but when my skin drinks it up its like a semi matte finish with a glow. After it has settled it goes to being a satin finish with a glow. The glow and finish of this foundation is beautiful, similar to the Too Faced Foundation where it makes your skin look flawless and gorgeous but it's definitely not as glowy and it doesn't offer as much coverage as the Too Faced nor is it as smoothing. It just seems to perfect your skin like you're naturally blessed with good skin. I do like how it looks on me after a while when my natural oils come out, it loses any matte-ness and looks more glowy. This is one of those foundations where you can achieve an undetectable finish if you don't have much to cover, it just looks like skin, it mimics natural skin, not overly glowy and not overly matte, just that right balance to make it appear healthy and radiant.

I don't think this is the most forgiving with skin texture, definitely moisturise and prep well if you have drier skin as this can accentuate any skin texture or flakes you may have and can make my skin look "bumpy". It's not one of those skin smoothing pore filling formulas like the Charlotte Tilbury Magic or the One & Done by Urban Decay, those formulas film my skin with a definite layer of product which makes my skin appear smoother and a lot less bumpy. Whereas this formula and the Too Faced formula sink into the skin and mimic the skins naural texture.

Coverage

The Luminous Silk foundation offers sheer to medium / full coverage, I wouldn't say it's a proper full coverage foundation though but I think it is buildable the more you apply. Using only 6 flat pea sized dots I get a beautiful medium coverage, it evens out my skin, conceals any redness and minor blemishes and gives my skin a natural looking even complexion in a non masking way. Some have said this is a foundation for those that already have good skin and I do get what they mean. This would look lovely on someone with moderately good skin, it's quite a face perfecting formula but not ideal for trouble or very textured skin. Anyone with major blemishes to hide may have to go in with a concealer. I have to use an orange colour corrector with this under my eyes and around my mouth and I get an overall nicer look. 

Build-ability 

The Luminous Silk has been known for its buildable quality, for a foundation that came out over a decade ago the formula was well advanced for its time, I understand why people have raved about it for so long, but I feel foundation technology has evolved since then and we have very similar if not better foundations out there now, i.e. more coverage, lightweight and skin like finishes, though yes it is in a league of its own. This does build really nicely, it doesn't seem to cake up too much and layers nicely, especially on the "normal" parts of my face, but I do avoid using too much product on my drier textured areas as the dry down of this foundation isn't too flattering as usual in those areas at first. 

Longevity

I do think this formula is great for combination / slightly oily / slightly dry skin types, which is what I fall under. I do get a sheen with this foundation after an hour but a little powder does the job. Formulas like this one work well with my skin as it doesn't dry my skin out nor does it turn me into a grease ball. I can set it with some powder and be good for the day. Obviously on hotter days (which us Britons have been having a lot in the past weeks) powder is the only thing that makes my makeup last. I do like how the Luminous Silk wears on me through the day, it's skin like and skin enhancing in a good way. Since it's a good in between foundation for my skin type, (not too drying/not too oily) this has decent longevity on me.

Oxidisation

I feel like the Luminous Silk does oxidize a little bit, not a lot though. I have oxidisation prone skin and I find this one oxidises a teeny tiny bit through the day as it settles and after my oils come out. I don't have any qualms about this though as its not a drastic enough change, its only a slightly deeper olive shade which I like. I should mention that this has no SPF, so it should photograph without any flashback, I read brides love to use this as it photographs really nicely. I don't take flash photography so I can't really comment.

Overall Thoughts 

I do believe this foundation was created before its time and has rightfully earned its glorified status. It's a wonderful foundation for those that have moderately good skin and need slight enhancements as this foundation will definitely enhance the healthiness of their skin. Are there better foundations out there? Yes there are. Would I purchase the full sized bottle? Yes I would! The colour match is impeccable! Funny enough the Too Faced Born This Way is very similar to this foundation and was actually the last foundation I reviewed, though I'd say the Too Faced is better if you have problem skin and have more things to cover. The Luminous Silk is an ideal go to foundation for people with normal skin and not many issues to deal with as the finish is just wonderful and shouldn't be compromised by packing layers of this on or masking it with tons of powder. It's quality!

Quick Round Up

Pros

- Skin like 

- Lightweight

- Beautiful natural finish with medium coverage

- Good for combo skin 

- ADORE the olive undertone in this particular shade

Cons

- Not ideal for very textured skin

- Not ideal for problem skin

- Not ideal for oily skin

- Pricey (£37)