This is my first product review. I’m not really into doing these, but I was so disappointed with this product especially after reading a lot of glowing reviews online.
The product is Milani’s baked blusher in Luminoso that is oh so infamous on the interwebs. I picked one up when we were in the US on a discount. It looked pretty in the packaging (and I couldn’t swatch in the shop), but when I dipped a brush in it, it was dusty and almost crumbly. It ended up being pretty enough — a subtle, slightly glowly soft coral that is quite flattering on my winter skin. However, there are so many products out there that are as pretty or prettier than this blusher, and some at much better price points.
So I pulled out similar blushers in my collection. Now, this is supposed to be a close dupe to NARS Orgasm, but I do not own that blusher…
I compared it to (in photo below from left to right, upper than lower row): NARS Deep Throat, the Milani blush in the middle, Sleek Guipure (or the middle panel of their blush palette in Lace), Rock & Republic Call Me, Essence silky touch blush in Secret It-Girl, TheBalm Hot Mama and the blush in Elf’s bronzer and blush duo.
Just comparing the packaging, Milani’s blusher is much bulkier than the other blushers, mostly because it includes an extra compartment that holds a pretty crappy brush. The actual pan that holds the blush is very thin. It in fact contains less product by gram than all other blushes in the comparison. Just out or curiosity, I listed the grams of product and price of all these blushers (without discount — except for the R&R blush because I honestly do not know what the retail price before discount was).
NARS Deep Throat: 4.8g, $29
Milani Luminoso: 3.5g, $8 (the price varies by store, but slightly over $8 was the price at the drugstore I visited)
Sleek (single blusher): 8g, 5.50Euros
R&R Call Me: 9g, Price $20 (what I paid, I think it must have been much more)
Essence Secret It-Girl: 5g, under 2 Euros
TheBalm Hot Mama: 7.08g, $20
Elf duo: 2.0 g (just blusher, 4g total counting bronzer too), $3
The Milani blush comes close per gram, to the cost of TheBalm and R&R at the sale price, but still much less than a NARS blusher. Sleek, Essence and Elf are both far less expensive than Milani.
How do the colors compare? I took photos of the pan color as well as swatches in the same order listed in previous paragraphs. I’m not a good swatcher and we don’t have good light anymore, so I hope the colors translate. Milani is the second swatch.
I already wrote a little about how powdery and crumbly the Milani blush is, and the only other blush in my collection with that much powder is the Elf blush. In the group, Sleek is the most pigmented. The blush closest in color and pigmentation to Luminoso is Essence’s Secret It-Girl. Essence has a much sleeker packaging and is a less dusty product.
The verdict — for the same subtle glowly coral effect on the cheeks but without the annoying packaging or powdery product, get Essence’s blush at a much more wallet friendly price. Or at around the same price, grab TheBalm’s Hot Mama (a very beautiful coral).
usheeshobbynook 