REVIEW: Milk Makeup Blur Stick

It probably seems a little weird for me to review a mattifying, pore-filling product when I'm incredibly dry-skinned and don't have too many visible pores. I do, however, have a nose that is irritatingly more oily than the rest of my face, and since my face is rather parched, my fine lines are generally very visible. Also, I got this as a free sample and there was a ton of buzz around it. Forever intrigued by Milk Makeup, despite the fact that only a couple of their products have actually worked for me, I decided to give the Blur Stick a shot.

A full size Blur Stick contains an ounce of product and retails for $36. While Milk's prices per unit are about right for Sephora, I will point out that their sticks tend to be quite hefty, and this one is no different. Seeing as this little sample has been used several times and still looks almost new, a full-size Blur Stick should last you a while. It has a slight citrus scent, but it's nothing overwhelming, and I can't smell it when it's on my face.

Milk makes several claims about this product. They say it is "colorless, oil-free, and silicone-free." In the most technical sense, they have two out of three right: this applies completely clear, and I'm not seeing any oils in the ingredients list. I do see silica, though, which is an oxide of silicone; hence, if you're extremely sensitive to silicone, this still may not work for you. As for its actual effects, Milk states that the Blur Stick will "minimize the appearance of pores and fine lines," provide a "smooth, matte finish," "lock in your makeup," and "will not clog pores." I've also noticed that some of their product posts and videos on social media have mentioned that you can use it on bare skin, under makeup, or over makeup, so I tried all three for this review.

For reviewing purposes, I photographed the Blur Stick when applied to bare skin; in this instance, I brushed it on my nose, in my smile lines, on the slightly larger pores on my inner cheeks, and around my eyes. Here's a before and after macro shot. (The "after" picture is a bit blurry because I suck at standing still, but you can still see some of the effects.) The results:

• Minimizing Pores: A slight effect. This did make my pores like a tad smoother and smaller, particularly on my nose, but it's not as "filling" as some other primers I've used. I had no problem blending blush on top.
• Hiding Fine Lines: No effect in real life, but a moderate effect in photos. Actually, this looked a bit bad on my smile lines in real life because it settled in to them. But in these photos, my smile lines definitely look less visible after applying the Blur Stick.
• Eye Area: Very slight effect; it mostly made my undereyes feel a bit smoother and made my eyelids look a tad more matte. Again, I had no problem blending makeup on top of it.
• Mattifying: This certainly gave my nose, eyes, and cheeks a very soft matte look. It's super natural, which is kind of nice for days when I'm not wearing foundation. I did test it as a blotter after wearing foundation for a few hours, and while it did seem to take off some of the excess shine, a blotting sheet or a powder is more effective and easier to use.
• Works on bare skin, under makeup, and over makeup: This worked about the same in all three instances for me. That said, I think I preferred it most on bare skin. The Blur Stick is quite slippery feeling on my face, and I wasn't really fond of the feeling of foundation on top of it.

While this product is incredibly lightweight and easy to use, it doesn't have the best staying power. Here's another macro shot of my face after about three and a half hours of wear. As you can see, my concealer has creased as per usual; the pores on my cheeks and my smile lines are fully visible. The one area where it really held up was in mattifying: my nose and eyelids are getting a little shiny, but they're definitely more matte than they'd be without the Blur Stick. Of course, you can layer a bit more Blur Stick on to your skin to get more blurring--it went on clear over this blush, for instance--but some people might find that 3-4 hour wear time a nuisance.

As a final note, I did not experience any clogging or breakouts with this product, and when you run the ingredients through Cosdna, it doesn't list any major cloggers. However, Milk warns that this product is "not recommended for those with a sensitivity to citrus or coconut oils," which makes me think this may aggravate skin that's sensitive to coconut-based ingredients or citrus.

I think I'll finish this deluxe sample up, just because it's an easy way to get "summer satin skin" on my no foundation days and the tube fits in my purse. But while the Blur Stick isn't terrible, I'd hesitate to recommend it to others. I just think there are better mattifying, blurring, and pore-filling primers on the market.

RATING: 3 out of 5

You can buy Milk Makeup products at their website.

NOTE: I stole the comic in the header from Kate Beaton's hilarious Hark! A Vagrant! strip. I swore I'd get HAV in here some day and now I have.

REVIEW: Milk Makeup Cheek Products

I rip on makeup brands and products in general because I am, admittedly, a crotchety old bitch. But I must confess that I'm rougher on Milk Makeup. I'd blame it on their trying-too-hard-to-be-quirky "tutorials" featuring naturally gorgeous hipsters and obnoxious editing techniques if there weren't more practical concerns. Namely, a lot of their products are housed in packaging that's more funky than functional, and while I'm a fan of "getting your money's worth," I know I'm not the only person who thinks an ounce of cream blush is absurd. Just half the amount of product and drop the price a little! Geez.

Cranking aside, I'm clearly a hypocrite, because I keep trying their stuff. Not only have they made a few products that are genuinely good, like the Gel Brow pencil I wore for these review photos, but they also create the sorts of quick-and-easy cream and liquid formulas I'm attracted to. That's why I decided to get sample sizes of their Lip + Cheek in Perk and their original highlighter in Lit. Thanks, eBay!

The full sizes of these babies contain a full ounce of product and retail for $24. While you're definitely getting your money's worth, I repeat that you're probably never going to finish a full ounce of cheek product, even if you use it every day for a year. The minis are 0.1 ounces each (so a tenth of a full size) and currently are only available in subscription boxes or kits like this one. I wish Milk would sell the minis separately; I think they'd go like gangbusters. The packaging is simple plastic twist-up tubes with clear lids that snap on tightly.

  Both of these products contain a host of potential cloggers, including (but not limited to) ethylhexyl palmitate, castor oil, coconut oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, and some citrus oils and waxes. They're also fragranced, the highlighter with an actual perfume and the lip and cheek product with those citrus oils. Honestly, I'd recommend that those with acne-prone or sensitive skin give these a hard pass, even if you plan on patch testing.

The formulas for these sticks are not quite as creamy as many other cream-based cheek products; in fact, I find they're a little tacky and can feel rubbery during application. With that said, they glide across the skin with relative ease and are easy to blend out with a finger or a brush. I noticed that these did make my foundation move a bit if I applied too much pressure or swept them back and forth, so I just drag them across on my cheeks in a C-shape and blend out with my finger. They don't dry down completely, either, although it's nothing too extreme; your hair won't get stuck on your cheeks, for example.

While both of these products look okay on me, they have their issues. Lit is a bit more metallic and shimmery than I would like, but it does provide a lot of glow and reflect light very well. However, it seems to emphasize texture on my face. You can see this in the above photo: the rest of my face looks weirdly smooth compared to the spots where I've applied the highlighter. Perk isn't quite as pigmented as I expected it to be, and I had to apply two layers to get it to show up in real life and on camera. I can't imagine this shade showing up on anybody with medium to dark skin. I didn't care for it on my lips, either, because it had a vague "filmy" texture and didn't last long.

Here are the Milk products compared to two of my staples, the Glossier Haloscope in Quartz and the Becca Beach Tint in Dragonfruit. (The picture lies: this shade is Dragonfruit, not Lychee.) Quartz is lighter and more "natural" than Lit, with no real obvious shimmer. Dragonfruit is brighter than Perk, and it has a satin finish. I'd say these two alternatives are frankly superior to the Milk products, although I must admit that some will find Haloscope's persistent stickiness less appealing.

I'm glad I got the minis of these products for roughly $5 each, because they're small enough that I can finish them relatively quickly. Once they're gone, I won't repurchase them. They're just really "meh," and there's much better stuff available on the market.

RATING: 3 out of 5

You can purchase these products at Milk Makeup's website.

REVIEW: Milk Makeup Eye Marker

My first experience with the Milk Makeup range didn't go so well. One product disliked my face, another didn't work for me at all, and a third product was really nice, though nothing new or revolutionary. Despite those sad results, I decided to give the brand one more shot with an item that seemed smartly designed and right up my alley: their Eye Marker, a liquid eyeliner that is designed to look and function like an actual marker.

The Milk Makeup Eye Marker currently only has one shade, a black called Black Sheep, though I'm sure they'll expand the range in a bit. It retails for $20, which is about par for the course for high end liquid liners. The packaging is a hard tube with some rubberized pieces and a lid that snaps on tightly. I'm sad to say that the tube smells strongly of rubber for the first few weeks. That's not the end of the world, and the smell does fade, but it's worth noting.

The tip is firm and stiff, but not rough or painful, and comes to a decently thin, flat tip with beveled sides. This is meant to make it easy to draw whatever line you want, similar to doing calligraphy on paper.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to draw with this product. The picture above shows my first attempt at using the Eye Marker. On the one hand, I was able to get the outer half of my eyes done in mere seconds, and drawing the wing was a breeze. (I went back in and darkened it after taking this photo.) However, I found it very hard to make the line perfectly smooth and even; you can see that the edges of my liner look a tad "rough" in this photo.

Also, the shape of the eyeliner tube makes it a bit awkward to draw on the inner third of the eyelid. I have small, deep set eyes, so when I tried tilting the marker to finish off my liner, I couldn't seem to hold the marker steadily without smacking my browbone. I eventually got the hang of this after 3 or 4 uses, but it's worth noting that the Milk Makeup Eye Marker is not quite as ergonomic as it seems.

I also had to make more than one pass with this liner, drawing the same eyeliner shape twice to ensure smooth, even color. The problem is that the tip of the marker is either pulling up the liquid liner, or it's not applying it as evenly as the rest of the marker, leaving a line of blank space. You can see it in the swatch above. This isn't the end of the world, since you can get your eyeliner on quickly with this product, and you can avoid this entirely if you just use the beveled side of the marker. But it's definitely an added frustration to have to do it all twice if you want a thin line.

The biggest disappointment, for me, is the wear. Milk claims that this product will wear for 24 hours without fading, and while I definitely didn't experience fading, I did notice a lot of smearing and some flaking with this product. That was the nail in the coffin for me. My $3 Wet n' Wild liquid eyeliner will wear for hours with zero smudging or flaking, and it's easier to get a smooth, solid line.

Yet again, it seems like Milk has created a product that looks cool and works well in theory, but doesn't really function in practice. It's "cool concept" over "smart concept." And that, my friends, has turned me off of the line, at least for the time being.

RATING: 2 out of 5

Milk Makeup is available at MilkMakeup.com.

REVIEW: Milk Makeup

Milk Makeup first appeared on Sephora's website last month, apparating like a fun and funky makeup genie from a bottle. The brand caught my eye immediately with its minimalist packaging and promises of unique, easy-to-use products for on-the-go hipsters. Because as much as I enjoy spending a lazy weekend hour applying my makeup, I am always pressed for time when I wake up 20 minutes late on a work day and need to get myself together before I hit the bus stop.

I was interested in a lot of the Milk Makeup range, but I decided to start with products that might fill gaps in my collection (and were available at the time, since they seem to be rolling the line out over the course of the spring season). I grabbed the Coverage Duo in Fair, the Weekend Lash Stain in 8-Ball, and the Gel Brow pencil in Pilsner.

Let's start with the Coverage Duo, because I wasn't actually able to wear it: my skin responded badly during patch testing. Milk promotes this product as a multipurpose base product, with 0.33 ounces of liquid concealer and 0.08 ounces of cream concealer, housed in super-portable packaging. Now, they call it a liquid concealer, but if you watch their tutorial videos, the models who use this product often apply it in a thin layer over most of their face like a foundation. And the idea of a grab-and-go concealer and foundation drew me in.

But when you think about it, this is rather pricey. Most foundations are a full fluid ounce, while you get a third of an ounce in the Milk Makeup Coverage Duo. (Again, they promote it as a concealer, but it behaves as, and is demoed like, a foundation.) The cream concealer is also super tiny, especially compared to my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (0.22 ounces) and my Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer (0.16 ounces). I put a dime on the cream concealer and placed the pod next to a Becca Beach Tint for a visual size comparison.

So yes, it's very portable and small, and it'd easily fit in your purse. But if you break it down to dollars-and-ounces, you're definitely paying for the cutesy packaging and portability.

Here's the Coverage Duo swatched up against the OCC Tinted Moisturizer in Y0, Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint in Light, and Buxom Show Some Skin in Tickle the Ivory. This is too dark for me by about a shade, but it's also very very very pink. I'd peg it at about NW15. So even if I had gotten past the patch testing phase, this product would not have worked on my skin tone.

Despite the fact that I couldn't give these concealers a full test run, I was able to feel the texture and get an idea of the coverage and performance. The liquid concealer is incredibly thin and provides light coverage; it's also easy to blend in to the skin. The cream concealer has an interesting and pleasant texture, kind of like a marshmallow that turns to liquid under your fingers (no, really!). It provides medium coverage. Both feel very emollient, though the liquid stays a little dewy on my skin and the cream dries down to a satin finish.

I also wanted to talk about this liquid concealer applicator for a moment. The Milk Makeup line seems to be quite fond of these rollerball applicators, probably because the idea is that you can just swipe the product where it's needed, smear it out with your fingers, and go. In theory, it's a nice idea, but I have three major problems with it:

1. It's messy. As soon as you start rolling the liquid concealer, you're going to get product all over the packaging, and it can actually smear in to the cap.
2. Sometimes the rollerball puts out a ton of product, and other times you have to roll it for almost a minute to get the liquid out.
3. This isn't very sanitary if you're using it the way it's advertised--the only way you can really clean the rollerball is to rub it on a makeup wipe, and then you're wasting some of the concealer in the process.

Next up is the Weekend Lash Stain in 8-Ball, a jet black mascara that's designed to give you a natural look while lasting for days at a time. This is the product I was the most excited about, because while I don't sleep in my makeup (guys, please don't do that), I do sometimes work for 12+ hours or run around in 95 degree, 85% humidity weather, and a long-wearing, not-makeup-y mascara would be a homerun for me. I'm also a huge fan of mascaras in squeeze tube packaging because it makes it easier to manipulate the product and get every last drop out of there.

Unfortunately, this mascara did not wow me. As soon as you pull the thin, slightly-slanted wand out of the tube, you'll notice it is absolutely dripping with mascara. Wipe it off on the rim of the mascara tube and you'll make a mess; wipe it off on a tissue and you'll be getting rid of half of your mascara.

Even after dabbing off the wand, this product is a nightmare to apply. The formula is so, so liquidy that it clumps your lashes together and smears all over your eyelid. I had to use a lash comb immediately after applying to separate my lashes, scrub my lids with my ELF Makeup Remover Pen, and make sure I applied eyeshadow after mascara so it didn't get ruined. I'm completely baffled by a product range that claims to be low-maintenance, then puts out a mascara that's this much work.

To be fair, you don't have to fuss with this much after it's actually on your eyes. It lengthens a bit and looks very black, but is overall quite natural, which is what a lash stain should be. It doesn't smear or flake throughout the day, and as long as you use an oil-based makeup remover, getting it off of your face isn't that hard. But quite frankly, I don't think the 10 minutes of faffing around is worth it when I can get similar results from a quick coat of Maybelline Full n' Soft. I'm still not sure if I want to keep this product or not, but I'm leaning towards "return."

Natural light on top, flash on the bottom.

The product I expected to feel the most "meh" about, the Gel Brow pencil, actually ended up being my favorite of the bunch. I got the middle shade, Pilsner, which is a dead-on-balls accurate color dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown. (The Shu Uemura Hard Formula pencil in Seal Brown applies a bit lighter to my brows than the other two, but it swatches really red/purple on my hand...I need to just give up swatching that pencil, cause it never works.) There's also a taupe blonde shade called Pale Ale and a darker brown called Dark Brew. I love that the shades are named after beer, but I wish they had a good option for redheads.

The spoolie on the end of the pencil is very serviceable, though not the softest of the bunch, and the lids don't snap on quite as tightly as I'd like. Beyond that, I'm loving this pencil. It definitely has a gel-like texture that smooths over the brows easily without looking flaky or chalky. I can get my brows done in a minute with this pencil because it's so pigmented and soft: brush brow, apply pencil in soft strokes, brush again, repeat process on other brow. The one caveat is that the soft formulation makes it impossible to draw on individual brow hairs, so if that super duper natural brow look is your game, I don't think this product will work for you; it's always going to apply like a "smear" of color. A nice smear! ...but still a smear.

In the above photos, I'm wearing the Gel Brow pencil and the Weekend Lash Stain on the left and am bare-eyed (man, that sounds funny to me) on the right side. I think the done-up brow looks faboosh: emphasized, strong, and appropriately ashy-colored without looking very fake or drawn-on. The stained lashes are definitely black and noticeable, but the amount of work I had to do to get them that way was not entirely worth it.

Milk likes to promote their products as "high concept and low maintenance," designed for cool, young urban people on the go. But "high concept" doesn't necessarily mean "smart concept." It's fine to have some gimmicks, like fun video tutorials and a quirky little paper that can blot your t-zone and roll your weed, but you can't rest on those laurels--at the end of the day, products need to work.

Dear Milk Makeup: if you start focusing more on products that really are fast and functional, and less on products that just look neat in pictures, let me know. I'll give them another shot.

RATING -- GEL BROW: 4 out of 5

RATING -- WEEKEND LASH STAIN: 2 out of 5

RATING -- COVERAGE DUO: ???

Milk Makeup is available at MilkMakeup.com and Sephora.com.