Hello Beauties,
It's been a min since I last did a product review. I seem to have gotten my mojo back and realised there are some few products I have been using and will like to share my thoughts on them. So be on the lookout for some product reviews.

When I began freelancing as a make up artist, I was on the lookout for a brand with a range of products catering specifically to women of colour and wasn't pocket draining as well. I knew that Sleek Makeup has a good range but knowing Ghanaians' attitude to this particular brand I wasn't prepared to purchase it. Although Sleek Makeup is a UK brand catering for women of colour and can boast of having in its collection a wide range of foundations and powders suitable for all skin tones and shades more especially darker skin tones, Ghanaians have a funny attitude to disregard and discredit products that are readily to them and prefer brands that are expensive, international and difficult to attain. In short, i didn't want to be in the position to be disregarded by a client so i went on the hunt for an international brand.

Milani Smooth Finish Cream to Powder in gold packaging

Milani Cosmetics is a family owned drugstore brand in the US catering to women of colour and having in their range of products with shades and skin tones associated with dark skin eg, yellow, olive and salmon etc. So that is what drew me to this brand. I could get a variety of shades without splurging too much on cash. I also opted for the cream to powder foundation because there was quite a good range of shades that were dark skin friendly. I went to the milani cosmetics website and they have a tool at the bottom of their website called Flawless Face, to help guide you to select a suitable shade and I used this to give me an idea of the shades and undertones. As usual with online swatches they are not a 100% accurate so I opted for swatches on google and youtube. Although there wasn't too many, i had an idea as to how they'll look in real life.


Product description from the Milani Cosmetics website:
"Enjoy the luxury of this silky, creamy-smooth, oil-free formula that glides on like a cream and blends to a natural matte powder finish. Covers flawlessly, hiding imperfections and evening out skin tones. Mirror and sponge applicator included."

Creamy texture of Milani Smooth Finish Cream to Powder

Packaging: 2.5
The product comes in a gold plastic compact with a mirror and sponge applicator. It is very portable and suitable for travel esp in our handbags. The gold compact I must say looks very flashy initially but after sometime wears off and scratches become evident. It is also not sturdy as I find the clasp breaking off which is rather annoying. I think they can do better with improving the packaging.

Price: 3.0
This foundation costs anywhere between $6.49 to $7.99 depending on where it's purchased from. I should be saying that this is very affordable as it is a drugstore brand, however after a comparism with a similar cream based foundation from MAC, ie Full Coverage Foundation, I realized that the Milani is just 1/3 of the amount of product and price of that from MAC. Milani has 7.9g whiles Mac has 28g and costs $31. The good thing about this however is that you can purchase the Milani if you do not have that much to afford MAC just that you will go through 3 Milani foundations as opposed to 1 MAC foundation.

Product: 3.0
This is a cream foundation and i find that it does not have a matte finish unlike most cream-to-powders do. Milani Cosmetics lied! However it is a gorgeous cream foundation suitable especially for dry skin. If you have oily skin you will have to get your oil control game to be on point in order to get away with wearing this foundation and must definitely set with a powder. I usually prime my face with milk of magnesia so this works very well for me and lasts long too. For the coverage I will say it is medium to full coverage depending on how heavy you apply it. It can be sheered out of course and built to cover imperfections. It doesn't finish matte so does not give a cake-y look but rather a dewy finish. It glides on very smoothly and easy to apply and blend. It doesn't have any funny smell. What i also love about this foundation range is the variety of shades especially for women of color.

L to R: 01 Sand, 02 Spiced Almond, 04 Cocoa Mocha

L to R: 05 Walnut, 06 Expresso, 10 Mocha Cream

L to R: 11 Warm Spice, 12 Pecan

Range for dark skin with pinkish and yellowish undertones

Swatches of shades for darker skin tones with various undertones

Overall: 3.0 out of 4.0
I really like this product and will recommend to anyone who wishes to try out a cream foundation, wants full coverage, has dry skin and doesn't have the cash to spend on MAC or any other high end products. What I will suggest to Milani is to get more shades for darker skintones with red undertones as some people are reddish. They should also improve the packaging as well.

These I have found are the most frequently used shades

Where to buy:
In Accra I have discovered just one vendor I think is the sole agent for Milani products in Ghana. Its a beauty supply store opposite the Rawlings Park behind the restaurant. They carry all the lines of Milani cosmetics. If you are in the US this product is readily available in stores. If you are in Europe or outside, try Beauty Joint or Drugstore.com. These online shops offer international Shipping.

I personally use this foundation as well in the shade 05 Walnut which is an exact match

Although rather long, I hope this was a useful review for anyone looking to try out this foundation. Well, until next time,
Keep on being FAB!!!!!!

xoxo,
Annette