It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Milani Cosmetics and those that have been following me a while know that I use at least one product in each of the looks I create. A few years ago, I purchased my first Milani eye shadow palette – A Runway Eyes kit and I enjoyed the pigmentation as well the price point and because of this I was completely hooked. Fast forward five years and I am still craving that gold packaging… I consider Milani the high-end brand of drugstore cosmetics.
Recently Milani Cosmetics released a Limited Edition collection of goodies as a part of their Bedazzled Collection. The Constellation Gel Eye Liners available in three shades: 01-Enchanted Lapis, 02-Enchanted Black Opal and 03-Enchanted Emerald retail for $5.99 on Milanicosmetics.com and can also be found at select Walgreens locations for a limited time.
Check out my thoughts on these liners in my video review embedded below or click here to watch directly on YouTube.
At first glance, these gel liners are absolutely gorgeous in the pot… so much so that I didn’t want to open them, swatch them or use them. I knew right away that the top layer of the liners had an over spray and I knew once I dipped into the pot, I would be sacrificing the gorgeous “Galaxy” look they had. I was quite eager to try these in hopes that they would be as “galactic” (see what I did there? lol) as I thought they looked in the pot.
Each liner is very creamy – much more creamy than I am used to and because of this… I think it offered a heavy amount of slip through the application process. While applying, I had to take my time and apply in layers to not only build up the metallic look of each shade but also to get it to the consistency I want. It didn’t take much to build it up. As you used each product, while it still held the “metallic” look with some shimmer, the product lost the “over spray” I had mentioned I thought it had.
01 – Enchanted Lapis is a gorgeous blue shade with a metallic sheen. When applied it shows up a much deeper shade than what you see initially. I would consider the end result a kind of metallic navy blue.
In the pot, before use… Enchanted Lapis looks like it has blue, purple, silver and turquoise shades – but overall, when applied, it applies the metallic navy blue shade you see on my eyelid.
02 – Enchanted Black Opal reminds me of a deep chrome/charcoal black shade when applied. This color has light flecks of shimmer that can be seen in the application.
In the pot, before use… Enchanted Black Opal has black, silver, pink and gold over spray in the pot before touching the product. It’s gorgeous – but even in my swatch or use on my eyelid, only black/silver and some flecks of silver glitter were visible.
03 – Enchanted Emerald applies and looks like a teal / emerald green when used or swatched. There is are some small flecks of shimmer, but for the most part this looks metallic on the lid.
In the pot, before use… Enchanted Emerald has a gorgeous array of shades in the overspray. Dark emerald green, turquoise blue, bright green and purple are all laid upon the top of this liner.
As you can see from the swatches, any of the pretty effects you see on the liner before use are no longer visible for the most part once you apply the liner. While I don’t necessarily consider that a con, it would be awesome if these liners offered that option. Each of them do lend for a gorgeous metallic hue which I think is still quite stunning.
Now that I’ve given you the low down of these Milani Constellation Gel liners… let’s talk about my thoughts overall. I think these are absolutely gorgeous in the pot and it’s disappointing that they lose that gorgeous overspray once you use the product. However, I don’t think that is the most disappointing. As much as I tried to love these, I struggled with the use of them. After trying different techniques, I think the formulation could use a little adjusting.
First off all – these claim to be Smudge Proof and will “last from dusk to dawn”. I have tried on many occasions to get these liners to stay in place for me… but they either run, smudged or became a mess and using them longer than an hour left me with panda eyes. I have tried to set them with a powder shadow, but that did not quite work for me. After using these for about a month, I found that the best way to apply for the best longevity would be to apply in light layers and build the color up. However, even with that – it still smudged on my oily eyelids and I am not able to use it as a daily liner or out at night on a hot day or it will get everywhere. Using these liners as an all over shadow base may work for some, but I also found the liner to be too creamy for me and because of this the shadow I applied on top moved around quite a bit and then creased in a short amount of time. I think these would be awesome for someone who does a lot of theatrical work or someone looking for a statement liner and something that doesn’t offer longevity. I’m sure some of my cons may have some to do with the fact that I live in a humid/hot climate, but overall I had some difficulty getting the liners to stay in place, in tact and on my eyelids during each use. Wearing this in my waterline caused my eyes to be irritated and again – I looked like a Panda who hadn’t slept in a week. While these did not work for me, I’m still very impressed with how they look. I think the overall creaminess and texture of the product could attest to the slip that the product offers. At the price point, I think it’s definitely worth checking out to see if it will work for you as I know well that what may not work for me may work for someone else. But for me, I consider these a miss, though that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make use of them in future looks. Milani stole my heart years ago and while one product may not work for me, that doesn’t mean I still don’t love them so. Have you tried these liners? If not, is this something you have been interested in? I would love to know your thoughts on this.
This product was a Press Sample sent to me for consideration of review. All reviews listed on this site are 100% honest and unbiased.
30 Comments
It’s so sad that they were only glittery on top
I know 🙁
So unfortunate about the formula, I hope the re-do them because they are stunning!
same here… I would be all over these if they lasted.
When I started seeing preview pix of these eyeliners come out, I was desperate to get my hands on them… but I’m glad I never found them! The color I fell in love with is just overspray, and on my oily lids, they’d probably just slide off. Like you, though, I still love Milani… but so sad for this product!!
same here Nidia. Omigosh – I wish they reformulate this… I would love it if they did.
Got no time for all the extra work. Great honest review!
thanks girl… yes… there really is some work you gotta put into it.
I’m with ya! I was amped up to try them, but then they fell flat for me! I posted about them yesterday too hahah
sweet, I’m gonna head over and check it out 😉
They look gorgeous in the pan, but after reading all those not so positive reviews I wouldn´t buy them
yes… so gorgeous in the pan. I would love to see them reformulate this… it’s gorgeous.
This is definitely a miss from Milani – thankfully a rare one!
girl… yes, thankfully… whew.
These look so pretty on you but I think the formula needs improvement!
thank you and you are so right.
Thats so disappointing that the formula doesn’t work on you 🙁 I had no issues with it at all and can wear them all day. I even bought 2 sets of backups
I’m so happy that it works for you… at least we know it’s not completely a miss for everyone.
They do look so beautiful! But it’s a bummer that they didn’t work out.
yes, so beautiful but I hear that they did work for some. :/
It’s such a shame about the formula because they look like they would be so easy to work with.
These really are so disappointing!
I know :/
It’s too bad these were released without being smudgeproof, because the colors and appeal of the packaging are genius. but who wants an eyeliner than ends up anywhere but the eye line?
I feel the same… I was very disappointed, but I will try to make use of them the best I can.
They are beautiful but a little too sparkly for me.
I wish these were better formulated :/
I’m obsessed with how gorgeous these liners are.
they are so pretty – wish the formulation was better 🙂
They look so pretty in your photos! It’s a shame they were not long lasting. Hopefully they bring it back with a better formulation; the concept is stunning and so cool. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. For now, I guess, I won’t feel too bad missing out since they are no longer sold.