Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème Liquid Lipsticks Review

Update! New shades have been released, and seven shades were swatched in this updated Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème review post. 

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If you’ve been in a Walgreens makeup department, you’ve undoubtedly seen Milani Cosmetics. The first time I came across the company, it was in a /r/MakeupAddiction thread about drugstore beauty products that put designermakeup to shame. Ever since, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to try out… well, anything they make!

I guess I was more of a Wet’n’ Wild girl growing up because I totally missed Milani’s existence entirely, but I’m open to any and all good lipstick-producing beauty products! Especially when drugstore brands are concerned. Come to me, lipsticks!

If you frequent drugstore beauty sections, you’ll notice that the quality of the products is starting to get… kind of creepy good while the prices are staying the same. Obviously, this is a gift to all of us, and to show our appreciation, we must try lipstick colors that we would not otherwise try! …Among other things, but that demand works really well for the next bunch of things I’m going to say.

To accompany the newest craze surrounding longwear matte liquid lipstick, Milani has Amore Matte Lip Crèmes in more colors than you can shake a lip brush at. (That would be… 18 colors.) I got my hands on three new Spring 2016 releases:

• Craze: wicked hot neon coral; more red than orange, more red than pink
• Precious: a cool toned rose, mauve
• Covet: dark chocolate brown, like 88% cocoa fair-trade chocolate brown

It’s not hard to see which of these colors was the most epically radioactive – that hot, hot coral is never leaving my makeup bag. PS – all of these colors are vegan! (Here are all of Milani’s other vegan cosmetics.)

These go on very creamy and dry to a nice velvet matte. Usually I apply a lip oil or lip balm before I put on matte liquid lipsticks because they are notorious for drying the hell out of your lips. So when I forgot to do so before trying Precious (the mauve pink color) for the first time, I was definitely expecting my lips to end up looking like the desert floor. Luckily, I was surprised to find that after the lipstick formula dried, my lips actually felt… more hydrated and soft? There were no cracks or lines. I’m not saying this is a replacement for lip balm, but it’s definitely better than some of the other formulas I’ve tried!

Milani Amore Lip Crème in Crazy (Bright Coral)

Milani Amore Lip Crème in Precious (Cool Rose)

Milani Amore Lip Crème in Covet (Vampy Brown)

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For me, the most wearable colors are Craze and Precious with Precious being in a slight lead. The bright red coral is so freaking bright that it almost makes me feel self-conscious when I wear it – that’s clearly on me, but I can’t emphasize the wattage enough! On one hand, I love it, on the other, I am a weenie who needs to get comfortable with bold lipstick while grocery shopping.

The lipstick can be built up, which is another really nice quality of liquid lipstick. Craze and Covet both are really opaque and rich when first applied and only need detail touch-ups, no second coat. Precious took a little more building (you can kind of see the slight streakiness in the swatch on my arm) but it was really easy to make it look perfect with a couple extra swipes!

The applicator is similar to a doe foot applicator with a flexible, soft tip and two usable sides. Lots of people choose to use lip brushes to apply liquid lipstick since the formula is so thin, precision is key. If you practice with the doe foot applicator, though, you can get pretty damn good at it!

Covet is an incredible color, but it’s so… the opposite of my skin tone that it makes precision application really important. Due to my whiteness, I’m not sure that this color will get used that often, but when it does, it will be with extreme amounts of facial contouring, some kind of gold glitter, and an art deco gown. It’s extremely fabulous and makes me feel like Clara Bow!

These are kind of a bitch to get off, I’m not going to lie. These colors will stay on solidly for about 3-5 hours, depending on your skin and activities, but getting them off definitely requires a makeup remover wipe (Neutrogena wipes are great) and some elbow grease. Ultimately, it’s worth it for how pigmented anda long-lasting these are, but definitely go in knowing that you’ll pay for it. (Hey, it’s not my rule! It’s a universal rule of beauty, don’t blame me.)

Each lip crème is $8.99 and available at Walgreens and Milani.com.

See the other 15 colors of Milani Amore Lip Crème