I’ve been having a lot of thoughts lately about lipstick. Namely, my favorite lipsticks (put a pin in that). Over the last two years, I’ve gone through my obligatory makeup-baby liquid lipstick phase. After numerous trials and experiments, I can safely determine my favorite drugstore liquid lipstick. It’s Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes, and I have accumulated seven of them. So. Yeah. New post time.
Several months ago, I reviewed only three Milani Matte Lip Crèmes because they were the only ones I had. To be honest, I wasn’t happy with most of the swatches, so I figured I’d redo it. You know, do it properly now that I’ve upgraded equipment and learned some things. It’s the least I could do for my favorite drugstore liquid lipstick, right?
I love the idea of liquid lipstick because, first and foremost, I am lazy. Reapplying lipstick sounds like a chore, especially if I have to make sure it also doesn’t smear throughout the day. My mouth spends a lot of time drinking coffee and eating snacks. Liquid lipstick, which requires little to no maintenance throughout the day, matches my lifestyle.
Here are some things I like about them.
Why Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes are My Favorite Drugstore Liquid Lipsticks
Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes dry down fully – like transfer-proof and kiss-proof and waterproof. That terrible puckering, skin-contracting effect bad liquid lipsticks have on your lips will not happen when the formula sets. It takes less than a minute for these to dry, but don’t worry about clumping because it won’t happen! If you have to layer up over some dry spots, it won’t turn crumbly or goopy. It layers like a dream.
All swatch photos from here on out were taken in natural daylight.
The vast majority of Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes require only one coat to be fully opaque and vibrant. I currently have only one shade that isn’t opaque, Dearest, and it’s sad. The color is gorgeous, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Most purple liquid lipsticks I’ve tried have been completely streaky and patchy, just like Dearest.
The best shades of the bunch perform better than high end & popular liquid lipsticks. I would pick a Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème over both Kat Von D’s Everlasting Liquid Lipstick and Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick. It goes on more smoothly, it isn’t as streaky as most of Milani’s (F-U, Dearest!). It dries down within 1-2 minutes, and works incredibly well with a thin, waxy balm underneath. This is a popular way to keep lips hydrated, as liquid lipsticks tend to dry the #@%! out of your lips. Oh, that reminds me…
Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes don’t dry the @#$! out of your lips. While these fully dry down to a transfer-proof, waterproof finish, they also aren’t ripping up your lips for the eight hours you’re wearing them. I’m not saying they’re hydrating, but Milani’s formula is opaque, saturated, long-wearing, and doesn’t make your mouth feel like it’s being ripped off of your face. Remove the lipstick with coconut oil or cleansing oil/balm! Super easy.
The price point is awesome. Not only are these available at some grocery stores, in addition to the drugstore, but they’re also – uh – less than $10. Even some of L’Oreal and Maybelline’s liquid lipsticks are $12 – these are $9! It’s hard to get past the fact that easy tube of liquid lipstick is super affordable – $9 on the Milani website, and $7+ on Amazon. (!!!)
The applicator is pretty damn good. It’s nothing special, it’s a narrow, flexible, paddle shaped applicator. My luck has been great, as I have excellent luck getting crisp, saturated lines with it. Each time I pull out the wand, I wipe off both sides of the paddle because it tends to bring out a lot of product. This is great for makeup artists and lip perfectionists who are placing product onto a palette.
The smell. It smells incredible. Like dessert, but not like artificial scents. It smells like a frosted, vanilla layer cake with your name on it. It might not be for everyone, as it’s stronger than some other lipstick scents, but this stereotype-fulfilling white girl is totally here for it.
Milani launched these Amore Matte Lip Crèmes (which are matte liquid lipsticks with a fancy name) in 2015 and people have been going crazy for it ever since. They used to have really ridiculous shade names like “Flirt,” “Lust,” and “Romance” when they were first released, but now they have really sophisticated names like “Precious,” “Emotion,” and “Craze”… I guess they’re running with the whole amore thing. Call me old fashioned, but I love a lipstick shade name that describes the actual shade.
Here are Some Things I Don’t Like About Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes
In the interest of fairness (and reality), I would be remiss if I didn’t give you the details on the downsides of this liquid lipstick. Yes, they exist! Along with my hyperbolic enthusiasm is sobering rationale, and I’m happy to tell you the suckiest parts of this product, and all products, always.
They tend to get crumbly around hours 4-6. Depending on what you’ve have going on under the liquid lipstick formula, these can behave differently. The colors seem to get a bit bunchy and crumbly after several hours, due to the combination of the dry formula (which loses flexibility with time) and natural lip action. Pressing your lips together, eating, drinking, pursing, kissing, even glaring can deplete the longevity of your lipstick – and that’s okay! Touching up is a normal part of lipstick, so keep the tube with you throughout the day. You might have to touch up once or twice, depending on the darkness of your shade. I wear Precious all the time and barely have to touch up since it’s closer to my natural lip color.
The other beef I have is their distribution. I’m not lucky enough to live in an area that has sussed out grocery stores, as I’m about an hour’s drive away from the nearest respectable city (whaddup, Bellingham!). They probably have Milani in the drugstores there, but out in the boonies, it’s on online-only thing.
The last bummer about Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes – the shade range. Don’t get me wrong, they have over 20 gorgeous shades… of pink, red, and brown. There are two purple shades. They pretty much only have one orange, and it’s radioactively bright. This feels like splitting hairs, a little bit, but when NYX has like 90 rainbow shades of lipstick, and unusual shades like blue and gray are popular in the market, I expect a bit more variety.
One last half-gripe, half-compliment for the Milani Amore Matte Lip Crèmes before we get onto the lip swatches. The first run of liquid lipsticks I received from Milani – Precious, Covet, and Craze – are all vegan liquid lipsticks. There are a few more vegan liquid lipsticks in this line, but their latest shade release didn’t include a single vegan formula, according to their website. All of their products are cruelty-free, and hopefully, they continue to offer vegan options in future shades.
Onto the lip swatches!
Honey Amore Matte Lip Crème
Honey is the a nude brown that rivals Precious for my favorite goes-with-everything lipstick from Milani. There’s a sliiiiight terracotta undertone to this, but mostly it reads as a light milk chocolate brown.
Precious Amore Matte Lip Crème
Precious is the first shade I fell in love with. In fact, it might have been one of the first liquid lipsticks I tried. After that, I scrambled for every brand of liquid lipstick I could get, but nothing matched up to the quality of this shade. It’s a perfect, dusty rose that is pretty darn neutral despite its vibrancy. This is definitely MLBB (my lips but better) and is on regular rotation.
Craze Amore Matte Lip Crème
Wow – this is… still really bright. The opacity and extreme neon-ness of this shade after only one coat is truly astounding. I think that I would wear this more if I had a more exciting life, but wearing this to the grocery store in my small town is just asking for a 50+ year old woman’s unsolicited comments. This isn’t actually a true red, it’s more like a hot, hot, hot coral color with a dose of fire engine red.
Beautiful Amore Matte Lip Crème
Now this… is a true red. Beautiful is the rest that everyone needs in their collection, because it pops off of every skin tone and fits every occasion. If it isn’t right in the middle, I’d say it was barely blue-toned, which is flattering AF for 99% of mouths, doctors agree. This shade makes me feel like Rosie the Riveter, and I’m totally okay with that.
This shade, as you will see from the next four to six photos, can and will stain your lips. Be careful applying it and taking it off.
Covet Amore Matte Lip Crème
I’m so annoyed at these pictures because I made this color look streaky when it isn’t. How? By pressing my lips together while the lipstick was still wet. See the outline of my bottom lip on my upper lip? YEAH. That’s frustration, sorry about that.
Otherwise, this warm, medium brown is way more beautiful than I expected it to be on my pinkish-white skin. It’s such a nice, consistent brown that it just feels (and looks) delicious.
Emotion Amore Matte Lip Crème
Milani describes this color as “reddish brown” which , while it not “wrong,” kind of further illustrates their dismal shade-naming behaviors. Sure, this is reddish brown but it’s warm! It’s earthy! It’s deep, and rich!
…And I’ve been using it as a liquid eyeliner 500% more than I’ve been using it as a liquid lipstick. Is that wrong? If it is, I don’t wanna be right, because this is a warm, slightly burgundy delight for every eye color but mostly mine. #vanityglutton
Dearest Amore Matte Lip Crème
Okay, okay, okay. I know I’ve been hard on our dearest Dearest due to its strikingly poor application, especially in comparison to the rest. In defense of Dearest, though, a lip liner would take this streaky but otherwise beautiful shade a long way.
The color is truly beautiful, you can tell when you, uh, pile up the swatches on the back of your hand. This is a deep, deep burgundy that has a bit more purple than normal. Milani calls it “deep merlot” which sums it up well (for a change). This with a deep red or even eggplant purple liner would be totally show-stopping, so it gets to stay. It also might end up with Emotion as an eyeliner…
Where to Find the Lowest Price on Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème Liquid Lipstick
Amazon: $6.87+ (+ $5.48 shipping)
*Free shipping with Prime Membership.
Milani: $9 (+$5 shipping)
Target: $7.99 (+ $4 shipping each?)
*If buying from Target, it’s economical to buy 3+ to hit their $25 Free Shipping threshold, otherwise, get them somewhere else.
Walmart: $7.97 (+ $5.99 shipping)
*Minimum order for free 2-day shipping is $35.
Walgreens: $7.99 (+ $5.99 shipping)
* Buy two, get one free! Also, you can ship your order to your local Walgreens for free.