On the Cheap: Milani 3D Glitzy Glosses in Fashion Diva and Starshine +LOTD

About a year ago, I did a review on Milani's 3D Glitzy Glamour Gloss in En Vogue, a warm, vivid fuschia pink with plenty of pigment. I love the gloss and use it all the time, as it's a good dupe for Dior's Ultra Gloss in Extravagant Grenadine when on the lips. So the other day when I was in CVS and noticed that Milani had added a few new colors to the line, I couldn't resist the temptation to try some more. 

Milani 3D Glitzy Glamour Glosses in Fashion Diva and Starshine

Milani has become quite the little upstart cosmetics line in the last couple of years. As far as low-cost drugstore lines go, you really can't beat the quality of the glosses, eye shadows, liners and such. I've tried several Milani products and have yet to be disappointed. However, my favorite product by far is the 3D Glitzy Glamour Gloss line. Despite the incredibly ridiculous name, these glosses are packed with shimmer and pigment and work wonderfully as lipstick toppers as well as on their own. 

The colors I chose this time are Fashion Diva, a brilliant purple base with vivid purple and blue sparkles, and Starshine, a pale pink frost with golden, blue and pink shimmer. Both colors work wonderfully over one of my favorite new lipsticks, Dior's Rouge Dior Mysterious Mauve, a gorgeous deep purple lipstick with pink and blue highlights. Starshine lightens up the look a bit, while Fashion Diva deepens the color and brings out the highlights and shimmer. 

I tried very hard to get a good shot of these glosses, but due to their opalescence, it was difficult to capture the depth and glow of either. However, here's a swatch of each taken in direct sunlight on my arm: 

As you can see, sparkle abounds with both of these glosses. The texture is slightly thick and just a bit sticky, but not such that you will feel as if your lips are fused every time you close your mouth. The shine is glassy and lasts several hours, and leaves a shadow of sparkle behind when it wears off. By the second or third application of the day, the layers of sparkle that build up are truly something to behold!

Here are a couple of shots of the glosses applied on bare lips--again, it's difficult to capture the true effect with a camera, but I tried. 

Starshine (top) goes on essentially clear with plenty of glitter and shimmer, while Fashion Diva (below) gives a transluscent purple base with incredible sparkle. 

Finally, here's a Lip of the Day using Fashion Diva. The first shot is of Mysterious Mauve on it's own. The second shot is MM topped with Fashion Diva: 

As you can see, Fashion Diva really brings out the bluer undertones of Mysterious Mauve, as well as deepening the color and adding a ton of glimmer to the look.

Bottom Line: I love these lip glosses. They are relatively long-lasting, have plenty of pigment and lots of shimmer/glitter, and they work well alone and on top of your favorite lipsticks. There are 6 colors in the range, and you should be able to find at least one that works for you!