Milani Baked Powder Blush in Corallina, Rose D'Oro, and Dolce Pink

There's been a lot of hype over Milani's Baked Blushes over the past couple years, but I hadn't really been that intrigued by them. This is due mostly to my lack of interest in drugstore cosmetics in general, but as you may have noticed from my most recent haul, I had a sudden determination to check out all the lower end make-up lines because a lot of them have received so many raves. I was not interested in Milani whatsoever mostly due to the packaging, which I feel is cheap and tacky-looking, like it came from the dollar store. I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I can't help it; if a product that is meant to enhance beauty has ugly packaging, it's not particularly alluring, you know? That having been said, I finally bit the bullet and went to Loblaws to check out Milani's offerings. I actually went specifically to check out the Baked Blush in Luminoso, which I think is solely responsible for launching Milani into the mainstream. But alas, the Loblaws I went to had one Luminoso left, and it was completely shattered in the compact. Still intrigued, I decided to pick up three other shades. Each Baked Blush is packaged in a plastic yellow gold compact with a clear lid, contains 3.5 grams of product, and retails for $7.99 to $9.99 CAD (depending on the retailer).
Clockwise from bottom left: Corallina, Rose D'Oro, and Dolce Pink
Corallina, Rose D'Oro, and Dolce Pink

Corallina is a medium vibrant reddened orange-coral with a gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This was a permanent shade, but is now being discontinued. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more orange than MAC Gleeful Mineralize Blush, lighter and more coral than MAC Ambering Rose, more coral and more shimmery than MAC Modern Mandarin, brighter and less pink than MAC Pinch Me, brighter and more shimmery than Clinique Ginger Pop, more orange than NARS Torrid, and more muted and more orange than Tarte Frisky.

Rose D'Oro is a light-medium peachy bronze with a gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more gold than MAC Sunbasque, more peach than MAC Margin, darker and more peach than MAC Trace Gold, less orange than NARS Luster, darker and more bronze than Too Faced Peach Beach, lighter and less brown than Hard Candy Bombshell, and more peach than Tarte Buff.

Dolce Pink is a light-medium warm pink with a gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than MAC Dainty Mineralize Blush, warmer and more shimmery than MAC Lovecloud, more golden and more shimmery than MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush, slightly lighter than Too Faced Candy Glow, warmer and more muted than Hard Candy Living Doll, and lighter and warmer than Tarte Dollface.

Aside from the terribly cheap packaging, the formula of these blushes is actually really beautiful; they're soft, pigmented, and all go on smoothly and evenly. I would say these are most similar to MAC's Mineralize Blushes, which are also baked. While these are slightly grittier than MAC's version, these add a gorgeous flush of colour and a beautiful glow to the skin. If you're a fan of MAC's Mineralize Blushes or want to try them but don't want to spend the money, Milani's Baked Blushes are a fantastic option — and you can feel less guilty 'cause these are a third of the price, too. So if you're a blush fiend like me, you'll end up getting three shades instead of one.