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Monday, August 1, 2011

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso: BELIEVE THE HYPE



Oh yes! The ONE shade of Milani Baked Blush that I've yet to review or swatch on this blog is now in my possession! 

The Milani Baked Blushes are my favorite blush collection so far this year, and if you missed my reviews and swatches of the other shades, you can click here to see Corallina, Red Vino and Rose D'Oro, and you can click here to see Fantastico Mauve, Bellissimo Bronze, Dolce Pink, Berry Amore and Terra Sol.

Without a doubt, Luminoso is THE most popular shade in this range (just google "Milani Luminoso" and a zillion reviews full of raves will come up), so today I'd like to give you an idea of what this universally-flattering shade has to offer, in case you haven't picked it up yet:


Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso 
(retail: $7.99, 0.12 oz)


Luminoso is one of those blushes that appeals to wide variety of skintones--I can see this looking stunning on very pale/fair complexions, as well as on those with deeper skintones. It gives the skin a literal luminosity that makes the name of this blush perfectly fitting.


If you click the above photos and enlarge them, I think you'll see that this peachy-coral shade has a gorgeous sheen to it that literally illuminates the skin. Blended out (see pic above on the right), it turns a teeny tiny bit more orange on me than what you see in the pan.

I thought it might be helpful for you to see how Luminoso compares to the other coral shade in this range, so here are some side-by-side comparisons of Luminoso and Corallina (another fan favorite, for sure):


As you can see, Corallina is a more intense coral, whereas Luminoso is a softer, almost dusty peachy-coral. Also, Corallina contains silver sparkle, while Luminoso contains no sparkle:


In the above photo, I think you can really see the color differences in these two shades. Corallina has more orange in it, and if you've got a deeper skintone, I think you would be able to achieve a nice pop of coral-based color more easily with Corallina than Luminoso, which gives more of a glowy, sheer, luminous look to the skin.


In the above photo, I tried to show you that Corallina, while appearing almost matte next to Luminoso, does have a shimmer/sheen to it. It's just that, when swatched next to Luminoso's sheen, it sort of gets overpowered by Luminoso. So just for the record, Corallina is not a matte with silver sparkle, it's got a sheen to it in addition to the sparkle.

In my opinion, Luminoso is one of those universally-flattering colors that's in the same vein as NARS Orgasm. It would work with a variety of different skintones, and I just ADORE the luminous sheen it gives to the skin. When I'm looking to quickly warm up my face without being over-the-top, I reach for Luminoso. Unlike NARS Orgasm, which sometimes would require me to apply several layers to achieve a good level of pigmentation, I can swipe on Luminoso and not feel the need to build for more intensity. I love just a few quick brush strokes on my cheeks--the pigmentation is perfect for me without any effort at all.

If you're looking to buy a beautiful coral-based blush and you're not sure whether to get Luminoso or Corallina, I think it all depends on whether you're looking for a pop of coral color (if so, get Corallina) or if you want more of a luminous wash of color (if so, get Luminoso). I personally adore both, but now that I own Luminoso, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE HYPE. This one didn't let me down one bit--in fact it totally exceeded my expectations.

Do you already own Luminoso? If so, what do you think of it? It is your favorite of all the Milani Baked Blushes?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.
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28 comments

  1. Milani's Baked Blushes aren't available in my area. :( I really need to save up and raid Milani's website!

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  2. I have my hands on this and a few others, and they are fab!

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  3. gorgeous!

    i need to pick this up!

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  4. Alright, I'll get this one too. I thought perhaps it wouldn't be pigmented enough, but you've swayed me ;) I love Corallina by the way! I'm not usually one for super shimmery blushes, but Milani's blushes are really different than your standard shimmery blush. It's like a glow from within ^_^

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  5. Thank you for doing the swatch comparisons! I always wandered if Luminoso would show up on my darker skin!

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  6. Ooo, I'm totally going to search for this! I'm going to CA on Thursday and there's a CVS around the corner from where I'm staying. I hope I can find this and those MAC dupes, Haute Flash. I managed to find a purple hair mascara while in Vegas last week :).

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  7. can you do a comparison of milani's old "luminous" blush and luminoso? i'm not sure if i really need both.

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  8. These are actually my 2 favorites out of the new baked blushes! Your descriptions are right on! Corallina is a gorgeous pop of color. While I can see people comparing Luminoso to NARS Orgasm, I agree that Luminoso is much better. Orgasm has never showed up on me or been flattering at all. Luminoso is super flattering and just as pretty as can be!

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  9. Im still waiting on a sale to pick these up. but i dont think wags is ever gonna have a sale on them lol. im gonna get dolce pink and luminoso and possibly a couple other :-). I wonder how this one compares to the original Luminoso.

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  10. I received an email a few days ago from Milani saying that they will ship all order now till friday August 5th for FREE! So if anyone is having trouble finding this product you can go on their website and order it there and get free shipping! Offer is only good for U.S though :(

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  11. I am also curious about the difference between this Luminoso and the old luminous blush that is not baked.

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  12. I adore Luminoso and I am so glad you love it too!!! And for me, too, it is my go-to blush when I just want to "look pretty quickly"! It is just so easy to wear! I far prefer it to NARS's Orgasm! Beautiful blush!!!

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  13. This is when I'm really sorry for not having Milani in my country. This looks even more beautiful than Orgasm. Actually it reminds me of an MSF from MAC called By Candlelight, but this looks far more friendly and wearable.

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  14. Ahh yes. I have and love almost all of the baked blushes by Milani. The only one I don't have is the Fantastico Mauve one, or whatever it's called. Luminoso is very lovely!

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  15. I buy all kind of blushes, high-end, drugstore, you name it, and Luminoso is hands down my favorite!

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  16. Funny how YMMV because I'd compare it to Deep Throat before Orgasm; on me it looks more peach than pink, as DT does compared to O. Either way it's definitely lovely. Definitely on par with MSF's as well.

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  17. One of my major lemmings at the moment! I hope there will be some back to school sale or whatever on cherryculture soon

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  18. emily: I actually don't own Luminous, so I can't do a comp post. BUT, I did own it several years ago and I believe it might have had a bit more pink to it, if my memory serves me correctly? Sorry I can't be of more help! :(

    Steffy: Actually, I never said they were similar or dupes. I just was using Orgasm as an example of one of those "universally flattering shades" that everyone seems to love--I think Luminoso is the same in that respect. I agree with you--I don't think they're close in shade to each other either. Hope that clears it up! :)

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  19. G, would you suggest this blush for darker skin tones (NW40)? I'm afraid it won't show up or will just look super frosty on me.

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  20. I have five of these now, and Luminoso is definitely my favorite, followed by Dolce Pink. And I agree with others on here who prefer it to a lot of high-end brands...Orgasm was my HG for years, but now it's all about Milani (and on the higher end, the new 12-hour Tarte blushes).

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  21. Sandhya: I think it would look beautiful on you, but I don't think I'd wear it as blush with your skintone. I think it would work better for you as a highlighter, or perhaps to wear over another matte shade of blush to pump it up. I hope that helps! :)

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  22. For anyone who can't find the Baked Blushes in your drugstores, check out Sears! They have recently added a mass market beauty department in their stores, and it is literally the ONLY place that I could find these guys (I'm on Long Island, NY).

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  23. Hmmm, I had the old Milani Luminous back in 03-04 or so. Loved it up to nothing...scraped it out of the pan. It was not baked. My Orgasm is from 01 and while pretty done, I loved my Luminous far more. TY for the review G!

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  24. I love this blush! Mine seems to have more of a swirl look like Carolina, but it's the only blush I will wear now. It gives me the perfect flush of color! I love your blog by the way!

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  25. Absolutely love this blush. I am African American with yellow undertones and I sometimes get mistaken for Indian and this color is so beautiful on me. It gives me a beautiful peachy glow that also appears to have golden undertones on my skin. I too believe this can be used on anyone. The only thing I just read the ingredients and it has parabens :( I really LOVE Miliani baked blushes but the parabens not so much :(

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  26. I have this blush and it is my go to blush for an everyday look

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  27. They are in sale now at CVS buy one/get other 50% off. Is hard to decide which color they are all gorgeous. I got Bella Rosa and Corallina to wear with grey, brown sweaters or black and add a cheek punch in winter. Hoping they are not too vivid on my pale skin but omg! So beautiful! Planning to get the rest!

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