Review: Milani Matte Baked Blushes in Delizioso Pink and Bella Rosa

Press Sample 

Longtime readers might recall that my Holy Grail blush of all time is the Milani Baked Blush in Red Vino. That blush is my everything--it's insanely pigmented (seriously, just a whisper of a sweep on each cheek and I'm good to go), the color works incredibly well on my NC20 skintone (it makes me look as though I'm truly "blushing") and the staying power is incredible.

So what could be better than Milani Red Vino? Well what about new MATTE baked blushes from Milani? Yep, Milani has released two new,all-matte baked blushes into their permanent line for 2014. These shades may already be available in the permanent Milani display at your local drugstores, but if your drugstore hasn't reset their Milani display for 2014 yet, you might have to wait a little while longer for them. They're also available for purchase on the Milani website. I received both shades for review a little while back, and today I'd like to share my thoughts with you.

NEW for 2014: Milani Matte Baked Blushes in Delizioso Pink and Bella Rosa

(retail: $7.99 each, 0.12 oz)

Delizioso Pink, Bella Rosa

From the Milani website:

Ingredients: Talc, Glyceryl Ethylhexanoate/Stearate/Adipate, Nylon-12, Lauroyl Lysine, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Isopropyl Myristate, Polyacrylamide, Sorbitan Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Silica, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Laureth-7, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben. +/-May Contain: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Red 7 (CI 15850), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140).

Let's start with Delizioso Pink:

Delizioso Pink

Delizioso Pink is a matte, cool-toned bubblegum pink shade that contains no sheen, shimmer or glitter. It's 100% matte and the pigmentation is fantastic. The "swiped" swatch above was taken after I gently rubbed my finger once around the surface of the blush. The same goes for the "blended" swatch. I barely applied any pressure at all to the surface of this blush and only swiped in a circle once with my finger for what you see above.

Next up, Bella Rosa:

Bella Rosa

Bella Rosa is a warm matte rosy-red shade that contains no sheen, shimmer or glitter. It's 100% matte and the pigmentation is incredible. Just like with the swatches of Delizioso Pink, the "swiped" swatch above was taken after I gently rubbed my finger once around the surface of the blush. The same goes for the "blended" swatch. I barely applied any pressure at all to the surface of this blush and only swiped in a circle once with my finger for what you see above.

I have reviewed all of the blushes in the Milani Baked Blush line in detail on my blog over the years, so I won't rehash everything from my past reviews. Let me just say that these new matte blushes are perfectly in line with the other shimmery/glittery blushes in this line. The pigmentation is fabulous, the texture is wonderful (very finely-milled and super easy to both apply and blend) and the staying power on my oily skin is extremely impressive. I can easily get 8+ hours of wear before these blushes start to fade. The only negative thing I have to say about these blushes is that they do kick up a bit of fallout in the pan when you're picking up color with your brush, but that's a small price to pay, in my opinion, for such impressive color and performance.

I do want to warn those of you who have never tried a Milani Baked Blush about the pigmentation. When I say these are heavily pigmented, I mean it. I CANNOT use a traditional blush brush to apply these blushes. On my NC20 skintone, a traditional blush blush delivers far too much color to my cheeks. I have to use a stippling blush and very gently dab the color on with a light hand. If you are anywhere near my skintone (or more fair than I am), you will not be able to brush these blushes on like you would other blushes. Trust me when I say that a stippling brush (such as the e.l.f. Studio Small Stipple Brush, etc.) is the best way to go, because you can really control the pigmentation that way. Those with deeper skintones probably won't have to use such a specific application technique, but I also do not foresee those of you with deeper skintones having any issues with the pigmentation of these blushes.

FINAL VERDICT:  Milani has done it again. These two new matte additions to their Baked Blush line are both equally fantastic, and if you love the original Milani Baked Blushes, I'm willing to bet you're going to adore these matte versions as well. Same incredible pigmentation, texture and staying power, just no shimmer/glitter! The only negative thing I can say about these blushes is that they do kick up some fallout in the pan when you're picking up color with your brush but, for me, it's  a fair trade-off considering the positives. Highly recommend! (PS: I think Bella Rosa might be knocking Red Vino out of its Holy Grail status soon.)

Have you spotted these new matte shades in your area yet? Do you own either (or both)? I would love to hear from you!

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. For more information, click here.