Review: Milani The Perfect Red Lipstick

Naming your newest lipstick "The Perfect Red Lipstick" is pretty bold, Milani! When I saw this display at CVS a few weeks ago, I knew I had to give this product a try for its claim alone:

Milani The Perfect Red Lipstick comes in just one shade. Why, you ask? Well, because it claims to adjust to your body's own PH level, making it unique for each wearer. Make no mistake, Milani doesn't say this adjusts to your body temperature, so it's not going to be a "mood" type product that change colors depending on if you're hot or cold. This is supposed to adjust to your PH level, which is a measure of acidity and basicity. In other words, I guess you could say it adjusts to your own unique body chemistry.

Now, putting all that aside in favor of something far more superficial, I couldn't resist the vintage-inspired packaging of this lipstick:

I found it particularly interesting that Milani only printed its brand name on the safety seal of this lipstick. So literally, when you remove the safety seal, there are NO markings whatsoever on the tube, other than a small internal batch code on the bottom of the case. I don't know why, but I kind of like this. It makes me feel like they're trying to say, "You'll never forget who makes this, so we don't need to print the name on the tube." I'm such a sucker for anything that's a departure from how things are normally done!

So let me preface the rest of this review with some background info. You see, I have already found my "perfect shade of red lipstick", and that is MAC Diva (click here for some lovely photos of this shade if you're unfamiliar with it). Diva tends to look great on women with yellow undertones, and while technically not a true red (the MAC website describes it as an "intense reddish-burgundy") it's about as red as I can really go without looking like a little girl who's been playing with mommy's makeup. It's bold, it's dramatic, and darnit, it's RED (to me). And by far, this is the one red that I feel the most confident wearing, and the one I've received the most compliments while wearing. So how does Milani stand up to MAC Diva for me?

First let's take a look at the color itself:

In person, this is a very traditional, bold shade of red. To my eye, it's more on the tomato-orange red side of the spectrum. It's got a very vintage quality to it, so it perfectly matches its packaging.

So how does it apply? Like a feather. Literally, it glides across the lips so softly, so light-as-air, it's as if you're running a feather across your skin. For the feel alone, this rivals a $25 lipstick.

Here's what it looked like on my lips about 20 seconds after I applied it:

(excuse my dry, chapped lips--they seem much worse in this picture than they are in real life)

Now, as you can see, the color in the tube looks pretty much exactly like the color on my lips. I was going to post another picture taken 15 minutes after putting on this lipstick, just to show you how the color changed in accordance to my PH level, but guess what? It looked exactly the same. Literally, the change was so subtle that it couldn't be detected by either my eyes, or my camera's lens. I literally could see no change whatsoever.

Now of course, your mileage may vary, and I'm hoping that some of you may see a far more dramatic shift in color. But for me, this was one of those reds that is truly "what you see is what you get", which isn't a bad thing, really, when it comes to reds. How may times have you purchased a red lipstick hoping it would look exactly as it did in the tube, only to put it on and find it way more more magenta or pink than you were led to believe based on the color in the tube?

Final analysis: If you're looking for a vintage red that's on the orange side of the spectrum, this might be your lucky day. If this color doesn't adjust to your own PH level (as was the case for me) then you might end up with this exact shade. The quality, finish and texture of this lipstick are all first-rate, and definitely worth triple the actual price ($5.49 at CVS). Expect the normal amount of transfer that you get from just about every other red lippie on the market (yes, you'll definitely see it on your coffee cup), but it wears down to a beautiful stain in the end. Also, the smell is quite traditional (sort of vanilla-based) and there's little to no flavor to speak of.

Have you tried Milani The Perfect Red Lipstick? If so, did it change colors for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!