Review & Swatches: Milani Constellation Gel Eyeliners
Milani, one of my favorite drugstore brands for its quality and low prices, just released some limited edition items for fall, and everyone is all over these Constellation Gel Eye Liners.
The liners come in pots about two inches in diameter, and are undeniably downright beautiful to look at. They even come with a decent eyeliner brush for easy application. Before you dip your brush in, the liners have a slew of different colors shining together to emulate a colorful night sky nebula. The surface has grooves that make it look like an original painting. Of course, once you pick up color, the different shades all mix together.
The Constellation Gel Eye Liners come in 3 shades:
Enchanted Lapis is a blue packed with glitter. You an see hints of purple and pink on the surface, but it turns out to be a deep navy.
Enchanted Black Opal has hints of black, silver, gold and pink on the surface with tons of multi-colored glitter. When swatched, it translates to a charcoal black.
Enchanted Emerald is probably my favorite of the three, with a swirl of teal, blue, pink and green. On the skin, you definitely get a deep emerald effect with an almost color-shifting iridescence due to the glitter.
You guys, I wanted to love these. I really did. I canât tell you how long I stared at them before buckling down and using them because I didn’t want to ruin the design. But the formula is just way off for me. While they claim to be gel liners, the texture is almost whipped and mousse-like. Itâs very soft and wet, and while that makes for great blending, they never set!
I cannot figure out how to wear these to prevent transferring, smudging, or creasing. As a liner, they never dry down and so they end up transferring to the tops of my lid. As a shadow/shadow base, they crease like no other. Iâve tried applying them over primer and shadow, Iâve tried applying translucent powder over them, all to no avail. You canât exactly set these with eyeshadow, or the effect will be diminished. I also thought maybe I was applying too much, but even the thinnest layers will slide around (plus, when you apply only a thin layer, the beautiful colors donât translate as well).
I spoke with some friends who had tried these with mixed opinions. Some said they stayed put for hours on oily lids (I have no idea how), others said their experience aligned closely with my own. Iâm pretty disappointed because Iâve never found a product I didnât love from Milani until now (I just raved about their primer in my September Favorites, but that couldnât even keep these from moving around my lids).
Like I said, these are limited edition, and will only be in stores for a short time. If Milani releases more shades later on, I really hope they adjust the formula to be more long-lasting. I find it so strange that different people have had such vast results, so I donât feel comfortable putting my foot down and saying you should pass on these. I would say, if you are really interested and can find them, pick them up and see how they work on you. If they last, awesome. If they donât, return them (CVS has a great beauty return policy, even after use).
You can find them in drugstores or online during fall for $5.99.
If you have tried these, what has been your experience?
I personally think they would smear everywhere on me , but they are way to pretty
I actually really like these liners. I have super dry lids so I don’t have any issues with transferring.
Great pictures by the way.
Thank you! It’s really interesting how some people have such drastic differences. I have relatively oily lids so they just didn’t play nice!
Bummer that they didn’t work out for you!
I heard much the same from other reviews. I won’t even bother purchasing! I also heard that the very neat color is really just a spray over, and doesn’t even last a few uses. Why Milani insists on this silly spray over for their shadows and liners is befuddling to me. But, great review!! Thank you! What a silly product.
There is very slight shimmer throughout but definitely not as bright as the top. Hopefully they rerelease and reformulate!
Bummer! These do look gorgeous, but if they never set then what’s the point?
It’s so crazy everyone is having different experiences. My lids can be very oily but I don’t have issues with them transferring or migrating, however the pigment did fade rather quickly.
This are so beautiful so I was disappointed when you asked on the BBC about them and everyone had a similar bad experience đ
My review on these will be up in the next few days… and I’m glad I am not the only one that will have similar reviews. I swear… I couldn’t blink without the liner smudging on my upper lid. I even tried using it as a base, but it creased. I wish Milani works on their formulation and try at this again because these would be gorgeous if the formulation was better.
Thanks for your honest review. I honestly think I would hate these. I hate getting a pretty looking makeup item only to have it underperform. Makes me wish they spent more effort thinking up the packaging and making it look nice than actually work.
Weird the experiences were so varied. I have oily lids and had no issues with these using Shadow Insurance primer. I even went out and hunted down 2 additional sets of all 3 shades
They are so pretty in the pan, but I have read mostly negative reviews.
They are stunning, but after reading so many negative reviews I decided to skip these.
Glad to read your review on these! I probably would have picked one up (definitely love the emerald one too!) and been soooo disappointed! I have oily lids and I guarantee they wouldn’t last on me with that kind of texture. Win some, lose some I guess.
These didn’t stand a chance against my oily lids. I soo wish they redo the formula because they’re gorgeous.
Hmph. They’re so gorgeous, but if they don’t set, I’ll just skip them. Stinks because they look so pretty.
I know đ It seriously sucks because they’re beautiful!!!!!
I really want to try these, but I don’t want to spend the money on them if they won’t set. Meh.
Too sparkly anyway. haha
Yeah, this is a rare stinker from Milani.
I am so bummed about these! They look so promising.. but I had the same issues you did!
I had my eyes on these but after reading your review, I am backing off. I have hooded eyes, the last thing I need is a liner that won’t set! LOL
The colors are lovely
They look so pretty, but after reading all those negative reviews I wouldn´t buy these.
I am so thankful for your honest review! Thank you Miranda, I think I’ll be passing on them.
I’ve read so many great things about these liners and have been coveting them. Too bad they weren’t for you.
Wow, what a bummer! I don’t wear them often, but when I do they don’t give me any problems. But I have dry eyelids