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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Universal Lip Pencil: Milani Anti-Feathering Lipliner in Transparent

It seems that February would be the month of me going back on my word: 'I don't see the point of highlighters!', and yet I'm loving Laura Mercier Matte Radiance. 'I never use lip liners!', and here I am, launching into a lip pencil review. Please stay tuned for an upcoming rave on eyelash curlers and how I can't imagine my life without them... Just kidding, no, I'm still not converted to lash curling - but I almost had you there! ;)
Here's why I felt the need to fork out for this Milani Anti-Feathering Lipliner in Transparent 01 ($4.49 for 0.04 oz/ 1.2 g). As you may remember from this year's installment of Project Make A Dent, I've been trying to use up my Inglot Gel Lipstick no. 58, a bright berry shade. I don't have much problem with rocking bold lips even on an everyday basis, but I do have an issue with darker colors wearing off unevenly or slipping around too much on the lips. If I'm going to wear my bright raspberry without fear or second thought, I need to make sure it's not going anywhere - which is where a lip liner must come in.
I say 'must', because I've never been a fan of lining my lips; it takes more time, effort and expense (to buy matching lip liners to all your bold lipsticks? No thank you, I prefer to just buy more lipstick), and on top of that, most lip pencils are incredibly drying and uncomfortable. But you know what, this Milani Transparent Lipliner is really cool - clear, so it matches everything, quick and easy to apply, feels good on the lips, and definitely extends the wear of my bright lipsticks.
Milani claims this pencil can be used to outline your lips but also to fill them in, and that it can double as a lip primer; you do end up going through the pencil rather quickly this way. The texture of the product is quite hard in the bullet (it can crumble when freshly sharpened if you press down too hard!) but warms up as you're putting it on the lips, and it has a smooth but almost tacky feel to it. Think of it as a glue between the skin of your lips and the lip product you're putting on top: it's not oily or balmy but instead forms a layer for lipsticks or glosses to cling to. Throughout the day, it doesn't seem to wear off or absorb into the lips, making the creamy product worn on top feel more solid and less slippery, and depending on the lipstick formula, sometimes it can even slightly mattify the finish. There's no scent to the product but you do unfortunately have to sharpen your pencil.

Another huge advantage of this universal Milani Lipliner is that it doesn't exacerbate vertical lip lines and it doesn't dry out the lips - I wouldn't say it moisturizes them either, but due to high silicone and wax content, it acts almost like a seal to trap moisture inside your lips. Even with more drying lipstick formulas, I feel that by layering the clear lip liner underneath, my lips feel less parched by the end of the day.
Wearing Milani Anti-Feathering Lip Liner with Inglot Gel Lipstick no. 58. I'm not sure if you can see that, but the finish is a bit more satin than by wearing the lipstick on its own.
Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend this, and now I think I can't be without a lip priming product to wear with brighter shades. If you dislike the high maintenance that comes with fuschias, reds and burgundies, definitely look into the Transparent Anti-Feathering Lipliner - and even if doesn't turn out to be an absolute must-have for you personally, it's a small investment versus some other options from brands like MAC, Too Faced, Dior or Bite Beauty. How cool that Milani made such a product available in the drugstore, right?

How do you feel about lip liners and lip primers in general? Have you ever tried a clear lip liner, and if so, which brand is your favorite?

18 comments:

  1. Hey Monika, haha we all eat our words sometimes so no worries about it!

    I don't line my lips often, either. I am really lazy that way: if you don't stay put, I just won't wear you. I've found that reds require the most maintenance, which is one of the reasons why I don't often wear red lipsticks. I've tried one transparent lip liner from Dior, but I have never tested it out thoroughly enough to formulate any definitive opinions on it! Maybe I should revisit the idea and see if I'll deem it useful :)

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    1. You're so right Sunny, I think just sometimes preferences change and you revisit certain products with a different attitude :)

      Gosh, I love reds and other bright shades, but I agree, high maintenance - and stains are usually so drying on me! Let me know what you think of the Dior lip liner; I thought that one and the Bite Beauty primer + liner duo looked promising.

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  2. I just read another review on this lip liner from KPsays today and she loved it as well. Abd the price is great too. I use a lip liner with red lipstick but I have never tried a clear one. If my messy CVS has it, I will definitely get it.

    How come you don't like curling your eyelashes?

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    1. Hahah, good to know I'm not the only one who likes it! Give it a try if you can find it - I got mine from drugstore.com because our CVS is incredibly expensive.

      I don't curl my lashes because I don't really need to - my lashes have a natural curl to them, so when I use eyelash curlers, they just get this weird pinched look. But I'm still keeping my Shiseido curlers on hand in case I ever change my mind about it!

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  3. I really need to get myself one of these universal lip liners! I only have two...

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  4. You look so gorgeous with a dark lip, I love it!!! x

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  5. Rimmel makes one of these too, and it's a twist-up! I have that because I could never find the Milani in stock anywhere. I'm not usually a lip liner type of person either but clear is really handy. :)

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  6. Monika, such a *great* idea!! I used to own Paula's Choice clear lip liner and chucked it away since nothing feathers on me, BUT.. everytime I wear bold colors I noticed many wore down unevenly -- I always have pooling near the mouth and around the edges of the lips, and almost nothing anywhere else, or somewhere in between. I think this is a perfect solution and with Milani's price, you've really got nothing to loose. Great, great idea, thanks for posting this!

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  7. I love my transparent lip liners!!! So easy to apply, and no fuss about matching lip colors! For some reason I got sucked into buying a couple of additional (regular) lip liners last year, but I think for the sake of simplicity I will try to refrain from purchasing any additional ones...I just don't use them enough!

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  8. This is useful, thanks! I have the e.l.f. clear liner, but they recommend drawing outside the lip line to prevent feathering. It works, but I usually don't bother with it, since I don't have too much trouble with feathering. I wonder if it would work as a primer like this one, though - I'm going to try it. I have the Too Faced lip primer, but it's fairly drying.

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  9. I thnk everyone should have a transparent lipliner - Just in case. I don't use coloured ones anymore since I got one from Maybelline Jade. I use lipliner ten times a year. I think the quality of lip products in general became better so that most lipsticks don't need one. I only use it with very dark and bright shades. I usually don't like to use lip lines because they dry my lips... xD

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  10. No wonders you don't care about lash curling, Monika. It's not like you need it at all! (Carla's lash envy, episode 3890213).

    I really like lip liners, because I have quite fine lips and I feel like if I overdraw them a little, little bit, they look much better; specially with bolder colours. I could do this with the lipstick itself, but I feel like it looks much better with a lipliner.

    I have a transparent one from MUFE but I haven't had the chance to properly test it yet. Will do soon, though! And I really wish we would have Milani more widely available in Europe. It looks like such a cool brand.

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  11. I think this is such a great idea - I never ever wear lipliner and don't really find that my lipsticks feather or bleed very much, but I still think this would be useful for more precise lines for bright shades :)

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  12. Your post is really helpful! I was just looking for an explanation why to use a transparent lipliner. I've never used it before and couldn't understand why to use it since it's invisible. I think I should give it a try ^^

    ♥ Sara from www.thecosmopolitas.com

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  13. I just bought this lip liner today. But after opening the package, I can't figure out how to sharpen it. Am I just dense, is there a trick. Please help.

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    1. Hi! The 'wood' part of this pencil is plastic but you just sharpen it in your sharpener like any other liner pencil - hope that helps! It's quite soft though so maybe putting it in the fridge for a couple minutes would help to ensure that the tip doesn't brake off.

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  14. how do you sharpen it? do you use a regular lipliner/eyeliner sharpener?

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    1. Yes! Just any pencil sharpener - I use my Urban Decay Grindhouse.

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