Neapolitan ice cream is my favourite ice cream, simply because of the three colours and flavours, vanilla, strawberry & chocolate. The exact same colours are in Milly for Clinique’s Limited Edition Pretty In Prints Compact.
Michelle Smith designs women’s fashion and accessories under the Milly label. She has collaborated with Clinique to come up with the limited edition compact of cheek and eye colours as well as a lip gloss. The compact is encased in a beautiful drawstring bag with the signature Milly print.
According to Michelle Smith who travels to Europe several times a year to research the archives of many esteemed fabric houses, the Pretty In Prints makeup bag was inspired by a couture 1960s print.
Indeed, the bag is one of the prettiest cosmetics bags I’ve seen. It’s the kind of bag that’ll make people ask where you got it from when you take it out in public. I appreciate that the interior of the bag is in hot pink and not white which can be easily stained.
As for the compact, it’s silver cover is very elegant and sophisticated. It beats the design of many other more expensive brands hands down. It’s a sturdy compact with a mirror as big as the compact itself, that’s another plus point as some compact only have half mirrors which is annoying.
The eyeshadow quad (called “printed pinks”) consists of an ivory beige, a brown, a pink and a dark brown. While the first three colours have varying degrees of shimmer, the last colour is the most matte. The brown and pink reminded me of Clinique’s Colour Surge Duo in Strawberry Fudge which I had as part of a Gift With Purchase set.
Whereas the bag made my heart go pitter-patter, I must admit to feeling slightly underwhelmed by the eyeshadow quads as they aren’t very exciting, yet they are colours one has come to expect from Clinique. I prefer to walk on the wild side when it comes to eyeshadow colours and I graduated from safe (read : sedate) colours a long time ago. Life is short and there’s only so much time left to experiment!
There is a sponge tip eyeshadow applicator and brush on opposite ends inside the compact as well as a blusher brush. I didn’t find the applicators particularly useful other than the eyeshadow brush which I used for blending. The blusher brush was not practical for applying blusher evenly so I had to use my own brushes. I also used a sponge tip applicator with a pointed end for applying the matte brown as eyeliner. The sponge tip applicator that is in the compact isn’t pointed enough, in my opinion.
For beginners to makeup, Clinique has helpfully included a step-by-step guide on how to use the eyeshadow colours in the form of a cardboard insert. Because the colours are so complementary, even beauty novices will not have a problem figuring out which colour goes where on the eyelid.
Here’s how I applied the eyeshadow quad:-
While I have no doubt that the colours are great for everyday use, I found the texture of the eyeshadows to be somewhat chalky so bits of eyeshadow tended to migrate over to the blusher and I had to tidy up the blusher before applying to my cheeks. If only there had been a plastic covering over the blusher.
It’s noteworthy that the eyeshadow colours did not fade with all day wear. As for the blush, Precious Posy, it’s described by Celebrity Makeup Artist, Kayleen McAdams, as a “watermelon pink”. With one application, it barely shows but you can gradually build up the colour to the intensity you want. The blusher has average staying power, it faded a bit after a few hours but of course, you can bring this compact with you anywhere for touch-ups.
Overall, it is one of the nicest designed eye/cheek compacts I have seen this year. If you like the eyeshadow and cheek colours, then it’s definitely worth getting as it’s a handy palette with a pouch that can be re-used for years to come.
Milly Pink Long Last Glosswear is like a melon pink and on its own, is quite sheer. Over any lipstick, it gives a lovely sheen that enhances the colour of the lipstick and that’s my preferred way of using the gloss. It’s a good pick for anyone who is into pink lip shades.
To complete the Milly look, I applied Clinique’s Lash Power Volumizing Mascara on the upper lashes without using an eyelash curler. It’s one of the better mascaras for curling lashes and one of the few that don’t smudge on me. For the lower lashes, I used Clinique’s Bottom Lash Mascara.
The Limited Edition Pretty In Prints Compact is RM180 (printed pinks eyeshadow quad totals 2.8g & precious posy blush is 6g) while the Limited Edition Long Last Glosswear SPF15 in Milly Pink is RM63.
Note : There is a second collaboration between Milly and Clinique with regard to the design of a makeup bag filled with deluxe sized skincare samples. You can read about it here. However, I am not sure whether it will make it to our shores. The Pretty In Prints Compact and Glosswear were provided by Clinique for review.
