The Penguin Critic: Eyes: Milani's Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow Swatches (8 Colors)

PURCHASED

Hi everyone. Happy Saturday! Today is the first day that's felt like a true [pleasant] summer day...and I spent it taking and editing the pictures for this post, which almost took forever but not quite. Don't worry, there were reasons I couldn't do much today to begin with. If you can't spend it outside, I guess it's best to be productive indoors, right?

I went back and forth trying to figure out how to introduce this new line of Milani eye shadows to my blog. I originally did a look with three of the colors and decided that I would use that look to create a review post. Then I did another look today using a fourth of the eight colors I own, and I wondered: would this technically have to turn into a review, too? But what about the other shadows used in the same look?

And then, what about the other four shadows from this line?

So, today, I decided to do a picture-heavy post that is not a review, but simply a close-up-and-swatch kind of post. Once I do looks using the shadows and/or review posts, I'll add them here as links for additional information per color. That seems like the best way to go about doing this. At least it seems that way today, haha.

Milani recently discontinued their old line of eye shadows - which I never tried - and released a brand new line this past July called Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow, available thirty shades total. I wasn't really curious about the line until I saw a swatch of a particular color that was damn near perfect, and then I started to hear mostly good things about the formula.

When I realized that NYC was behind again in terms of this line popping up in drugstores, I ordered seven of the colors - "Bella Khaki," "Bella Navy," "Bella Purple," "Bella Espresso," "Bella Sand," "Bella Teal," and "Bella Charcoal" - directly from Milani's website. After swatching them all and using three for the first look I mentioned briefly in this post's introduction, I started looking for two more colors - "Bella Taupe" and "Bella Cobalt" - in stores. I haven't found "Bella Cobalt," but "Bella Taupe" brought my Bella Eyes eye shadow total to eight.

This line features four distinct finishes - shimmer, satin matte, highlighter/shimmer, and metallic - though I question whether or not there's a fifth finish based off the permanent display's labels in-store (more on that in a bit). I own three (four?) of the four (five?!) finishes, and they will be labeled accordingly as I go through each color.

Since this isn't a review, I'm going to end this post here and close with the many pictures of my eight colors. I hope you find them helpful, and thanks for stopping by! 'Til next time! ('<>')>

SWATCHES`*~*~*

BELLA SAND (02)

A warm, shimmering beige. Shimmer finish.

BELLA TAUPE (05)

A matte taupe. Satin matte finish.*

*This is the color that has me confused. I took the following picture at a local CVS:

This was the only color labeled "matte" on the display (it is labeled "satin matte" on both the packaging and Milani's official site). I would say the display label was an error, but as you'll see in the very last picture of this post, this shade is distinctly matte compared to the other satin matte colors.

BELLA ESPRESSO (06)

A deep, satin matte brown. Satin matte.