Milani Bella Shadow Line Review

So last week I picked up some Milani Bella shadows when I stopped in at CVS. I have never used their shadows but they do have a blush and some nail polishes that I really like so I had high hopes for these shadows. I had also heard some really good things about them from some YouTubbers.

I chose three shades in a golden/bronzey trio. Bella Sand which is supposed to have a shimmer finish.

Bella Cappuccino, with a satin matte finish

and Bella Diamond, an intense white shimmer highlight.

I have been getting into the golden sunkissed look for summer after watching sever Kathleen Lights tutorials. I am loving this look this summer. I was looking forward to seeing how these shades would look on the eye. They looked awesome in the packaging.

I am not impressed they do not even swatch well. Not even with a high def eye primer.  They are chalky, hard to blend and don't feel nice. I have tried them several times, trying them in various ways with different primers. Each time has been a huge disappointment.

The first swatch is with no primer, as a side note they were swatched in the same order at the same time.  From left to right - Diamond, Cappuccino and the Sand. I was surprised to see that Diamond, the highlight lost its intensity with primer.

and with NYX High Def eye primer: 

As you can see there really isn't a ton of difference. I have used the NXY High Def primer for a few years now and it has always delivered a HUGE payoff. Even most super cheap shadows with no pigment and payoff can generally be made super intense and well pigmented.


After about 40 minutes I did finally get a decent color payoff, however that is far longer than I want to spend on what should be a simple easy eye look. I was hoping to find a new easy go to every day look. This isn't it! Milani is by no means expensive, but save yourself the money and frustration.