NEW IN COMPLEXION | MILK MAKEUP, URBAN DECAY & KOSAS

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I don't know what I'm doing buying makeup when I don't actually ever leave the house really... But I am! Maybe it's some weird optimism; like, if I buy the makeup, that must mean I'll wear it out to places soon... To be fair, complexion makeup is the one thing I do still sometimes use! Anyway, here are 3 new base products I have purchased and what I thought of them.

First up, let's talk about a product I've been wanting to get my hands for so long! It's the Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint SPF 30 (Golden Honey) | £39. This had been available in the US but not in the UK however it's recently been reformulated and launched here, so I'm assuming the reformulation was to get this approved for the EU given it's a sunscreen product. This is broad spectrum but I would warn you not to rely on this product alone for your sun protection because you would look a cakey mess if you tried to apply as much of this as you'd need to get the full SPF 30! For me, this is really increasing your coverage. Look, you can't layer an SPF 20 with and SPF 30 and get an SPF 50, but (as I mentioned) most people are not applying enough sunscreen, so if you use your usual sunscreen then you're wearing this you can be more confident in the coverage from the amount of product you're wearing. One thing to note, (which I didn't realise when purchasing is): there's only 16ml of product in here: that's 1ml over half the amount I'd typically expect for a foundation or tinted moisturiser! And, at almost £40, it's not cheap. If this was a standard foundation it would be in the region of £75. Ok, maybe not the biggest deal in the context of a global pandemic when I'm not wearing makeup to work every day, but I'm not sure I'd have purchased this had I realised. You will have to visit Milk's own website for the full list of ingredients, but Selfridges do warn that it's not suitable for those with sensitivities to citrus oils.

Onto the product and the application experience. I have to admit, in usual Cool Girl Milk Makeup style; the packaging is pretty great. I'm not sure why it has this sort of applicator, but I'm cool with it. You click the bottom of this tube and it pools the product in this little chamber that rolls the rollerball in the tint. Roll that directly onto your skin and I personally buff the product in using a synthetic brush. It gives a very light coverage, so I guess the shade range is ok...ish... I just guessed based on the swatches on the Selfridges website and it turned out fine. In terms of coverage; obviously this is a very light base, however it still covers my redness and makes my skin tone look even. It is a more glowing base and is marketed towards normal and dry skin types, but it doesn't have that 'wet' shine (if you see what I mean). It doesn't move around on the face or get overly shiny, though I'll definitely have to try it during the height of summer to put it to the test fully. It's a great low-maintenance option for when you don't want a heavy face of makeup but you want to perk up your perfection a bit. Obviously, if you're trying to do a full beat: this isn't going to be for you (it always drives me mad when YouTubers get a product called 'whatever-tint' and then moan it's not got 'enough coverage' for them!) it's all about personal preference. But, I think in this very sleepy life we're leading when any makeup is pretty low-effort; this fits the bill for me. It's just a shame about the price-point vs. amount of product.

Next, I'm going to talk about the Urban Decay Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator (Shade 50) | £29. I was kind of interested in this product but Urban Decay don't seem to send me their products these days, which is absolutely fine, but if I'm going to go out and purchase something when I have tinted moisturisers and stuff like this already, a new launch does have to 'grab me'. But, I kept hearing people recommend it and even my mum told me it was really good, so I was like 'oh, go on then!' The shade range isn't great in this product; I didn't actually realise that the swatches I was looking at were the entire range, but apparently that was it! Shade 50 is a good match for me (again, I have no idea how I did this, but: go me) but there are only 12 to choose from and I don't think that's ok when you're marketing it as 'medium coverage'. Even Milk's 'skin tint' comes in 14 shades. Having actually used this and applied it, I personally think it's light-to-medium coverage with nice buildability. I use it with my trusty damp beauty sponge; I start with a pea-sized amount dotted onto my face and blended out. If I feel like I need a bit more coverage in a specific area then I'll build it up from there. 

Personally, I would recommend this for normal-to-dry skin types, as it definitely has that hydrating dewiness to it. This isn't really a concern in winter, but if you tend to get a little oily around your t-zone; I recommend powdering there. For me, it's more where my glasses sit that I need to set this to prevent it moving around and rubbing off on the bridge. Otherwise, this is pretty much my ideal finish: that healthy, dewy glow that's low-maintenance and brings my complexion to life. Obviously, I haven't worn this on a really long day when I'd be doing my makeup at 7, going to work, maybe going out for drinks or dinner afterwards, but so far I've not noticed any issues with longevity. It doesn't break up throughout the day and it doesn't sink into fine lines. Overall, I like this a lot, but where the Milk product's fatal flaw for some will be its price per ml, Urban Decay's fatal flaw is really going to be the shade range (which is going to exclude a lot of people from trying this).

Last, but not least, let's talk about the Kosas Cloud Set Baked Setting & Smoothing Powder (Cushiony) | £29 | (bit of a mouthful!) which I ordered from Revolve. I personally really enjoy the soft texture of a baked powder and this had the sort of formula I'd been hoping for! It's light, it's not remotely heavy or cakey but does prevent concealer creasing under my eyes and also keeps any excess shine at bay, without having that 'matte' look or feel on the skin. The shade range in this product is actually pretty good: powders can often be limited but this is available in 10 colours and the actual spectrum within that seems well-distributed. You know me; I love a natural complexion product from a Cool Girl brand, but my issue is usually that their shade ranges aren't always the best so I don't feel able to widely recommend them. This is a really good spread for the product type and - I think after a bit of criticism - Kosas are really getting it right with their newer complexion launches. I chose Cushiony, as it's a warm-toned shade and I have warm tones in my skin, but also because it has that banana brightening quality to it. I also really enjoy this slightly soft-focus effect the power has; I personally tend to powder where my skin is a little more prone to shine, which is usually where I have visible pores and I really like the smoothing quality this has on them. 

Have you tried any of these products? Do you have your eye on any of them?

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