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Milani promises that the **Gilded Mini Eyeshadow Palettes ($10.99) will have major color payoff, buttery high-intensity shadows, minimal fallout, and a seamless blend. While I don’t agree that these eyeshadows are buttery or have major payoff, I can agree that they have minimal fallout and are easy to blend. Despite getting a little carried away with the marketing claims, I think these are good eyeshadows that perform well for me. Whiskey Business is an all-matte palette, and It’s All Rose has 3 mattes and 3 shimmers. 

Overall, the mattes are a little dry, loosely pressed, and powdery (not too messy though). The mattes in the It’s All Rose Palette are a little creamier than those in the Whisky Business Palette. However, you aren’t likely to notice that difference when using them with a brush.  Although the shimmers in It’s All Rose aren’t as powdery as the mattes, all of the shades benefit from a slight tap over the pan to dust off excess powder before applying them to the eyes. This minimizes fallout, but it does not sacrifice much pigment. However, the shades still need building, especially if you are close to my skin tone (NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4) or darker. The shimmers have a translucent quality that doesn’t necessarily keep them from showing up, but it does leave me wanting more pigment. I wouldn’t say these lack pigment, but more pigmented options exist.

I have tested this formula with three different eye primers, and I liked it the least with the **Milani eyeshadow primer. I do think the Milani eyeshadow primer does the best job of helping the mattes look less dry. However, longevity and the color payoff were better for me with the Urban Decay Primer Potion and the **MAC Prep + Prime 24HR Extend Eye Base.  Blending over the MAC primer is harder than Urban Decay and Milani, but the shades have more impact. The shimmers from the It’s All Rose palette are easy to apply with a brush but have more impact when applied with fingers. Shade 6 is slightly gritty compared to the smoothness of shades 2 and 4. There was some very minimal fallout from these shimmer shades (shade 6 is the “worst”), but nothing super obvious without getting up close in a mirror. This is true both during application and throughout wear.

Although I enjoy using both Gilded Mini palettes, Whiskey Business does get more use.  The shades in the Whiskey Business palette work better for me, so I often use those mattes in combination with the shimmers from It’s All Rose. I also use the shades from the Whiskey Business palette when creating looks with single shadows or shimmers from palettes without mattes. Being in the middle of most shade ranges and often between the ranges for medium and deep, it can be hard to find mid-tone mattes to use for blending and crease work. However, the three midtone shades from the Whiskey Business Palette work really well for my skin tone.

I am not the biggest fan of loose eyeshadows (although these aren’t super messy), so I wish these were a little firmer in the pan. I also want the shimmers to have more pigment. These things haven’t interfered with the performance, but I think my more expensive eyeshadow primers may be doing some of the heavy lifting. When worn with the Milani Eyeshadow primer, I don’t get as much as I want from these eyeshadows. However, I don’t typically use the Milani eyeshadow primer, so that isn’t a deal breaker for me. The **Milani Gilded Mini Eyeshadow Palettes are a great drugstore option, especially for someone like me who prefers smaller palettes.

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