Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil

Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil ($6.49 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “hot pink with hot pink shimmer.” It’s a medium-dark raspberry fuchsia with fuchsia micro-glitter. The color coverage is mostly opaque but a hint of my lip freckle peeks through. The formula is supposed to be highly pigmented, extra glossy, and contain “moisture-rich” ingredients. It’s not supposed to feather or feel sticky either.

It has nice color payoff and doesn’t require a lot of product to deliver the results seen in swatches, though it’s not as glossy as true lipgloss. The texture feels gritty over time as the color wears away but the glitter lingers on. With Flashy, I was able to get four hours of wear. It’s not perfectly non-sticky, but it doesn’t feel tacky overall, and my lips felt about the same after wearing these–not drier. I didn’t experience any bleeding or feathering of color with this shade.  They look and feel more like a lipstick with extra shine.

If you’ve wanted to try (or have already tried and are a fan of) Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color, this is a good budget-friendly alternative, because Flash is an exact dupe of Urban Decay Big Bang. The two formulas feel very, very similar; I doubt I could point out the differences in a blind test. Some other similar shades include MAC Quite the Thing (slightly darker) and MAC Rare Exotic (brighter, no shimmer).

I’m not in love with the format or the feel of these, which is the same way I felt about Urban Decay’s version. I don’t love the grittiness that gets more noticeable as you wear the color, and sharpening them can be frustrating. Readers have recommended freezing pencils prior to sharpening to minimize waste, because of the soft, creamy texture, there can be a lot of waste when sharpened at room temperature. Sometimes the excess gets caught in the sharpener and smears more than it disappears when you go to wipe it away!

Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil

Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil

Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil

Milani Flashy Lip Flash Gloss Pencil