MAC Lipstick Vs. Milani Lipstick

MAC is an internationally popular cosmetics brand that originated in Canada and a professional makeup artist line. MAC is now owned by Estee Lauder Inc. and is available for sale at major department stores and stand alone stores worldwide. MAC offers a very wide range of products in shades that are appropriate for many different skin tones. MAC eye shadows are particularly popular with fashionable young women because of bright bold colors and glitter. MAC produces several different types of lipstick. Their traditional style of lipstick in a tube is available in 8 different formulas and over 160 different shades. In the U.S. MAC lipsticks are currently pirces at $14. MAC's red lipsticks are what originally made the company famous, so I chose to use MAC Russian Red matte formula for this test.

Milani is a relatively new brand available in some drugstores. It is not available internationally. The range of different products available does not match MAC, but many consumers compare the quality of Milani cosmetics to the quality of MAC cosmetics. Milani is very popular because many of the products and colors are similar to MAC, but available at a lower price. Milani has several different formulas of lipstick available in about 70 different shades. In the U.S. Milani lipsticks are priced between $3 and $4. I chose to use Milani Color Perfect Lipstick in Berry Rich.

In this side by side comparison, I applied each color to one side of my lips, both top and bottom lips. On my left was Russian Red, on the right Berry Rich. I did not apply any lip gloss, lip liner lip balm or any other lip products. Each lipstick was applied directly from the tube in one coat without blotting.

MAC Russian Red is one of their matte formulas. It is a bright true "classic Hollywood" red. Milani Berry Rich is a berry red shade that is just as bold as Russian Red, but a shade more pink. I need to be able to remember which color is on which side of my lips.

I immediately noticed a difference in the application and the feeling of the lipstick on my lips. Milani went on slick and creamy, very smooth. MAC showed a bit more resistance and felt thicker. Milani was slightly sheer, but very shiny and glossy. MAC was thick and matte. Milani felt light and moist. MAC had a definite heavy presence on my lips. MAC felt drier, while Milani felt moister.

The first test was a cup of tea. After wearing the lipstick approximately fifteen minutes I took a sip of tea. The MAC lipstick left a red mark on my tea cup, and the Milani lipstick left only a subtle hint of color on the rim. Both lipsticks look just as bright and bold as when they were first applied.

I finished my cup of tea in twenty minutes. At the end there was a little more MAC lipstick on the rim of my cup, but neither lipstick was faded. The Milani lipstick might have been a bit sheerer, but the color was still very present on my lips.

I spent the next hour talk with my boyfriend, on the phone with my father, and preparing dinner. Both lipsticks were going strong. Then the ultimate test, dinner! I ate a bowl of rice and beans. Both lipsticks were beginning to fade in the center of the lip, where the two lips meet. The MAC lipstick color was only slightly faded and slightly more sheer. The MAC lipstick color still covered the entire lip. The Milani lipstick was totally faded along a thin line where the lips meet. There was still a significant amount of lip color, so I didn't feel the need to reapply.

The final test was chocolates and a glass of wine. There was only a hint of lipstick left on the wine glass. The lipsticks did not appear to fade any further. I didn't feel the need to reapply either lipstick.

At the end of the two hour experiment, the MAC lipstick still felt heavy and thick on my lips with very minimal fading. There was more MAC lipstick left on the rim of my teacup. The Milani lipstick seemed faded a bit, but still felt moist and light. Since the Milani color was slightly sheerer to begin with, the faded color was not very noticeable.

There are distinct differences between the MAC and Milani lipsticks. The texture and amount of coverage were the most distinct differences between the lipsticks. Both the MAC and Milani lipsticks performed adequately through eating, drinking and talking, and I did not feel it was necessary to reapply the lipstick at any time. The most distinct difference in the two lipsticks was the price. The MAC lipstick cost $10 more than the Milani lipstick. I know that many people prefer brand name products, but I found that the less expensive Milani lipstick performed at a very high level when compared to the MAC lipstick.