June is Pride Month! Milk Makeup teamed up with The Center (NYC) to release a special little Pride Pack… and would you look at that, I got my hands on one. Huzzah!
Coat your lips in this multidimensional, rainbow-flecked Glitter Lip Gloss that’ll turn up any situation. It hydrates without stickiness thanks to avocado oil and mango butter so that you can sparkle nonstop.
Equality Tattoo Stamp
Equal rights for everyone with this equal sign temporary tattoo. It’s transfer-proof, long-lasting, vegan, and hydrating…equal parts good-for-you and fun.
Celebrate The Center
Milk Makeup will donate 50% of the retail purchase price of the Pride Pack for the month of June to benefit The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) in NYC. Learn more about The Center, here
At $28 USD, this little duo is pretty darn fun, and $14 goes to The Center… which is even cooler. I enjoy when brands partner up with causes and actually donate a substantial amount of the price to the causes, unlike some brands who only give $1 of the purchase price. If you are going to go all in and donate to a cause by collaborating on a product, go all in, in my book. If your production values are so costly that you can only spare a dollar, then you’re doing something wrong.
If Milk Makeup sold these on their own, and you purchased them together, you would end up spending $38 since the Tattoo Stamps retail for $12, and the Lip Gloss is $24.
Milk sells other little kits and most of the time they aren’t full-sized kits. Most if not all the products in their kits are travel sized, and while that is great for (you guessed it) travel, I can’t justify the prices. I was VERY surprised that the Pride Pack included TWO full-sized products for a very reasonable price.
Packaging:
The Pride Pack is a holo-happy box with their pride sticker and logo all in holographic foil. There is information on both products on the side, also in holofoil and the ingredients are listed on the back of the packaging.
—– EQUALITY TATTOO STAMP —–
The Equality Tattoo Stamp is in the same packaging (minus the holo foiling) as their other Tattoo Stamps. I own the Star one already, so the formula is the same. They are very wearable, and I’m going to also use the hell out of this stamp come Halloween because it will make the perfect hatch marks for any faux sutures. MULTIPURPOSE GOODNESS FTW!
The application is easy, but keep in mind that you just need to commit to your placement and just go for it. It’s semi-difficult to go back in to line it up entirely if you are too light-handed in your initial application. Also, if you have dry skin or have a lot of fine lines, you may want to open the cap for a minute or two to let the ink dry out a bit because this formula is very liquidy and will spread into any fine lines. The ink itself is a purple/blue-based black, so if you get any sort of oil or water on it it, may run or smear.
THE ONLY CON: I love this pen and the Tattoo Stamp line but be aware that these do stain slightly, especially if you have dry skin. If you wear a lot of foundation/base and apply it to your face you should be alright – but if you are using it straight to the skin, be warned that you will have little leftover Equality signs for the next few days – even after washing several times.
—– GLITTER LIP GLOSS —–
Before you automatically run away screaming because glitter + lipgloss might seem uncomfortable and gritty, lemme stop you and here’s why: IT IS SO SMOOTH AND COMFORTABLE ON THE LIPS!
I tend to opt out of glitter whenever I can just because it gets everywhere and I don’t always see the appeal, except for rare fabulous occasions or SFX creatures. I’m sure a few of my friends reading this will want to disown me for 5 minutes for that statement… but oh well. This lip gloss is so comfortable on my lips and adds just the right amount of sparkle to give it a little something without being all “LOOK AT ME I HAVE GLITTER ON MY LIPS!” I have found myself wearing it on No Makeup Days not only because it’s pretty and gives my lips a little pick me up but this formula is ridiculously nourishing.
The packaging is also handy as you can get every last bit out of the tube… GO GO GADGET SQUEEZY TUBE! And as a bonus, the flat doe-foot applicator makes applying the gloss where you want it a breeze – without applying so much product that it gets everywhere.
The glitter microparticles are subtle enough that you don’t feel them while you’re wearing the lip gloss. There are some formulas out there that just feel so gritty that I want to take them off as soon as I am done taking the pretty influencer pictures for social media…. but not this baby. I will wear it all day long and regret nothing. Below is a little blurry picture so you could see the glitter in action.
You could put it on your lids for a glossy lid look, but be aware that since this is an oil-based formula, it will break down your makeup and crease. If you are looking for something to use as a face or lid gloss, I highly recommend looking into Milk Makeup’s Face Gloss since my old favorite, NYX, discontinued theirs.
—– TECHNO GLITTER STICK —–
Last year, Milk teamed up with The Center to release this (once) LE glitter stick in Techno. I bought it then and hadn’t used it very much. It has since been re-released, and I think made permanent in their range.
The formula, if cold, is very grippy and gritty and will move or pick up your makeup if you apply it after you’ve finished the rest of your face. It also has a strong white cast to the base – and this comes from someone who usually has to shop the very very fairest of fair foundation shades. To kind of get around that, I recommend putting the product on the back of your hand and warming it up for a minute or two before applying to your face – if you’ve already done foundation/concealer/etc. – with a stippling brush and NO SIDE SWIPING MOTIONS, just dab.
With that said, it is quite beautiful on bare skin, shoulders, collar bones, etc. If you go to any festivals, I think this would be right up your ally, and it does have mango butter in it, so it’s quite moisturizing at the end of the day.
One last thought about brands collabing during Pride Month:
I wish brands were more like Milk Makeup who has always been pro-LGBTQIA. I get so tired with brands hopping on the Pride Month bandwagon so that they can get a boost in sales and then as soon as July comes around they’re all like ‘meh.’ If you have other (365 days a year) pro pride makeup brands, let me know in the comments. I have a few favorites – but Milk is at the top of my list for that (and other things).
I ended up photographing this look in two stages – the first was when I just left things light and subtle (below) and when I added a bunch of gloss to my lids and then added the Techno glitter stick to my cheeks.
I would love to hear from you guys if you ended up purchasing the Pride Pack. I’m not sure if they will release the individual items as they did with the Techno Glitter Stick last year.
Until next time, mah dah’lings, don’t forget to stay positive and be awesome … because you are awesome!
