The infinitely cool and artsy cosmetics brand Milk Makeup launched this spring and with it, some seriously innovative products. One of my favorites is the ice blue Cooling Water stick. It's a twist up chubby that soothes skin and eradicates puffiness during the day. Milk Makeup's Eye Vinyl in Tunnel, which is a sooty, glossy black, is the product that I was most confounded by and curious about, however
This wet eye color comes in a click pen and it's as intriguing as it is tricky. It's hard to rock any wet products in the eye region, since they can migrate and make a mess aka turn you into a raccoon or a panda bear, which is never the intent. I love how wet lids look in editorial... but could I rock glossed, blackened eyes IRL without looking like an oil wrestling champ or like Lauren Conrad in her famous runny mascara scene from The Hills? I test drove Eye Vinyl and here's what I learned.
Milk Makeup Eye Vinyl, $20, Sephora
Eye Vinyl is definitely Friday night, "rock star," meant-to-be-imperfect makeup. It's not so much wet as it is sticky. It has the consistency of lip gloss and it's heavier than powder eyeshadow. You may not want to rock it at a board meeting, but it's great for a night out.
Let's pause to reminisce about LC's unintentional wet eye look!
OK, back to Eye Vinyl. Overall, the look is intentionally messy. You'll enjoy an added boost of confidence since you have to own it. Besides, perfection is a snoozefest.
In an email, Milk's Georgie Greville told me how to make the most effective us of this baby. She feels my pain, saying, "The Eye Vinyl definitely takes practice. I would say just embrace a slightly rock 'n' roll finish with it... and pack Q-tips for touch ups!"
So that's what I did. I applied it before going out and kept cotton swabs in my bag. The shine looks like sparkle. Here's how it started.
Here is how it dried down. The wet look can fade as you blink but you end up with sexy, faded, and ultimately rocker chick smoky eyes. My tips are as follows.
1. Less Is More
Use a minimum of product. Slowly twist the click pen, apply directly to the lids, as close to the lashline as possible, and then dab with your fingers or a concealer makeup brush.
2. Line Of Demarcation
See that line of demarcation in the middle? I buffed it out with a Q-tip since I wasn't going for stripe-y eyes. If you want that artsy look, leave it alone.
Buffing it out gave my smoky eyes more dimension.
3. Try Not To Blink Too Much
That will lead to transference so keep blinking to a minimum of you can. I know, easier said that done.
4. Embrace The Flaws
This look isn't flawless. It's sooty and smudgy. So embrace that fact and you will love how it looks.
Eye Vinyl does come off incredibly easily with oil-free eye makeup remover.
Milk's Eye Vinyl is not a daily product. It's not an every night product, either.
It's a special, every-once-in-a-while wet shadow that you break out when you want to look hawt AF and smoke out those peepers.
Images: Milk Makeup (2); Amy Sciarretto (7)
