Is Milani an Italian Brand: Los Angeles Roots, Italian Tiles

Picture a creamy dough, blended with grape leaf extract and olive fruit oil, pressed into a pan and then slow-baked on Italian terracotta tiles until it turns into a silky powder. That is how milani describes its Baked formulas, and I find it a great piece of craft to put in a makeup bag. Milani says it was founded in 2001 in Los Angeles by an art teacher who fell in love with the culture and creativity of the community and was frustrated by a lack of diversity in the drugstore makeup aisles. Laurie Minc, who taught art in inner-city Los Angeles before this, has said she and her brother Ralph built it step by step as a family business, with what she calls an extreme focus on quality. Milani says it began in the melting pot of East LA, and its mission reads: borderless beauty, without compromise. The brand is also cruelty-free, certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The first four pieces cover the skin. A setting spray with glycerin and niacinamide, a foundation and concealer in one, a longwear concealer and a blurring powder make a complete base.

The Baked Collection debuted in the spring of 2011, and the brand's own press notes say the powders are crafted in Italy, in the area often called the Italian Makeup Valley. You can see the craft in the highlighters. Champagne D'Oro and Rosa Italiana are soft-focus, not glittery, and the brand says each is meant for high points like the cheekbones and the cupid's bow. I like to tap a baked highlighter on with a small fluffy brush so the glow sits where light would land anyway. The Baked Bronzer in Tuscan Tan uses the same terracotta method and builds from a whisper to real warmth. Then there is Cheek Kiss Cream Bronzer in Hey Honey, with vitamin E and pomegranate. It goes on with fingers, a brush or a sponge, and I would apply it first, then dust the powder lightly over the top so the warmth looks like it came from one place.

Color Statement Lipstick in Rose Femme is a pink from a range of forty shades, with vitamins A and C, and it is the quick fix for a minimal face. Stay Put Longwear Liquid Lipstick in 10/10 has avocado oil and vitamin E and a doe foot brush, and the brand claims up to twelve hours of transfer-proof soft matte wear. Highly Rated Tubing Mascara wraps each lash in weightless tubes and, per the brand, comes off with warm water. Stay Put Brow Color in Dark Brown is a pigment-rich cream that comes with a dual-ended angled brush and spoolie. What I would skip is scrubbing at the mascara. Hold a warm, damp cotton pad over the lashes for a few seconds and let the tubes slide off on their own.

If I had to describe this brand in a sentence, it would be a teacher's eye for color with a family's patience for formulas. What I like most is that the story is specific, from East LA to the tile ovens in Italy, and the products back it up. Try one baked piece first, see how the finish sits on your skin, and build the rest of the bag from there. A brand like this grows on you slowly, and that is the nicest way for a makeup habit to start. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Milani Mascara and the Milan Idea Behind a Brand That Started in 2002 and Milani Tubing Mascara and the Other Tubes That Rinse Off With Warm Water.