One of an increasing number of beauty brands with a cult following, Milk Makeup UK is turning heads with its extensive range of vegan, cruelty-free and paraben-free makeup and skincare products.
Since launch, we’ve been shining a light on brands that represent and align with what we stand for at mamabella – brands that offer great products at low prices; brands that champion inclusivity and diversity; clean, sustainable and ethical beauty brands, and brands that are challenging the beauty industry hierarchy.
We’ve previously taken a look at The Ordinary and Carbon Theory, both affordable but science-led skincare brands offering fantastic products. Elsewhere, we’ve taken a look at makeup brands e.l.f, Revolution, NYX, Benefit and Sleek MakeUP. You can read them all on our Brand Spotlight page.
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Founded by husband and wife duo Mazdack Rassi and Zanna Roberts Rassi, this vegan brand was created in Milk Studios in New York.
The brand gained a lot of attention when it released a cannabis oil-infused mascara – the ingredient was included as a lash conditioner – which kickstarted the KUSH range.
This was before the recent CBD trend took hold. This range now features cannabis oil across its line.
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Explore the full Milk range
£13 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Why we love it: Milk’s Hydro Grip is hands-down the best primer if you’re on a budget because it hydrates the skin more than any primer we’ve used. It takes seconds to be absorbed in your skin but it holds makeup all day.
Thanks to the addition of aloe water, cherry blossom, hyaluronic acid, and Vitamin B, this primer technically doubles up as part of your skincare routine.
This primer was recently joined in the Hydro Grip range by the Hydro Grip Set + Refresh Spray (£17) and the Hydro Grip Eye Primer (£22).
This setting spray has blue and green layers – the ‘grip phase’ and ‘glow phase’ – designed to act as a magnet for makeup, while delivering hyaluronic acid, aloe, and niacinamide (Vitamin B3). Milk claims this setting spray will keep you looking flawless for 12 hours but can be used to freshen up or revitalise your skin, if need be.
Meanwhile, the Eye Primer uses a similar formula to the original skin primer listed above (and in our best primer makeup guide) but is designed to be used specifically on your eyes.
It can be used on your eyelids, and under the eye to prevent creasing, stop your eyeliner or mascara smudging, and keep pigment in place. It has a 90% natural formula infused with hemp-derived cannabis seed extract and hyaluronic acid, both of which boost moisture in an area that can often become dry and cakey.
FURTHER READING: What does primer do? An expert explains the one rule you MUST follow if you want flawless makeup
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Why we love it: We don’t know about you but we definitely don’t get enough sleep.
Whether it’s Netflix or the kids keeping you up, this little pot of goodness has been coined ‘sleep in a stick’ and we now know why.
The Milk Makeup UK Cooling Water’s gel formula contains caffeine which is great for brightening your eyes and getting rid of puffiness.
After gliding this stick on your skin, the moisture will be locked in and you can expect to see an energised and refreshed glow about your eye area.
You can read more about why caffeine works so well in our guide to the acids in your skincare.
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£16.50 | Buy now from Selfridges
Why we love it: Hands up if you’ve ever used lipstick as blush? We’ve all been there! So kudos to Milk Makeup UK for creating a product that is actually designed to suit both your lips and cheeks. Use it to bring your cheeks alive and then use the same stick to add a pop of colour to your lips.
The beauty of this, excuse the pun, is that this also means you get the same colour and tone. This Lip + Cheek stick contains avocado oil, mango butter and peach nectar, and has a beautifully soft texture. You can read more about it in our Best multi-purpose makeup guide.
This colour stick collection was recently joined by the Milk Makeup Color Chalk (£14). These are sticks of pigment that come in a variety of nude tones designed to be used on your cheeks, lips, and even as eyeshadows.
It uses vegan plant-derived collagen to moisturise and improve the appearance of skin texture, elasticity, and firmness while jojoba oil nourishes and comforts.
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Why we love it: Priced fairly for a cult-favourite mascara, in our opinion, Milk’s KUSH mascara contains cannabis oil for lash conditioning.
This might make you uneasy at first but it’s all plant-based so entirely natural and you can read more about the benefits of cannabis oil, or CBD, in our What is CBD guide.
This mascara secures thickness, volume, and hydration – all in one – and don’t even get us started on length.
Grow your lashes in a defined and clump-free manner and layer on the mascara to make them more voluminous and intense.
If you’re still not sure, this mascara came out on top of our list of the best mascara for short lashes. Read more in our review here.
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Why we love it: One of Milk Makeup UK’s co-founder Zanna Roberts Rassi’s must-have products that reportedly gets her through fashion weeks, this moisturiser is unlike many others.
It contains four vegan milks (oat, desert, fig and argan), as well as ingredients such as kalahari melon, baobab, jojoba and aloe vera.
It also contains shea butter so that’s quite the cocktail to keep the skin soft, smooth and soothed.
Grapeseed oil additionally helps lock in the moisture and provide antioxidant protection – it’s a super cream that hydrates, nourishes and replenishes the skin and then some.
FURTHER READING: The science of moisturiser: Which ingredients actually work and which are marketing BS?
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Why we love it: Another one of Zanna’s holy-grail go-tos is the KUSH Lip Glaze.
Milk Makeup’s lip treatment contains hemp-derived cannabis oil for maximum hydration. Other ingredients include shea, cocoa and mango butters which are instantly absorbed into the skin, and jojoba and olive oils to protect your lips against the environment.
It’s got a slightly odd metal applicator, which takes some time getting used to, but this helps cool and refresh the skin on your lips and we now love how it feels.
The lip collection was recently joined by the Electric Glossy Lip Plumper (£21) which uses Sichuan pepper to make your lips tingle and swell, giving you the appearance of a fuller pout.
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Rise Mascara: Milk Makeup claims its Rise Mascara – the latest addition to the Milk Makeup range – contains something called Lash-Wrap Technology. This ‘technology’ is actually a blend of four vegan waxes that bind together to coat each lash while making sure they stay curled. It’s also said to have a “blacker-than-black formula” that we’ll be putting to the test soon.
Sunshine Oil: It took us a while to understand what this Sunshine Oil (£39) is used for, but it appears to be for moisturising and brightening dark spots and areas of dullness. It contains a blend of natural oils including rapeseed, avocado, mandarin, grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon oils to give dry areas a targeted dose of hydration.
Highlighter: Joining the wider Milk Makeup sticks range, this highlighter (£12) is available in shades called Flash (golden bronze), Lit (champagne pearl), or Turnt (white gold with pink pearl) and each one is a creamy highlighter designed for light, medium and darker skin tones. Each one contains coconut oil, mango butter, and avocado oil to offer all-day hydration.
Sunshine Under Eye Tint + Brighten: The Sunshine Under Eye Tint + Brighten (£26) is part make up, part skin care. Vitamin C brightens dark circles, hyaluronic acid and squalene help moisturises, and then there are seven sheer shades to help conceal.
Bionic Blush: Available in four shades – called Infinity, Teleport, Fly and Beyond, the liquid formula of the Bionic Blush blusher (£19) is designed to be buildable and contains hyaluronic acid, with snow and reishi mushrooms to soothe and seal in moisture.
You can buy all of these products at Cult Beauty.
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Amira Arasteh is a freelance journalist and content creator. Find her making sense of beauty trends, tips and topics – when she’s not stuffing her face with the best food in London or travelling the globe
