In 2018, Milk Makeup went totally vegan, opening up their full range of products to a vegan & cruelty-free market. When I think of Milk, the first thing that comes to mind is those cute little star and heart face tattoo stamps, cool packaging and fun holographic makeup bags.
While the branding is markedly different, for us Australians who have been waiting way too many years now to have access to Glossier (I mean, how long could it possibly take for them to finalise shipping our way?), the feel of Milk Makeup is very similar.
Let me elaborate - when I think of Glossier, I think of sheer coverage, pink bubble pouches, Vaseline-ish lip balms with cake flavours and cotton-candy-coloured jelly cleansers. It's amazing how this brand has become such a status symbol, even though (in my opinion) when you get down the products themselves they aren't anything groundbreaking.
I see a lot of potential product rivals from Milk - their KUSH Fibre Brow Gel (for full, bushy brows a la Boy Brow), their solid twist-up highlighter sticks and the entire gentle Vegan Milk skincare range. The range has a few pros over Glossier though, more options in terms of products altogether, a wider range of coverage choices and importantly - this brand has retailers that will ship everywhere!
I rarely like to claim "dupes" when formulas can vary so much even if a product appears very similar, and Glossier definitely has the muted/barely-there palette down, while the New-York-founded Milk Makeup embraces a bit more theatre and decoration, and might not look as matchy-matchy posing for your shelfie.
The other thing that Glossier has in spades is an amazing in-store experience, including (in LA), an all-pink walk-in cave for your selfie, curved product displays, dreamy mirrors and a team dressed in baby pink boiler suits (and your order comes in a cute Glossier canvas tote with a handwritten name tag), where Milk Makeup is sold within other retailers like Sephora & Urban Oufitters. I loved the shopping experience often more than the use of the products in the end (I can't say any have ever made it into my regular rotation).
It's highly unlikely that any brand will be able to dull the shine of Glossier (who even sell out of their merch within hours) which has established such a stronghold over customers who clutter their sink space with the pastel pink bottles and tubes, and see Glossier as an extension of their lifestyle, but I think customers are starting to see through the pink bubble wrap, and Milk Makeup has all the right stuff to replace anything you might be craving from the US.
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