Milk Makeup is a brand which is just, for lack of a better word, cool. They have the modern, low maintenance, young and unconventionally beautiful vibe of Glossier, but with more of a fun, experimental side. Their makeup, born of the famous photography studios, is unusual, high performing and fun: innovative formulations of actually useful products in fashionably weird and wonderful shades.

They’re currently only available from Sephora and their own site, so in America this summer I went a bit wild. I’m not often over excited by brands as a whole, but Milk somehow speaks to me. One thing I got was their Matte Quad, four gorgeous palish pigments in one of the strangest but greatest formulas I have ever touched.

The first thing I love about this is the case. It’s small and perfectly formed and the frosted plastic, toes the line between practicality and aesthetic appeal. In spite of its transportability, the quad contains nearly an ounce of product, which is a lot. It will probably last you until death, which is a reassuring thought.

The formula is what initially attracted me. It is described as “marshmallow technology,” coincidentally the name of my first novel (no it isn’t). The formula is so weird and like nothing I’ve ever touched before. It sort of reminds me of those old school science experiments involving cornflower because of its seeming mutability. They at first seem solid, but are actually a sort of squidgy cream. They’re matte and post application they set into an almost-powder with surprising longevity and no creasing. They’re also incredibly fun to play with.

Another genius thing about this quad is the colour choices. There are only four, so having them all be both beautiful and useful is essential. And they are. You get a soft, mauve lilac, a pale muted pink, a warmer, sand colour and a medium brown. They all make beautiful one wash eye colours, but the genius is, they can also be really multipurpose. The brown works on fair skin as a cream contour, the pale pink as a matte highlight, the lilac and sand as natural cream blushes; and any could be used as a sheer matte lip tint. The quad is incredibly versatile for what initially looks like a quad of four pastel creams.

For something you may think of as style over substance, this is actually pretty substantial.

If you’re doing the whole cool-girl-minimal thing, you could travel with this and not much else and have a fine old time. You could do a proper defined crease ‘n’ highlight eye look, a colourful one wash, a neutral bit of definition … plus you have four cheek and four lip colours. You also get a nice side of smug superiority and ahead of the curve feeling, which is always a bonus.

Annie x