Quick answer: Yes — the $10 Milani Gilded Mini palette in All Rosé (#120) is worth buying as a low-risk way to practice technique on mature eyes, as long as you prime your lids first and blend patiently. In this tutorial Nikol Johnson wears it as a soft rosy eye, and she also announces that her long-awaited Nikol Beauty Serum Foundation is coming soon.
Key takeaways
- The palette is the Milani Gilded Mini in All Rosé (#120), a six-pan drugstore mini Nikol grabbed on a run for nail acetone.
- Budget shadow performs well over a good eye primer — priming and blending matter more than price.
- Her honest caveat: the mini lacks a true deep shade, so she builds depth with a waterproof Dark Chocolate liner.
- News: Nikol's Serum Foundation — two years in the making, made in Italy, fragrance-free, in shades Fair, Light and Light Medium — is launching soon.
- The high-low idea: invest in base products and brushes, save freely on eyeshadow color.
Hey ladies — today's tutorial is all about proving that a beautiful mature-eye look does not have to cost a fortune. Nikol picks up a $10 drugstore palette, walks through her real technique step by step, and slips in some very exciting news about a product she has been formulating for two years. Here is exactly what she does and what she shares.
Is a $10 Milani Eyeshadow Palette Actually Worth It?
Nikol's verdict is a genuine yes — with context. The palette is the Milani Gilded Mini in All Rosé (#120), which she found at the drugstore and liked because its rosy tones reminded her of a Tom Ford quad she has worn for years. It has six pans, which she notes is more than a luxury palette usually gives you, so she recommends narrowing it down to about three shades you actually want to use rather than trying to wear all six.
What makes it worth buying is the technique it lets you practice. She swatches and blends it on camera and is pleasantly surprised: over her eye primer the pigment picks up nicely and blends smoothly without lifting away — unlike a $70 palette she recently tried that wiped off as she worked it. The honest trade-off is that the mini has no true dark shade, so she reaches for liner to get the depth and contour she wants. Treat it as a fun practice palette, not a replacement for your investment pieces.
How Does Nikol Apply the $10 Palette on Mature Eyes?
Here is the eye routine she follows in the video, in order:
- Prep the lids with a cream eye primer to neutralize discoloration, patting it in so any shadow sits smoothly. She also adds a hydrating serum and her Fiercely Smooth face primer to help with some flaky skin she mentions (from an over-strength retinol pad she had been using — a reminder to introduce actives slowly and patch-test).
- Sweep a peachy-rosy shade across the lid, blend, then go back over it to bring the color back after blending softens it.
- Wash the lightest bone shade across the brow bone; she notes you can also pull that light shade down over the color to mute it if it feels too bright.
- Tap a little gold onto the lid with a fingertip for extra life, since the mini has no deep shade for dimension.
- Curl the lashes, then line the lash line with her waterproof Dark Chocolate eyeliner — kept precise with the rounded-tip sharpener she designed — and soften any skips with a short smudge brush.
- Finish the eyes with Volume Up mascara and groom the brows upward with a brow mascara.
Her big-picture tip: play with a new palette on a day you are not going out, so you learn the placement and colors before you rely on it for an event.
What Is Nikol's New Serum Foundation?
Mid-tutorial, Nikol shares the news she has been sitting on: a Serum Foundation she has spent two years formulating specifically for mature skin. She says it is lightweight, silky and hydrating, made in Italy, and fragrance-free — a choice she made deliberately, since many mature women develop new sensitivities and she did not want fragrance to rule the product out. It launches in three shades — Fair, Light and Light Medium — that mirror her BB Cream, so if you are a Light in the BB Cream you would reach for Light here.
She demonstrates it on camera, dropping a little onto her skin to show how fluid it is and buffing it in with a brush for a natural, skin-like finish rather than a heavy mask. She positions it as an affordable, skin-first base for days you want more coverage — a wedding, a night out, or simply feeling polished. In the video she says it is launching soon and is nearly ready, but she does not give a firm release date; she points viewers to her newsletter and channel to hear the timing first.
How Do You Balance a Budget Eye With the Rest of Your Face?
Nikol's answer is the high-low philosophy: save on color, invest in the base and tools that touch your skin all day. After the eyes she builds her face with a Peach color corrector to cancel darkness under the eyes, Creamy Concealer in Light, and her new Serum Foundation, all buffed in with the Foundation Buffing Brush. She adds warmth and glow with the Classic Beach Glow cream palette (using the cream blush) and the Creme Brulee hybrid bronzer, then sets under the eyes with Nikita Banana powder. On the lips she keeps it soft in the rose family with the Cameo lip liner worn all over, topped with Manifest & Glow gloss. The point she keeps returning to: a $10 palette can look expensive when the rest of your base and technique are dialed in.
The bottom line
A $10 drugstore palette is a smart, low-pressure way to experiment with color and sharpen your technique on mature eyes — just prime first, blend patiently, and add liner where the palette lacks depth. Pair it with a well-chosen base and you get a polished, high-low look for very little money. Ready to build your own routine? Explore our eyeshadows, shop the face essentials Nikol leans on, and browse the best-sellers her community reaches for again and again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which $10 eyeshadow palette does Nikol use?
She uses the Milani Gilded Mini in All Rosé (#120), a six-pan drugstore mini she picked up while buying nail acetone. She was drawn to its rosy tones because they echo a Tom Ford quad she loves. Nikol frames it as a fun, low-risk way to practice placement and color before investing in a pricier palette.
Is a $10 drugstore eyeshadow palette worth buying?
For learning placement and color, yes. Nikol's honest verdict is that budget shadow performs well when it is applied over a good eye primer and blended with care. The trade-off is fewer flattering dark shades, so you may need liner for depth. Treat it as a practice palette rather than a luxury replacement.
What is Nikol's new Serum Foundation?
It is a lightweight, hydrating serum foundation she formulated over two years for mature skin. It is made in Italy, fragrance-free, and launches in three shades — Fair, Light and Light Medium — that match her BB Cream shades. In the video she calls it affordable and skin-first, and applies it with a buffing brush for a natural finish.
How do you keep drugstore eyeshadow from creasing on mature eyes?
Nikol's rule is to prime first. She neutralizes her lids with a cream eye primer and pats it in before applying shadow. She also suggests washing a light bone shade over brighter color to soften it, and adding liner where a palette lacks a true deep shade for definition.
Where should mature women spend versus save on makeup?
Invest in the products that sit on your skin all day — primer, base and good brushes — and feel free to save on eyeshadow color. Nikol demonstrates this high-low approach by pairing a $10 palette with her own base products and tools, showing that technique matters more than the price of your color.
When does the Serum Foundation come out?
In the video Nikol says it is launching soon and is nearly ready after two years of development, but she does not give a firm date. To hear the release timing first, she points viewers to her newsletter and channel rather than committing to a specific day.
