Stila has their list of Stila bestseller items and I am surprised not to see one item on their list, that I particularly like – Stila eyeshadows.
When I first got into makeup, it was natural for me to gravitate towards MAC Cosmetics. However, for some reason, unlike a majority of women, I soon realised that MAC Cosmetics was not really for me. So, I looked elsewhere and I was introduced to Stila. Stila was a great departure from MAC for a few main reasons:-
- Stila’s eyeshadow pans are larger
- Stila’s eyeshadow texture is softer
- Stila’s eyeshadow colour was less strong
And I decided I liked Stila shadows for all 3 reasons!
When I say that Stila eyeshadow colours aren’t strong, I mean that I found that Stila eyeshadow colours weren’t as bright as MAC. Stila shadows too tends towards having shimmer and the colours were of the lighter variety. That is not to say however, that Stila’s eyeshadows are lacking in the pigment department. The eyeshadows are pigmented and perfectly blendable and last the whole day for me.
What I particularly like is the texture of Stila eyeshadows. They are soft to the touch and it is easy to pick up the colour whether with a brush or with fingers. Since I like using the latter, it is a boon for me. I have also found that although I use my fingers, Stila eyeshadows don’t harden from the oils so the texture doesn’t change.
Stila eyeshadows come in a veritable rainbow of colours but do tend towards having shimmer. This is something that some women may not like. I have tested one or two matte formulations and it just doesn’t work. But if you like having shimmer (not glitter) then Stila’s for you!
The other common complaint I’ve encountered is that Stila colours are very light. That is to an extent true. You will not find intense primary shades of colour in Stila. What you will find are colours tending towards the light although there are the odd dark colour. However, the Stila Smokey Eye quad will solve that problem. I’ll review this separately later.
All that said, Stila eyeshadows work for me, and I’m happy to keep using them. Its near impossible to finish a whole Stila single eyeshadow pan which is huge. Well, maybe if you have only one colour and only use that one! This is the reason why I love Stila ready made palettes which come in smaller, more user-friendly sizes. I’m still thinking about that darned Kitten palette! 😛
Stila eyeshadows are sold in pan form, ready to be placed into a palette. If you don’t want to use a palette, you can purchase the case which comes with a clear cover to make it easy to see the colour. Stila sells the 4 or 6 pan palettes but they are a little on the pricey side. For a cheaper option, look at Make Up For Ever. The 4 pan palette is about RM27 and fits Stila eyeshadows PERFECTLY! 😉 Ok, so they aren’t metal and are a serious black, but hey, it does the job for less. My Stila shadows are all housed in Make Up For Ever palettes and I hope Stila never catches on 😛
A Stila eyeshadow pan retails at RM60 and the aluminium pot is RM14 (if you are buying a single shadow). Some of my favourite colours are Diamond Lil (dark silver grey with shimmer), Jade (Medium green with gold shimmer), Starlight (Light shimmer champagne) and of course, Kitten (Champagne pink with shimmer).
I’m not saying however that Stila is all awesomeness for me. I do wish Stila will have more eye catching colours and that they would stop putting the same or similar shades in all their palettes. If you are a fan of Stila, its hard to buy a palette knowing that you already own 2-3 shades from previous palettes or in singles. That’s part of the reason I balked at buying the Kitten palette for Summer 2008. I would only be paying for 3 new shades! Also, some shadows are hit or miss. The shimmer ones tend to be softer while the matt ones tend to have less colour pay off. So, I’d stick to Stila’s shimmer eyeshadows for now.
Pros: Soft texture, pigmented, good colour pay off, lasts all day
Cons: Expensive, Too many similar shades in palettes, Colour selection is hit or miss
[rating:4/5]
Parisb! You ain’t helpful at all!!! You make me lemm more!!!! Reading your post about STILA is hazardous to my health! lol STILA STILA!!! Come here in Manila!! I am BEGGING YOU! You reading this????
*breathes deeply* I’m ok! I’m ok!
@Nikki : LOL…. I’m sure they’ll make it there one day. In the meantime, there’s always online shopping! 😉
no..online shopping is hazardous to my wallet! and do you know the Stila Smudgepots in black that I ordered at Strawberrynet? It’s not there anymore! So if I finally go to Malaysia and you see a woman running around like a headless chicken, you know that’s me!
I find that stila shadow is too powdery loose causing eccessive fallout. But they do have very nice shimmer.
Ooh I can’t wait for your review on the Smokey Eye palette! I’m lemming the grey ones. Are they worth getting??
Stila rocks!
@cass : This is where using fingers has its benefits 🙂 But I agree. Stila is too powdery for brushes but lovely with fingers.
@Monstro : You’ll know when I do! LOL… watch out for it.
greta review! and I like how convenient it is to buy Stila eye shadows and walk to the MUFE counter next door in One Utama. HAHAHAHA
i tried to fit MUFE e/s in Elianto before but it’s too big for Elianto. Or else it’s only 10MYR a palette but then again, you have to glue the e/s in Elianto’s.
side tracked!
@jojoba : Thanks for letting me know about Elianto. I did think about it before but I didn’t like the palettes much even if they were cheap. And yes I like the convenience in 1U too 😉
Oooh, I like the e/s shades you have in your palette picture! Nice!
OT!! too big? that’s strange! i found the exact opposite thing; i.e. bought a MUFE palette to fit Elianto/Beautilicious pans (same size, and also BB) and the pans were too big. i ended up buying the elianto palette anyway. sucks because the MUFE was so pretty, and black and shiny and very solid-feeling. so now i have a perfectly unused, still in plastic MUFE 4-pan palette and nothing to fit into it.
re: glueing the pans in. i use magnetic tape so you can swap pans out of the palette and switch them around. think regular cellophane tape, but it’s a thin strip of magnet you can tear off and stick to whatever. never seen it around these parts but if you can find it online that does international shipping i swear it’s the most useful thing. i stick it on the back of the e/s pan for MAC palettes (since the palette itself is already magnetized), and stick it to both the palette and the e/s pan for the Elianto. sure beats double sided tape or glue imo.
i’ve been wanting to try stila since i love shimmery neutrals and they have a whole lot of those! and it really is super value because the pan is huge for almost the same price as MAC’s tiny size. but it’s just so much fun filling up my MAC palettes that i never get around to stila 😛 btw (wayyy OT) i’ve recently had some terrible cust service at MAC KLCC so i hate talking to the SAs but i just take a deep breath and go poke around by myself.