I never got too into eyeshadow until recently. I was a low-maintenance girl. Using eyeshadow once in a while was a big deal for me, and it was usually just a swipe or two of some very light pastel color on the eyelid. I hardly ever experimented with different looks or wore more than one shadow at a time. That all changed when I found Stila eyeshadow singles and finally jumped on the eyeshadow-addict bandwagon for good. I now own an even dozen Stila eyeshadow singles and plan on purchasing many more.

COLORS

Stila eyeshadow comes in MANY different colors (50+), all of which can be viewed at sephora.com. They are mostly neutral colors, with only a few that are on the crazy side. The shadows are quite pigmented, so what you see is pretty close to what you will get.

The twelve colors I own are:

KITTEN: This is a very frosty champagne. It looks somewhat similar to Maybelline’s cream shadow in Chill the Champagne, though perhaps a bit peachier. It is too frosty for some, but I think it gives a beautiful look when worn on its own on the lid.
STARLIGHT: This is a lovely beige. I use it as a lid shade on low-key days. Many people like it as a brow bone highlighter, but it’s a little too dark for me to use for that purpose.
PUCK: Possibly my favorite, this is a slightly shimmery taupe that really makes green eyes pop.
WHEAT: Another indispensable shade for me. Shimmery beige, a little darker and with more shimmer than Starlight. I often pair this with brown liner for the office.
VIOLA: A neutral purple. Also lovely on green eyes. A good lid or crease color.
KEY: Light purple. Love this as a wash, with Charm in the crease and Poise to line.
CHARM: Darker than Key, a medium purple shade.
POISE: Deep violet. Good as a liner only for me.
AZUR: This is such a gorgeous shade -- deep, shimmery blue. I use it as liner, or on my lid in the evenings.
SHORE: Very versatile medium silvery grey. I have used this in the crease, washed very lightly on the lid, and as a liner shade. It looks lovely all three ways.
SUN: Medium peach. This looks a little orange on me, but sometimes I use it in the outer corners when I have Kitten on the lid -- that’s a nice combo, especially with black liner.
JADE: Deep, shimmery emerald green. Love this as liner or washed lightly over the lid.

For reference, I am very fair with dark blond hair and green eyes, so these color choices reflect that to some extent.

PACKAGING/PALETTES

If you have ever used Stila makeup before, you will already know that their packaging is cardboard, and not very durable cardboard at that. For the eyeshadows, however, you have a better option, which is to purchase the singles in their metal pans ($14) instead of cardboard pots ($16) and thereafter organize them into Stila’s metal 4-pan, 6-pan or 8-pan palettes. The 6-pan and 8-pan palettes come with a brush, but I personally prefer the 4-pans because they are smaller and easier to carry around. I have my Stila shadows organized into three 4-pans. It’s a great option as long as you’re planning on purchasing a few -- and trust me, once you’ve tried one or two, you’ll want more!

One caveat, however: Make sure you've got the shadows organized the way you want them before you put them into palettes. They are tough to re-organize! You'd think it would be easy because they are magnetized, but you have to get a REALLY thin blade to wedge in between the pan and the palette before you can pop it out, and it's risky. I have a small gouge in the edge of one of my favorite shadows now from doing this. You may want to wait until you've owned each shadow for a while to see where you want to put it in your collection, so you can accurately gauge how you are REALLY going to wear it, with what else, etc. I started out just grouping similar colors together until I realized that wasn't really the most useful system for me. Now, I have my four favorites together in one 4-pan and the rest in two others. This makes it easy to just grab if I'm going on a trip or whatever. See what you think will work for you before committing yourself, so that you don't have to risk damaging your shadows later on.

TEXTURE/APPLICATION

One of the foremost reasons I love Stila shadows so much is their silky, velvety texture. They are a pleasure to apply and blend. Use a real brush (e.g., sable hair) and putting these highly pigmented, soft shadows on is a true joy. They are also wonderful to use wet as liner colors.

EFFECTS/LASTING POWER

For me, Stila eyeshadow stays on throughout the day without smudging or creasing. I will admit that it does fade a little when it gets to around 11 P.M. and you’ve applied it at 8 A.M., but really, the lasting power is pretty impressive. In this department, it’s not as good as MAC (I swear I have gone to sleep with MAC eyeshadow on and woken up looking exactly the same the next morning), but it’s a close second, and in my opinion, the texture is way better than that of MAC’s eyeshadows.

TRIOS

Stila also has great eyeshadow trios that run in limited editions. They are a separate category on Epinions, so I won’t say too much about them here, but they are a good deal and definitely worth checking out if you like having your shadows pre-coordinated. Many of them have become sought-after collectors’ items on Ebay after selling out in all the stores.

IN CLOSING…

I highly recommend that anyone who likes eyeshadow, or even anyone who isn’t really into it (as I was not, before I found these) check out Stila’s singles. The colors, pigment, texture and staying power are excellent, and these shadows have turned me from a girl who hardly ever wore eyeshadow into a girl who can’t leave the house without it.


Recommended: Yes