Swept away by Stila
Written: Dec 26 '02 (Updated Jan 20 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: These are fabulous! Long-lasting, easy to apply, gorgeous colors...
Cons: The packaging
The Bottom Line: The best eyeshadows I've ever used - well worth the price!
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| tlbwriter's Full Review: Stila Eye Shadow - Singles |
Breathless with anticipation, she slid the red ribbon from the glossy black Sephora box. Inside she found a round silver pot nestled like a jewel within the tissue paper. Her trembling fingers slowly pried open the lid to reveal the treasure inside. Barefoot Contessa, with its rich deep wine color and golden shimmer, drew her like a moth to a flame. She stared at it for an eternity, drinking in its beauty, helpless as a deer in the headlights. Finally, her finger, almost of its own volition, slowly and carefully swept across the pristine surface. The rich pigment transferred onto her fingertip as easily as dust from a butterfly’s wing. "Oh no," she breathed. "I am in big trouble." She had found her new love, and it was much pricier than L’Oreal...
This was me, about a year ago. And my new love was Stila eyeshadow. I had stopped buying high-end cosmetics when my husband entered graduate school (other than foundation, but that's a different Epinion). Years after he graduated, I still felt no need to return to the department store counter – the products I had tried were no better, in my opinion, than my trusty L'Oreal shadow. But I was stuck in a rut and looking for a new cool-toned shade to wear. An online friend suggested Stila's Barefoot Contessa, so I ordered it, and the rest is history.
Stila shadows are a joy to use. The texture is very soft, smooth, and silky. They are easy to apply with either a brush or a sponge-tip applicator (neither of which is included). They can be applied as a sheer wash or layered for heavier coverage. They can also be used wet for extra intensity – the darker shades make perfect eyeliners when used wet. The colors are highly pigmented and last all day without creasing, even on my oily lids, though they are easily removed with facial cleanser. Stila shadows come in a wide range of beautiful colors. Many are nudes and subtle, natural shades. However, there are plenty of fun colors as well, from deep purple to mint green. You can see a list of the colors and their descriptions at http://www26.brinkster.com/stila The shadows come in matte or shimmery finishes. The shimmers are my favorites – not frosty or glittery, but beautiful subtle touches of gold, silver, or even pink or lavender shimmer. The matte colors are lovely as well. Beyond Barefoot Contessa, some of my favorites are:
Starlight – nude beige shimmer, perfect to wear under the brow
Kitten – pearly beige shimmer with a slight touch of pink or peach that lights up your whole face
Grace – medium rosy taupe that looks fabulous on everyone
Holly Golightly – rich warm brown with gold shimmer
Cassis - deep purple that looks amazing on green or hazel eyes
Ingredients include: talc, zinc stearate, magnesium carbonate, nylon-12, what (triticum vulgare) germ oil, octyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, lauroyl lysine, imidazolidinyl urea, propylparaben, methylparaben, may also contain mica, iron oxides (cl 77491, cl 77492, cl 77499), titanium dioxide (cl 77891), red 40 lake (cl 16035), ultramarines (cl 77007), yellow 5 lake (cl 19140), blue 1 lake (cl 42090), chromium oxide greens (cl 77288).
The packaging is a weak point. Stila's shadow pots are packaged in a round, silver cardboard case with an inspirational quote on the inside of the lid and a label (with the color name) on the bottom. I'm all for environmentally conscious products, but the cardboard pots are not particularly sturdy, and I hate eyeshadows with opaque lids. However, you can always store them upside down, with the labels showing. Or, even better, buy them in pan form instead, and pop them into Stila's 4-pan, 6-pan, or 8-pan refillable palettes – trust me, you’re going to want more of these, so you might as well buy them a nice home! And since the pan form is the same size but costs $2 less, the palettes pay for themselves in the long run. The shadows can be removed from the pots with very little difficulty.
Stila pot shadows cost $15 and are available online at Sephora.com and Gloss.com, as well as many department stores. Pick a color and discover a new love!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tlbwriter
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Member: Tracy
Location: Oklahoma
Reviews written: 76
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
Fifteen words? Shopper... user... reviewer... wife... mother... employee... from infertility treatment to cosmetics and toys!
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