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Stila Limited Edition Beach Palettes – Only £10!

By Lina on November 5, 2011

I did actually squeal with delight when these landed on my door step today.. Gorgeous Stila limited edition Beach Palettes!In each palette are four eyeshadows (a mixture of mattes and shimmers), one blusher and one bronzer, encased in a cutesy book compact named after various US hotspots. Remarkably they are retailing at only £10 each!!!!

Swatches and a closer look, below..

Stila Beach Palette No. 3 – Striking in South Beach

Stila Beach Palette No 4 – Wonderful in Waikiki

Stila Beach Palette No 5 – Living the life in Laguna

All of the palettes are so lovely, I can see myself wearing each and every one – I don’t think at this moment I’d be able to pick a favourite although the Art Deco blusher in Striking in South Beach is giving it the slight edge.

I still can’t get over how cheap they are, such great value for money! And being a slim line book compact they are so portable and easy to carry around – will slip quite easily in most make-up bags! Definitely a fan so far.

Which is your favourite palette? At such a bargain price, will you be picking any up?

DISCLAIMER: PR Samp

This entry is filed under Stila and tagged Stila Beach Palette. | 3 Comments

My OLD Magical Make-up Kit!

By Lina on September 26, 2009

Many, many moons ago I took some pics of my make-up bag with the intention to blog about its’ contents. Okay, so really it was only about a year back but I’m such a chop and changer with make-up this stuff seems practically prehistoric to me now! And obviously, this is only about half a percent of my kit, but I do remember squishing in a few choice products that I thought were newsworthy or pretty looking at the time.

I had actually forgotten about these pics, and this feature idea, until my friend Hannah tweeted on twitter about her magical make-up bag that transformed her into a bona fide hotty within 20 minutes! So OF COURSE I was dying to know what was in this bag of tricks.. she kindly let her secrets out, and I was reminded of how one of my favourite things ever was looking through friends’ make-up bags; I just LOVE it. So, as an on-going feature idea I’ve decided to start a “My Magical Make-up Kit” series, which will, at current, start with my most fashion and make-up forward friends showcasing us what delights are in their trusty magical make-up kits! Oh, the excitement!

To start with, I’m gonna do my old make-up bag, with major emphasis on the word ‘old’ – I’m not sure I even use any of these products anymore! Although, in fairness, that is largely due to getting bored rather than the products themselves so it’s definitely worth being checked out. In a few days I’ll feature my new, current kit, so don’t worry! Those treasures are all coming sooooon.

My Magical Make-up Kit

(1) Kanebo Cream Finish Foundation – I actually quite liked this foundation. It was very moisturising and provided a good, satin finish which sunk nicely into the skin so you weren’t left with that horrible ‘mask’ effect that sits on the surface which lots of other cream foundations can leave you with.

(2) Revlon Skinlight Illuminating Wand - Oh, how I LOVED this product, I was sent a bunch when I was make-up artist which saw me through for a while but sadly it got discontinued (why??) and I have used them all up now and have none left. Booo. It’s just a great high lighting pen, I preferred it so much more to the infamous Yves Saint Laurents Touche Eclat but I guess not enough people tried it out in the first place to realise this. The reason I liked it so much was that it was very moisturising; the shade that suited all skin tones (no1) had a gorgeous pearly finish to it that blended beautifully with a dewy base and really worked on making your complexion ‘pop’ with it’s subtle, beautifying spotlights contouring.

(3) Body Shop Concealer Crayon – An actually really decent concealer from The Body Shop, I even repeat bought this quite a few times but stopped as you needed a special sharpener (that you bought separately) which I for some reason kept losing, no matter how many times I re-purchased. The concealer itself is fairly creamy and covers a lot, although you will need to touch it up somewhat as its not immensely long lasting.

(4) Pop Jam in Beach Time – Just a pretty goldy light bronze cream gel that I used on the cheeks – it is an all over product but I found it does crease when used on the eye lids. A good product actually, very dewy and looked great on peaches and cream Caucasian skin that had caught a slight tan (obviously not talking about myself here, referring back to a model who looked fab when I put it on her). Although it did look nice on me too, but just a tad too pale to look bronze enough I thought.

(5) Juicy Tube POP in Popsicle - A really bright, pink gloss from the POP range. Great staying power and pigment which POPS, hence the ranges’ name, and I really should wear it more often.

(6) Pop Lip Jam - I can’t remember the shade of this lip gloss but it looked devine on with a good consistency of not being too sticky. However, if my memory recalls it didn’t last very long on.

(7) Revlon Skinlights in Golden Light – A pretty good illuminating product, nice to mix in with bases but I actually tend not to use it too often. Some of the darker shades have too much red in them, but the lighter ones are fab.

(8) Jelly Pong Pong Supermodel Stain in Slenderella – Check out the review HERE, a decent product, especially good for when you’re short of time and need a trusty product to swipe on the lips and cheeks. Phenomenal staying power and stays looking fresh for quite a while. It is a matte finish product, but interestingly doesn’t dry the lips/cheeks out either!

(9) Stila Smudge Pots - I guess this is pretty similar to gel eyeliners, however you can also use it to smudge smokey loveliness all over your lids. Quite a good product, but two major flaws; sets uber quick so you had to a have skilled, fast hand that can blend well, and also the product dehydrated within a couple of months to the point of not being usuable anymore. They wouldn’t let me take it back despite having spent a FORTUNE the week before which they had remembered. Not good.

(10) Christian Dior Show Girls Mascara – Outstanding mascara! Definitely in my top 5, if not 3. Gives you big, lush, long, gorgeous lashes just like er, erm, well, a showgirl! A bit pricey though for something you use up so quick though.

(11) Yves Saint Laurent L’Eyeliner Noir (liquid) - I’ve actually got this reviewed on HERE, but a quick summary is; great brush, nice inky colour and texture, but RUBBISH at staying on. Runs all over the place and doesn’t last a second on the waterline (although you’re not really meant to do that but I do).

So that’s all folks! Hope you enjoyed a rummage in my old make-up bag, current one will be posted soon!

This entry is filed under Christian Dior, Jelly Pong Pong, Kanebo, Lancome, My Magical Make-up Kit, Pop, Revlon, Stila, The Body Shop, YSL. | 2 Comments

Stila Convertible Color Poppy

By Lina on May 8, 2009

Good news for Stila fans, they’re no longer in trouble and are on their fabulous way back up! Thank you Patriarch Partners! Right, let’s crack on with this review..

I’ve decided to review this particular shade of Stila’s convertible color separate to the collective Stila Convertible Color review because I find it is in a different league to the other shades. It’s a very strange thing, depending on which shade you purchase of this product, the texture, formula and pigment depth differs, so it’s very hard to tar all of the convertible colours with the same brush, as each shade is almost like its own completely unique product.

I first bought this convertible colour in Poppy about eight years ago, yep, a loooong time ago. My favourite Mac cream blusher was being discontinued and I needed a replacement STAT. Although initially I thought the shade was too dark and too red, it was the best alternative I could find to my perfect pink Mac cream blush (Mac Cheek Hue in Factory). Unfortunately I lost it about a month or so after purchase, but I loved it so much I raced straight out and bought it again.

Application

It comes in a dark red circular compact, that matches the product shade, and has a great mirror that shows your reflection really clearly – I don’t know why some mirrors are great and sharp and others are hard to focus on but I can really notice the difference.

As it is a dewy cream blush, in a solid compact form, for application your just lightly press against the product with your finger, and then tap onto unpowdered foundation on your cheeks. Do not rub this product in, you really need to tap it to gain its full benefits. I say unpowdered cheeks as this product looks best worn on dewy skin, and you will make the most of it’s shiny properties if your cheeks haven’t been powdered. If you need powder after foundation, still wear it, but just skip putting it on your cheek so it won’t ruin putting this product on.

As it is well pigmented, always start light and build up. I can imagine this product is hard to apply if you have a heavy hand in the slightest! I personally always use my ring finger when applying cream blush as it is your weakest finger, so you can get a light, delicate application!

Stila convertible Color in Poppy is meant to give you a pop of dewy colour on your cheeks, slightly deeper than a wash of colour, but still very fresh and slightly transparent. It is not one of those blushes that will conceal blemishes or imperfections, if anything it will most likely high light it more! So unfortunately you need pretty good skin to wear it.

Verdict

Well, the fact that I bought this twice speaks volumes. Admittedly, it isn’t the easiest product to gets to grips with but if you know the tricks and want the look it’s designed to give it could be your best friend. I always like my skin dewy and fresh looking, I’m not a matte girl when it comes to foundations, so for me this is perfect. However there are occasions when my skin is dry and my base isn’t as moisturizing as usual, and then this product will not wear as well. So make sure you can diagnose whether you skin is suitable for it. If you want supermodel-esque translucent shiny cheeks with cheek bones that pop out and already have pretty good skin, this is for you. If you want matte cakey make-up and have not so great skin, you will hate this.

Another great thing about this is once it’s on, it last aaaages on. Far superior to most other cream compact blushers I’ve tried, including the other shades in this range! I find I never need to touch up once I’ve orginally applied it, and when it’s been applied correctly, the dewiness lasts all night as well! If you find you do need to touch up, a word of warning, it doesn’t work as well for touch ups, I think your skin just needs to be really fresh to get its full impact and stale make-up skin just doesn’t cut it.

So in conclusion, this is a fab product for cheeks, it’s a bit dry on the lips somewhat strangely but you can still wear it on both if you apply a good balm or gloss over it. My only advice is make sure your skin is well moisturized first, with a good dewy base, and a light touch. If you have all of those then you can’t possibly lose with this!

Here are some pics:

This entry is filed under Cheeks, Stila and tagged Stila Convertible Color Poppy.

Stila Perfecting Foundation Stick

By Lina on April 29, 2009

I remember when I bought this foundation, it was obviously before Stila filed for bankruptcy (good news, they’ve just been bought by Patriach Partners so are back on the way up!). I wasn’t intending on buying a foundation, but I just got talking with their sales assistant and she mentioned how moisturising their stick foundation is despite it being a stick product. Moisturising being my golden word, I quickly checked the texture on the back off my hand, it looked lovely and creamy, got colour matched and purchased one in shade E.

Here is my two cents on what I think the stick foundations are good for; they are good for getting extra coverage along with your regular foundation (such as using on certain areas, as opposed to the whole face), they are great for a handy touch up product that you can carry around with you, and lastly, they are good as a light concealer. I would never choose to wear this on my entire face as my basic foundation, but for review purposes I have done in the pics below (I’m so good to you).

Application

As I mentioned, I generally would use this on areas that needed extra coverage, after applying a lighter foundation. So for me this would be the center of my face. If you look back at my Mac Mineralize Satinfinish review, you’ll notice I said I would use a stick foundation on the center of my face to lighten that foundation up. This kind of practice is common for woman who have darker skin tones as their face is often not one shade completely. To stop our skin from looking flat or mask like, this is a good trick.

If you do choose to use this product as a complete foundation, I would apply it to the center of the face first (after a light, non greasy moisturiser or else it won’t set with anything heavier), and blend out. Then apply powder to set it, this foundation stick defintely needs powder to set and to smooth its appearance! For the way I usually wear it, I’d advise a few stripes on certain areas and then blend out, that should be all you need (on top of your base).

Verdict

Whilst it goes on incredibly easily, and blends relatively ok, if you wore it as just a foundation it had a tendancy to sit on dry patches of the skin (ewww), so make sure you’re skin is in super condition first. Worn how I generally wear it (on top of another foundation), I found it worked better and less cakey, but the effect either way doesn’t last very long at all. When I wear this product I am constantly touching up as the coverage I built with it has worn away way too quickly. As it is moisturising, it’s fairly good at not looking too dry or caked, but in that same respect it also has a little difficulty setting, like with many Stila cream products, you could easily unintentionally wipe this away by accidentally touching your face.

So unfortunately for Stila Perfecting Foundation Stick, it is a huge thumbs down. I do tend to keep it in my make-up bag as an emergency cover stick type product, but really, this is without doubt not the best stick foundation on the market. Try the Bobbi Brown or Sheseido one instead, admittedly my experience of those is limited, but I’ve heard they’re quite good. I suppose this product is only good if you want good coverage and you want it quick. But be prepared to keep touching up every hour, and no close ups. If you’re looking for longevity, this ain’t the one.

Here are some pics of me wearing it: