Stila Perfect & Correct Foundation

Good Day Everyone,

I picked up this Stila Perfect & Correct Foundation during my recent ‘Stila splurge’ and have been trying it out for a while and I have to say I’m impressed. A year ago I hadn't even heard of Stila but I’m fast becoming a fan of their products.

Now before I get stuck in let me just say that this is not a full coverage foundation so if that’s the kind of look you go for then I’m afraid it’s not for you. I tend to prefer light to medium coverage but more importantly I like foundations that feel light weight on my skin, rather than heavy and mask like. This foundation has a mousse like consistency and feels incredibly light, so much so that I don’t actually feel like I’m wearing foundation. I find that half a pump is all I need to do my entire face (minus my forehead as I don’t need foundation there. I’m a great believer in only applying foundation where I need it rather than covering my entire face with it). 

If I’m in a rush then I tend to apply this with my fingers, but my preferred method is to stipple it onto my face and then swirl and buff it into my skin using my Real Techniques stippling brush (review) as this creates a very flawless finish. I only apply one layer of the foundation as I find that to be sufficient to even out my skin tone and to reduce the appearance of my dark circles which I then further cover up with a concealer. This foundation can be built up to medium coverage, however, I’d recommend leaving a minute or so in between each layer so that your skin and the foundation have time to adjust to each other and you can see the coverage you're getting as you apply each layer.

On me, this foundation lasts a good 6-8 hours and wears of evenly throughout the day without looking patchy or uneven. In terms of finish, this is neither a matte foundation nor does is it look particularly dewy, like my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. I find it leaves my skin looking very natural with a subtle glow. I don’t always tend to powder after I've used this foundation as it’s not dewy or oily looking but sometimes I do dust a little powder on and around my nose if it’s looking a bit oily. I quite like to use this foundation mixed in with my Stila One Step Illuminate (review) as I find this gives more of a ‘glowing from within’ look due to the micro shimmer in the illuminator, making my skin look more luminous and healthy.

I have normal to dry skin and I find this foundation to be very hydrating and it doesn't emphasise any dry areas. The foundation is suspended in a clear serum along with a white swirl containing the built in moisturising primer, however, I do still moisturise my skin before using this as my skin is quite dry but I don't use a separate primer. This clear serum contains Stila's youth revival bio-available mineral complex^TM and the product also contains potent antioxidants as well as skin soothing chamomile. In simple terms, this product seems to provide a lot of nourishing benefits for the skin. According to Stila all this helps to;

• Diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles
• Minimize pores
• Hydrate and balance
• Control oil

I can't yet comment on the first point but I'd certainly agree with the bottom three points. My skin has always been very happy and appreciative whenever I apply this foundation. Even at the end of the day my skin still feels hydrated which, for a dry skin suffer like me, is great news :o)

I absolutely love the packaging. The foundation comes in a plastic bottle with a pump that's easy to keep clean and the lid comes of easily which is great for my arthritic fingers :o) I've dropped this bottle on tiled and wooden floors and it hasn't even cracked and so I tend to take this foundation with me when travelling! Love robust packaging! One of the things I love the most about the packaging is that there appears to be no product wastage as there is a platform devise (I think it’s called an airless pump but don’t quote me on that) that pushes the product up from the bottom and sides of the bottle as I use up the foundation. You can see from the pictures that I’m about half way through this bottle and there is no foundation stuck to the sides and the bottom of the bottle. Also as the bottle is clear I can see exactly how much product I have left before it runs out. One of my frustrations with some foundations (I’m looking at you my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation) is not being able to tell how much product I have left and the pump not pumping out all of the product at the bottom of the bottle leading to product wastage and wasted pennies!

The only drawback to this product is that there are only eight shades in the range so don’t you all go expecting to find the perfect shade match! I fall in between Tone and Medium but didn't fancy buying two foundations that I would then mix to create my own custom shade and so I bought the slightly darker shade, Medium. I opted for the darker shade because the foundation can be sheered out and it does seem to colour adapt a little (I think). The end result is that I have a healthy sun kissed colour to my face. If ever I fall in between two shade colours then I will always opt for the slightly darker colour rather than lighter as I always worry that the lighter colour could make me look a bit ‘grey’ and ‘ashy’, whereas a slightly darker colour will make me look more sun-kissed and bronzed.

The foundation costs £28.50 in the UK and you get the standard 30ml (1 fl. oz).

Have you tried this foundation? What was your experience? Which is your favourite foundation?

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5
For the UK: http://stila.co.uk/
For the US: http://www.stilacosmetics.com/
For Singapore you can find this product at Sephora

(Note: I purchased this product with my own money)

Stila Convertible Color For Cheeks & Lips

Good Day Everyone,

One of the highlights of a recent trip back home to England (aside from seeing my friends and family) was the time I spent in Harvey Nichols department store, more specifically the Stila counter (website). It’s fair to say, I had a bit of a Stila ‘splurge’.

I first came across Stila at Sephora in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) where I purchased the One Step Illuminate from their One Step range (click here for thoughts on that). As I had some time to spare I went onto explore other Stila products and one that caught my eye in particular was the Convertible Color for cheeks and lips. However, I resisted the temptation to buy as I’d already spent rather a lot on makeup. So prior to my trip home I had done my research, swatched the colours at my local Sephora and compared the prices in Asia with those back home to see where I could get the best deal. As is often the case, it was cheaper to buy in England and so I waited patiently for my upcoming trip.

Before I even got to the Stila counter at Harvey Nics (it was only later after the splurge that I realised Stila is also available in Boots and so I missed out on my Boots points... how annoyed was I - grrr!) I already knew I wanted to buy the Color Convertible in the colour Gladiola. I’m a sucker for anything that’s peachy/corally/orangey as I feel it really suits my warm complexion irrespective of the shade, whereas with pinks I feel I have to be a bit more choosey as not all shades of pink suit me. Whilst at the Stila counter I also decided to purchase the blush in a pink shade and boy did it take me a looong time to choose between Gerbera and Lillium. I (eventually) settled for Gerbera – a soft pink.

The blushes cost £16 each and you get 4.25g (0.15oz) of product for your pennies. They come in the cutest of round compacts, with the outside colour coordinated to the colour of the blush inside. The top of the compact has a floral embossed design with ‘Stila’ and ‘convertible color’ written across it. Inside, the lid contains a decent sized round mirror which is very handy for when you’re on the go, and the blush itself. There is no applicator. Being a cream blush this is not an issue in the slightest (for me). The compact is light weight and snaps shut which means I’m quite happy to throw it into my handbag without the fear of it opening and turning everything a bright orange colour ;o)

The colour pay off is amazing!Both blushes are true to colour and whilst Gladiola looks a little scary as a bright orange, it blends out (see last photo) to a beautiful peachy coral colour so don’t let the orangeness put you off (trust me).  I have always preferred cream blushes over powder as I love the dewy, glistening finish they give making my face look all youthful and glowy, and these did not disappoint!

You can apply these blushes with your fingers, however, my preferred method of application is to use my Real Techniques stippling brush (click here for thoughts on this brush). Not only does it avoid staining my fingers, but I find that I use much less of the product when applying this way. The brush also creates a very diffused, air brushed look where the edges of the blush just seem to blend seamlessly in my skin / foundation and there are no harsh lines / edges denoting where the blush colour ends. I love this look and struggle to achieve this effect when I use my fingers. The colour lasts a long time and does not go blotchy as it fades towards the end of the day.

These blushes can also be used as lip colours, however, I’m not keen on using them on my lips as I find them a little drying plus I feel the colour is a little 'patchy'. Also, I can’t seem to put my finger on it but for some reason I just do not like how they feel on my lips. A part of me thinks it might be psychological. As these look like blushes rather than lip products, my mind is telling me that these are not quite right on the lips plus my primary reason for the purchase was to use them on my cheeks.

In summary, I think these are absolutely gorgeous blushes with a wide colour selection and the cutest of packaging. I personally cannot wait for my next trip back home to expand my collection :o) Have you ever tried these blushes? What were your thoughts? Which colour did you go for?

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict:

• For cheeks 5/5
• For lips 3/5

(Note: I purchased these products with my own money)

Stila One Step Illuminate

Good Day Everyone,

This was the first product that I ever purchased from Stila (website) and I can tell you that I have become a huge fan ever since. Living near the equator in year round temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius in high humidity can make wearing a full face of makeup a little challenging, especially if you’re going to be spending time outside without air con. I was looking for a product (other than my bodily sweat!) that would give my face a nice subtle luminous glow for the days that I don’t wish to wear foundation and this is perfect!

Firstly, I absolutely love love love the packaging! The product comes in a clear plastic bottle containing 30mls (1 oz) of product with a black pump and lid which, in my humble opinion, has many benefits;

• As the bottle is clear I can see exactly how much product is left before I run out.
• The clear bottle also means that I can see the triple swirl helix and it looks sooo pretty (ok so that's not really a benefit but hey it makes me happy!).
• The pump makes using the product very hygienic as there’s no finger dipping involved.
• The pump also allows me to control the amount of product I dispense and it is easy to dispense half pumps.
•  Being plastic I don’t need to worry about breakages if I drop the bottle (which happens a lot given my arthritic fingers).
• The lid snaps shut when I push it on making it quite secure and does not come off easily which is great if I ever need to travel with this in my luggage. At the same time my arthritic fingers do not struggle to open it either which is a huge bonus :o)

Another great thing about this bottle is that, from what I can tell thus far, there is no product wastage due to the packaging. This is quite tricky to explain so here goes. You know how with some bottles the product sticks to the sides and bottom and no amount of pumping can ever get it all out? Well this bottle has a mechanism, a sort of platform, which pushes the product upwards from the bottom and sides of the bottle so no product is left behind that you cannot get to – genius or what?!

This product is one of those multi-functioning products that offers numerous benefits all in the convenience of one product. The product consists of 3 coloured swirls suspended in Stila’s youth revival bio-available mineral complex^TM serum which is clear in colour. The swirls are;

• Light gold which highlights the skin.

• Pale pink to warm the complexion.
• Kitten which brightens and illuminates (kitten is Stila’s famous eye shadow colour which is also available in other product forms e.g. eyeliner, powder shimmer, liquid luminizer, lip gloss etc).

According to Stila this product instantly primes, brightens and illuminates the skin, improves skin tone, even outs your complexion and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles. In addition it claims to;

• Helps diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Helps minimize pores.
• Helps hydrate and balance.
• Helps control oil.

Wow! Now that’s a whole load of benefits all within just one product! I tend to use this product instead of a foundation on days when I want to go for the no makeup makeup look (rather than as a primer) and I have to say it does an amazing job! The texture of this is more mousse like than serum and it feels incredibly light weight on my skin. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling tacky or sticky or looking shiny or oily in any way.
 

I typically apply this, using my fingers, after my moisturiser concentrating on my cheeks, centre of my face and eyelids and I have to say it just melts into my skin beautifully. I find that one pump is more than enough to do my whole face and therefore this bottle will easily last me for several months. This product instantly brightens my skin giving it that kind of ‘glowing from within’ luminous look. The shimmer in this product is so incredibly fine that it leaves my skin glistening beautifully whenever the light catches it and I don’t have to worry about looking like a disco ball. The glistening effect is why I tend to wear this on my eyelids as then I don’t need to bother with eye shadow and I just use a couple of coats of mascara and voila my eyes are done!

Blends out to give a luminous glow

I tend to have normal to dry skin and I find this product to be hydrating to the extent that even at the end of the day my skin still doesn’t feel in the slightest bit dry. I generally feel that I am feeding my skin ‘goodness’ whenever I apply this product. I don’t tend to have oily skin and rarely get an oily t-zone and therefore cannot comment on the product’s oil control capabilities but it does seem to minimise the few pores that I have and evens out my skin tone. I think it’s too early for me to say whether this product helps to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles as I don’t really have any wrinkles (that I’ve noticed) and I don’t think I’ve been using this product long enough to notice a dramatic effect on any fine lines that I may have... I think I need to go examine my face closely in the mirror now to see if I actually have any fine lines or wrinkles ;o)

On occasion I have also used this product on top of my cheek bones, after foundation, to get that glowy highlighting effect and it blends easily without removing the layer of foundation underneath. Overall I have been delighted with my first Stila purchase and cannot wait to try other products from the brand.

Have you tried this illuminator? What were your impressions? What's your favourite illuminator to use? I'd love to hear your views/experience :o)

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5

For the UK: http://stila.co.uk/
For Singapore you can find this product at Sephora

(Note: I purchased this product with my own money)