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)

Stipple & Save

Good Day Everyone,

Now I’m the kind of girl, when given the choice, would prefer to spend money buying new makeup rather than makeup tools and brushes. My collection of brushes is quite limited, however, amongst them is a real gem, my Real Techniques stippling brush. For those of you who don’t know, Real Technqiues brushes are the brainchild of makeup artist Samantha Chapman, who is one half of the Pixiwoo sisters (beauty bloggers). 

I absolutely love love love this brush! Prior to this brush I used to apply my foundation with either my fingers or a traditional foundation brush, you know the kind that looks like a paint brush (FYI I always use liquid, cream or mousse foundations, never powder as I have normal to dry skin). Whilst both of these methods produced satisfactory results the RT stippling brush produces outstanding results! Yes that’s right outstanding, I’m talking A* kind of results. 
Now don’t get me wrong if you’re happy using your fingers or a traditional foundation brush then that’s great for you but I always found that the traditional foundation brush would often leave streaks on my face which I would then have to smooth out with my fingers. When using my fingers alone, I always felt under pressure to apply the foundation quickly so that it could all be blended before it dried which took the pleasure out of the process and left me with foundation stained fingers. 

One of the great benefits of the RT stippling brush is that I find myself using less foundation and getting a much better result. This duo fibre brush has the softest synthetic taklon bristles and is cruelty free :o) I use the brush by gently tapping it into a bit of foundation on the back of my hand. This way the longer bristles pick the foundation up but not the shorter ones yet all the bristles work together to cover my skin with a light and even layer of foundation. I use stippling motions, sometimes mixed with a bit of buffing, to apply my foundation, resulting in an incredibly flawless and even coverage that has an air brushed like finish without looking cakey.

The size of the brush (the bristle part) is smaller than many stippling brushes which some people may not like as it will take longer to apply your foundation, but I actually like this because it’s easier to work around the natural contours of the face like the nose and under the eyes. The other benefit to having a small brush is that it can be multi-purpose. I actually use my stippling brush to apply my cream blush, bronzer and even highlighter. That’s 4 uses out of just one brush – how fantastic is that?! Saving me money and time plus fewer brushes to clean and store. 

This brush applies cream blush like a dream. It creates a diffused, air brushed look where the edges of the blush just fade and blend seamlessly into my skin/foundation with no harsh edges. I love this look and can never quite manage to achieve this effect when using my fingers. This brush can also be used to apply powder products, however, I don’t like to use it in this way as I feel the ‘spikey’ effect of the bristles causes the powder to go on a bit patchy and requires me to concentrate a bit more on blending. I just get a much better effect by using a powder specific brush. I mean let’s be realistic I can’t expect this one brush to do ‘everything’ just ‘lots’ of things ;o)

The brush has a relatively thick, yet lightweight, aluminium handle which is pink with a wider black end that has a flat top. Not great if you like to store your brushes in a jar/mug but I  find this very useful as the brush can stand upright on a dresser/vanity table. The name of the brush is printed in a darker pink shade on the pink handle. I have been using my brush for several months now and I have had no shedding whatsoever. The brush is really easy to clean, dries quickly and has not lost its shape at all.

This little gem is one of my most favourite brushes. It allows me to use less product but achieve the ‘high definition, pixel perfect’ results thus making my products last longer and saving me money along the way. In fact, I was sooo impressed by this brush that a week later I went and bought a second one, just in case the first one ever got lost. Now that’s a real testament as to how great this brush really is!

Have you used this brush? What at your thoughts? Do you have a 'gem' of a makeup brush? If so, do share as to which one it is :o)

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5 

Singapore website click here
UK website click here
US website click here
(Note: I purchased these brushes with my own money)