Happy Holidays!

Today I will be reviewing the Stila Sending my Love Gift Set from the 2015 Stila Holiday Collection.  At its original debut this set retailed for $49.oo but can now be purchased via Stila’s website for $34.00!  If you are a fan of Stila Cosmetics I highly suggest checking out their website now as they are having a huge sale with excellent, best selling products at amazing discounts!  If you are new to their site you can also receive 20% off  your order when you sign up for their email.

The set:

boxed

Vanity Case/Box

opened

Content

The content of this set includes 2 palettes: 1 eye shadow palette and 1 face palette, a smudge stick water proof eyeliner and a lip glaze that all fit nicely inside this gorgeous, love letter inspired vintage note-card box.

Eye Shadow Shades from left: Bark, Cinnamon, Sandstone, Sangria and Pale Pink.

Face palette from left: Bronzer, Pink Rose Blush, Highlighter

A Best Selling Smudge Stick, Waterproof Liner in Stingray

Lip Glaze in Guava

Initial thoughts:

The Notecard box storing all of the items is quite pretty as are the little palettes that fit nicely inside.  This would be a great set for someone who loves Stila products and has a small vanity space that they want to look organized and pretty.  The set takes up minimal space and contains nearly everything you need for a full look, all right at your fingertips within the box.

The goods:

The Shadow Palette:

From left: Bark, Cinnamon, Sandstone, Sangria and Pale Pink.

I really like the shade selection in this palette with a mix of dark, light shimmer and matte shades.  while not the very best eye shadows I own, the pigment is mostly pretty good a little fall out but nothing crazy.  I used an eyeshadow primer on my swatches and think it is pretty necessary in order to get the best pay-off from this particular palette. I found they worked better on my eyes than expected after swatching and I was pleased with the ultimate outcome of my smokey look.  The palest shade has the least pigmentation and was the only one I had to layer and layer to even have it slightly noticeable on my swatch.

swatched (from lightest to darkest shade)

The Face Palette:

I was a bit disappointed in this palette, the shades are really light and somewhat lacking in pigmentation.  I have light – light medium skin and when swatched on my inner arm (the lightest part of my skin right now at my palest time of the year) I had to layer and layer both the blusher and the bronzer to even notice it on my skin.  The highlighter showed up better than the others after building a bit of the product on my skin and gave a good glow without being too shimmery/sparkly.  I think this palette would be best for very fair/pale complexions or those with light-light medium complexions going for a very natural, more subtle look with a soft flush and a subtle glow.

from left: Highlight, blush, bronzer

The lippy and Liner:

I already use and own several of these two products so I knew exactly what I was getting and what to expect.  Stila glosses have nice sheer color and a slightly sticky formula that wears like a typical gloss.  I’ve always been a fan of their turn/click application which distributes just the right amount of product on to the brush and their sleek pen like packaging that takes up minimal space. (product requires quite a bit of ‘clicking’ prior to first application) These lip glazes also have pleasant scents/flavors; this one coinciding with its shade: Guava

Stila Liners are one of my very favorite products from the brand and the stay all day formula really lives up to its name.  Stila Stay All Day smudge sticks and liquid liner pens have been two of my go-to products for some time now.  They offer a large shade range, this one being ‘Sting Ray’ (a jet black.)  The pigment and glide on formula in this liner are excellent; being a smudge stick you have the opportunity for a budge proof smokey/smudge-y look if desired but smudge quickly b/c once this product sets it isn’t going anywhere!

Swatched

Thoughts:  This set is an excellent, purchase-worthy deal at its new discounted price and I got it at an even lower price through Birchbox with my aces, black Friday deal plus Birchbox points.  Due to the lackluster face palette I’d likely have felt a bit disappointed had I paid the original retail price of 49.00 but at only 34.00, (especially if you can utilize the email sign-up discount of 20% off) it’s definitely worth a purchase and would make a great gift for yourself or fair skinned friend.

Has anyone else purchased this set?  What were your thoughts?  I’d love to hear about your experience!

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-Kelli xoxo