A Feast For Your Eyes! Stila Festival Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

May 23, 2013 | 19 Responses

I’m going to get down to business here and just say it straight up: the Stila Festival Collection for Summer 2013 (available in Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques, Murale and Sephora) is one of my favourites by far for summer. It brings such unique and vibrant pieces that any makeup lover would die to add to their collections. I received a selection of products so I just wanna show you ALL THE THINGS.

Some items from Stila Festival Collection

First up, Stila has created a limited edition shade for Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner ($26) and Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner ($26), both in Turquoise. Both products deliver opaque pigments in one pass. Isn’t this such a unique and stunning shade? In the side-by-side comparison, the Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner is closer to a true turquoise. The Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner leans more mint. Both products are really waterproof and puts up a mean fight against a micellar-water soaked cotton pad.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid and Smudge Stick Turquoise

Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Turquoise / Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise /
Stila After Glow Lip Color in Electric Pink and Festive Fuchsia

Lipstick lovers rejoice! The new Stila After Glow Lip Color ($24) is bright and so hard to mess up! The fat crayon format is friendly for newbies, and this has medium pigmentation that builds well. The lips look wonderfully plump (but not Real Housewives plump); just plain kissable lips. I wore Electric Pink today (see below) and it lasted a good 5-6 hours before fading and leaving an even stain. My favourite of these two is Electric Pink, but Festive Fuchsia is also a winner and probably my #1 pick against a late summer tan. These are cherry-scented, but it is very faint that honestly I had to think hard about the scent.

Stila After Glow Lip Colour Electric Pink and Festive Fuchsia

Wearing Electric Pink
Wearing Stila After Glow in Electric Pink (no filters used / from my Instagram!)

Oh, and apparently the pigments fluoresce under black light! ERMAHGERD /geeks out!

Keep reading to see more photos and swatches!

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YSL Arty Stone Collection for Spring 2013: Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 Review, Photos, Swatches

January 28, 2013 | 4 Responses

YSL Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14
Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14

YSL Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 ($74) is the single eye palette released for YSL Arty Stone Collection for Spring 2013. Four shades of sparkling pastels — Malachite (green), Fluorite (pink), Amethyst (violet) and Azurite (blue) — make up this limited edition palette.

YSL Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 open 3
Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14

These eyeshadows’ formula is very typical for Pure Chromatics eyeshadows: very sheer with soft sparkles when dry, and vibrant with shimmery when wet. The pink shade contains scattered shimmers, while the rest contain a metallic finish.

YSL Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 open 2
Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14

Although I’m not usually a fan of pastels, I actually like this palette. However, I would’ve liked to see at least one darker shade. Amethyst is the smokiest of them all, but I’d still anchor it with a dark eyeliner underneath to provide definition. This isn’t the kind of palette that’s easy to wear all at once, but one sure can try. Challenge accepted!

YSL Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 swatches
Y Facettes Pure Chromatics Eye Collector Palette in Nº 14 — swatches (wet)

How would you wear this palette? Stay tuned for a my makeup look for this collection.

So Sparkly, So ’80s, But So Sheer!: YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night Review, Photos, Swatches

December 26, 2012 | 9 Responses

YSL Boréal Palette Arctic Night 4 Wet & Dry Eye Shadows

YSL is a brand that is not afraid to dole out colour and sparkle, and this is apparent in its Northern Lights Collection for Holiday 2012. The star product of the collection is the YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night ($79). The palette contains four sparkly eyeshadows: a brownish burgundy, icy white, bright turquoise and a royal blue.

YSL Boréal Palette Arctic Night swatches
YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night – swatches (wet)

As the name suggests, Arctic Night eyeshadows can be used dry (for sheer shimmer) or wet (for intense colour and sparkle). I swatched them wet above using a finger, they came out medium-opaque. Quite honestly, these wet swatches are disappointing. I expect intense opaque colours when I swatch an eyeshadow wet. I’ve had cheap eBay eyeshadows that swatch brighter when wet than Arctic Night‘s eyeshadows.

YSL Boréal Palette Arctic Night 2
YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night

The quad eyeshadow palette comes with the standard gold YSL casing, and instead of the black velvet pouch, the palette is stored in a silver sequinned pouch. It’s a cute little case that you can use to carry your credit cards or business cards.

The colours in Arctic Night are made to mimic the colours of the Northern Lights (or Aurora Borealis). They also scream so ’80s to me. I decided to put together a quick dirty smokey eye inspired by the ’80s makeup trends (read: a lot of makeup. Everywhere!). I wore the icy white on the brow bone and inner corners; turquoise all over the lid and lower lash line; royal blue on the outer 1/3 of the lid and lower lash line; and the brownish burgundy winged out and blended in the crease.

YSL Boréal Palette Arctic Night
Wearing YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night

I applied these eyeshadows on top of a glitter primer by LA Splash, but I’m still not entirely happy with the result. I have to work very hard to build the colour intensity of these eyeshadows. I do like how the eyeshadows work together, as all the eyeshadows marry well with each other. YSL Boréal Palette in Arctic Night is a beautifully coordinated eyeshadow palette, but some elbow grease is required if vivid colour is what you’re after.

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