FOTD: April 26, 2014

Hi! When I went to IMATS two weeks ago, one of the products I was waiting for months to buy at the show's discounted price was Stila's In the Light palette. I was so excited to finally use it today, and I'm really happy with how everything turned out so I thought I'd share it with you here!

This isn't really a review post, though my opinions on the products I used will be peeking through here and there. I mainly wanted to show a look my mediocre makeup skills could come up with using this palette, and how it pairs with other products (both new and old). =)

Stila's In the Light palette is one of the brand's more popular palettes due to the fact that it has their most popular eye shadow - "Kitten" - as one of the ten included eye shadows. I'll admit - that's the reason I've been wanting this palette, aside from the good things I've heard regarding Stila's eye shadow formula. That, and I wanted to try something out from this brand again. The only other product I've purchased from Stila in my lifetime was one of their lip glazes - and that was back when I was in high school.

As you can see in the above picture, In the Light features both shimmer and matte shadows, with a majority of neutral colors besides the lovely navy, "Night Sky," in the bottom row. The infamous "Kitten" is in the top row, second from the left. If you double-click the picture to see it full-sized, you should be able to make out the shadow names as they're printed on the palette itself below each corresponding shadow.

 I will be sharing pictures of the other products used for the rest of my face, but first let's get through the eye look itself, since we're on the topic of the palette already.

I love how brightening this look is...and learned today that the best way to make eye shadow flattering on my fairly large lids is to line my upper lash line, even if softly with eye shadow. I used to use liquid eyeliner - and still love the look - but it's so time consuming that lately I've been skipping it altogether. Using eye shadow is way easier, and helps to deepen my lash line enough so that my lids don't look even bigger when I use a light/shimmery eye shadow for my lid color.


COLORS USED from the IN THE LIGHT PALETTE:

TOP ROW: Bare*, Kitten*, Bliss*
BOTTOM ROW: Bubbly, Gilded Gold*, Luster*

Above is a closeup of the middle-to-left-half of the palette, and the shadows marked with a blue snowflake (or asterisk, in the picture's caption) were those used in the look of this post. I used them as follows:

Bare (top row, left): Used to highlight my brow bone area and inner corners.
Kitten (top row, middle): Used as the main lid color, concentrated on the middle portion of the lid, as well as along the inner third of my lower lash line. This color is really chunky with glitter but somehow holds itself together and applies beautifully. It has a nearly metallic finish that does wonders with capturing light.
Bliss (top row, right): Used as a transition color in the crease, and then to blend "Kitten" and "Gilded Gold" out.
Gilded Gold (bottom row, middle): Used in the outer "C" and along the second third of the lower lash line. This color was stiff and hard to pick up with my brush, but it got the job done.
Luster (bottom row, right): Used to line my upper lash line and the outer third of my lower lash line.


OTHER PRODUCTS USED:

Let's start with the fact that these shadows were all used over a cream shadow, and that cream shadow is Maybelline's Color Tattoo in "Just Beige" (LE), from their holiday 2013 Gilded in Gold collection.

This is a matte yellow-toned, flesh-colored cream shadow that brightens my lids and acts as a nice, sticky base for powder shadows. It's my go-to eye shadow base when I don't want to add distinct color to my lid, but want the extra staying power for my shadows. Sometimes I skip eye shadow base/primer altogether, because my lids are on the drier side, but there are some shadows that crease regardless so today I decided to not be lazy and use it, haha.

Now for blush and lipstick:

I used an old blush favorite, Milani's Baked Powder Blush in "Luminoso," a coral blush that gives my cheeks a nice glow.

As for lips, I used a lipstick that was once limited edition but has been added to the brand's permanent line of lipsticks as of this month: MAC's lipstick in "Sweet and Sour." This is the more opaque, more orange version of "Fleur d'Coral," which I was also considering wearing today but ultimately didn't.

Other products I used, but don't have pictures of, are my current mascara, CoverGirl's Clump Crusher mascara in "Black," my go-to Orgaic Wear CC Cream by Physician's Formula in "Light," my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in "Fair," and my Ben Nye Luxury Banana Powder (also purchased at IMATS) to lightly set my under-eye area and "T-zone."


And now, full-face pictures:

LEFT: Eye makeup only.
RIGHT: Complete look.

Eye makeup only but with glasses.

Completed look with glasses.

I like to include full-face pictures both with and without glasses because obviously, depending on your prescription, glasses alter the clarity and size of one's eyes. In my case, my glasses hide my under eye circles somewhat (a plus) and make my eyes look a bit smaller (a minus). I tend to see those interesting "makeup for glasses" tutorials on YouTube a lot, and while those don't necessarily aim towards limiting glasses-wearers in their makeup application, I just like to show that the majority of eye looks remain unaffected by the addition of glasses...OR PERHAPS I NEED A BETTER PRESCRIPTION!

Yup I went there.


Overall, I'm really happy with the performance of Stila's In the Light palette. I'm especially happy with how beautiful "Kitten" really is. And, of course, I'm ecstatic about the fact that I got this palette for a discounted price at IMATS. I'll be posting an IMATS haul soon with prices and whatnot - I'll try to remember to link it here when it's done and published.

It's been at least five hours since I did this makeup look, and my eye makeup is completely intact with zero creasing. My skin is a bit dewier and I've since removed my lipstick for dinner, but everything else is fine. Success!

I hope you found this post interesting, and thanks for stopping by! 'Til next time. ('<>')>

~nikki