Stila cosmetics have a whopping two decades under their belts in the make-up world. A dream perpetuated by; and still fuelling make-up looks for fashion week, stocking the make-up belts of MUA’s everywhere and bringing this to enthusiasts like us, it makes for pretty impressive reading – we see you Stila, we see you…
Personally, I have never used anything by Stila! Therefore it was super exciting to be invited along to their masterclass event held in Birmingham with Sascha Jackson who happens to be the lead artist for Stila UK and Ireland.
This was also my very first PR event, so nerves aside I made it just in time with notepad and phone at hand to voice note all the action. I guess my short stint in Brownies did give me something – Be prepared…wait, is that right?
The setting was lush, glam, a ring light set up on the side and miniature marbled tables (of course *side eye*) dotted about the place with a plethora of products sat atop them. So your girl had a quick scope, which wasn’t for long before the wonderful Sascha herself approached me and we began chattering away about make-up – of course.
It was absolutely refreshing to talk to an MUA without feeling the need to ‘fake love’ in the house. Sascha was open to anything, understanding that the bloggers here at ZaraLouU don’t really have the cash to splash and we love our budget beauty buys – however sometimes quality can tip the scales and I awaited the big reveal of core products within the range to be unleashed to me. Educate me, let me be a sponge. Soak up that foundation gurlllll.
Stila’s history began around 24 years ago, created by a celeb artist who saw a gap in the market for make-up catered specifically for fashion week runway shows but also wanted to adapt this for the general public too. I loved this nugget of information; albeit rather akin to how MAC came to be too, the educated nut within me soaked this up.
So, how were the products?
We were showcased the ‘main core’ products. These included primers, foundation, Liquid eyeshadow, cream blush, liquid lips and of course liquid eyeliner.
The primers were pretty awesome looking; it’s also the product that I knew Stila for. The one step correct primer is literally an iconic piece of kit with an impressive formulation that applied to my hand so smooth, like butter and melted in wonderfully. Sitting at £24 a pop, it’s probably something I wouldn’t reach out for on the regular (And you may hear me repeating this often) But! If an occasion were to be coming up, I’d seriously consider this for the redness I suffer in my cheeks!
The stay all day foundation was another impressive packaging point scorer for me. With a concealer in the lid (Pretty much akin to the LACURA foundation I reviewed back in the day here) and then this insane dish like second cap that dispensed ‘the perfect amount’ of foundation within the lid, MINDBLOWN! It’s a little steep sitting at £29.50 but soooo fancy. *pinky finger at the ready*
We also perused their glitter and glow liquid eyeshadow range which is pretty much every Instagrammer make-up enthusiasts dream – dispensing a truck ton of delicate glitter in a liquid water base is ingenious, plentiful as well as pretty! (I wore this on my lids for the Kikiblahblah photoshoot) The convertible colour blush was beautifully buildable and super soft for a cream based blush. Heavens hue highlighters were awesome, cool to touch creams that dispensed a soft glow on the cheek like Tinkerbell grazed past your face, Oh! And the liquid eyeliner was the deepest black I had ever witnessed in a liner.
The liquid lips were also super comfortable to wear (again I wore this to the Kiki photoshoot) although it did not last all day and required a few top ups. The plus side was it wasn’t sticky or heavy and could cope with an extra layer on top without crumbling!
Also another random nugget: Stila first launched their matte liquid lip in 2010 alongside a Christmas gift set! TWOTHOUSANDANDTEN GUYS.
And after a few more words with Sascha, that was indeed that!
So what did I make of Stila?
Personally, Stila is more luxe to me and my purse. The winning side however, is their innovation and ability to cater to different age ranges (I wish I could say diversity but 16 shades of foundation barely catering for all skin shades hasn’t quite hit it in my books just yet. Oh nah nah, where’s RiRi at?) So I’ll definitely consider these for special occasions, but I’ve confidence in the quality that’s for sure.
I’d like to thank Sascha for the wonderful information and demos (and chit chat) and also a thank you to the Dowal Walker PR team for the invitation – also thanks to Brum Bloggers collective for arranging the event.
Till next time gorgeys
Zara
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