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Target x Ulta Partnership

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Did you know about the Target x Ulta Partnership? I’ve been a little out of touch, so I didn’t until a disappointing experience with Target in February.

I’d been wanting to try one of the Stila Convertible Colors for YEARS. Like, 5+, but I had a trouble pulling trigger on the $25 cream blush compact. I noticed that Target is carrying some prestige brands, but didn’t think much of it. I saw a Target Circle offer for 50% off some Stila products, and this was on the list! Score.

Maybe not

My order arrived, and this was the condition of the product when I unboxed it:

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Stila Stay All Day Liner Review

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Opinions are the same, content has been edited for readability, clarity, all that jazz. Additions are noted in line. Enjoy!

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner

I’m not sure what it is that sparks my desire to challenge, well, everything that I challenge. But like the lipstick, if I see something that claims to Stay All Day, I can’t help but want to prove whether or not it is true. You know, for science, and love and justice, whatever.

In the same holiday set that I received the aforementioned lipstick by the same name, I received a smaller-than-normal tube of Stila Stay All Day Liner. Though more favorable than my initial reaction to the name of the lipstick, I still couldn’t believe it without seeing it. Since receiving it, I have worn it with success but I never really documented how long it lasted – and, “more or less all day,” isn’t enough for me.

The Test

Yesterday, I slapped some on my face before work around 6:15AM (contrary to my programming, I am the early bird at work. 2018 Update: SO CUTE. My makeup is done by 5:45 these days.). This is what it looked like at 6:30AM:

Stila Stay All Day Liner - 6:30AM

Well of course it looks decent, freshly applied. Also, I am an airhead and hadn’t even slapped on mascara, yet.

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Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Review

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Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso

This is a post from the Beauty Skeptic archives that has been given a facelift, but content and opinions are the same. Favorites are being rescheduled and will appear by next Wednesday.

I don’t always bother with liquid lipstick, but when I do, it’s Stila Beso. I wrote about receiving a compliment on some bold red lipstick that made my morning. In turn, that inspired me to compliment someone else, and an awesome chain reaction resulted. Time to talk about the lipstick itself.

Reeeally Red

My skin is pretty agreeable to reds – so I didn’t have to go on a crazy hunting spree for, “the one,” because my options are plenty. Friday was National Wear Red Day; I opted for a red lipstick, specifically Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in the shade Beso. Stila and Sephora describe this shade as a, “true red,” meaning it has no blue, pink, or orange undertones, and is not particularly warm OR cool.

When I first got this lipstick, I swatched it on my lips not having looked up swatches online or having any idea of how pigmented it was; I exclaimed when I saw it. A little goes a very, very long way. Given how pigmented it is and how quickly the color takes, the doefoot applicator wand can be a liiiiiittle bit difficult to work with. Doefoot applicators are awesome for speed and ease of use, but a bold red lip requires careful application. If you have a lip brush, I recommend keeping it handy to help ensure clean edges.

The Bold Claim

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Autumn Gold and Violet Eye Tutorial

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I’m not some YouTube vlogger goddess, but occasionally I like to throw up a tutorial for you. Because I more-or-less missed summer anyway, I’ve been ready to embrace Autumn for a while though we don’t actually hit Autumn for almost two weeks. Last Friday, I did a nice warm Autumn Gold and Violet Eye look (trust – it works) and liked it enough that I wanted to share.

What I used (feel free to adapt based on what you already have!):

  • Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (BONUS: Nyx Milk)
  • Virgin, Naked, Buck, and Half Baked eyeshadows from Urban Decay’s Naked palette:
    naked
  • Violetta, Fine Wine, and Violet Echo eyeshadows from the Coastal Scents 252 Palette:cs252
  • Desired black liner of choice – on Friday I used Stila Stay all Day, for this, I used a L’Oreal gel
  • Lash Curler
  • bareMinerals Flawless Definition mascara or whatever makes you happy
  • Flat Shader Brush (or two, if you like)
  • Crease blending brush – something with a fluffy dome to place and blend color in your crease (or two, if you like)
  • Precision blending brush – doesn’t have to be special, just something to help blur any harsh lines

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Stila Hydrating Finishing Powder

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Today, in Things That Make Sense…


Stila Hydrating Finishing Powder

I was browsing the beauty section of Amazon the other day and came across this finishing powder. While I am currently happy with my current one, I was skeptical but intrigued and clicked through to the product. After all, how can a powder hydrate? After all, Google says:

pow·der

noun
1. fine dry particles produced by the grinding, crushing, or disintegration of a solid substance.
verb
2. reduce (a substance) to a powder by drying or crushing it.

Common theme? Dry.

I use a finishing/setting powder to absorb the extra oil that my T-zone produces and hold my foundation in place. (If I didn’t have that to contend with, I honestly wouldn’t bother. And since I do not wear foundation every day, I do not use powder every day.) Why? Powders are drying – that’s the whole point.

I did some poking around and found that they offer only one shade of this product. It is not translucent (it is pigmented!) but Stila says the Hydrating Finishing Powder is universal. Reviewers disagree – I found several that said it was too warm, specifically, too orange. I am not a particularly pale person (even when I am pale for me) and that looks like it would be too dark/too orange for me to enjoy.

The Stila Hydrating Finishing Powder page suggests that it can be used as an eyeshadow base and that it is a, “great option for individuals with oily eyelids.” As someone with reasonably oily eyelids, I can’t say I buy that line. If I want more than a couple hours out of much of anything, I need a primer – which this is not. Furthermore, if it is indeed as hydrating as they would have you think it would not make the best eye base for oily-lidded folks. If you have dry lids? Sure, it might help. But I wouldn’t bank on it, and I would still recommend a primer.

Stila says it helps to protect the skin – but it isn’t boasting SPF. Naturally, my reaction was, “How?!” To my delight, there’s some actual science here – the third ingredient, which is ectoin (ectoine?), is a compound present in certain bacteria. Don’t freak out – used in skin and sun care, it helps protect from UV rays. It apparently also helps with dryness somehow, but I’m not sure how – the mechanism is unclear. It is advertised to release this stuff via time-release, but I think that might require me to suspend my disbelief a bit more than I’m willing to.

In all, coming in at $32, I will pass on the Stila Hydrating Finishing Powder. In general, I prefer translucent powders but I especially do not like a one-size-does-not-actually-fit-all medium orange-y hue. Bottom line is that if your skin needs a moisture boost, you should look at your skincare routine and hydration habits – not a powder that perches precariously atop all the other goop we slap on our faces. If you’re looking for a decent finishing/setting powder, I recommend Rimmel Stay Matte. The line carries a translucent and several pigmented shades and is available for $3-5.

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