Monday, November 14, 2016

A SHEER GLOW RIVAL? | STILA ILLUMINATING FOUNDATION





Stila is a brand that I have such a lot of time for. I’m a bit of a magpie for their eyeshadow palettes, and I’ve also heard their liquid lipsticks are the stuff of dreams. Foundation on the other hand? Hmmm. I hate buying foundation off the internet with a fiery passion, but sometimes it’s gotta be done, and luckily I managed to guess my shade correctly when I purchased this little bottle of loveliness.

This foundation is called ‘Illuminating Foundation’, so as we’re heading into the deep, dark depths of winter, my complexion is going to need either Dr. Phil’s eternal wisdom or a really decent foundation. Stila’s products are quite hard to come by in the UK. They’re dotted around in ‘selected’ shops, but I’m not about to traipse around London on a miserable day to find it. No, I’d much rather sit in my onesie and make use of the greatest gift to mankind; the foundation matrix. (Seriously, if you haven’t used this before, I suggest you remove yourself from beneath that rock and use it.)

Stila says: “This silky, lightweight formula glides on effortlessly for sheer to medium coverage that hides flaws and imperfections so you're left with a luminous, air brushed look. A silky, semi-matte finish evens out natural skin tone to uncover your true beauty. Infused with Mica, tiny crystals found in nature, this skin illuminator reflects light, leaving you radiant and glowing. Perfect for sensitive or dry skin.” I could hardly resist! The description of this foundation SCREAMS NARS Sheer Glow, my absolute favourite foundation of all time. I love the idea of a lightweight, radiant foundation. To find a more affordable dupe would be perfect.

Now, the shades online look very very pale, and since we’re coming into winter, I chose the shade 20 watts, one shade deeper than the palest that they offer. ‘Watt’ has turned up (ha) is something much deeper than I expected when I clicked ‘checkout’. As you can see from the pictures, the foundation looks great on. I will just note that this was after about 3 or 4 squirts from the bottle and lots and lots of blending. The shade turned out quite warm and yellow-based, which is something I look for in a summer foundation rather than a winter one. The finished look is airbrushed, beautifully radiant and impossibly smooth, I love it, but that is after a WHOLE lot of blurring and blending and brushing it out to make it look that way.

Overall, I just think that I’m wasting a lot of the product by using it this way. It takes more pumps than any foundation I’ve ever used to get a pigmented, flawless finish. Maybe it’s my makeup brush absorbing the foundation? I’ll have to have a bit of an experiment with applying it. Aside from that, the bottle is beyond beautiful. I’m obsessed with the heavy weight and sheeny  black lid. There’s not too many swatches or reviews of this Stila foundation online, so hopefully I can help out there!

What is your favourite alternative to NARS’s Sheer Glow Foundation? Let me know!

Lots of love,
Jasmine x


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  1. L'Oreal Lumi Magique, such a good alternative, glowy and radiant without being greasy/shiny and suitable for all skin types. I used this religiously and interchangably with Sheer Glow at uni, one of my holy grails especially for the summer. Thanks for sharing, haven't tried much from Stila xxx

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