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
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
ReplyDeleteALittleKiran | Bloglovin