I have been lusting after a matte eyeshadow palette for some time now. I was having a little mosey through the Beautybay website, when I stumbled across the Stila - In the Know Palette,which contains all matte colours. Bingo! So off I went and added it to my cart, and a few days later it was on my doorstep crying out to be loved.
Claims:
"Stila's original matte shades are back in this beautiful collection of eye shadows in universally flattering shades. The In the Know eye shadow palette contains 10 matte shades of Stila's award-winning eye shadows that flatter every skin tone and can be worn wet or dry. The palette also includes an exclusive Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Halfmoon, a matte charcoal grey shade, plus an eight-page look book with detailed application tips and tricks. "
Ingredients:
Mica, Triethylhexanoin, Zinc Stearate, Nylon 12, Dimethicone, Polyehtylene, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Boron Nitride, Ptfe, Silica, Lauroyl Lysine, Tocopheryl Acetate, May Contain [+/- ] Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Carmine (Ci 75470), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Ferric Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163) May Contain Carmine As Colour Additive
Shades:
Air - matte beige
Driftwood - mid tone brown
Fire - matte brick
Desert - soft matte ran w/warm undertones
Rain - matte brown
Clay - matte warm light brown
Smoke - matte charcoal grey
Earth - deep matte chocolate brown
Ebony - matte black
Smudge Stick in Halfmoon: matte charcoal
Swatches:
L-R Top Row: Air, Wind, Desert, Clay, Earth
L-R Bottow Row: Driftwood, Fire, Rain, Smoke, Ebony
Smudge Stick in Halfmoon
Top Row L-R: Air, Wind, Desert, Clay, Earth, Smudge Stick in Halfmoon
L-R Bottow Row: Driftwood, Fire, Rain, Smoke, Ebony, Smudge Stick in Halfmoon
So here's the run down:
Price: I bought mine on BeautyBay for $39.80 with free shipping to Australia
Weight: 10 eyeshadows = 14 g total, plus 0.28g for eyeliner
Packaging: Simple light bluey/green cardboard palette with mirror on reverse side of lid and magnetic closing
Consistency: Creamy and soft eyeshadows, although overall I thought the darker shades appear to be more pigmented than the lighter shades. The Smudge stick is creamy and smooth and easy to smudge before setting to be smudge proof.
Fragrance: No noticable fragrance
Application: With a simple eye contour brush or flat eyeshadow brush, although it has been mentioned that these eye shadows can be used with a wet brush as well.
Longevity: With my oily eyelids, I needed an eye primer or cream eyeshadow base to get a long lasting look. The smudge stick is great and offers a long lasting finish.
Colour Range: A very wearable colour range that will look good on most skin tones and eye colours.
Finish: A matte finish
Overall impressions: Overall I was a little disappointed. I expected the eye shadows to be a lot more pigmented than they were and although they were creamy and smooth, the pigment is lacking for me. There are some great colours and the darker shades show up lovely, but the ligher shades are lost on my pale skin and I found it difficult to build up intensity. Perhaps using a wet brush is the way to go to build up intensity, however I am worried about ruining the eye shadows completely if I do this and also I expect to be able to get decent intensity from an eye shadow without having to resort to adding water. On the other hand, the Smudge stick in halfmoon was a pleasure to use and I would definitely recommend this product in this shade as well as the others that Stila offers. Therefore, I would recommend this palette if you are wanting to create ultra natural looks or are looking for eye shadows that are easy to blend, but don't offer too much pigment.
Ellen Rozalia xx
*Disclaimer: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own
