November 1, 2010

Stila Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette Review, Swatches, Photos

Ok, so who hauled the Stila Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palette? Damn, isn’t it massive? This thing is bigger than my head yo! I love it! Stila definitely goes the traditional route with palettes and they don’t really veer from the well walked path, not that that’s a bad thing mind you but it does become comfortable for the makeup junkies among us and hey who wants comfortable? We want different, we want unique, we want new and exciting and fresh!

The Stila Color Wheel Eye Shadow Palettes brings it. This is truly like nothing Stila has released in the past. Mind you they have been hitting the idea hard because they have another color wheel palette in similar colors plus a natural one that was released recently however this one is the biggest and baddest of the three.

I absolutely love it.

Check it!

A palette made up of 37 eyeshadows in a color wheel layout that makes combining, contrasting, and applying eye looks a snap!

The palette is designed in a flower burst color wheel design with two dual end applicators. It’s a hard plastic shell that’s about three times the size of a CD.

The palette houses 37 shades of eyeshadow so this is a hell of alot of eyeshadow for $38 dollars. You’re looking at shadow that sets you back a buck per a shade or so. Even though the shadows are small in size that’s still alot of variety and shades for the price.

The palette contains an easy follow instruction book for creating 12 different looks. I like the book for two reasons. 1. It contains an image of the eye and 2. it contains an image of the overall look. So basically they include an image of the model’s face so you can get a feel for how it will look on plus a close up of the eye so you can see the detail. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the instructions are super easy to follow.

Advanced makeup users will easily rock the palette as it’s a matter of highlight and contrasting shades and a follow up with a fourth shade, the middle black matte, for lining. Really easy.

Newbies or clumsy makeup users will also find it very easy to use as well. Simply highlight your eye with the lightest shade, use the darker in your crease, and blend the lighter on your lid. You can’t mess this up. Some steps in the book use a different technique for application but nothing advanced or difficult. It’s all very easy to understand and follow.

Of course, no one says you have to follow the rules. Mix and match the colors as you see fit. You can use them in any variety of looks by combining several or using one. It’s entirely up to you and your imagination. The instruction manual for looks is just a really nice way to get ideas.

The shadows are not the typical Stila eyeshadow formula nor are they anything like the Stila Travel Book Palettes. They are however something completely different and very nice. Where as Stila’s normal range of shadow runs towards being very creamy feeling and velvety these have a thinner, silkier texture. They are most surely powder and do not have that velvety cream powder feel that Stila Eyeshadows normally sport. They aren’t lacking in pigmentation and have very nice color pay off. The formula does not vary either, the entire palette sports the same silky texture so you aren’t left with half a palette of nice shadows and half of chalky, it’s all the same nice formula.

It isn’t all good and the palette isn’t without a few quirks….

It’s very pretty and very cumbersome sadly. I like the look of it and the idea but sadly it’s bulky and makes application a tiny bit irritating. I’m constantly scared it’s going to fall off my vanity as I apply, I can’t hold it up and apply at the same time since it’s so large, and it’s just overly super sized and hard to have around during application. It’s super thin but it still proves a challenge to store it anywhere.

The flower burst design is pretty but the colors range from bigger blooms to smaller. The bigger are fab however the smaller are smaller than a penny and it makes it a pain to get a brush or sponge applicator into such a tiny spot.

The manual has some great looks however some seem unrealistic and they are considerably more vibrant than final results that you do for yourself. No amount of layering of the product gets such a look in my opinion.

The manual suggest wet application in some looks and I didn’t really love this idea since the shadow wells are tiny and you can’t draw a line down using one side wet and one dry. I don’t relish the idea of wetting an entire powder shadow and hoping it’ll dry well.

The applicators included are virtually useless. These aren’t a sponge but a thin brush. No way can you apply any of the colors with this aside from perhaps lining your eyes if you’re lucky.

Anyone wanting a huge selection of eyeshadow to create a number of looks!
Anyone wanting more for less (at a dollar per a shadow this is a deal).
Anyone who likes eyeshadow palettes!

Anyone who with little to no storage space (this takes up a fair bit of space).
Clumsy makeup users who tend to drop things alot (beware, this is bulky, and you MAY drop it and cry! I know it’s a real fear for me).

Overall, the palette has it’s quirks but I love it none the less and it does indeed get a healthy Muse Approved for purchase. The color selection ranges from cool to warm so you can get any number of looks from the palette such as gold, brown, coppery, purple, green, and many other looks! The palette definitely offers a wide range of looks and is ideal for those who love to play with color. And if you don’t? Well it’s a great way to experiment!

P.S. Feel free to yell at me. I did not swatch the entire palette. The smaller shadow wells are a pain in the butt to get my applicator in and I just simply ran out of energy to do the entire palette. Forgive me? I did a few of the larger shades though!

Loves it!

Well worth a purchase!