Stila Living the Life in Laguna Review, Swatches, Photos

Ahhh…

And now it’s time to say good-bye…!

To the Stila Beach Girl Palettes.

Sniff…!

It’s been a nice ride this Summer and I really enjoyed spending it with the Stila Beach Girls but I guess this closes the door until Stila releases the next round of palettes. I guess we don’t have to wait too long as the release of the Find Your Magic Palette for Holiday 2011 might be a prelude of what’s to come!

Let’s take a look at the Stila Living the Life in Laguna!

Jump!

A palette featuring four shadows and two shades of blush for the Summer!

This has to be my favorite palette from the Beach Girl Collection all due to a single shade, Sunset. It’s love. I think I actually need a back up just because the shade is so stunning and unique to my personal collection. This color is a pink bronze-y copper that’s gorgeous.

However, Stila kinda ruined it for me during application as there suggestions for “getting the look” are really off base thus my own look came out looking all kinds of crummy. My suggestion? Skip their step by step instructions and use your imagination for creating a look with this palette!

The palette comes with four shades of shadow, one blush, and a highlighter. Without a doubt Living the Life in Laguna is visually very pleasing but the shades don’t always work great together in some cases but I’ll get into details about that in a bit.

Eyeshadows:

• Sand Dollar (Peachy Pink)
• Sunset (Pink, Bronze-y Copper)
• Cove (Dirty Mauve)
• Bonfire (Chocolate Brown)

Blush/Highlighter:

• Seashell (Soft Lilac Pink)
• Pacific Coast Highway (Light Peach)

I disliked both the Blush/Highlighter in this palette due to the chalky, less than pigmented formula however the shades are of excellent quality with great color pay off, a smooth, velvety feel, and an easy to blend (not necessarily together though) formula.

In terms of quality, Living the Life in Laguna left out very little particularly in the eyeshadow area however the blush were a bit lacking but I will say that these might prove useful for those who are extra fair as you may find they show up better on your skin however the chalky formula, well, it’s not exactly my cuppa.

I thought all the shades were put together very well where as I did experience some minor head scratching with other Beach Girl Palettes this just felt well thought out however the addition of Cove did confuse me some but left out of the equation you have a fine selection of shades that just work well together.

Stila’s suggestion for use is Sand Dollar as an all over color wash, Sunset from lid to crease, Cove on the lash line and blended upwards, and Bonfire on the upper lash line.

Of course, I like following the rules of the game when I’m reviewing as 1. I want to recreate the look for my review if possible and 2. I’d generally like to see what comes out of the look they suggest.

I’d avoid using their suggestions…

Sand Dollar all over your lid and crease is just a bad idea in my opinion unless you’re heading it for super dramatic showgirl makeup. No one wants that much pink on the highbrow in my opinion. Secondly the suggestion for cove on the lash line blended up…I dunno where that comes in either. Sunset is all over the lid already why you want to add Cove to that brilliant shade of coppery pink is beyond me plus it does nothing but muddy the look. My suggestion, get creative, because Stila’s instructions, in my opinion, are goofy. If you have the palette I’d love to hear your thoughts on their methods of use!

Secondly, as mentioned above I thought the highlighter/blush was terribly chalky with very little pigment.

Although, overall, they put together some fine shades here, they did goof up some with the introduction of Cove, I felt it was a bit mismatched and didn’t belong at all.

• Anyone seeking some warm, unique shades of color that can be used well into Fall for a budget price ($14 won’t break your back and these shades will work well into Fall thanks to their warmer).
• Those on a budget who want to experience Stila (the shadows here are of excellent quality and can give you a little taste of what the brand is about without breaking the bank).
• Collectors (need I say more?).

• Those who want to make full use of a palette (the blushes might get tossed aside here).

Stila Living the Life in Laguna has some quirks but she does remain my favorite of the Beach Girl Palettes due to the nicer more unique shade selection here. The palette is simply stunning and without the aid of Stila’s “How To” you can create a really killer look here.

Although it had issues I’m still Muse Approving this one for purchase because of the color selection, it was just something that really stood out for me.

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