Review & Swatches: Stila In the Moment Eyeshadow Palette

I promise this will be my last eyeshadow palette purchase in a while! I was feeling a bit more adventurous, probably due to all the bright summer colors, and decided that my collection could use a versatile purple palette - hence, say hello to my new Stila In the Moment Eyeshadow Palette ($39 for 0.49 oz/14 g, available at Apothica.com)!

When I first opened the little cardboard box/sleeve it came in, I was absolutely delighted with the packaging: it's a slim cardboard palette in a satiny deep lilac color, which makes it super easy to find in the stack of eye palettes in my vanity drawer. Inside, there is a Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Tetra, a glittery deep purple, and 10 eyeshadow in a variety of finishes:
Instinct, a pearly off-white;
Impulse, a very light shimmery lilac;
Glance, a satiny bright blurple (blue purple);
Improvise, a satiny dark plum;
Cataclyst, a matte black with magenta microglitter;
Desire, a matte pink ivory;
Wonder, a shimmery warm champagne;
Spontaneous, a metallic cool gold;
Whim, a shimmery coppery bronze;
Captivate, a satiny dark taupe brown.

I've tried to capture the palette in both natural daylight as well as in artificial 'studio' lighting so that you get a better idea of how beautiful these shades are - I hope that helps!

Top and the photo above: daylight, bottom and the rest of the photos in this post: artificial lighting

The cardboard sleeve also comes with a shade diagram on the back, and there's also another shade layout diagram on the back of the palette itself. In the box, I've also found a little booklet with a variety of eye look suggestions - quite handy if you don't feel that creative yourself.

 All of the shades feel very soft and smooth to the touch, but have varying levels of pigmentation; as per usual, the metallic/shimmery shades are the most pigmented, while more satiny and matte shades, like Glance or Desire, are a bit more sheer (with the exception of matte Cataclyst, which is nice and dark). The eyeshadows blend like a dream over the eye and have very little to no fallout. They also stay put throughout the day over an eye primer with minimal fading or creasing. I have to say that so far, I'm really impressed with Stila's eyeshadows!

The Smudge Stick in Tetra is a nice enough shade but to be honest, I could also do without it - it's neither very pigmented or very smooth to apply, and as for longevity, I usually don't have problems with my eyeliner smudging, so I can't really comment on whether it withstands a lot. I do however like the microglitters in the shade, it makes it a bit more interesting without being too adolescent.

Here's a look I did using the darker end of the palette, just to give you a bit of a change from all the subtle looks I usually go for. I used Captivate all over the lid and blended it up in the crease, and then I added some Cataclyst at the lashline and blended it upwards and outwards into Captivate. I also smudged some Improvise under the lower lashline, but you can't really see that in the photo. I finished off with Desire in the inner corner and under the brow and a creamy black eyeliner smudged into the lashes. I got a lot of compliments at work on this more dramatic but still daytime appropriate smokey eye!

I'm very pleased with my new Stila palette but I've also started to realize that I might have way too many palettes that I can reasonably use on a day to day basis; I have a couple of gorgeous palettes that I regrettably haven't reached for in at least couple months. So, In the Moment is my last palette purchase for this year, I think, and I can't wait to put it to a good use!

Have you tried Stila eyeshadows before? What is your current favorite eyeshadow palette?