Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Crossing Off That Wishlist: Stila Eye Shadow Compact in Diamond Lil

You know those little useless eyeshadow sample cards you sometimes receive with a Sephora order? I received a Stila one a looong time ago, and just before tossing it straight in the trash, I opened it, swatched one shade and immediately fell in love. That was maybe three years ago, and the eyeshadow in question was Stila Eye Shadow Pan in Compact in Diamond Lil ($18 for 0.09 oz), described as a 'shimmering metallic platinum'.
Fast forward to today and I finally crossed it off my neverending beauty wishlist. I was very much opposed to the idea of paying $18 for an eyeshadow single and always pushed Diamond Lil to the very bottom of my list, but when the opportunity arose to snag it at the Stila IMATS booth for $5, I went for it. And I'm really glad I did - not only because of the cool design of the minimalist, refillable (and depottable!) compacts.
My previous Stila eyeshadow experience came in the shape of their now discontinued E! Live from the Red Carpet set (love) and the In The Moment eyeshadow palette (mixed feels). I do think Stila makes some fabulous but underrated pearl and metallic shadows, a few solid mattes and a slew of dry, sheer satins with microglitter. But buttery soft and pigmented neutrals like Kitten and Diamond Lil? I'm all for that. I'm guessing their issue is how inconsistent those eyeshadow palettes can be, especially the 'special value' limited edition ones released around the Holidays; the subpar quality of shadows in such sets probably hurts their brand more than helps to popularize it.
But, back to Diamond Lil: it's one of those mid-tone, somewhat murky gunmetal greys with a fair bit of khaki green. I knew it'd be quite similar to my drying-out pot of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans, but Diamond Lil is a touch lighter and flashes more green than grey. Both are significantly less metallic than Inglot Pearl eyeshadow no. 153 and the taupe side of L'Oreal HiP Electrified Duo; I actually prefer the less reflective finish for everyday. Fyrinnae Feisty Fennec Fox swatches more golden olive than the Stila's shadow.
L-R: Stila Diamond Lil, Benefit Creaseless Cream in Skinny Jeans, Inglot no. 153, MAC Vex, L'Oreal HiP duo in Electrified, Fyrinnae Feisty Fennec Fox.
I was a bit surprised about the green pull of Diamond Lil but decided to play it up with some other atypical green-leaning shades from my collection. For this look, I used MAC eyeshadow in Vex all over the lid, Stila's Diamond Lil in the outer corner and blended into the crease, and Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic Electric Stardust mint glitter in the inner corner and layered over Diamond Lil along the lower lashline. I also thinly lined my upper lashline with Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Mildew, a dark hunter green. My base is an equal opportunity mix of Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in Porcelain and YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat in B20, and I have Stila Convertible Color in Lillium on my cheeks and Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait on the lips. I'm also trying out Benefit They're Real! mascara for the first time.

Do you like buying eyeshadow singles or are you a palette junkie? Have you ever tried any of the Stila Eye Shadow Compacts?

16 comments:

  1. Diamond Lil is lovely on you!
    I'm very fond of stila eyeshadows and have many of them, some in custom or seasonal LE palettes as well as in singles. They all are very easy to blend (maybe too soft for some) and have beautiful texture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Monika, hurrah for crossing this off your wish list! It looks great on you! Also that mascara??? Amazing! It looks like you're wearing falsies!

    Nowadays I definitely buy more singles than palettes. I have Naked and Naked 2, which feels like enough big palettes for a lifetime. If I see exquisite singles, I am more tempted to grab them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did you know, I once went through about half a pan of this before I dropped it and it exploded into dust? LOL. I was a huge fan! Of this and Kitten. They were my everyday shadows for years, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, half a pan of an eyeshadow this size is a huge achievement! Such a bummer it broke :/ But maybe it was time to experiment with new things...? :)

      Delete
  4. Love this shade! I like Stila shadows too. As I'm getting older, I'm preferring singles to be honest now. Most of my palettes stay untouched.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Definitely one of my favourite shades :) Unfortunately, due to how soft and buttery they are and how prone I am to dropping things, mine shattered, but I still do have my beloved Golightly, Kitten and Wheat which I adore :)

    x
    Phoebe | Eat. Live. Love. Repeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of love for Kitten and Wheat among you guys! I've never swatched Wheat, I'll have to take a look next time I'm at Sephora. I've heard that these have a tendency to break very easily, I'll have to be super careful with mine then :)

      Delete
  6. That's one pretty grey and Benefit's mascara looks amazing on your lashes, it's one of my favorites. I have a few palettes and they sure are pretty but there are shades I don't use so they're a bit of a waste. I'm really more attracted by singles these days since I figure I got a good base of neutrals.

    ReplyDelete
  7. zomg love this shade and wouldn't have thought to lay my eyes on it. and i was going to say it looked Mac Vex-like but you beat me to the punch. feel like i should dig out more of my greys more often. but they always feels so dark and then i get scared and non-commital.
    huzzah for getting something off your wish list though!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was a Stila junkie (I still keep all my vintage Stila collections) and Diamond 'Lil is a legend on its own, along with Kitten and Wheat. Your look is flawless, love the pairings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahah, I had no idea Diamond Lil' was such a classic cult eyeshadow! I have Kitten too and really like it, although it never stood out to me as a super unique shade. Thank you Claire!

      Delete
  9. Lovely shade! I have Kitten and love it! But my most favorite eye make-up from Stila is their smudge sticks-I have the shimmery brown and khaki ones, and have repurchased both shades.

    "They're Real" is a great mascara-i have bought it a cpl. of times. Recently got a deluxe sized sample from Sephora and really loved it for traveling. Perfect for bright eyed look, with kitten (especially when you have to wake up really early!!) Skinny Jeans is lovely on me as a liner, but i look really tired when I use it as a shadow (that's the story with me and most eye shadows).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have Kitten in a palette somewhere and it's great! I've tried a mini of their Smudge Sticks a couple times, but wasn't absolutely in love - maybe I should dig it out again! I quite like how They're Real looks on my lashes but so far, it doesn't last - I think that humidity and the fact that the tips of my lashes now touch my browbone makes it transfer within a couple hours. I don't think I've used Skinny Jeans as a liner in a long time - you have the best ideas, thank you!!!

      Delete
  10. I CAN'T EVEN WITH YOU, MONIKA. I don't even like greens, but you make this one look SO good -- if a computer could take my money and instantly give me an eyeshadow in exchange, I would be shoving my entire wallet at my laptop right now.

    This look is flawless and I want you to know that I'm bookmarking the hell out of rocaille-writes right now. :<

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Rae! I don't like greens either, but I can do the weird gunmetal/green things - and that Fyrinnae mint glitter :) Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it! Much love <3

      Delete
  11. That shadow is simply beautiful! I agree $18 for a single shadow does hurt but you can justify it with Stila because they are such good quality. I have Kitten and love it!
    Great post!
    Meghan
    www.todaysbeautyobsession.com

    ReplyDelete