♥ Half Price Stila Steals

I know what you're thinking. It was only last week I posted my High End Foundation Wishlist which included three potential purchases for a more glowy, dewy base. Believe it or not, I almost mentioned the Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation but I couldn't find enough about the product to make a well informed decision as to whether or not it was something I was truly interested in. However, at the end of last week I came across a cosmetic store that had a whole lot of affordable products you can't find in most places - like the American versions of L'Oreal products, the rip off Naked palettes from W7 and a ton of affordable Royal brushes. In amongst all those, though, there was a Stila counter and pretty much everything in it was half price. I couldn't believe it and I would have picked up much more if there was more stock available, but I did manage to swatch a little and pick up this foundation and concealer.

The first product I picked up and knew I had to have was the Stila Perfecting Concealer. I collect concealers like they're going out of fashion and they are undoubtedly one of my favourite makeup products. I'm always after something with super high coverage to use under my eyes and this little tube is perfect for creative a nice blank canvas around the eyes and it really helps cover up my redness, too. I picked up the 'shade b' - it was the lightest they had on display - and even though the cardboard packaging is pretty damaged, I don't mind at all because this only cost me £5.99 instead of the £15 it retails for. The concealer is pretty light and super thick in consistency. That doesn't make it hard to blend though, which is definitely my favourite thing. Usually, with higher coverage concealers, they can be really awkward to blend and tug quite a bit around the delicate eye area, but this isn't the case at all with this gem. It's easy to blend away and I've used just my fingers, I've used mini buffing brushes and I've used my beauty blender and each method gives brilliant results and the concealer covers up my dark circles. I do find that because it's so thick it tends to crease quite a bit on me, but if I set it with powder it holds up ridiculously well. I love the tube and the lack of an applicator, as it means no bacteria whatsoever from my face is getting into the tube and for someone with problematic, acne prone skin, I'm really appreciating that. When I swatched the Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation in shade '40 watts', I was so happy to have found it. I'm going to start by mentioning the shade name. I love it! It's so quirky and different and well suited to the product. You might think it's a little gimmicky, but how cute is it for an illuminating product to be in watts? Ugh, I just think it's so clever and whoever came up with that needs a good old pat on the back. It is the exact product I had in mind when writing about dewy bases last week. The formula has quite an obvious shimmer in it, I feel, but when you put it on your face it isn't detectable - it just looks bright and luminous, like the name suggests. The coverage isn't full - or as full as I'd like it to be - but to fix that I mix in some Double Wear or a Rimmel one on a work day, just to cover up the majority of my acne and redness. It blends in and mixes with other foundations perfectly and it's just as illuminating when mixed with a matte finish. The glow lasts all day and it doesn't fade or transfer when set down with a powder. This cost me just £12.99 instead of the £25 it'll cost you if you bought it on Beauty Bay!

(left to right: Stila Perfecting Concealer in shade b, Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation in 40 watts)

I've really been blown away by these products and getting them half price was just the icing on the cake. I picked them up at Cosmetics Inc at Intu Merry Hill if you're from the midlands and know where that is! They had tons of Stila products, including brows, eyeshadows, bronzers, primers and the metal foil shadows for cheaper than the rrp, but not all were half price. Sadly, they didn't have the stay all day liner in black or the one step correct, and I really would have bought both of these things had they been in stock!

Em x

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