In terms of palettes, Stila’s ‘In The Light’ does not get enough credit in my opinion. Neutral palettes are something I go wild for as I would rather invest in one that is wearable as opposed to one full of much brighter shades which I would only reach for occasionally. I have two of the Naked palettes and a few other less hyped up ones, yet this one from Stila is by far my most loved, and as a result, my Naked palettes have become almost obsolete.
I would invest in this palette purely for the shade kitten’ alone. Rather than buying an individual Stila shadow for around £12, this palette is £25 which is great value for ten great wearable shades and a waterproof eye liner. The pigmentation of these shadows is fantastic; I would even say that they overtake Urban Decay as there is very little fallout which is a common problem with those shadows. All these shades are really easy to pull off; ‘bare’ is a typical off-white highlight shade which is perfect under the brow bone and in the corner for a natural light effect. It is also a great all over lid shade, especially when paired with ‘bliss’ which is a perfect crease colour. ‘Kitten’ is by far the best highlight shade I have ever discovered, it is definitely not subtle but it has such a beautiful and brightening effect, as well as being a great cheek highlighter if you use it sparingly. ‘Sunset’ is probably my second favourite shade after kitten and I think it looks beautiful with blue eyes. It is a bronze/copper shade with shimmer, and looks great with ‘sandstone’ blended into the crease for a more intense, smoky result. ‘Bubbly’ is also beautiful and is very similar to ‘half baked’ from the Naked palettes- a gorgeous champagne gold with shimmer running through which is absolutely beautiful for summer especially.
The last few shades are ones I reach for least in the palette, although they are still great shades to have. ‘Gilded Gold’ is more of a brown gold tone, and ‘luster’ is darker still; both again look great with sandstone in the crease. ‘Night Sky’ is a bluish grey shimmery shade which makes a great smoky eye, although I do prefer a warmer, brown smoky eye as this suits me more. This goes really well with ‘ebony’ which is an all-round great trusty black shade with slight shimmer, which makes a great powder eyeliner as well as crease shade.
Last but not least is the smudge stick waterproof eye liner in ‘damsel’ which is a great way of drawing attention to your eyes without the fuss of using liquid liner which can take ages to master a perfect flick. It is so easy and quick to blend as the kohl is super soft which means you can be as messy as you like with it, and then just blend it out with a small brush or a cotton bud. The deep brown shade is also a lot softer and more natural than black, whilst still being smoky.
If you’re going to invest in a neutral palette this season, I would definitely go for this gorgeous and cheaper alternative as it is the only palette you will ever need.
