Stila 'In the Light' Palette Review

It occurred to me while looking through my makeup that I've had this palette for a while now and haven't reviewed it. I did mention it in my post all about the palettes you need in your life (click here) but didn't elaborate on it much... so here you go! And once again, my swatches suck (especially in the first picture). One of these days I'll talk my husband into taking the pictures for me! 

What is it: a palette of 10 neutral shades, plus a Stila 'smudge stick' (not photographed)

Price: $39

**Also, let me note, that the reason I bought this palette in the first place was because it had the shadow 'kitten' which is a super popular, award-winning, best-selling shadow.. its gorgeous and has quite the cult following. The shadow itself retails at $18, so the fact that there are 9 other shades along with it make it a great value. 

1. Bare - a matte ivory shade, and as you can see, it doesn't show up on my skin tone at all. I'm sure if you're darker than me it would work fine with you.. but I pretty much skip this shade unless I want a matte base that doesn't show up.

2. Kitten - I pretty much said it all in my comment above, but its gorgeous shimmery pink/champagne color that works great for highlighting. (People even use it to highlight their cheek bones)

3. Bliss - a matte beige-y pink. Great for crease or transition color.

4. Sunset - I love this shimmery bronze/copper color. Looks great with Bliss, to the left.

5. Sandstone - one of the least pigmented shades in the palette, it seems like a really deep, creamy chocolate brown but it doesn't have that great of a color payoff. A tad bit powdery.

6. Bubbly - My favorite shade, second to Kitten. Its a really pretty shimmery gold with a hint of copper. As you can see, it goes great with the color next to it, and looks so pretty all over the lid, without being too red.

7. Guilded Gold - I don't find this to be gold at all, like the name states. I think its more of a sienna color with a tad bit of shimmer, which honestly doesn't come across that well on the skin.

8. Luster - This is a really pretty deep gray with a bit of shimmer. I would consider it to be the "big brother" of the color to its right. Just a deeper shade and they complement each other really well.

9. Night Sky - I didn't expect to love this color but I really do.. Its a grayish blue with lots of pretty shimmery pearly flecks. 

10. Ebony - a true matte black, very pigmented. 

Overall I really like this palette. The shades are very similar to some of the shadows in the Lorac Pro Palette but that doesn't mean I think you should skip this one. I love this because its all basic neutrals that work well together. They each have a shade that they correspond well with and can be combined with, so there are tons of looks all within one palette. I also love, you guessed it, that there is a good selection of mattes, all which complement a shimmer shade. Perfect for lid/crease combinations. 

I like the size of the palette because the shadows are HUGE so you get tons of products. I also like that the mirror is big. This is a great palette, and rather affordable compared to other palettes (think, $52 Naked palettes) and you get a lot of bang for your buck. It also comes with a Stila 'smudge stick' in Damsel, which is a dark matte brown liner. I'm not in love with the eye liner because the color is sort of red-toned which I, personally, don't like. But the fact that it comes with a liner, along with 10 great shades that retail around $18, means you really got a good value for $39. So if you're looking for an affordable palette with lots of neutral shadows.. this is the one for you! Its a lot of fun to play around with and try new looks with. So try it out!