Sunday 19 June 2011

Stila Returns to the UK

I'm very pleased to say that have returned to the UK. I remember I would always admire their product in SpaceNK but this was in my erratic make-up wearing, mid-twenties. I lusted after their iconic lip glazes but never made a purchase. It's good news that I can make up for it now!

Stila

Stila6


It's been business as usual for Stila in other Countries, so they've continued to grow and develop during the hiatus. It's interesting to see what has changed and what has stayed the same. They still have all of their lovely eyeshadows, including the famous 'Kitten' but gone is the cardboard packaging. I'm happy to report that the lip glazes and Convertible Colours remain the same.

Stila+Sparkle+liner
Swatches of some of the Sparkle Waterproof eyeliners. That bright spot on my hand is Kitten eyeshadow!


Some of the things that really caught my eye at the launch were the glorious Sparkle Waterproof eyeliners, the All Over Shimmer Powder duo in Kitten and the rather interesting Custom Colour blushers. The Custom Colour blushers apparently react with your skin's pH to create a slightly different colour each time you use it. The shade that really appealed to me hasn't been released yet, it's a glorious pinky-apricot colour and I predict a riot when that comes out! The Smudge Sticks, that are essentially the smudge pots in stick form, looked interesting too. I like the shade Lionfish in particular.

Stila3

Stila1
One Step Bronzer is at the top of this image and the One Step Primer is in the middle.

There are some new base products including a One Step Primer and Perfect & Correct Foundation but what I'm particularly keen to explore are some of their older and more well know items. I've already mentioned the Lip Glazes (they smell amazing), also on my wishlist are the Convertible Colours in Gladiola and Gerbera and I was really taken with many of their brushes too.

Stila+eyeshadows


Stila is available from Boots.com and Escentual.com as well as a few other online stockists. I'm not actually sure if the range has made it in to Boots stores yet. If you've spotted it, let me know. Have you already made any Stila purchases since their return? What's on your wishlist?

11 comments:

  1. WOW I am shocked that Austraia had a brand available to us that the UK didn't! That has to be unheard of hehe. Can I ask, if you know, why did Stila leave the UK in the first place?

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  2. The first thing on my list is the Brown Sugar lipglaze, I haven't been able to find a dupe of this so am happy Stila is back!

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  3. It's unusual isn't it! It seems that some brands really do struggle in the UK. Stila left before because of financial reasons. I don't know the exact details but I think it the distributor for the UK had gone bust. Hopefully Boots will be a good fit for Stila.

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  4. The Smudge Sticks are a really long-lasting formula. I have oily lids and have no problem with these staying on. Most of the shades have some sort of sparkle in them that provides enough "grit" to stay on the eye. They're really worth checking out.

    Stila gets a bad rap in the U.S., I suppose for not being enough of an aspirational brand. It's a shame, because they really do offer long-lasting products, a great color selection, and a mix of fashion and basic products. I just think the company's financial problems the past few years have interfered with the brand's ability to position itself in the marketplace, as the top priority has necessarily been sales and not selling the dream.

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  5. I used to love Stila, back in the day when Liberty stocked it. I do think the brands image has changed a lot over the years but I am very pleased to have it back and will be picking some things up as I do have a soft spot for the brand. There is a space that was recently cleared in my local Boots so I keep going in hoping that a Stila section will appear.. x

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  6. It's true, Stila really is one of those cult brands rather than an all out favorite. I've heard a lot of negative things about them being lazy or more concerned with sales. The one step primer has been calling my name, as has the infamous kitten eyeshadow (which i've never tried.)

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  7. I still don't understand what happened to Stila. As a teenager it was most certainly an aspirational brand for me and was always being featured in magazines as a celebrity must have. When my dad worked abroad I used to send him off with shopping lists of Stila products! I used to think of Stila as in line with Nars and Laura Mercier because they were sold in Space NK at the same time, seems it didn't have the longevity of the other two though.

    There were a lot of products I really loved, convertible colour, Lip Glaze and their palettes used to be amazing. I hope their arrival in the UK marks a return to form x

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  8. I used to really love stila. I was intrigued by the glitter liners as well, so gorgeous and pigmented. This event looks so fun. I would love to be invited to those type of things :)

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  9. I am a fan of their convertible colours. It would be great if we can buy them off Boots!

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  10. @Emily: That’s good to know about the Smudge Sticks, my lids are prone to oiliness too. The brand perception is quite interesting. It’s position in the UK when it first arrived was very aspirational. I have a feeling that the prices aren’t as high this time round and going for shop like Boots will make them more accessible. Hopefully people will see that as a good thing.

    @Replica: I agree that the brand image has changed. As I mentioned to Emily above, I think the pricing structure seems to be different, though I could be wrong. I’m very happy to have them back though as I do have a little list of things to get…

    @Eden-Avalon: It’s interesting to hear about some of the flack that the brand has encountered. It’s not something we’ve come across I don’t think as it was always considered quite high end, or at least that was my feeling. I’m not really feeling the primer personally, it has quite a few colours in it and I really don’t know how that works without leaving a strange cast on the skin.

    @Lipstick Luvvie: I don’t really know what happened either. I do think it’s being pitched as more accessible. Maybe more Urban Decay than Laura Mercier, these days?

    @luv2smilexo: The glitter liners were super pigmented. In fact, the green one was hard to shift! I had a lot of fun learning about the products at the event. The cakes were pretty nice too :D

    @Get Gawjus: I like the convertible colours too. I really hope that they will stock them in Boots stores.

    Jane x

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  11. Hi

    I haven't seen the products at the Boots Beauty stores yet, only online.

    Do you happen to know when would that happen? Also I noticed that it would be launched at Selfridges and House of Fraser too, any idea when that might happen?

    Thank you

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