Stila Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette in Soul - review and swatches

Before Mecca Maxima came to be, Stila was a brand that was hard to get in Australia. Besides the Lip and Cheek palette I have reviewed previously, this eyeshadow palette is the only other item I have purchased to date. Stila has four of the Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette - I opted for one of the more neutral. I went ahead with Soul as it featured one of the most iconic shades from Stila - Kitten, and the shadows appealed the most to me. The palette features 12 shadows made up of a combination of matte and frost finishes. 

(L to R: Light, Individual, Being, Kitten)

Light is a matte, light yellow beige. It has okay pigmentation. It is a matte, but it isn't chalky which is great. It is blendable and I usually use is to set my cream base before adding any other shadows on the lid. I'm glad a shadow like this has been included in this palette.

Individual is a warm orange brown. This is a great crease shade and really warms up any eye look. I reach for this shadow a lot. 

Being is a matte dark brown. This works well at deepening up the crease. 

Kitten is a signature Stila shadow. It is a super pigmented champagne. It has a frosty, almost metallic like finish and looks absolutely gorgeous in the inner corner and allover the lid. 

(L to R: Affection, Character, Thought, Heart)

Affection is a medium brown with an orange undertone to it. It doesn't swatch overly pigmented (like Kitten does), but applied on a primer and with a bit of Fix+ and the pigmentation is a lot better. This has a frost finish as well. 

Character is a dark brown matte with coppery sparkly. This shadow does not swatch all too well and is hardly pigmented, and it is the most disappointing shadow out of the palette. 

Thought is a bronze and has a frost finish. The pigmentation of this one is similar to Affection. 

Heart is a cool-toned matte brown. This shadow works well in the crease when shadows of a cool undertone are used. A great staple shadow to have in any collection.

(L to R: Peace, Vitality, Substance, Essence)

Peace looks very similar to Thought when swatched. This shadow doesn't swatch as well as some of the other frost finishes, but if applied with a bit of Fix+ the shadow works well. Compared to Thought, this shadow is more warm-toned, as it is more coppery in tone. 

Vitality has the same texture and pigmentation as Kitten. This is a nice gold and a great allover lid colour. One of my favourites from this palette. 

Substance is a pigmented silver taupe. To be honest, I haven't used this shadow all too much (and I've had this palette for about six months), but the pigmentation is great as you can see from the above swatch. This shadow would be a great staple in the cooler months, but whenever Autumn and Winter come a long I love to whip out my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. 

Essence is a matte black. I think a light matte (like Light) and a black matte, like this shadow, are essential in any palette and to creating an eye look. The pigmentation on this matte shadow is great, and it isn't chalky at all. 

These palettes retail for $72 from Mecca. This type of palette is something I would take travelling - it has a bit of everything to make a complete eye look. There are warm toned and cool toned shadows that can create a variety of looks. Kitten is a stand out shade to me and since purchasing this palette I have made a significant dent in Kitten. I am intrigued in purchasing Mind, which is an all matte palette, and Body, which features beautiful jewel-toned shadows. Even Spirit appeals to me, it is another more neutral palette and contains the 12 most iconic Stila eyeshadows (yes, Kitten is also included in this palette).

For anyone interested, I would recommend comparing the 4 palettes and deciding on the one that best suits your needs. For the price, you are getting 12 shadows which makes each shadow under $7 each, which is a steal. I hope to try out more Stila products.

Thanks for reading,
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