Review | Stila Eyes are the Window Shadow Palette in Spirit

I am a firm believer in rewarding yourself for good grades during midterms and finals. Each semester, I tell myself I can remove items from the Sephora wishlist I've been accumulating if I'm doing well and earning A's. This semester has been the most difficult and stressful so far, so I felt I was allowed to indulge an extra bit and rewarded myself with the Stila Eyes are the Window Shadow Palette in Spirit.

Now that you've taken a moment to appreciate her beauty, I'll give you the details on this little number.
The palette is part of Stila's 20th anniversary collection and comes in this gorgeous rose gold packaging (you're lying if you aren't obsessed with rose gold). The inside houses a large mirror and 12 eyeshadows. There are two matte shades - Puppy and Chinois.

From left to right: Kitten, Puppy, Pigalle, Oasis, Jezebel, Barefoot, Wheat, Golightly, Espresso, Chinois, Slate, Pewter

Overall, the shadows vary in pigmentation (I personally always use an eyeshadow base or primer, therefore have not tried the shadows on their own), but I have yet to experience any fallout. To deepen any shadows that don't have much pigmentation (a fourth of the palette, tbh), use a wet brush. The shadows are blendable, however I wouldn't justify their $49 price tag. For a palette that costs $5 less than the Urban Decay Naked range with the same amount of shadows, I am expecting major color payoff. However, the palette is still quite good and encompasses your bronzes, nudes, darker browns and adds a cranberry and a couple shades in the blue family.

Kitten - Stila's most popular shadow that I had my eye on for a couple years and it was worth the wait. It is a beautiful pink champagne with the most flattering specks of shimmer and it works so perfectly as an inner corner highlight.

Puppy - A matte light brown and one of the least pigmented in the palette, although it still provides a lovely contour in the crease.

Pigalle - The most beautiful shade of cranberry I've ever seen and also the most pigmented in the palette. It's really so rich, but not in a scary way and the gold shimmer gives it a nice edge over other cranberry shadows. I'll be honest and 40% of the reason I bought the palette was becasue of this shade so....

Oasis - A peachy nude with gold shimmer. Wonderful as a highlight or wash all over the lid, though not too pigmented.

Jezebel - Reminds me of Trick from Urban Decay's Naked 3 but more peach and rose gold and less coppery. Each is gorgeous and I need both in my life.

Barefoot - This is a surprising shade as it is a sort of reddish brown. Very subtley red, but that's what makes it so interesting. It does however look more red when swatched on my arm than it transfers on my eyelid, which is disappointing.

Wheat - Similar to Oasis but more nudey brown than peach. It doesn't really stand out to me and is one of my least favorite in the palette.

Golightly - Perfect metallic gold shade with a hint of green to make it darker than your average gold. One of my faves for the name and color payoff. Such a beauty on its own.

Espresso - A dark brown that's almost black and not a shade I think I'll be reaching for too often, but would work nicely as an alternative to black liner.

Chinois - the lightest shade and for my skin tone, the least pigmented. I can't really see myself wearing this so bit of a waste really.

Pewter - Almost navy blue, this won't get too much use from me but I like the idea of using it as an eyeliner for its unique color. It is really nicely pigmented and it looks quite grey, rather than truly blue, so you won't have that awkward 90s blue eyeshadow problem.

Slate - I love the purple/grey tinge of this shade, taupe as its properly identified, because it is a nice neutral that still has color. I paired it with my Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eyeshadow in Alloy to add depth to the cream base and was astounded by how well they worked together.

So there's my breakdown of this palette! It has some really standout shades and I like about half of them, am indifferent about a third of them and really don't see the point in a fourth of them. It took a lot of researching before I could justify taking the plunge, but I didn't find many reviews that broke down the pigmentation quality of the shadows, so I hope I have helped someone thinking about making this purchase. I definitely don't think this compares to other palettes - high-end or drugstore - so maybe skip this one. Let me know if you're interested in the palette or if you have it, what are your thoughts? Leave links to your blogs and YouTube channels below! Have a beautiful day!

Cheers,

- S