Bloom Review: Stila In The Know Palette

I almost shouted hooray when I opened my Bloom Ambassador box and saw this - a full sized Stila In The Know Palette :) The palette includes 10 colors of eye shadow and an eyeliner in a case with a mirror. 

These colors are right up my alley and I was very excited to try them all out :) I wanted to try several different looks to show what this palette can do.

Look #1 - 

This was the first look I created with the palette. I basically tried what I normally do but with these new colors. I liked the look ... until I saw this photo. The colors seriously accentuate my dark circles and even make my slight wrinkles under my eyes show up way more than normal. Paired with that lip color, I look really old. Yuck - I didn't even want to post these.

Here is a close up of the shadows. I used Air from lid to brow, then Driftwood on the lid, and added Clay as a highlight at the tear duct and around the lid. Please know that my lid is not normally so wrinkly - I was kind of squinting my eye shut. 

So, I had to go back to the drawing board.

Look #2 - 

I decided to play around with the palette when I was going to a local charity dinner :) I must say, I was so much more happy with this look than the first.

I think I look much younger right off the bat :) I wore my favorite 60s style dress (with a pouffy skirt and everything!) and I wanted to really make my eyes pop.

For this look, I followed one of the suggestions in the booklet that came with the palette. It's called Classic Siren. I used Air as a base all over the eye first. I started with Clay from lash to brow, Rain on the lid, and Earth in the crease. I topped it off with Air as a highlight under the brow and at the tear duct. Definitely much better than the first :)

Look #3 - 

I wanted to go a little out of my norm (and try a few products at once) for my last look. I was at home watching The Devil Wears Prada - seriously whenever that comes on I always want to primp in some way. So I went all out on a very dramatic look ... with a winged eye! I used my new Physician's Formula felt tip eyeliner for the first time and I am in love (but that's a whole different review). 

I've never done a winged eyeliner before! Anyway, the Stila palette was the perfect compliment to my bold eyeliner.

This look was another suggestion that came with the palette and it's called Exotic Stare. I used Clay from lash to brow and then used Ebony in the crease but fanned out a bit more than I normally would to create a slightly smokey eye. It looked good just like that, but the example photo seemed to have a bit of a shimmer so I put just a smidge of phlouf! from Mac over all of it to add to the shine. 

Next I followed this tutorial (I came across this on Pinterest) to do my eyeliner. Once the top was done I knew I had to add a harder liner on the bottom than I normally do, so I used the same liner in the bottom lash line but in a much thinner line. And of course, it wouldn't be complete without mascara and I used Voluminous False Lashes by L'Oréal in black (I've been wanting to try this stuff)

I finished off my look with my favorite shade of red lipstick (CoverGirl NatureLux in Peony) to amp up the old school glam factor. Still, there seemed to be something missing...

A more retro-ish hairstyle :) Too bad I had no where to go, lol. Notice the Planet Fitness t-shirt. Oh yeah, so chic. This was definitely my favorite look out of them all. It was fun to do and I felt very glamorous. It's a lot more makeup then I would wear to work, but for a night out it would be awesome!

I give this product 4 out of 5 stars! I love the versatility of this eye shadow palette. The colors are great for everyday wear but can also be easily amped up for a night out depending on your eyeliner and whatnot. The shadows apply nice and smooth and have great color depth especially when paired with a primer. The only reason this didn't get the 5th star is I'm actually not a big fan of the eyeliner that is included in the palette. I think I may be the only person in the world who doesn't like it, but I just don't love Stila's Smudge Sticks - I found it very difficult to apply because it wouldn't glide well and the self sharpening tip just made it hard to get a fine line. Even though I didn't like the liner, I loved the shadows so much that I would still consider buying this palette again!

Go here to learn more about this product and to get one for yourself!

*I received the Stila In The Know palette for free to facilitate my review, but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.