Stila Front Cover Lookbooks Palettes

In one of its cleverest repackaging of existing colors in the line, Stila has created the Front Cover Lookbooks. All the colors are classics in the permanent collection, the packaging is adorable and they each come with a full sized It gloss. The palettes are designed to look like magazine covers with Stila girls as the models.

Because I own most of the colors in these palettes, I am going to pass on buying any. However, if you are a Stila novice or just adding to your collection, these palettes are a good deal in that they are 45% cheaper as a set compared to buying the shadows, blush and gloss individually.

For all four palettes, the palest color should be used as a wash, with the medium color as contour in the crease, or from lash to crease, while the darkest color should be used wet as a liner. The darkest color can also be used dry to add drama and contour in the outer corner of the eye.

Lookbooks 1 and 3 are cool colors, while Lookbooks 2 and 4 are quite warm. As to which Lookbook is right for you, here is a review of the colors of in each:

Front Cover Lookbook 1 — This is a very classic cool to neutral Stila combination of colors. Heather is a pale pink shimmer, which looks beautiful with Grace (a light muted taupe shimmer and with Espresso (dark matte brown) as liner. Rose, the blush included, is a soft natural pale pink that works well with the full look. The It Gloss in Smashing is the closest this palette gets to disappointing, mainly because it is more of a clear-ish pink-ish gloss. While Smashing is billed as a bright shimmering pink it has really has no pigment.

Front Cover Lookbook 2 — This is a very warm and peachy golden palette. The only false note in it, in my opinion, is the inclusion of Lame as the wash eyeshadow. Lame is a gold pearl but has a distinctive greenish cast which I think clashes with Oasis, a true gold peach with no under undertones. Coin, as the eyeliner color, is a rich bronzey brown, but probably too light to use as a liner. The blush in Tint and the It Gloss in Enchanting as both lovely additions to the warm peach concept.

Front Cover Lookbook 3 — This is a cool palette, but not quite as cool as Lookbook 1. The colors are Shell (a shimmering soft rose), Puck (medium mauvey brown) and Dahlia (matte deep blueish purple). While Shell is a nice basic, and Puck is a great contour color, I would probably recommend passing on this palette if you are only going to get one. Dahlia is a difficult color to work with, and really can only be used as a liner. Fade, the blush in the palette, tends to look like a muddy pink brown. Sweet is a great gloss (kind of a bronzey pink) and would complement the palette, but I just don’t think Dahlia and Fade are great colors to own, and I would recommend Nude or Bouquet before Shell as a base color.

Front Cover Lookbook 4 — The cover of this one really reminds me of InStyle magazine. The eye colors in this palette are Nude (a very basic, but shimmery, beige), Icon (shimmering golden pink) and Twig (shimmering golden copper brown). These colors are not as warm as Lookbook 2. In fact, I do think that even if you traditionally wear cool colors, this palette would work on you, especially as Heat, the warm rose blush in the palette. would do any warming required. This is also a great basic work palette. The It gloss included, named Inviting, is a shimmering peach, but because it is not too pigmented, it can work on a variety of complexions as well.

So ultimately, I would recommend Lookbooks 1 or 4, especially if you are only wanting to purchase one palette.