Here’s how Stila liquid eye shadow earned a spot in my daily makeup routine. Posts on Below Freezing Beauty contain affiliate links. Learn more.

My local Riley Rose store closed this winter, which makes me incredibly sad. I never went in there without discovering some new skincare product or seeing something in real life that I’d only ever encountered in an Instagram ad.

Was I too sad to plunder the liquidation sale, though? Of course not.

I’ve halfway had an eye on the Stila liquid eye shadow for a long time, but the price has always turned me off. $24 for a single tube of eye color? Yikes. For whatever reason, I’ll cough that up for a lipstick without blinking, but when entire palettes of perfectly decent shadows can be had for not much more, $24 just seems like a crazy amount to spend on one eye color.

Stila liquid eye shadow at 40 percent off, though? Now we’re talking.

I’m trying to be more deliberate about my beauty shopping these days, doing a lot of editing of my cart before I check out. Just because something is on sale doesn’t mean I need it in every color, especially when it’s packaged in plastic and not something I’ll necessarily wear every day. With that in mind, I bought two colors and went on my merry way.

A few days later, I came back and bought seven more.

Glitter & Shimmer

I wasn’t expecting to like these shadows as much as I do. The consistency is good, the colors are buildable, and there’s just the right amount of shimmer. Because they’re liquid, the glitter doesn’t get all over your face, and these do a pretty good job of staying put, especially if you use a primer. In fact, for staying power, I definitely recommend a primer underneath.

The Stila liquid eye shadows come in a few different formulas. Glitter & Glow and Shimmer & Glow appear to be the primary lines, and then there are some variations and limited editions. (They’ve also added a suede/matte version, in case shimmer isn’t your thing.) I ended up with a couple of the duochrome shadows, and they’re probably my favorites from the bunch. I’ve gotten compliments every time I’ve worn Into The Blue in particular.

How I Wear Them

I’ve gotten into the habit of reaching for these shadows pretty much every morning since I brought them home. We moved in August, and I’m still figuring out the best way to organize all my makeup. With many of my palettes and brushes still packed up, I had been skipping eye shadow most days. The Stila liquid eye shadows go on well enough with their own applicator and maybe just a little softening around the edges with a fingertip — although I find that with the bolder colors, I don’t mind a defined edge. This works well on my hooded eyes since the fold in my eyelid generally conceals any imperfections in the line. I just apply up to the crease and call it a day.

One thing I have found with these shadows is they don’t necessarily play well together. I’ve had the best results using them for monochromatic looks. Different shades wear differently throughout the day, even with a primer underneath, and when I’ve tried to wear more than one color at once, I’ve found I don’t always like the result by the end of the day. I haven’t had the same issue when I stick with a single color.

I have experienced a little bit of fallout from the glitter formulas over the course of the day, but it’s still better than many other glitter shadows.

Beat The Price Tag

As much as I like these shadows, the $24-a-pop price tag probably means I won’t be adding more to my collection anytime soon. I’m thrilled that I found them on sale, though, because I do really like them. I don’t personally think they’re worth paying full price, but there are a few ways to ease the sting:

• Shop the sale section of Stila.com. Stila has quite a few limited edition shades marked down to $13 right now.
• Use Rakuten/Ebates. They offer cash back at Stila as well as Ulta and Sephora.
• Don’t forget to stack your points at Ulta whenever possible!