Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette ($49.00 for 0.51 oz.) includes twelve eyeshadows in an assortment of a slightly earthy set of more neutral shades. The eyeshadow formula is described as “luxe,” “long-lasting,” and “high-intensity” that “deliver rich color with a luxurious satin finish.” They can be used wet or dry, but I wouldn’t use the majority with a damp brush, because it creates a stiffer, hardened surface on the top that you’ll have to remove if you want to use the eyeshadow again. I was able to use the more frosted shades with a damp brush without issues later on. The frosts, in general, perform better than the other shades, as they have a denser texture, but they still tend to be powdery. The mattes have a thinner, drier consistency that feels soft in the pan but just doesn’t translate as intensely on the skin. It is a huge improvement from Body, but there’s still a lot of powdery shades with hit or miss pigmentation. I feel like it’s a palette that absolutely requires a primer to do the heavy-lifting and/or a damp application (in the case of the frosts) to be workable. At this price point, though, there are too many misses.
Light is a light, warm-toned beige with a matte finish. It had so-so color payoff both wet and dry with a slightly powdery consistency, but it wasn’t too bad. It wore well for seven and a half hours before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Individual is a medium brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. Applied dry, it was semi-sheer, and applied damp, it was semi-opaque. It wore well for seven hours on me before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Being is a medium-dark brown with subtle, warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque color payoff applied dry, and then it was about the same applied damp, just more uneven. The texture was powdery but thin, a little chalky. The color showed signs of fading after seven hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Kitten is a warm-toned, beige peach with a frosted, slightly metallic, finish. It had semi-sheer color payoff applied dry, and it was fully opaque applied with a dampened brush, which also helped smooth the color out so it applied better. It wore well for eight hours before creasing. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Affection is a medium brown with warm, orange undertones and a frosted finish. Applied dry, it had semi-opaque pigmentation with a soft frost finish, while applied with a dampened brush, the frost finish was amplified and the color was more opaque. The consistency was soft, blendable, but it was a bit powdery. It wore well for eight hours before creasing slightly. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Character is a dark brown with warm undertones and a copper sparkle (that just translates into a mostly satin sheen with little visible sparkle). The texture is drier and thinner, which yielded barely-there color payoff when applied dry. It was boosted to semi-sheer coverage with a damp application, but it rendered the color difficult to blend, so it appeared patchy. It started to fade after six and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Thought is a medium, bronzy brown with warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It had good pigmentation applied dry, and it was fully opaque when applied damp. The texture was soft without being powdery, while the color wore well for eight and a half hours before creasing. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Heart is a rosy brown with neutral-to-warm undertones and a satin-matte finish. It was semi-sheer applied both wet and dry, but trying to apply it damp made it difficult to work with as it didn’t want to blend. It lasted for seven hours before fading on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Peace is a medium-dark, coppery-brown with a muted quality and soft frosted finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation applied dry, and it was mostly opaque applied with a dampened brush, but it was somewhat hard to blend with both application methods. It wore well for seven hours before fading on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Vitality is a brightened, gold with warm, yellow and brown undertones and a metallic finish. Applied dry, it had semi-opaque color coverage, but it was powdery enough that it didn’t bind well dry. It worked better with a dampened brush, as it had opaque color payoff and was much smoother. It wore well for eight hours when I tested it. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Substance is a medium-dark, warm-toned taupe with a frosted finish. It was semi-sheer applied dry, and it was fully pigmented applied with a dampened brush. The consistency was slightly powdery but workable, and it lasted for eight hours before fading on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Essence is a medium-dark black with a matte finish. The texture felt soft, but it was dry and thin, so it didn’t bind well on its own. It had semi-opaque color payoff applied dry, and it intensified to mostly opaque color coverage when applied dampened, but it was harder to blend when I used it damp. The color stayed on well for seven hours before creasing. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Soul
PPermanent. $49.00.
Light
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Vitality
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Substance
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Essence
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Individual
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Being
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Kitten
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Affection
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Character
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Thought
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Heart
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Peace
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Soul Eyes Are the Window Shadow Palette
Stila Light Eyeshadow
Stila Light Eyeshadow
Stila Individual Eyeshadow
Stila Individual Eyeshadow
Stila Being Eyeshadow
Stila Being Eyeshadow
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
Stila Affection Eyeshadow
Stila Affection Eyeshadow
Stila Character Eyeshadow
Stila Character Eyeshadow
Stila Thought Eyeshadow
Stila Thought Eyeshadow
Stila Heart Eyeshadow
Stila Heart Eyeshadow
Stila Peace Eyeshadow
Stila Peace Eyeshadow
Stila Vitality Eyeshadow
Stila Vitality Eyeshadow
Stila Substance Eyeshadow
Stila Substance Eyeshadow
Stila Essence Eyeshadow
Stila Essence Eyeshadow
Stila: Vitality (inner lid), Peace (middle of lid), Character (outer lid/crease),
Individual (crease), Light+Kitten (brow bone), Lionfish Eyeliner
Stila: Vitality (inner lid), Peace (middle of lid), Character (outer lid/crease),
Individual (crease), Light+Kitten (brow bone), Lionfish Eyeliner
Stila: Kitten (inner lid), Thought (middle of lid), Substance (outer lid/crease),
Character (crease), Light+Kitten (brow bone), Jade Eyeliner
Stila: Kitten (inner lid), Thought (middle of lid), Substance (outer lid/crease),
Character (crease), Light+Kitten (brow bone), Jade Eyeliner
It’s annoying because I love all the shades and would have definitely bought it if they performed well.
Yeah, I feel like the palette is really hit or miss – which you can see since the grades pretty much cover the entire alphabet, LOL!
thank goodness that all the shades are atleast showing up on swatch.. 😉
pretty EOTD 🙂
Thanks, Ritu!
I don’t know… it’s pretty offensive when even the WET swatch hardly shows up
Quite a letdown! Such a shame, too, the packaging was so pretty :/
Aww! 🙁
This is one of the 2 palettes I was interested in getting – in fact, this was probably my favourite, looking at them online. But at this rating and with how easily these can be duped, it’s another easy “pass” for me. Hoping in a weirdly perverse way that Spirit is also less than great so I can save for the 3 or 4 things I am really wanting in the next few weeks.
We shall see how Spirit rates soon, I hope!
I saw Tarababyz reviewing the palettes on her channel and it’s such a shame that the eyeshadows are so inconsistent, some were pretty nice and some aren’t pigmented at all.. would’ve been such a beautiful neutral palette!
It could have been!
WHYYYYYY…. The original palettes are flawless in comparison. I’m wondering if they switch chemist or something with these ones. >_<
No idea! Would you at all describe Stila’s eyeshadows in their other palettes as powdery?
Yes they’re powdery but pigments when it comes to the mates, The shimmery ones are buttery. The ones that are matte but with shimmery are slightly sheer but still build able.
Gotcha! 🙂 Most of the frosty shades seem powdery to me, not really buttery (lacks that really dense, creamy consistency due to a kind of drier feel), so I was curious!
Although I do realize this is a new formula. We can see the difference in the Kitten shade from the original formula compared to this one. 🙁
(Finally post my review on the basic palette. lol )
Ani BEE, I just took a look at your review for In the Light and I was surprised to read that yours came with a sponge tipped applicator. I’ve had that palette for quite some time now and I’m sure I’ve tossed the packaging but I don’t think mine came with any sort of applicator (just the pencil and the booklet with the palette).
Ah I forgot to update my template there. No sponge tipped applicator. 😉
Call me crazy, but I just can’t get excited over another warm-toned neutral palette, especially one of middling performance, when so many better ones exist at this price point.
Like you said, there are plenty of top notch neutral palettes, so ones that aren’t just so-so – I can totally see why it doesn’t get you excited!
Looks like you missed the opening symbol in your tag in the Heart section. 🙂
Fixed, thanks!
Pretty in the pans, but I’m still passing.
The quality isn’t there, IMO!
i feel like the colours and pigmentation are a less impressive version of some of the naked palettes, pretty but seen way too much over the past year! so in that sense it would be a miss.
Especially since Naked is such a better palette, in terms of quality!
It’s so strange…this palette swatched so much better for me than what I’m seeing here. I’ve been using it for a week and am so impressed with it actually. The colors are highly pigmented and last a long time. Weird! But sometimes things work for one person that don’t for others! I appreciate your reviews – I often check here before making purchases!
Do you use yours with primer, by chance?
I thought this palette was really great, too. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and am really impressed with it. I wonder if there are different batches or something?
Ladies…I don’t need to hear this. I want to keep believing that I don’t want to buy this!!!!
I was so excited for this palette :(. Thanks for saving me $50!
No prob!
It’s so disappointing that these palettes are of such poor quality. Did you get the other two palettes as well? I am curious to see if the matte one is any better.
Hi Agata,
I purchased all four palettes.
This would have made for the perfect neutral palette.. wish he shades were better though.. the price vs quality is too high!
The quality falls way short for $49!
So much better than the first palette in the collection that you reviewed!!!1 Still, for $50? And right before all the holiday sets/palettes come out? No way!!!!
LOL! Still not great but yet so much better than the Body palette!
I feel like these were such a HUGE fail!!! With how bad they are, I can not believe that Stila made these-they should know better!
I almost ordered all three of these before I swatched them and I am so glad that I didn’t!
If Stila would just tone down the powderiness in their frosts, those would at least been closer to the winner’s circle!
Awwwwww 🙁 It’s so sad and such a shame that so far two of these new Stila palettes have bad reviews. I was looking forward to getting this one and the all matte palette. Maybe that one might be better (fingers crossed) :). Thank you Christine for reviewing these. Bummer you had to pay so much for all of them, but you sure have saved me tons of money that I can spend on other makeup (new NARS lipsticks) 😉
There may be some consistency issues with their palettes, because several readers had better luck with the Mind/Soul/Spirit palettes – mine was definitely better than Body, but I didn’t think it was good!
Most Stila breaks me out in hives around my eyes so I don’t know why I bother looking at the reviews lol. These look so pretty in the pan, too bad the quality is lacking.
Awww! 🙁
Am I the only one who finds it amusing Stila couldn’t even get *Kitten* right…? I have it in a couple of palettes, as well as a face highlighter, and it’s soft, buttery, and almost *too* pigmented! It’s actually the product that got me interested in the brand, after I picked up a trio on clearance years ago. It’s also their most iconic shade, so I’d think it would be the same here (unless they didn’t want it to completely overpower the others, LOL!).
I wonder if they changed manufacturer, or they’re trying to “improve”, like so many other brands (I have Lancome & Estee Lauder shadows from HS that are sooo much better than the current offerings, and I really wish they didn’t change for the worse).
Kitten totally threw me, because I was like, “Why is this named Kitten…” since the name doesn’t fit with the rest of the palette, then it totally clicked, LOL.
I’m also wondering when Stila became a $50/palette brand… I like the brand, but I feel the demographic is much younger, and the pricing prior to these palettes really seemed in line with that. I have the first “In The…” palette (neutrals), and although I picked it up when ot first came out, I think I paid only aboit $35, and it came with a liner!
Heart is really pretty, though, but I don’t think I’ll be shelling out $50 for that one shade!
It did seem a little pricey for Stila, but I’m really not overly familiar with the range on their palettes. For high-end, it’s not totally off. There’s also a lot of product here (.51 oz.!).
I thought the same thing about Kitten! I think I’ll have to snag one of those “in the” palettes if they’re on clearance or something with Kitten in it. This is just too sad!
It looks like (literally!) that Stila put all their effort into the packaging, promotion, and marketing and not much in the product. It happens sometimes.
But for yet another one to be a dud (or semi-dud) is hardly good for their company. Or for the customer’s wallet.
Jeezz! With so many makeup companies out there and so much to choose from, this was a dumb move, Stila!
Different palette, the Tarte LE AmazonianClay Eyeshadow Palette V2 just came from Sephora. It’s a gift for Dear Daughter On-the-Go. Beautifully boxed and looks beautiful.
I will ask her to swatch it once I give it to her (swatching etiquette!) and let you know how these powders are. And then I might put in an order for me!
A C+ palette at $49 is a total to me! So many better palettes at this price point.
Kitten and vitality look nice, but the rest just no.
The frosts definitely perform better than the other ones!
Hi,
I was wondering if you know if you can buy the shadows other than kitten, individually?
I don’t think so!
Why must they look so pretty in the pan but so sucky in quality? 🙁 Makes me wonder who gives the okay in releasing such quality
I hear ya, Patrick 🙁
At least this one was better for you. I have enough wonderful neutral palettes, I wouldn’t need this and don’t want it. I’m also staggered that they managed to mess up Kitten. That was my favorite Stila color.
I think I used to have Kitten a long time ago, but I definitely don’t have the older version any more.
Beautiful palette just not pigmented enough for a purchase.
The color combination is nice!
Hm. Well, it breaks my flamboyant little rogue heart that this one did better than the colourful one (:-P), but I’m glad at least that it wasn’t another F! At the same time, its also a terrible shame, especially given how expensive the palette is, and how pretty it *looks*!
LOL! Sad times when a C-rating is a relief.
Meh. I mean, it’s pretty, but I can’t help but feel I’ve seen the same palette a million times. Kitten remains absolutely gorgeous, though!
A lot of the shades are more dupable than not!
I’m surprised cosmetics companies haven’t got “buttery, highly pigmented” down to an easily duplicable science by now. The inconsistency from one brand/palette/line/product to another is mind-boggling.
I agree – it is surprising to see such a massive difference from line to line, formula to formula.
There are a few shades I really like: Substance and Vitality, but overall I think it is a palette where the shades are dupeable. As the quality is very hit and miss, I won’t be buying this. I think it would have been better for Stila to put out one palette of great quality rather than four that are mediocre.
I’m definitely puzzled over how powdery all of them seem to be, generally speaking.
Wha?? Kitten?? What happened to you? …rolls eyes…
Awwww!
Stila’s eyeshadow formula doesn’t seem to be all that great. I always read negative reviews on them. These palettes sound as bad as those foil eyeshadows no one seemed to like
They seem to be really hit or miss!
This is a little better than the other one you reviewed, but I’m still not going to spend money on it.
A littttttle better!
I have all 4 of the new palettes in this range and honestly I can’t fault them, they blend out just fine and are very pigmented.
I’m glad you’re loving them, Jacqueline! Wish I could say the same!
Sad that quality is not great for the price ,will skip for now
I hear ya!
It could have been such a prettyy neutral palette.. i loved those metallic finish eye shadows but guess the inconsistent formula spoiled the palette.. have to skip.. :-/
I wanted to love it so badly!
This is the best everyday compact, and I swear by it. Works really well with all looks I want create, smokey and natural looks. I never leave home without it.
Happy to hear you’re loving it, Mina!
And there goes another thing off my wish list…I’m crossing my fingers hoping one of the remaining palette’s gets an A because I really like them and the packaging.
An A would be tough, but we shall see!
Oh disappointing – but yay for more funds for other fall/winter collections! =)
True 😀
So disappointing — these colors are right up my alley. I don’t understand the inconsistency in Stila’s shadows. I have the In the Know palette, and the mattes are just fine. I’ve bought other palettes, and absolutely hated the wear. Thanks for the review!
Ohh, that is such a bummer that you’ve experienced such inconsistency with their eyeshadows!
I work at a retailer that carries Stila and I am quite certain that there must be some sort of batch issue here, Christine. I am a picky freak about pigmentation, performance, etc. I have been using the 4 new palettes quite a bit since we received them and have experienced the opposite of what you have! Really nice color payoff, great consistency and texture, and so forth. Wonder what’s up…
I bought all four from Sephora at the same time (online), so not sure why all four would be consistently problematic.
I agree! I have not had any issues… I have all 4 of them and am super picky… Sure some aren’t insanely pigmented but with good blending they go on beautifully!
Hi, I just wanted to let you and everyone know, these shadows are not all intended for wet use, only the shimmery ones… I work for Stila and use a MAC pain pot underneath and really love the application and the blendability of them! I think it’s all on how you apply it…
Stila should clarify then – they just said the formula was wet/dry. I’m not surprised that over a Paint Pot, the application would improve!
I’m surprised as I have this palette and really love it, I in fact rank it above the urban decay shadows which always seem to be the most raved out. Maybe it’s personal preference makeup is a unique experience after all
I totally agree!! So much better than the Naked ones BY FARRRRR. I love this palette and use it on myself and all my brides.
I’m surprised you had such bad luck with this. I think it’s better than the Naked palettes by a long shot. Properly prepped (I used a Mac paint pot or Urban Decay) they’re highly pigmented and the shades are just gorgeous. I use this for weddings and have never had issues. It’s my most used palette, even for myself. I’m just surprised because it performs better than Naked, Naked Basics, and you have those rates so high.
Hi Kristine,
I’m glad you like yours! I think it is simply we had different experiences – the Naked palettes are infinitely better to me than these, which is my opinion (based on my experiences) – just like your opinion is these are better than the Naked palette based on your experiences. It doesn’t make me wrong or you wrong.