TKMaxx Rave and Stila Review

Alright, I’m going to come right out and say it: I love TKMaxx.

I.

love.

TKMaxx.


I may even go so far as to say that TKMaxx is my favourite shop. Sure, after every browse in Urban Outfitters I may walk out of the shop with a pool of “I-want-to-buy-everything-in-stock” drool following behind me. But what other shop can you walk into without the faintest idea as to what you’re looking for, and leave with a bottle of Hershey’s Strawberry Syrup clutched in one hand and a new bikini in another? You cannot go into that shop with any specific item in mind.

The shop’s crowning glory, however, is its beauty & cosmetics section. I have found so many bargains there in the past; last Christmas I stumbled across a perfect present for my older sister in the form of a set of three OPI nail varnishes for a mere £13, when they normally retail in the UK at £10.50 each. That works out to a saving of £18.50: Not a huge amount in terms of clothing or shoes, but when we’re talking about such a small item as nail varnish, that’s a pretty big sum.

Last time I went in, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a pile of Stila products on the bottom shelf of the cosmetics stand – not a brand I’m particularly familiar with, but I’d heard gurus like FleurdeForce raving about it before and was curious to try. After a good old rummage I decided on a lipstick, highlighter and foundation stick, totalling a cost of £10 while the normal RRP would've been around £42. Pretty nifty if I say so myself.

I was most excited to try the All Over Shimmer Liquid (RRP £16). On MakeUpAlley.com it’s been compared to Benefit’s High Beam and given generally favourable reviews – with it taking the edge over High Beam in that it provides a lot more product for your money. I’ve never been a user of highlighter, really – apart from the odd bit of light eyeshadow on my brow bone on a night out, it has never been part of my usual makeup routine and I don’t usually notice a different in my appearance. Unfortunately, I don’t think this really changed my opinion – before blending it looks like it’ll be lovely, but once you blend a little it just disappears. It does, however, leave a nice little shimmer when used over blusher on your cheekbones.

My favourite product by far out of the three was the lipstick in shade #05 ‘Kim’. At first I thought I’d hate it – the smell is similar to the lipsticks you used to play around with in a ‘Barbie’s First Makeup Kit’-type scenario, kind of plasticky, and the lipstick’s pretty dry to apply. Any doubts I had about it vanished, however, once I saw the colour on. It’s this beautiful browny-plum colour dissimilar to any lip product I’ve owned before, and lasts a fairly long time too.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the Perfecting Stick Foundation (RRP £13) was the sheer size of this concealer – it’s huge. Makes it a little difficult to apply with precision, but that’s a problem easily resolved with a concealer brush. The stick has quite a sheer coverage so it wouldn’t be too great at covering up spots and such, but it definitely works well under the eyes and in other places like that. Still hasn’t overtaken my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer unfortunately!

So, overall first impressions of the Stila brand: Not perfect, but then again who am I to complain when I bought them at such a steal price? I’m pretty glad that I didn’t buy them at full price however – definitely don’t feel the price matched the quality.

Adios!
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