Really, I can’t. Janice and I had the absolute pleasure of touring their facilities while we were in LA and I was just awestruck at how creative and positive an atmosphere the company had. I watched the employees go about their daily business and I honestly never once got the impression from any of them that they were just doing their ‘job’ or ‘going to work’. There was a creativity and passion for the brand that was just palpable.

Jamie & Sarah Lucero

We also had the pleasure of makeovers by Stila’s very own pro makeup artist to the stars Sarah Lucero (hey, guess what Janice and I have in common with Katherine Heigl? Sarah Lucero. Mhmmm. That’s right baby.) Omg I have to say this woman is amazing. Her technique was fantastic (more pat and flick to deposit color than the pat and swirl and swoop technique I’ve seen many other artists use…) and when I looked in the mirror I just felt so freaking gorgeous. *sigh*
Keep reading for details on the day & our makeovers!

Me before (y’all better KNOW how much I love you by me posting this because seriously, I hate my pictures without makeup. I look so fegging colorless…):

Here’s my after, it was beachy and sunny and just really all around perfect for me:

See that Stila girl in the background? That’s Sarah’s Stila girl. Isn’t she ADORABLE???

Janice’s makeover was equally amazing, and I actually got to watch instead of be the ‘patient’ so to speak.

On Janice, Sarah used Stila’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, lightly applying it with her fingers all over to use as a base for the Illuminating Powder Foundation. By the way, the IPF offers AMAZING coverage for really very little product. I’ve NEVER seen a powder foundation go on so smoothly, and be as full coverage as this product was. My jaw literally dropped.

–Aside here…Sarah uses Stila’s lluminating Liquid Foundation for red carpet events, saying that it gives just a fantastic, natural, airbrushed finish without cakiness or heaviness.—

Janice has some blueness from dark circles (heh, after that flight and trying to get used to keeping up with the west coast atmosphere so did I! Anyone would!) so Sarah used the Perfecting Concealer and dotted it under Janice’s eyes and in her inner corners then Sarah blended it with her fingertips.

Sarah used Stila’s #21 brush to apply the Illuminating Powder Foundation blending it with soft smooth strokes.

This is the debut image of the Stila Summer ‘08 Kitten Palette ladies! Specktra got our hands on it early, feast your eyes on it’s beauty!

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Kitten Color Story products

This is the summer palette from Stila, an entire color story based around their supremely popular Kitten eyeshadow. Janice has a lot of green and gold in her eyes, and Sarah really wanted to play that up, so she used Wheat (one of the colors in the palette) with the #9 brush and patted the color on her lid, then blended it by flicking upward to the brow, telling us that the pat then flick was the best way to concentrate the color in one spot then blend it out without making the product too thick or over applied. She used Kitten shadow to contour Janice’s eyes, but noted that instead of contouring using a long windshield wiper stroke, making a dark ‘banana’ on the eye (that’s what I call it anyway), an alternative technique is to keep the eye open, put the brush in the flat of the crease and flick color lightly toward the brow. Kitten and Wheat together give a warmth that really just made Janice’s eyes POP. Under her eyes was lined with Eden, a matte shadow, and blended to avoid any harsh lines.

Sarah then used the bigger end of the double sided #28 brush to first line Janice’s eyes with the Bronze Smudgepot, then used the smaller end to smudge it out and just make the look more intense and so super soft and not harsh at all. One of the big things with Stila as a line is that their looks are never harsh, never contrived, and always just so fresh and soft, even in their most intense of smoky eyes.

For mascara, Sarah broke away from Stila for a moment and used the Shiseido Mascara Base, telling us that the best way to use this product was to prime the lashes with the base, then immediately (before the primer dries) use your mascara of choice, which for this makeover was Stila’s Multieffect Mascara in brown to keep the look all pulled together and still soft.

Powder blush in the color Cream (heh, that’s a kind of awkward beginning to that sentence…) was applied with a fan brush, starting at the top of her cheekbones and lightly brushing down the cheekbone, making for a very subtle (but still noticeable) flush of color.

Janice’s lipcolor of the day was Liquid Lip Polish in Glisten, a pink peachy nude color that just MADE this look.

To polish the look off, Sarah picked up the Illuminating Powder Foundation again, and used a sponge to pat the foundation on, and just lightly smudged to the side as she applied, telling us that if you ’smear’ the sponge all over your face instead of patting it, you’ll essentially ruin the work you’ve done before. Then Sarah dusted Stila Sun across Janice’s face to give her a dusting of color & warmth.

Sarah looks on as Janice views the results of her makeover

As I watched this transformation, a couple of products I noticed include Evian Spray water, Sarah called it a kit staple. Her hand sanitizer was by Jao; Sarah told us that it was created because clients weren’t fans of the alcohol smell. I promise you guys, this stuff smells fantastic, and is AMAZINGLY priced. Jao’s website tells you where you can pick this stuff up, and if you do, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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