Stila Magnificent Metals: Worth the Hype?

The Magnificent Metals by Stila are very much loved by bloggers and as someone who loves shimmer the thought of long lasting, sparkly eyes intrigued me. Magnificent Metals aim to be ultra smooth and give a sequin-like shine with plenty of glitz. For reference the set I am referring to in this post is the 3D Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow Set that was released as a limited edition festive trio in 2018. It contains the shades Golden Girl, Perlina and Kitten Karma.

The cost for one full sized shade wasn’t justifiable and the minis were roughly the same price as one full sized shade. They worked out better value for money too as I ended up with more product. One full sized shade contains 4.5ml and the set of minis contains 3 x 2.25ml – a total of 6.75ml.

Honestly, I’m on the fence over this set. I’ve been testing the colours out for four months now and the shades in the set perform differently to each other. I still haven’t found the way I prefer to wear these and the way the shadows perform best. I have tried applying the glitters to the eyelids on their own, applying them over top of a primer or a base shadow and applying a small amount as a glitter topper. I also can’t decide whether it’s more effective to apply and spread the shadows with the applicator or apply them to the middle of my eyelid with the applicator and spread the glitter with my finger. Personally I find the applicator is gentler and the glitters look more pigmented but if you’re applying the glitter over top of another eyeshadow the applicator picks up some of the colour underneath as you try to spread the product.

Top to bottom: Golden Girl, Perlina and Kitten Karma.

I’m going to rank the three shades from my least favourite to the best performing and give a quick rundown of each:

• Golden Girl – The formula is drier, streakier and less pigmented than the other two shades. There is also less glitter and the shade is a little lacklustre. This would be so much nicer if the glitter was more prominent.
• Perlina – This formula is more like what I was expecting and is more pigmented than Golden Girl. The formula gives you enough time to spread it without drying down as fast as Golden Girl. This shade is the most unique in the set and it tends to work best over top of other powder shadows. It pays not to wear too a pale colour underneath as the eyelids look washed out. Perlina will move the base colour and make it look like you’re wearing nothing on your eyelids and not in a good way.
• Kitten Karma – If I could give a piece of advice it would be to forget about buying this set and just purchase the full size of this shade if you’re curious to try the Magnificent Metals. Kitten Karma is a beautiful champagne with silver and copper sparkle and one of the most popular shades in the range. This shade is the most pigmented of the three and performs the best on it’s own without the need for additional eyeshadow.

Pros:

• Good value for the three piece set.
• All shades are wearable and go with a number of looks.
• Smaller size means less product to finish up and less risk of product drying out.
• Can easily see how much product is left.

Cons:

• Pigmentation of all shades is not the same.
• Not sure of the best application method.
• Applicator picks up eyeshadow underneath and can get dirty.
• Product doesn’t last all day.
• May not be good for sensitive eyes – the first couple of times I used these I experienced stinging for a few seconds. Thankfully the stinging went away quickly and didn’t cause any lasting irritation.

So, the important question: Are Stila’s Magnificent Metals worth the hype?

In my opinion, they aren’t. That’s not to say all the bloggers that rave about these and swear by them are wrong, products work differently for everyone and we all have our own preferences. I definitely think the shades I tried aren’t a good representation of the rest of the line and I’d hope there are more shades that perform like Kitten Karma in the range; pigmented shades that contain a decent amount of glitter/shimmer and don’t fade throughout the day. I don’t think I’ll be picking up any more of these to try. I am glad I got to give the product a go, even if it’s not something I reach for often. I will endeavour to use up each of these and hopefully by that time I have discovered an application method that works for me!

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Have you tried the Magnificent Metals, if so which shades? Are you a fan?

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