Review: Stila Stay All Day HD 10-in-1 Beauty Balm

During ULTA's 21 Day's of Beauty, I stopped by to take advantage of the special pricing on the Stila Stay All Day HD 10-in-1 Beauty Balm, which was $20 (reg. $38). I'd seen this product at a few makeup and cosmetics shows (at the same $20 price point because they have special pricing at those types of events) but I'd never really pulled the trigger because I'd had such bland experiences with BB creams so far.

After trying the Garnier BB cream I liked so much (read about it here), I decided that I should give this one a shot, especially since it was on sale. After all, the benefits seemed promising, check them out:

• Innovative microspheres that hide skin imperfections and reduce the appearance of wrinkle depth up to 84% (I don't have wrinkles yet, so this one wasn't at the top of my list, but hey, I'll take it)
• Infused with natural skin protecting antioxidants that increase antioxidant activity by up to 89.7%
• Enriched with tripeptide-37, bamboo, and pea extracts to help diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Long-wearing HD formula
• Helps reduce pore size and provides oil and blemish control
• Exclusive complex to reduce redness and irritation
• Uses the smallest particle size of coated pigments for seamless, smooth coverage
• Luxurious bauty balm glides onto skin and leaves a silky powdery finish
• Ideal for all skin types and tones
• Oil-free, paraben-free, and dermatologist tested

Sounds good right? Here's what I found while using it:

• The consistency of this product is great. It's creamy and soft and glides on easily. It also feels really nice once it's on, when you touch your skin it feels soft and non-sticky.
• Wearing it throughout the day I found that my skin didn't get oily or shiny, but it didn't provide enough moisture for my forehead, which looked dry. I used a serum underneath to counteract that and it seemed to work fine without causing me to over moisturize and then look oily.
• The coverage is nearly invisible. It helped reduce redness, but not much and small imperfections still showed through. 
• I still have to wear foundation over it, so it just seems like a glorified primer. Definitely not a one-stop product. 
• No SPF makes it great for use in photo shoots (or if you're allergic to SPF its good for you too), but you'll have to remember to apply SPF if you plan on this being an every day product.
• I can see how it would be ideal for all skin tones, since it doesn't really leave much pigment behind. 
• I didn't really notice any reduction in pore size or diminishing of fine lines (and I can't really speak to the wrinkles claim).

Overall, I wasn't a big fan. When I think of a BB cream, I envision a product that can help me skip moisturizer and foundation while also providing skin benefits. This doesn't seem to do all of that. It certainly falls short when it comes to foundation replacement. If I was looking for a primer with all these benefits, then this would be great. I just wish they hadn't slapped it with the beauty balm name to help curb my expectations.

Unfortunately, I have primers that I need to use up before I go and replace them with this product. If all it's meant to be is a great primer, then this performs quite well. I may even consider it for that purpose alone in the future. But otherwise I'm not blown away.

This is going back, so I can spend my money on a different Stila product that caught my eye while I was shopping that day. There's no sense in saving it until I go through my primer because I think it will expire by then. I'd rather just wait until I need it to give it another shot.

Check out my video review to see the beauty balm in action!




Have you used the Stila HD beauty balm? Did you have a better experience that I did? If so, comment about it below, maybe it will help turn someone's opinion around. Did you have a similar experience? Tell me all about that too!