Barbie Loves Stila @ Tangs

To my surprise, I found the Barbie Loves Stila on display at the Stila counter (in the Escentials corner) of Tangs Orchard! According to the SA, the collection arrived twelve days ago. They had also brought in the holiday 8-lipglaze set but it had already sold out but it may be restocked closer to Christmas.

As I had some Tangs vouchers to spend, here's what I came home with (my first Stila haul in two years!):

The Lip Enamel Trio (S$74): Tickled Pink, Joy and Happiness.


Joy looks like a crazily intense cranberry red in the tube but when applied, there is actually more of a bright pinkish red. It gives a lovely pop of color that brightens up the complexion.

Tickled Pink is a glossy Barbie pink while Joy (below) is a peachy light pink.

I have been lemming the Barbie Smudge Pots for months now and was very excited to find all of them available. I decided on Little Black Dress (S$48) which is a gorgeous metallic deep purple with pink shimmer.


I also picked up the Smudge Pot Collection of four mini smudge pots in Kitten, Starry Night, Violet and Black (S$58). It's quite odd that the Smudge Pot Collection and Lip Enamel Trio both retail for US$32 in the US but in Singapore, there's a S$16 difference in the price of the two sets. But I figured the Lip Enamel Trio is still quite worthwhile as one Lip Enamel usually retails for more than S$35.


The SA also gave me a very generous gift with purchase! There were two sets available: both had a lipglaze (in Cranberry or Raspberry), a fragrance sample and then you can choose either the Montmatre eyeshadow quad or a mascara. (These are not displayed so I'm not sure what is the minimum purchase that one needs to qualify for the gift.) For me the natural choice was Montmatre as I love purple eyeshadows. I also picked Raspberry lipglaze as Cranberry is very similar to Joy Lip Enamel.


And I have to say the service at the Stila counter was outstanding. The SA was knowledgeable and very helpful, without being pushy. I was glad to learn from the SA that there are no plans for Stila to pull out of Singapore, unlike Japan and Taiwan, and that the brand remains popular with customers here even though the counter does not carry the full range of Stila (for example, they stock only 30 of the 50 eyeshadow shades that Stila has). The prices are of course more expensive compared to the US, but I get a 10% rebate with my Citibank Tangs card. Plus the generous GWP more than made up for the price difference. By the time you add in the shipping costs, sales tax and hassle of getting a CP from the US, it's just easier and not that much more expensive to shop at the Escentials counter instead where you can try out the products first (and enjoy great service!).

There is currently a promotion going on whereby if you buy 3 items (the sets are not included, such as the Smudge Pot Collection), you can get the third item at half price.