Stila

Stila is an American makeup brand founded in 1994 by celebrity and editorial makeup artist Jeanine Lobell [5]. Based in the Los Angeles area, with offices in Glendale, California, it built its early reputation on professional-grade colors in wearable formulas and recyclable paper packaging, and remains an active going concern today, three decades after its launch.

The company is best known for the Stay All Day franchise of long-wear eyeliners and lip color. Its ownership has changed hands several times since the late 1990s, most recently after a court dispute ended its previous owner's control in 2022.

Stila was created by Jeanine Lobell, a makeup artist known for editorial and runway work. According to WWD, Lobell "founded Stila in 1994" and sold it to the Estée Lauder Companies about five years later [5]. Wikipedia likewise records the brand as having "emerged in 1994," created by Lobell.

The origin of the name is contested. Wikipedia and WWD trace it to the Swedish word stil, meaning "style," noting that Lobell grew up in Sweden [4]. The brand's own FAQ instead states that "Stila (STEE-la) is derived from the Italian word 'stilare', which can mean 'to pen' or 'to write'," on the idea that makeup "should be as individual as your own signature" [3]. Independent sources and the founder's Swedish upbringing support the Swedish derivation, while the Italian explanation appears in later brand copy.

The founding year is similarly framed two ways. Stila's own materials describe it loosely as a "'90s" brand that has been "inspiring fashion week makeup" for "over 20 years" [3], while Wikipedia and WWD both give the specific year as 1994 [4][5].

From a makeup-artist label in the mid-1990s, Stila passed through a series of corporate owners. The Estée Lauder Companies bought the brand in 1999 [4]. In spring 2006, Estée Lauder sold it to the private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners, which in turn sold it to Lynn Tilton's fund Patriarch Partners in 2009.

In 2022, a Delaware court ended Tilton's managerial control of Stila and ownership passed to a consortium led by Bardin Hill Capital; Michelle Kluz joined as chief executive that August [6]. Under Kluz, the company launched the Stay All Day Smudge & Set Waterproof Gel Eye Liner in August 2024, the year Stila also reached roughly thirty years in business.

Stila is owned by a consortium of financial institutions led by the private-equity firm Bardin Hill Capital, which took control in 2022 [6]. Its earlier owners were the Estée Lauder Companies (1999), Sun Capital Partners (2006) and Patriarch Partners (2009) [4][6]. Despite the repeated changes, the brand has continued to operate independently rather than being folded into a parent portfolio.

Stila positions itself around artistry and self-expression. Its current tagline is "Artistry-Proven, Cruelty-Free Makeup," and the company describes its outlook as "We see the artist in you. Makeup is about expressing, exploring, and even 'winging it.'" In its own words, makeup "should be effortless, smart and fun," with an emphasis on multi-tasking products, and it states that "diversity and inclusivity have always been true of Stila."

The brand sits in the prestige tier and reaches customers through multiple channels, including its own site, Amazon, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Revolve and Nordstrom, with reported expansion into India and the Middle East [6].

Stila's range spans eyes, lips and face, from liners, mascaras and shadows to lipsticks, stains and foundations. Its signature line is the Stay All Day collection of long-wearing products, anchored by the Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, which the brand launched in 2009 and describes as its "#1 Premium Liquid Eye Liner" [1]. Other recognized products include the Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow, Huge Extreme Lash Mascara and the Calligraphy Lip Stain.

On ethics, Stila is certified cruelty-free under the Leaping Bunny program, stating that "our entire supply chain, from ingredients to finished products are free from animal testing" [3]. The company notes that it is not a vegan brand, marking vegan products where applicable. Early Stila was also associated with recyclable paper packaging.

Stila has cited industry recognition including the Glamour Beauty & Wellness Awards (2024) and the Good Housekeeping Beauty Awards (2025). In 2024, the trade publication Glossy reported that Stila ranked as the No. 1 liquid eyeliner brand by sales, per Circana data, and 25th overall among makeup brands [6].

Stila was caught up in long-running litigation tied to Lynn Tilton, founder of former owner Patriarch Partners. After three Tilton-managed funds invested in the brand entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Delaware court ended Tilton's managerial control of Stila in 2022 and transferred it to the Bardin Hill-led consortium [6].

Stila is active. It has a sitting chief executive appointed in 2022, recent product launches through 2024, and broad retail distribution, with international expansion reported into India and the Middle East. Its most recent notable activity on record is the 2024 launch of the Stay All Day Smudge & Set Waterproof Gel Eye Liner and its top ranking among liquid eyeliner brands by sales that year [6].