Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette – Review!

Welcome back!

Today I bring you a review on the hottest palette to hit the market right now, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette.

This is the first palette that Anastasia Beverly Hills has released that will be permanent in the line, so I definitely had to get my hands on it the minute I saw it.

This palette retails for $42, making it a little more expensive than previous ABH palettes, but I believe that’s due to the ingredients used in these shadows, as they differ from previous palettes, as well as the ABH singles.

As for the packaging, this is a beautiful mauve color with white lettering, and the brand name in metallic rose gold. I really love how this palette looks, but I LOATHE how it feels, It’s got this sort of fuzzy velvet texture that I really despise. Not only does it just feel gross in my hands, but it collects shadow fallout and fingerprints really easily as well, and is hard to keep clean. Now, let’s get into the actual palette!

What initially drew me to this palette is probably what intrigued everyone else as well, the beautiful berry tones. Don’t get me wrong, I love neutral palettes, but I have several. Seeing a unique palette hitting the market is really something I’ve been hoping a company would come out with, and finally, the makeup gods have heard my cry and delivered.

I own absolutely nothing like this, and even though it is a warm toned palette (as is the current trend) the raspberry, red, and orange tones really set it apart from other current releases.

In the palette, you do get a good sized mirror, as well as a double ended brush. One side of the brush is a dense duofiber smudge brush, while the other is a fluffy blending brush. I like the blending brush, but find the smudge brush just a little too scratchy for my tastes. I would have preferred an eyeliner be added instead of the brush, but I won’t complain.

Onto the shadows!

This palette contain 14 shades,  12 of which are matte finishes, 2 are metallic, and 1 is a satin. I disagree a little, and I think the shade “Tempera” is much more of a satin than matte, as it has a reflective quality to it that mattes do not have.

 (First row of shades; and yes, my arms have hair on them because I’m a mammal and far too lazy to wax or shave them.) 

From top to bottom(as described on Ulta’s website):

• Tempera– velvety beige; satin finish
• Golden Ochre– earthy yellow; matte
• Vermeer– iridescent shell; metallic
• Buon Fresco– antique lavender; matte
• Antique Bronze-metallic sable; satin finish
• Love Letter–  raspberry, matte
• Cyprus Umber– dark coffee; matte

All of these shades are incredibly creamy, buttery, and very pigmented. Not a single shade in this row disappointed me at all, and all appear very true to the color in the pan. Tempera is very similar to my skin tone, so it is difficult to see in my swatch, but there are no issues pigmentation wise with any of these shades.

These shadows are a tiny bit powdery, but that isn’t a deal breaker for me. As long as I tap the excess off of my brush, I have no issues.

 (Second row of shadows)  

From top to bottom(as described on Ulta’s website):

• Raw Sienna– neutral amber; matte
• Burnt Orange– deep orange; matte
• Primavera– shimmery gold dust; metallic
• Red Ochre-sienna; matte
• Venetian Red– crimson; matte
• Warm Taupe– earthy gray; matte
• Realgar– brick; matte.

The only shade here that did disappoint me a bit was Venetian Red. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, but it didn’t swatch quite as well as the others, though it performs well on the eyes.

As with the last row, these shades are very pigmented and creamy, and I have to say that I’m really happily impressed with the quality of these shadows. This is my first experience with Anastasia eyeshadows, and I am really, really happy with this entire palette. The shadows are wonderful, blend effortlessly, and work beautifully together.

The mattes all blend really well, and go on fully pigmented, the satin shades are no different. The metallics don’t initially go on as intense as they look in the pan, but they are easily to build up, and are especially intense when used wet.

Warm Taupe, Buon Fresco, and Burnt Orange are all permanent in Anastasia’s line, but I can’t speak to the quality of those, as the formula does differ, but if you’re only interested in those shades, they are available individually.

I can understand how a lot of people could be scared of this palette because of the bold selection, but this palette is incredibly versatile, and can be used to creative very dramatic to very daytime appropriate looks.

I’ve done 5 different looks using all of the shades in this palette, all ranging from very “wearable” to dramatic, although I personally will and have worn all of these looks.

 (This is the first look I did with this palette, very simple technique, just to get a feel for the shadows.)  

• Transition: Realgar
• Crease: Love Letter
• Lid: Vermeer
• Highlight: Tempera

For this look, I also used the Ardell Cluster Wispies #601, and the Nyx Slide On Liner in “Jet Black” in my waterline.

 (Look #2 is  very understated and cool toned with big lashes)  

• Transition: Warm Taupe
• Crease: Buon Fresco
• Lid: Antique Bronze
• Outer V: Cyprus Umber

Lashes are the Ardell Soft Touch #162 and the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in “Smog” on my waterline.

 (Look 3 is my favorite, super smokey with huge lashes!) 

• Transition: Raw Sienna
• Crease: Venetian Red
• Lid: Cyprus Umber
• Highlight: Tempera

Lashes are the Ardell Glamour Wispies, waterline is Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in “Hot Chocolate”

 (Very natural and daytime appropriate!)  

• Transition: Warm Taupe
• Crease: Cyprus Umber used very lightly
• Lid: Primavera

Lashes are the Ardell Natural 110s, liner is the Elf Expert Liquid Liner in “Coffee”, and Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil in “Nude” in the waterline.

 (Not sure how I feel about these lashes, but it”s always fun to try something new!)

• Transition: Burnt Orange
• Inner/outer lid/crease: Red Ochre
• Center of the lid: Primavera
• Highlight: Tempera

Lashes are the Ardell Glamour Lash #102, Liner is the Elf Intense Ink Liner in “Blackest Black” , waterline is Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Liner in “Perversion”.

So ultimately, I’m really loving this palette, and having a lot of fun stepping outside my comfort zone with it, and coming up with really fun looks; and I really recommend this to anyone who’s thinking about it!

And with that, we’re at the end of today’s post! Which look was your favorite, and will you be picking up this palette?

As always, please sign up for email notifications of my future posts if you’ve liked this one, and thanks for stopping by!

-Samantha

 

*This post is NOT sponsored, all of these items were purchased by me.