REVIEW: Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette
Once upon a time, it was the URBAN DECAY NAKED palette and its sequels. Then came the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette and its sequels. It seems like there's always a new absolute must have palette that people fall absolutely in love with. Across the board, the reviews are positive and everyone is obsessed. I feel like in 2016 there's really only one palette that has that distinction and that's the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette. I mean... Obviously. I feel like overwhelmingly this is going to be showing up on a lot of Best Products Of 2016 lists this year, don't you? I missed the first run and spent at least a couple of months regretting it as I stalked Sephora to check if it was back in stock yet. One morning, while home sick from work, I randomly checked for it on the mobile site while curled up in bed... and it was BACK. So I ordered it like there was a fire under my ass and shifted my focus to stalking my Canada Post app for its arrival. I swear, when it comes to makeup I really want, I basically turn into a tiger stalking my prey.
Anyway... That's clearly a lot of anticipation for this palette to hold up to... Keep reading to find out if it did for me!
The thing I feel like this palette did was actually to bring a solidly new spin on a neutral palette, bringing pops of red and pink that we haven't really seen in neutral palettes up until this point and generally keeping everything overwhelmingly warm. I think that's really what made this a must have. Absolutely everyone has done their version of a NAKED palette at this point, and the Chocolate Bar was definitely a spin on that but now everyone has brought pops of colour in their neutral palettes as well. This palette definitely did something different as far as shade selection is concerned.
One problem that I have with this palette is the packaging, but I feel like this is a pretty common gripe people have with this palette. It's gorgeous, don't get me wrong. I love the dove pink (as I like to call it) shade of it and I think it looks really sleek and gorgeous. It has a nice mirror and a strong magnet, two things that for me are really necessary for a higher end palette. Unfortunately, between the time I got it and when I'm writing this post, it's already gotten dirty even though I'm really careful with it and I know that it won't take too long until it just looks dingy. I feel like a palette needs to have an outer packaging that you can wipe clean, and I know that's not just me.
One thing that really struck me about this palette is how versatile it is. I think the shade selection is kind of perfect in that way, because you can such a wide range of looks. I've used this for really neutral contoured looks, really fiery warm fall looks, high-impact shimmery evening looks and - the biggest surprise of all - a really pretty cool toned look!
Normally, I would talk about each shade in the palette individually, but I can honestly say that I feel like the quality is absolutely top knotch across the board. All of the shades are really highly pigmented, with the mattes being really smooth and creamy and the shimmer shades packing a lot of punch without looking too heavy. The blendability is also absolutely incredible. Honestly, when you apply these shadows they basically feel like they blend themselves. It's incredible!
It's actually hard to choose favorite shades in the palette, but if I absolutely had to I'd say that Tempera is a perfect brow bone shade that really helps to blend everything out. My go to transition shades are Golden Ochre, Buon Fresco, and Burnt Orange. Both of the shimmery lid shades, Vermeer and Primavera, are equally gorgeous and bring a lot of light to an eye look. But if I really had to pick favoritefavoritefavorites, I'd say that Red Ochre and Venetian Red are the ones that I love the most because they're both stunning and unlike anything else in my collection currently.
- 1. I started with Golden Ochre as a transition.
- 2. Next, I went in with Red Ochre through the crease.
- 3. I then packed Primavera all over the inner 2/3 of the lid and a light dusting in my inner corner.
- 4. Finally, I used Venetian Red to deepen up the outer 1/3 of the lid.
- 5. For the wing, I used the Physicians Formula 3-in-1 Eye Booster Liquid Eyeliner and on my lashes is the IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara.
- 1. I started with Buon Fresco as my transition shade.
- 2. Next, I blended Antique Bronze into the crease and built up some depth in the outer crease.
- 3. Then I packed Vermeer onto the inner 2/3 of the lid.
- 4. Finally, I added definition to the outer 1/3 of the lid and outer crease with Cyprus Umber.
- 5. To make sure all of the blending was smooth, I re-blended the upper crease with more Buon Fresco and added Tempera to my browbone.
- 6. For the wing, I used the Physicians Formula 3-in-1 Eye Booster Liquid Eyeliner and on my lashes is the IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara.
In case it wasn't clear, I think this is an absolutely incredible palette and I've been reaching for it constantly ever since I got it. The quality is just out of this world and I'm kind of kicking myself for never picking up any Anastasia palettes before this one. If you haven't picked this up, I highly, highly recommend it and I also think this would be a phenomenal gift for any makeup lover who doesn't have it in their collection yet.
Thanks for reading!
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