Just Another Neutral Palette?: Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette Review

So I know this palette has been featured and swatched to high heaven all over social media, but according to a Twitter poll I held, a review and makeup look for this palette were still very much requested. I think it is important as a consumer to read many, many, many reviews on any given product and find out the good, bad, and the ugly before making a solid decision if the product is worth purchasing. I, like many other consumers, have a drawer filled with "must have" neutral palettes collecting dust, which begs the question: do we really need them all? While I'm probably not the best fit to answer that question as I am a self-proclaimed beauty addict, it is some food for thought. However, if we are being completely honest, I was not at all impressed when I saw the initial PR images for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette. It wasn't because the palette looked like a bad one by any means, but appeared to have so many multiples of the exact same shades. Nonetheless, clearly my inner beauty addict gave in the second I swatched this palette in stores at Sephora, so hopefully this review will shed some light on what others haven't yet told you.

Q&A's

♥What is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette?♥

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette is a 14-pan eyeshadow palette containing a variety of warm neutrals and berry tones (nine mattes, two satins, & three metallics). Each eyeshadow contains 0.02 oz of product and are housed in a durable cardboard packaging topped with fuzzy, mauve-pink velvet. As an added bonus, the palette also comes with a double-ended brush for on the go. It the first palette that ABH has produced that will be permanent to their line and can be purchased at Sephora, Ulta, and Macy's for $42.

♥How do these shadows perform?♥

In previous palettes, I have felt that Anastasia Beverly Hills lacked the quality and cohesiveness that draws me in with other neutral palettes. I much preferred the quality of their single shadows, which always proved to be pigmented and easy to work with. However, I am pleased to say that ABH has tremendously improved the formula of their eyeshadow palettes. The shadows in the Modern Renaissance Palette are buttery smooth and pigmented, but are also easy to work with and build up. I do find that the shades provide a lot of kick up, but that does not really bother me as all I have to do is tap off any excess from my brush. On initial application of the mattes in particular, I noticed that buffing and blending cause them to lose their vibrancy and pigmentation, but when applied a second time, the pigment stuck and was nicely buildable. I believe this makes it a palette that is very user- and beginner-friendly.

♥How do the shadows wear?♥

I had absolutely no issues with the wear of these eyeshadows. There was no creasing, fading, or transferring whatsoever.

♥What are my overall thoughts on this product?♥

While there are a ton of neutral palettes on the market, I do believe this specific palette has its own voice and individuality. Many of the neutrals in this palette, such as Golden Ochre, Warm Taupe, and Realgar, are very unique and are ones I haven't seen before. The palette is also very compact and portable, allows you to create an entire look with just this one palette, and gives a good amount of variety to transition you through the seasons. The price point also isn't that bad as it breaks down to $3 per shadow, though I do wish each shadow contained more product. All in all, the quality is pretty on par with other neutral palettes on the market, such as the Lorac Pro Palette and the Kat Von D Shade And Light Eye Palette. However, it maintains a better quality and consistency than the more affordable Morphe 35O Palette, which can be pretty chalky and reads one-note overall. Nevertheless, if you already have a ton of neutrals in your collection, this palette may not be an absolute must-have, but if you are just beginning out in makeup or are interested in trying out some of Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows, this would be an excellent introduction.

Makeup Deets

♥Brows - NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe

♥Eyeshadow - Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (Burnt Orange, Red Ochre, Cyprus Umber, & Venetian Red), ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Lace, & NYX Roll-On Shimmer in Mauve Pink
♥Glitter - Revlon PhotoReady Eye Art Duo in Lilac Luster

♥Eyeliner - Wet n Wild H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner & Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Pencil in M-10

♥Lashes - Koko Lashes in Queen Bee

♥Foundation - Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation in Sandy Beige

♥Concealer - LA Girl Pro Conceal in Porcelain

♥Highlight - Nars Illuminator in Copacabana topped with Lorac Illuminating Highlighter in Twilight

♥Bronzer - L'Oreal Glam Bronze in Medium

♥Blush - Mally Effortless Airbrush Highlighter & Blush Duo in Peach

♥Lips - Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Kathryn

XO♥

Copper Smokey Eye | Thanksgiving Makeup Tutorial

Happy Early Thanksgiving, everyone! While I won't be doing anything super glamorous tomorrow, I figured now would be the perfect time to put the Morphe 35O Palette to use, you know, since a lot more of you were finally able to get your hands on it. And what screams Thanksgiving more than a warm-toned smokey eye? Let's be real. FYI: Since the eyeshadows in this palette aren't named, I'll be including a photo showing all of the shades I used to get this look. Hope you all have an amazing, filling, safe day! ♥


Tutorial

♥ CLICK TO ENLARGE ♥

1♥ I've mentioned that recently my eyelids have been extremely dry. Well, I was able to get that under control, so maybe I'll talk about that in another post at some point. However, while I've being deal with dry eyelids, I've especially loved using the Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer as it is a very smoothing, hydrating primer.

2♥ Because this look is very vibrant, it is important to lay down transition shades and build up the intensity gradually so that the eyeshadow doesn't look harsh. I begin by applying a transition shade that is just barely darker than my naturally skin tone (a very light tan) with a large fluffy brush. This shade goes between the brow and the crease.

3♥ Further building up the transitioning, I applied a light melon color below the last transiton shade with a slightly less fluffy blending brush.

4♥ As you can see, with each step, I'm using a darker shade, but everything is being built up gradually. Now, using a flatter blending brush, I'm applying a bright orange shade directly into the crease, blending it upwards and outwards. With brighter colors I like to take the tiniest bit on my brush and build it up slowly because it is harder to tone down than it is to add on.

5♥ I wanted a bit more dimension to my eyes, so with the same flat blending brush, I added a medium warm brown to my crease, repeating the same motion and placement that I did in the last step.

♥ CLICK TO ENLARGE ♥

6♥ Now for the showstopper of this entire look, I applied a copper shade to my lid. While this particular eyeshadow in the palette is already very foiled, I found it needed a bit of help sticking to my lid, so I mixed it with a small amount of the LA Splash Splashproof Sealer before applying it with a flat shader brush.

7♥ The copper eyeshadow is very overpowering, so I needed to define my crease even more so. Using a dark brown from the palette, I put this color directly into the crease with a pencil brush.

8♥ I applied my typical winged eyeliner with the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Black. Make this line as thick or thin as you please, but I do recommend using a liquid eyeliner over such a metallic shade. It has less of a tendency to skip and comes out more opaque.

9♥ At this point, I've taken a little break from doing my eyeshadow to complete my face makeup and brows. I've also taken this chance to add some nice touches like a brow bone highlight and some lashes. For the brow bone I used Mac Nylon Eyeshadow and for lashes I used this new pair that I picked up from the beauty supply, Red Cherry # 102. They have a really nice volume at the base, but have random wispy pieces sticking out that photographs beautifully.

10♥ I didn't want to neglect the lower lash line. Lately I've really been liking smoking it out. I applied the Surratt Smoky Eye Baton in Vapeur Mauve to my waterline and slightly onto my lower lash line. Then, using a pencil brush, I smudged it out with the dark brown shade. I didn't want it to be too harsh, however, and blended it out even further with the medium warm brown eyeshadow. Lastly, I applied a peachy champagne metallic shade to my inner corner to brighten up and balance this darker look.

Shades I used in this look are marked off with stars :)

Face Deets

♥ Foundation - It Cosmetics Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream & Cover FX Custom Cover Drops

♥ Concealer - LA Girl Pro Conceal Concealer

♥ Bronzer - Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Pressed Finishing Powder in Naked Dark

♥ Blush - Too Faced Love Flush Blush in I Will Always Love You

♥ Highlight - The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

♥ Brows - NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe

♥ Lips - NYX Lip Liner in Ever & Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Caramello

XO♥

The Palette That Broke The Internet: Morphe 35O Palette Review

I know a lot of my recent posts have been targeting Fall appropriate makeup products, but come on! Do you see this beaut? The Morphe 35O Palette is essentially Autumn wrapped up in sleek black plastic packaging. I would actually even venture to say that this palette could potentially be a one-stop shop for most consumers as it contains various shades from light to dark, warm to cool, and matte to metallic and foil. You can truly create so many different looks from this palette at the affordable price of $22.99...that is, of course, if you can manage to get your hands on it (queue diabolic laugh).

The palette comes in simple, yet sturdy black packaging with the Morphe logo across the front and a strong clasp closure. The feel and smell is very reminiscent of the old school Coastal Scents and BH Cosmetics 28-eyeshadow palettes as it is not the most expensive feeling and the talc scent is very overpowering. Nevertheless, it is not the worst packaging and will withstanding traveling. Besides, isn't it the product inside that really matters? It is also important to note, however, that the eyeshadows do not have names, so for the purpose of this post I wanted to let you know that swatches will be done row by row, left to right.


Swatches

First Row

Second Row

Third Row

Fourth Row

Fifth Row

If you follow my blog at all, you know that warm neutrals have a special place in my heart. Now with that being said, the quality of the cooler tone shades in this palette certainly makes me want to dabble a bit on that side of the spectrum. I also love the fact that they included the foil texture throughout the palette (sixth shade in the third row, second shade in the fourth row, and last shade in the fifth row). Foil is a texture of eyeshadow that has a more slippery feel due to higher oil content in the formula and creates an ultra metallic finish on the lid even without dampening your brush. It is often found in more luxury brands, such as Make Up For Ever and Stila, but has recently been released in more affordable brands, such as Makeup Geek and now Morphe. I think those shades alone up the value of this palette tremendously.

Now to address the elephant in the room: how do you plan on getting your hands on this palette? I get it. It sells out a few hours after it goes live on any website, but rest assured--this palette is in fact permanent, so at some point or another, it will become available to you. I would recommend looking in places other than just the Morphe website. Try Lady Moss, Ricky's NYC, or Frend's Beauty. Look around because this palette has been popping up in retailers other than Morphe Brushes. Good luck hunting, beauty addicts!

XO♥