Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches
The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette ($42) is a new 14 shade eyeshadow palette that launched for Summer 2016 which is made up of mostly matte finish eyeshadows. This is a pretty unique shade as it contains both warmer neutrals and stronger pops of not only pink but red. I feel like red is a color that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime here in the US so it is nice seeing it in this particular palette.
The contrast of the neutrals combined with the richer pinks, reds, and oranges makes for a very exciting range of shades. The fact that many of the shades are matte might be exciting for some makeup lovers as well.
The palette comes housed in a velvety compact much like we saw from the original Urban Decay Naked Palette. I actually don’t love this packaging as it does end up collecting lint and dirt easily and it’s difficult to clean it. The palette also contains a mirror and a double-ended eyeshadow brush that was quite well made and handy for applying and blending shades. The eyeshadows are made within the USA and weight in at 0.02 oz each for a total weight of 0.28 oz. Past palettes such as the Artist Palette was $30.00 at 0.30 oz with 12 eyeshadows and the Amrezy Eyeshadow Palette which was $29 at 0.25 oz with 10 shades. This contains more variety of shades but the price is considerably higher compared to past palettes.
Shades include:
- Tempera (matte beige)
- Golden Ochre (matte earthy yellow)
- Vermeer (metallic iridescent shell)
- Buon Fresco (matte antique lavender)
- Antique Bronze (metallic sable with a satin finish)
- Love Letter (matte raspberry)
- Cyprus Umber (matte dark coffee)
- Realgar (matte brick)
- Warm Taupe (matte earthy gray)
- Venetian Red (matte crimson)
- Red Ochre (matte sienna)
- Primavera (metallic shimmery gold dust)
- Burnt Orange (matte deep orange)
- Raw Sienna (matte neutral amber)
I happen to be one of those people that thinks mattes are mostly made up of neutral, natural shades. You have to admit few brands, including Urban Decay and Too Faced, create mattes that are extra bold and vibrant. I think that’s what makes the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette a fairly unique palette because not only does it have some incredibly bright, bold shades of berry and orange but takes the initiative to combine those vibrant shades with some pretty standard matte neutrals. A majority of this palette is made up of matte finish eyeshadows all of which performed exceptionally well. I worried that a combination of the matte finish and incredible pigmentation would result in patchy application but I experienced no problems. Honestly, they felt a lot like Lorac’s buttery textured eyeshadows from the Pro Palette Collection. They were very, very soft in consistency and there was some powdery kick up but I experienced no issues with fall out and each shade applied positively dreamy on my lids with an excellent wear both with and without primer on my drier eyes. As advertised, these are indeed highly pigmented but I had no problems with any of the shades staining my lids. I did worry about this as some of the shades are very, very pigmented!
It’s a funny thing because although a Summer release these shades feel very Fall-like but have no fear as there are plenty of Summer looks to be hade here as well. I used Red Ochre and Primavera as well as Realgar to create a warm, Summery sunset look below.
Overall, gives a new and exciting spin on neutrals with gorgeous, pigmented pops of reds, berries, and oranges. This palette is a must have as not only is it unique but truly stunning and will be a beautiful addition to any makeup lover’s collection!
The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette is available now at www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com and will also be launching shortly at Sephora.com and Ulta.com.