Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, my review | Bonnie Garner – Skincare, makeup, nails (2023)

I haven’t been this excited about an eyeshadow palette fora very long time! TheAnastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance paletteis absolutely stunning and it deserves all the raving reviews it gets!

Well, I guess I just killed the suspense with that intro but, I think you already know itif you’re reading my blog regularly, but I’m usually pretty critical soI really enjoy being genuinely obsessed by a beauty product! bigsmile

TheAnastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissancepaletteis, as its name (and the names of the eyeshadows) suggests, inspired by the Renaissance painting. The name of the eyeshadows refer to some pigments used during this time, but also painting techniques or famous Renaissance painters.

The Renaissance was a great period of cultural revival that occurred in Europe duringthe fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in the field of ideas, literature, arts and sciences, but also withthe economy and social side of things, and that created a shock wave in the religious and political spheres. This period is associated with the rediscovery of literature, philosophy and science of antiquity, and a starting point wasthe Italian Renaissance. Italy was indeed the central point of this movement and you can really feelit has inspired the Anastasia Beverly Hills brand, be itin the choice of colorsor the names of the eyeshadows.
The colors of this palette makeme think about the sublime Italian cities (Florence, Siena, Arezzo, aka Tuscany<3 heart <3) with all this harmony of reds, oranges, dark pinks, browns and ochrecolours. These cities were often used as background for the beautifulRenaissance paintings but I was lucky enoughto visit them for real and I can assure you that the colors are as stunningin real lifethat they are in the painting! wink

But still, even if I find these colors super beautiful, as soon as I received it, the first thing I wondered wasif these colors were wearablewith a faircomplexion like mine.
On medium, golden, dark skin, no worries, these shades work perfectly! But on a lightskin, I had some doubts…
Well, not anymore! smile

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette,presentation:

What the brands says about it:

“An essential eye shadow collection featuring 14 shades, including neutral and berry tones. Use Anastasia Beverly Hills first permanent palette, Modern Renaissance to create endless looks for daytime and evening.
Highly pigmented, easy-to-blend formula.
11 matte shades, 3 metallic.
Dual-sided soft bristle brush“

Seeing the palettefor the first time, I thought it was composed mostly of warm eyeshadows but when I actually started to use them, I realized that a lot of them were actually quite neutral andeven with cool undertones. This palette conceal its hand nicely! wink

Most colors are new and exclusive to this palette but 3 of them are already available in single format(Burnt Orange, Buon Fresco and Warm Taupe) (I own these 3 eyeshadows alreadyand I love them!).

So thereare lots of ochre and red tones, and although the brand speaks of a Renaissance inspiration,it makes me think of thecolors of 90’s makeup.
And well, it’s been at least 2 years that 90’smakeup has been makinga comeback! Until now, I have mostly seen it on the lips andthat’s it, but now it also influenceseye makeup, apparently!
I must admitthat the first time I did a ochre eye makeup look with this palette, I wondered where my choker necklace was from back in the days! wink

In my opinion, the Modern Renaissance palette is not a palette for those who want aneutral make-up for every day. This palette wouldn’t necessarily be the one I would take with me on holidays, for example (I love my simple neutral boring makeup looks when I’m away lol).
However, if you passionately love makeup and you want a trendy colored eyeshadows palette, this is it!
Anastasia Beverly Hills is so on pointwithcolors and trends, I have already mentioned it several times in my other posts on the brand. For me, this brand is really a trend setterand theyalso definitely master the art of color! And something tells me you’ll see a lot of red and ochre eyeshadows in the next autumn-winter collections from theother brands! wink

The formula of the eyeshadows in the palettereminds me of the ABH single eyeshadow I own.They are very creamy, they’re even “softer” in their texture butI also find them quite powdery. Overall however, it’s a great formula!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, my test and thoughts:

– Packaging and practicity:

I’ll start with what I like the least in this palette. wink
I can’t really understandthe choice of this velvet like packaging… The soft pink color is quite nice but the kindof faux-suede finish ends up catchingdust like nobody’s business and will inevitably end up being stained with eyeshadows(after a week of use, it was already dirty-_- ) Why, Anastasia, why???
Otherwise, it’s a classic cardboard palette with a mirror, which is always handy and a double brush tip (which is not great, the bristles are sheddingsuper easily…). So in short, nothing super exciting on that side.

– Color choice, finishes and versatility:

As I said above, the choice of colors will clearly please themakeup lovers (you can really achieve a lot of great makeup looks with this palette), but also those who want trendy and modern makeup looks.
The color range isperfect for all skin tones and I would say it’s a perfect palette for medium todark skin tones. However, it’s also perfectfor fair skin tones, but clearly it’s quite a bold color selection. Howeverthe colors, even if they’re quite bright, are still very wearable and flattering!

Some colors seem to look alike when you look at themin the palette (such as Raw Sienna/ Golden Ochre/ Burnt Orange or Venetian Red/ Love Letter) and it’s true that they’re close but as you will see on the swatches, they lookdifferent on the skin. Even if they clearly arein the same color family, they’ve got different undertones so you can create a full range of different makeup looks!

Regardingthe finishes, the brand speaks of 11 mattes and 3 metalics. I would rather say that it contains:
– 8 realmats: Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Buon Fresco, Red Ochre, Love Letter, Warm Taupe, Cyprus Umber, Realgar,
– 3 luminous mats(presque satinés): Tempera, Golden Ochre,Venetian Red,
– 1 shimmery: Antique Bronze,
– 2 metallics: Vermeer, Primavera.

This choice of finishes is absolutely great and allowstonsof different associations and makeuplooks!

– Overall quality of the eyeshadows:

I found the overall quality of the eyeshadowsvery good: they are ultra creamy, easy to blendand the pigmentation is excellent.
However, they are quite powdery, so you need to remember to tap your brush to prevent fall outs on your cheeks!
Also,when I swatched Love Letter for the first time, I thought that the pigmentation was quite weakcompared to others but in fact, it performs very well onthe eyelids and ithas a good pigmentation!

– Value for money:

The value for money of this palette is pretty good, it contains14 eyeshadowsfor $42 so it’s a fair price tag, IMO! wink

– Availability:

The palette is part of the brand permanent collection and it’s availableon Anastasia Beverly Hills‘ website, but also on Cult Beautyandin Dubai, it’s already been available at Sephora fora few days now (RUN!).

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, the colors:

– Tempera:a flesh color, very luminous.

– Golden Ochre: it’sa very light beige ochre yellow. It’s a real matte and it’s stunning all over the eyelid or in the crease.

– Vermeer: a beautiful champagne, slightly pink and very metallic. It really catches thelight.

– Buon Fresco: a beautiful dusty mauve matte eyeshadow quite muted, it’s still a neutral shade. I have a weakness for these kind of colors in the creaseor all over the eyelid.

– Antique Bronze: a beautiful color, much more complex than it first seems. It’s a neutral brown with pink undertonesbut it can sometimes look taupe, sometimes bronze depending onthe light. It’s a shimmeryeyeshadow. For me, this is the perfect shadefor a simple and effective makeup look, especially paired with Buon Fresco in the crease! wink

– Love Letter: a lovely raspberry pink, very bright. Maybenot the eyeshadow I would wear the most, but it’s surprisingly wearablewhen it’s paired with the other colors in the palette! I really like it!

– Cyprus Umber: a beautiful neutral dark brown that really helps to intensify allthe makeup looks.

– Raw Sienna:a beautiful matte amber, very luminous.

– Burnt Orange: an orange shadewith a light ochre undertone, perfect as transition shade forvery intense and dark smokey eyes or even used by itself on the entire eyelid.

– Primavera:a very metallic light gold, perfect to highlightan inner corner or the centerof the eyelid.

– Red Ochre: a beautiful matte orange-red, almost like a Sienna pigment, very warmand intense. One of my favorite color in this palette!

– Venetian Red:a stunning and deep mattecrimson, with very fine iridescent particles, which makes it very luminous.

– Warm Taupe: a beige brown color, slightly taupe. It’s a matte finish.

– Realgar: this colorscared me at first, but on the eyelid, it’s really beautiful and actually quite easy to wear. It’s a beautiful orange brick, almost sienna. It’s a matte finish.

Finally, here are the swatches of the entire palette:

And several makeup looks made with this palette:

– Look 1:

For thislook,I appliedTemperaas a base all over,Buon Fresco andWarm Taupe in the crease, Antique Bronzeall over the eyelid,Cyprus Umberin the outter V and along the lash line andVermeerin the inner corner.
My lipstick combo here is also from ABH, it’s the matte liquid lipstickCrushwiththe lip-glossKristenon top.

– Look 2:

IappliedTemperaall over as a base, BurntOrangein the crease, Cyprus Umberin the outter V,Realgar andRed Ochreas a halo on the side of the eyelids, Primaveraon the middle of the eyelid and in the inner corner. My black gel liner is byInglot.
On my lips, it’s theLippie Stix Sheer Kiddoby ColourPop(I love it so much, it’s almost finished, can you believe it???)

– Look 3:

My 90’s makeup look! wink
I appliedTemperaall over, Raw Siennain the crease withWarm Taupeto intensify, Golden Ochreon the eyelidandPrimavera in the inner corner.My liner is theCharlotte Tilbury Bedroom Blackblended.
On my lips,Velvet Teddy by MAC.

– Look 4:

I appliedTemperaas a base, Buon Frescoin the crease, Love Letter is the star of the show here and it’s on my entire eyelid, Cyprus Umberis in the outter V and along the lash line, mixed withLove Letter, andVermeerin the inner corner. I also usedCosta Riche by MACin the waterline.
On my lips, it’s the Vice Lisptick in the shade Sheer Liar by Urban Decay.

In summary:

I’m obsessed withthis palette. The selection of colors is beautiful and really unique, IMO. The quality of the eyeshadows is absolutely great. And I think it’s so coolthat it can really suit all skin colors for once! smile

TheAnastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette is available onAnastasia Beverly Hillswebsitefor $42or onCult Beauty(it retails for41£).
And it’s already available in Sephora in the UAE, yeaaah! bigsmile

Did you know the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette? Do you likethe color selection?

Photo credit: bonnie-garner.com