This palette has 14 warm and neutral shades that will allow to create dramatic looks or toned down looks for everyday. I included four sets of swatches for each row. The first two are without primer and I always try to include swatches of the shades blended out.
Shades:
- Tempera: matte beige
- Golden Ochre: matte dijon mustard yellow. Seriously, though. This color makes me want a sandwich.
- Vermeer: iridescent light shimmery peach
- Buon Fresco: matte lavender
- Antique Bronze: sable with a satin finish
- Love Letter: matte raspberry
- Cyprus Umber: intense matte coffee brown
- Raw Sienna: matte tan
- Burnt Orange: matte light orange
- Primavera: shimmery gold
- Red Ochre: matte rusty red
- Venetian Red: satin crimson
- Warm Taupe: matte taupe
- Realgar: matte sunset orange
Without primer
Without primer and blended
Swatched over primer
Swatched over primer and blended
The pigmentation of these eyeshadows is insane. They are the kind of eyeshadows that are powdery because they have so much pigment and color payoff. Cyprus Umber for instance has horrible fallout because it is such a rich, deep brown. But it all brushes right off, so it isn't a big deal. They are also some of the easiest shadows to work with. You don't have to do much in terms of building and blending. Blending is almost effortless and they are not the kind of shadows that go away as you blend them, so you can go back and make any adjustments you need. The texture is just as awesome. They are so buttery and soft, which is another contributor to the powdery factor of the shadows. The number one thing that irritates me about that is the fact that my palette already looks so worn. It looks like I have had it for longer than a week.
I have only have one other Anastasia Palette, but this one blows it out of the water. I have a lot of other people say that the Modern Renaissance Palette is by far her best.
Aside from the outstanding quality, another thing the Modern Renaissance palette has going for it is versatility. It looks very warm, but I have also created cooler looks with it. I have done very simple, natural looks and I have done dramatic looks. It pairs well with other eyeshadows and there are no limits to what you can do. In fact, yesterday I put a blue eyeshadow with it and it is probably one of my favorite looks I have ever done. I am thinking about doing a post on all of the looks I have done with this palette so you can really see how it works.
The only thing I am a little iffy on is the packaging. I don't like the suede covering. It is pretty and feels nice, but it gets dirty so easily. It doesn't seem like a wise choice for an eyeshadow. It does come with a dual ended brush. One end is a fluffy blending brush and the other is good for applying shadows on the lid. The fluffy brush sheds and frays out almost immediately after use. It does get the job done, though. The other brush is soft and does a great job. While it is not perfect, it is an upgrade from the brushes or sponges you usually get in palettes.
This palette is more expensive than previous ABH palettes at $41 and each shadow is 0.02 oz. The shadow pans are smaller than previous palettes, which had 0.025 oz of product per pan. The fact that you are paying $7 more for less product is upsetting, but on the flip side, I feel like the quality of this one is a little better than my World Traveler Palette. This palette is a permanent addition to her line (yay) and you can find it anywhere Anastasia Beverly Hills is sold. It does say limited edition on Sephora's site, so I expect they will not have it forever.
I would consider this an absolute must have. I have been obsessed with it and I will be getting my money's worth out of it. This isn't one of those palettes you buy and use for a week then toss aside. You will use it a lot. Or at least I will.
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!