Let’s talk about the (not so new) Anastasia palette – The Modern Renaissance Palette. This is a particularly aesthetically pleasing palette. Right from the warm pink toned colour family to the pretty pink fluffy exterior, it’s certainly eye catching. But just how practical is it? It’s ABH’s first permanent palette and I find that interesting because it’s so trendy. This post took about two months longer than intended to publish because I had just refused to make my mind up about this product. I’ve now formulated a somewhat less than popular opinion so keep on reading if you want to know.

It’s undeniable, this palette is of superior quality. That is, the formulation of the shadow is slightly better than any of ABH’s previous palettes (I have the amrezy palette, the world traveller palette and the glow/contour kits for comparison). These shadows are creamier, more buttery, more pigmented and more consistent than any of ABH’s previous products. They blend well and the various eyeshadows complement each other in the palette. In terms of pigmentation and quality, it’s comparable to the Lorac Pro Palettes (1 &2) which are arguably, two of the best palettes out there. As with all super pigmented eyeshadows, there’s fallout – it’s the compromise to having a lot of pigment in the formulation, the excess needs to go somewhere and it’s usually termed fallout. Just tap your brush off on the side before applying to the lid so that it doesn’t go all over your face.

Here are the swatches. The first three pictures are finger swatches and then there’s a brush swatch of all the shades because you don’t generally apply eyeshadow with your finger so brush swatches give a more accurate representation of pigmentation.

Brush Swatches, using a Zoeva 234 Luxe Smoky Shader

There are only two true shimmer shades – a gold tone and a pinky silver tone. That really is all you need amongst the warm sea of matte shades. There’s a couple of in-between satin finish shadows that have some slight shimmer but it doesn’t foil on the lid therefore making them look quite flat and matte (Antique Bronze is a prime example).

As for the fluffy exterior. I feared it might get super dirty and look ugly really quickly but if you have this palette and you want to know how to keep it clean then don’t worry because I’ve figured it out. Just get some antibac brush cleanser on a tissue and blot at any marks. They come right off. I use this stuff for all my brushes and to keep everything clean. You’re welcome.

If you’ve made it this far you might be wondering when my so far, glowing review becomes less than popular. It’s not to do with the quality of the palette. It’s to do with how useable it is. In my opinion, pink eyeshadow is just not very flattering on many people. It looks great on the Instagram pictures, you know where the beauty gurus use ring lights and skin smoothing apps? But actually, in person, more often than not it looks off. I mean, to be honest only about three shades in the palette are responsible for the offending pink eye (conjunctivitis pun intended) situation. These are Love Letter, Venetian Red and to some extent Red Ochre. The rest of the palette is super flattering and actually, very neutral. It’s just this trend of pink eyeshadow that needs to move on IMO.

For example, I used the MR palette for this look with zero pink shades and loved it.

Just one more gripe about the price: it is $42 and £41. I actually bought this the day it became available in the UK. When it arrived, I refused to use it for a few weeks and kept it in a drawer because I resented having to pay so much for it! These prices are set by ABH and not our retailers so it really was their call. Slightly disappointing as none of my other ABH palettes have been more expensive than about £25. I assume as the brand is growing, the prices are increasing to maximize profitability. Annoying, but such is life. If you’re wondering whether the palette is worth it then it’s your call. If you want a warm toned palette with a great selection of warm crease and transition shades and you’re willing to fork out for the quality, then yeah you can get hold of it here (waitlist but it’ll come back eventually). If you want the palette because it’s trendy AF then maybe try pink eyeshadow in any other palette you’ve got or get a cheaper alternative to make sure the colour suits your eyes. If you want a new palette that’s a little more versatile with colours check out my last review.

All in all, it’s a nice palette and you can create some very pretty looks with it. It has an excellent selection of transition, blending, crease and outer v shades which look and blend excellently but when I think of the palette, I tend to forget about these and focus on the fact that I don’t like pink eyeshadow on pretty much anyone. Maybe this clouds my judgement, but I had to get it out there.

• Pigmentation – 10/10
• Texture – 9/10
• Longevity – 9/10
• Price – 6/10
• Overall – 8/10