Showing posts with label first impression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first impression. Show all posts

Saturday, July 19, 2014

First Look: Anastasia Amrezy Palette (Limited Edition)


For those of us that are avid fans of Anastasia Beverly Hills, whether it be for their brow products or eyeshadows, there is an exciting newly released palette created by a very popular Instagram makeup artist named Amrezy. Since this collection was formulated through a collaboration between Anastasia's own daughter (who is responsible for the buttery texture and pigmentation of the company's eyeshadows) and a makeup artist who clearly has great taste, since her own Instagram photos are breathtaking, this palette is a huge win. You can purchase the palette on the Anastasia website or through ULTA.


I am in awe at the color selection. These colors are everything I have ever wanted in a palette... it has a good mix of neutrals for every day wear and some pops of gemstone colors (Iridescent Purple and Emerald) which are flattering for all eye colors. There are 10 shadows in total, with the top row containing shimmery satin finish and the bottom row being matte (a format popularized by the Lorac Pro palette).


The palette also features a double-sided brush with one side suited to deposit color onto the eyelid and the other side is a small crease brush, perfect for creating cut-crease looks or blending out your colors.


You might think that this palette looks familiar to the Lavish Palette but I think that the shades and formulations of the eyeshadows is superior in the Amrezy palette. The reason I say this is that although Sienna performs similarly to Morocco, Pink Sapphire, Ballet and Black Diamond were disappointing (they do not stay on the lid well and need to be packed on heavily). The pigmentation seems to be much more potent with the colors of the Amrezy palette (Iridescent Purple is far superior to Pink Sapphire) and I have not yet noticed any fall out.

All of the swatches below were created with a single swipe:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette - Top Row Swatches (Shimmer)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette - Bottom Row Swatches (Matte)
If you don't own any Anastasia palette, I think this is an amazing introductory palette for your collection, especially since it is VERY reasonably priced at $29. You will get a lot of wear from these colors and manage to achieve a wide variety of looks. The packaging is absolutely adorable and extremely feminine, this is a product that feels much more luxe than its price tag.

If you have other Anastasia palettes in your collection, you should still pick this one up since I'm 99.9% positive that this is the best eyeshadow formulation so far from the brand.


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Product Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lavish Palette

Woohoo, I'm so excited that I finally got this palette after eyeing it for half a year! It went on sale, as I mentioned in a previous post about offers from cosmetic companies. I was so happy to be able to pick this up for just $24 (shipping was free). I've seen bloggers and vloggers rave about this palette so I needed to see what all the hype was about.

Here's a closer look at the shadows (picture taken in natural light):

I'm happy with the range of colors, this is definitely a gem-toned palette.... I love the inclusion of pink, green, various light shades and even a black (albeit sparkly), plus there's definitely a good range of transition shades.

Here are my swatches:
Cream: Light peach beige, matte finish (very close to my skintone so you can barely see it) but it had great color payoff
Antique: Grayish taupe, frosted finish, great pigmentation and color payoff
Rum Cake: Copper brown with orange undertone, frost finish, best color payoff in the palette
Moss: Olive green with golden flecks, frosted finish, decent color payoff
Truffle: Reddish brown, pearl finish, so-so color payoff but good pigmentation
Ballet:  Peachy pink with silver sparkles (on the larger side), sheerest of the palette with fairly poor color payoff because it is the second most powdery
Orange Soda: Light orange, matte finish, most powdery shade with the poorest color payoff even though it has good pigmentation - it tends to blend away 
Sienna: Coppery reddish brown, matte finish, decent color payoff
Pink Sapphire: Pinkish coppery  brown, frosted metallic finish, good pigmentation (disappointing, however, because it is a lot less pink than I had hoped)
Black Diamond: Medium to dark brown with copper and gold microglitter, texture is a little dry and it tends to skip so it's more difficult to blend out, but it has good color payoff

I'll have to do a look to let you guys know how I feel about the shadows overall, but from the looks of it you can get very nice brown, copper, or orange-based looks with this palette.... I definitely think it's a great little beginner palette since the colors are very smooth and buttery and none of the pigmentation is too intense (a la Urban Decay Electric Palette) so you won't mess up your look by accidentally applying too much.

I think the value was very good, it came to about $2.40 per eyeshadow (0.031 oz each) compared to a MAC eyeshadow which costs $10 per pan (at 0.05 oz each) - so you're getting shadows for about 2.6X cheaper per quantity. I do have to say that I was hoping the shade Pink Sapphire was going to be more of a saturated pink rather than copper leaning, but it's still very wearable and one of my favorite colors in the palette.
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