Review: Modern Renaissance Palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills

By M.C. -
Okay, before I begin this review, I want to acknowledge that I know that literally everyone who has ever used makeup ever has already reviewed this palette. This is probably the most talked about eyeshadow palette in the history of the world! (Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but can you think of any palette that is more "famous")? At this point, I think everyone who is interested in the Modern Renaissance Palette already has all the information about it that they need. And, if you weren't interested in it before, this review is not going to make you change your mind.

However, I have this palette (actually, I've had it since December, but, as I said, I'm way behind on my palette reviews), so I'm going to give you my thoughts about it.

First of all, I want everyone to take a moment to appreciate how difficult it was for me to get my hands on this palette. This palette released in June 2016, and I didn't have an opportunity to get it until December. UNTIL DECEMBER! And, I was trying to get it. I was checking Ulta's website and Sephora's website every other day. Every time it came back in stock, it sold out in approximately 12 seconds. I was just like, "I just want to give  you my money! Take my money and give me the eyeshadow!!!" Now, that this palette has been out for like 10 months, it's easier to find. However, if you were trying to purchase it right after it came out, I feel your pain.


Anyway, now that I've spent too much time talking about all the hype around this palette, let's get to the actual review.

First of all, you should know that this palette costs $42--which is pretty standard for a high end palette--and it comes with 14 shadows and a double-ended brush.

In the case of the actual shadows, I have to say--and I know this is heresy--I don't think this palette lives up to the hype. Is this a nice palette? Yes. Is the formula good? Yes. Are the shades beautiful and great? Yes. Is this palette the be all end all of eyeshadow? No.

Here's the thing, these shadows have a formula to die for. Seriously, I want all my shadows to have this formula. They're super soft, super blendable, and super pigmented. There's nothing else I could want out of my eyeshadows. For that reason alone, this palette is worth your money.

The reason I don't think this palette lives up to the hype is that the shades are not super unique. Are they pretty shades? Yes. Are they usable? Yes. Are they dupable? Absolutely yes. I feel like Vermeer, Realgar, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, and Love Letter are the only shades in the this palette that are really unique. Sure, the other shades in this palette are nice, but I feel like they're not as ground breaking as I expected them to be. I wish that a couple of the matte transition shades (like Golden Ochre and Warm Taupe) could have been replaced with some nice, brownish-pink shades, which would have been more unique.


Okay, you may think, but why does this matter? Lots of palettes have shades that are easily duped. So, why does that matter to me in regards to this palette? My biggest problem with this palette is that I don't really like I have enough reddish shadows to create a complete "red look." That's why I want a pinkish-brown transition shade. I would also appreciate a red shimmer shade that's not Antique Bronze. Obviously, I have other red eyeshadows, so I have no problem creating a "red look" if I want to. However, I really wish I had enough red toned shadows in one palette to create that look.

So, if I can't create a red look with this palette, what look can I create with this palette? I can create a gold look or a bronze look. The issue is that I can get a gold and/or bronze look out of a lot of different palettes. So, this means that this palette is not actually that special.

So, should you buy this palette? Obviously, it depends on you and your eyeshadow collection. This is a great palette in terms of quality. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this palette. However, for me personally, this palette doesn't stand out in my collection as much as I thought it was going to. I think that if I had fewer palettes, this palette would stand out more for me. If you don't have a lot of high end eyeshadow (and you want more high end eyeshadow), then you should definitely consider this palette.

If I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't buy this palette. Obviously, at one point, I really wanted this palette. Now that I have it, however, I do think it is over hyped. So, if you're still lusting after this palette, you should be aware of that.

Final rating: 8/10

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