I have had enough time to form an opinion about the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette ($42.00). At first, I thought the formula would be like the Nars Loaded Eyeshadow Palette, but it’s not. I’ve also curated three looks with the palette, two that were difficult to do and one that I performed with relative ease.
>> CLICK HERE FOR SWATCHES OF THE SUBCULTURE PALETTE<<
 |
| Look 1: Adorn on inner lids, New Wave on lids, Destiny in crease, Mercury to soften crease |
 |
| Look 2: Cube in inner lids, All Star on lids, Adorn in center of lids, Cube and Adorn on lower lash line |
 |
| Look 2: Cube in inner lids, All Star on lids, Adorn in center of lids, Cube and Adorn on lower lash line |
 |
| Look 3: New Wave, Destiny on lids, Fudge in crease |
 |
| Look 3: New Wave, Destiny on lids, Fudge in crease |
 |
| Look 3: New Wave, Destiny on lids, Fudge in crease |
My skin type
My lids are oily. Primer is a must with this palette.
Ingredients
Axis, Destiny, Mercury, Dawn, Rowdy, Fudge, All Star, Edge, New Wave, Roxy, Untamed:
Talc, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Silica, May Contain: (+/-) Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Carmine (Ci 75470), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Ferric Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891). *Contains carmine as a color additive.
Adorn:
Talc, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, May Contain: (+/-) Mica, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).
Electric:
Talc, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Zinc Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, May Contain: (+/-) Mica, Iron Oxide (Ci 77491), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).
Cube:
Talc, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Silica, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, May Contain: (+/-) Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).
How I use it
As I was doing my swatches, I realized they swatch much, much better using my finger. Noticing that, I also tried an eye look with my fingers, and I found that the colors applied well, finger-to-eyelid. It’s impossible for me to complete an eye look using my fingers so eventually a brush will be needed.
What I like about it
My favorite shades to use are the shades with glitter/sparkle: Adorn, Cube, and Electric. I have little to no issues using these three shades and I find that they apply nicely over another shadow with my finger rather than a brush. Many people complained about Cube, but I love it. The only thing I found was that it needed to be layered to show up properly on my skin, which is what I did for Look 2.
I like the overall shades in the palette; at first glance, I thought it would be difficult for me to come up with looks to do with this palette because of the differences in the colors, but I was able to be more creative than I have ever been using this palette.
What could be better
Some of the shades are just too hard to work with: New Wave, Roxy, Edge, All Star, and Axis do not like to be layered or blended. I find that the color almost or completely disappears while I am trying to work with it. Look 1 and 3 were difficult to do because of this.
Also, many of the shades appear darker on my skin once applied, such as Fudge, All Star, Mercury, Untamed, Axis, and Rowdy. This is a double-edged sword because I often don’t have a use for the really light beige colors, but because they appear darker on me, they work well as a transition or crease shade. On the other hand, people that actually want the shade that appears in the pan may be disappointed.
Lastly, I find the powders, in general, to be too powdery. I read many people saying some of their shades disintegrated; I didn’t have that issue but I can totally see where that might be the case. I am heavy-handed by nature and I have to be really careful not to press to hard into the pans. Otherwise, loads of powder will sift up as a result.
Joy Factor
On a scale of 1-10, this palette is a 6. Too high maintenance but I love that it awakened a creative streak in me.
Where to indulge
Sephora | Anastasia Beverly Hills | Ulta | Beautylish | Macy’s | Dillards
-XX