I was at my sister's new apartment on Wednesday and she gave me her Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette to take home with me and try out. I actually got her the palette, amongst other things, in Sephora in New York (I think she spent as much money as me!)
To be honest until she asked me to get it for her, it hadn't really been on my radar. I knew what it was of course but there's a part of me that tends to ignore brands that are harder to get hold of here in Ireland. I don't see the point in getting exciting over products that I can't actually see in person.
However when I brought it back to our AirBnB that evening I took it out of the box to have a proper look at it and I was so surprised by how much I liked it. I definitely prefer warmer tones on my eyes colour and I loved the unusual mixture of shades and finishes in this palette. There are 14 shades in total, 11 ultra matte, two metallic and one satin finish. As the name might suggest, the palette was inspired by the shades found in Renaissance paintings, a similar idea to that of the Lime Crime Venus palette which I bought when it first came out 3 years ago and barely used because I was so mad about the hacking debacle (thankfully I paid for mine with PayPal so my account wasn't emptied unlike many others but I've refused to support them ever since).
Anyway, on to the palette itself. It has very similar packaging to the original Urban Decay Naked Palette which I'm told has since been revamped. I feel like the price of this palette definitely warrants more sturdy and less prone to getting grubby packaging, but having said that, the pink velvet is quite pretty.
I've been playing with the palette since Wednesday and I've been loving it so far. Here's the first look I created with it.
To be honest until she asked me to get it for her, it hadn't really been on my radar. I knew what it was of course but there's a part of me that tends to ignore brands that are harder to get hold of here in Ireland. I don't see the point in getting exciting over products that I can't actually see in person.
However when I brought it back to our AirBnB that evening I took it out of the box to have a proper look at it and I was so surprised by how much I liked it. I definitely prefer warmer tones on my eyes colour and I loved the unusual mixture of shades and finishes in this palette. There are 14 shades in total, 11 ultra matte, two metallic and one satin finish. As the name might suggest, the palette was inspired by the shades found in Renaissance paintings, a similar idea to that of the Lime Crime Venus palette which I bought when it first came out 3 years ago and barely used because I was so mad about the hacking debacle (thankfully I paid for mine with PayPal so my account wasn't emptied unlike many others but I've refused to support them ever since).
Anyway, on to the palette itself. It has very similar packaging to the original Urban Decay Naked Palette which I'm told has since been revamped. I feel like the price of this palette definitely warrants more sturdy and less prone to getting grubby packaging, but having said that, the pink velvet is quite pretty.
I've been playing with the palette since Wednesday and I've been loving it so far. Here's the first look I created with it.
To begin I spritzed my skin with the Urban Decay B6 Priming Spray*. This is definitely one of those makeup steps that you can skip, however I find this absolutely reduces how oily my skin can get throughout the day so if you have oily skin, this might be one to try out. I then applied Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation* in the shade Beige Opale. This is Lancôme's best selling liquid foundation and has been around for years so I was hoping I'd love it. It's meant to be high coverage, long lasting and smudge proof. I don't know whether it's the fact that it's full coverage and I usually prefer light to medium coverage, but I find a little of this goes a long way. I love the texture and it blends very well, the shade is also an excellent match so this is a great option for fair skin tones like myself. However I do find that sometimes this can sit on my skin and it can also wear away in some areas of my face. It's a pity because once I apply the right amount I really love how it looks at first. It really does give excellent coverage, but I think it's just not suited to my skin and how I like my foundation to look. I much prefer their Miracle Air de Teint foundation which I reviewed in full last year. I tend to save this foundation for evening wear or events where I do sometimes like more coverage and I don't need it to last as long. If like me you prefer lighter coverage and can get oily throughout the day, I highly recommend trying Miracle Air de Teint instead.
My beloved Glossier Boy Brow has come to an end so I went in search of something to replace it. I was buying Soap and Glory Archery anyway because I love it and have repurchased it many many times now. As it was 3 for 2 on Soap and Glory in Boots I decided to try out their Archery Volu-Boost Brow Fibre Gel. It comes in three shades, I went for the darkest, Mocha Up Your Mind and it's a perfect match for my naturally dark brows. I really like this, it has a small wand and I like that the fibres helps to add volume to my sparse patches. The only thing that I don't like is that you have to be quite light handed or the product can get on your skin which tends to be the case with less expensive brow gels. However for €13.50, it's not a bad option until Glossier start shipping to Ireland (which I'm hoping will be soon).
On my eyes I wanted to create quite a simple look, so after priming my lids with the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion*, I blended some of Tempera under my brow bone and then Venetian Red on the lid and blended it out. I applied Antique Bronze on my lower lash line and then KIKO Glamorous Eye Pencil in 401 on my water line which is a gorgeous bronze shade and is sadly discontinued but they have a similar colour in their Intense Colour Long Lasting Eyeliner range. NYX Professional Makeup Slide on Eye Pencil in Golden Bronze is quite similar too. I then curled my lashes using the Eyeko Black Magic Lash Curler that I recently got free in Marie Claire (it replaced my other Eyeko curler which was broken). I then applied my new mascara MAC Upward Lash which was a birthday gift from my sister. I absolutely love this, I'll definitely be writing a full review soon.
I concealed my hormonal breakouts (I got a gorgeous one in between my brows for my birthday!) and under my eyes with the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I'm not loving this under my eyes, I need to get something that's a bit more hydrating but it'll do for now. It works wonders on the rest of my face though and it's so inexpensive, yet another product I've repurchased again and again. Another Collection product I've been loving recently is the Contour Stick in the shade light (it's actually only €3.99 in Boots at the moment) and it's a great option if you're fair skinned like me and you want a little bit of natural contour that's easy to apply and blend.
On my cheeks I applied a little Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff. I absolutely adore this! I wish I'd gotten another shade (or three). It's so light and easy to use and looks pretty and natural. I'll be writing a full review of this soon too. I used some of the No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter which is a cream stick and again it's so quick and easy to use. Mine is almost gone and I'll definitely be repurchasing it.
I finished my skin with the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray* which I've repurchased several times and is such a great setting spray. I use this in lieu of and as well as powder depending on the occasion or how long I need my makeup to last. It also comes in a handy 30ml travel size that costs €12 and is great for keeping in your bag for touching up throughout the day. I know so many people who swear by this too.
I finished the look with something really simple on my lips, the Glossier Lip Gloss. This is a clear lip gloss that feels quite similar on to the Clarins Lip Oils, almost like a thick oil rather than sticky which I hate (doesn't everyone, remember Juicy Tubes!). It also contains Vitamin E so it conditions your lips too. I bought this mainly for early noughties nostalgia purposes so I was surprised by how much I liked it. I think it's great for balancing out a strong matte eye look like this one. There's also nothing like gloss for making your lips instantly more full looking. It was very windy the day I wore this makeup so I actually ended up swapping the gloss for the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Meringue. The harsh Irish winds are the main reason I don't ever really wear glosses.
So what do you think of this look? Have you tried the Modern Renaissance palette or any of the other products I mentioned?
Emma x
*Products marked with and asterisk are press samples.
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