The Renaissance Resurgence

I know this palette has probably been all over your feeds for months and months...but how could anyone ever get sick of looking at it!? I have had the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette for a good couple of months now, and like everyone else, I've fallen in love with it. I purchased mine from Beautylish for $42 (USD) which I would highly recommend! Fast shipping and much cheaper than buying from the ABH website, Sephora AU or Beauty Bay. Keep reading for swatches and my full thoughts!

A quick overview of the packaging, the fourteen eyeshadow shades are encased in a cardboard palette that has a magnetic closure and a decently sized mirror. It's not the most sturdy feeling packaging ever - I feel like it could flip open if forced - but it's not flimsy or cheap feeling. The outside is a blush pink (I love the colour!) velvet-y, flock type material which looks really cute, but unfortunately has the tendency to attract product and isn't really easily cleaned. It also comes with a double-ended brush, a fluffy blending brush and a more dense shader brush. The quality actually isn't bad! The blending brush is a little scratchy but does the job. I like the shader brush, the tip is actually great for applying shadow to the lower lash line.

Formula-wise, the hype is real y'all. Honestly, these are some of - if not the - best eyeshadows I've ever used! The mattes are very pigmented and have a soft creaminess to them, but are still dry feeling - if that makes sense. I barely need to tap my brush into the pan to get enough product where it then blends like a dream. They're quite effortless, really. While the palette is predominantly matte, there are a few shimmery shades with varying finishes. Tempera and Venetian Red have the finest shimmer/satin to them but look predominantly matte when applied. Antique Bronze is a typical shimmer, not crazy metallic but has dimension. Vermeer and Primavera are the most metallic and have that shiny, foiled look to them. They all perform excellently, but Primavera is the standout for me - so metallic and eye-catching! My one gripe with these shadows is that they are so soft and pigmented that they very easily kick-up shadow, even when I use the gentlest pressure with my brush. It's understandable and something I can overlook, but worth noting! I don't notice any fallout from any of the shades really, and the lasting power is average to good with primer, etc on my oily lids!

Inspired by the paintings of the renaissance era, the palette takes a modern twist with rich, bold and saturated colours. Immediately you notice the bold raspberry, red and orange shades which can be intimidating - but! - if you take them away, you actually have a very wearable neutral palette. That being said, those shades make the palette and are actually very wearable whether you want to add a hint of colour or go full-blown with a cranberry smokey eye. I find this palette to be so versatile. Like I said, you can stay safe with the warm neutral brown shades for everyday looks, or you can go for a red, berry or orange look! Also, there are some well-selected cool-toned shades which add to the versatility of the palette. Vermeer, Buon Fresco, Warm Taupe and Cyprus Umber can be used to create a (wearable!) cool-toned look!

L-R: Tempera, Golden Ochre, Vermeer, Buon Fresco, Antique Bronze, Love Letter, Cyprus Umber

Tempera is probably the most average shade of the palette, but one that I use in basically every eye look. It's a pale cream shade with the slightest sheen/shimmer to it. It's not the most pigmented but it serves its purpose as an all over the lid base shade or to highlight the browbone!

Golden Ochre is a matte golden nude shade that I imagine works perfectly as a transition for fair skintones. I can also use it as a transition for a more subtle look, or all over the lid for a "natural" shadow.

Vermeer is a metallic, pale silver shade with a slight pink tone. It's actually surprisingly more wearable than I thought on my yellow skin and doesn't look chalky or ashy. I used this in a spotlight placement with Buon Fresco and it looked pretty great if I do say so myself!

Buon Fresco is a matte, cool-toned dusty mauve shade. I love this colour in the crease or all over the lid! A very wearable way to incorporate cooler tones.

Antique Bronze is a shimmery burgundy bronze shade. I love the colour and it looks great, but for some reason I feel like it falls flat on the eye? Maybe I'm just so used to the foiled, metallic shades that this looks a little lacklustre and almost a little..dirty(?) on the eye? Don't get me wrong, it still looks great and would be amazing as a one-shadow smokey eye, it's just not my favourite!

Love Letter is a saturated, matte raspberry shade. The colour is incredible but the formula is one of the lesser performing mattes. It is a little drier and more patchy when swatched, but to be honest on the eyes applied with a brush - it still works amazingly! So beautiful and unique!

Cyprus Umber is a deep, woody brown shade that is ~basic~ but necessary! Great for deepening looks or keeping a look more neutral if you didn't want to use the reds.

L-R: Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Primavera, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Warm Taupe, Realgar

Raw Sienna is a matte, medium warm brown. A staple transition shade that I use very often!

Burnt Orange is extremely similar to Raw Sienna but just a bit more orange. To be honest, I feel like they didn't need both of these warm browns and could have substituted it for something else! In saying that, I still love and use both of these for slightly different reasons haha.

Primavera is a stunning metallic champagne gold shade. Such a beautiful shade that has a very shiny, lustrous finish and is so creamy and pigmented! I love this as a spotlight shadow!

Red Ochre is a matte, deep red shade with a hint of brown. It quite literally looks like red ochre that you would use to paint some cave walls or something. I know my swatch looks a bit patchy (same with Realgar) but that's just because it's so pigmented that I actually picked up too much product in my swatch which I then had to...smear onto my arm haha! These shades ain't PLAYIN'.

Venetian Red is another raspberry shade that is similar to Love Letter but has more red rather than pink. It also has a fine, almost silver-blue shimmer that I imagine would come through if you packed this all over the lid, but when used as an accenting shade it basically looks matte!

Warm Taupe is one of the cooler shades in the palette, but still has a slight warmth to it! It's a matte taupe shade with a bit of beige-mushroom in. Great as a transition/crease shade or possibly a brow shade for blondes?

Realgar is a matte, deep orange with that dirty, earth-like quality to it. Very similar to Red Ochre, just the orange version! Love this shade with Burnt Orange and Primavera to create a super warm, orangey eye.

Legitimately, I have zero qualms with this palette. Dare I say it's...PERFECT?! The formula is beyond good, and the shade range is both unique and wearable, and dang versatile. While there are a plethora of warm-toned eyeshadow palettes on the market these days, I feel like this was the first to incorporate those raspberry red shades and still maintain a cohesive palette. I don't think there's much else to say other than... GO BUY IT!