When I first saw the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow palette ($42) debut on Trendmood’s Instagram, I was not super impressed – it was a neutral palette. But I kept hearing glowing review after glowing review and I filed it away in the back of my mind as something to potentially buy in the future. I thought I was going to get it for Christmas this year but when I realized I wasn’t going to, I bought it for myself as a “Back Surgery” present. (Playing that Back Surgery Card for awhile!) And since getting it, I’ve surprised myself with how much I’m reaching for it!
Palette Pics!
Palette: Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette ($42)
Description (from Sephora): This palette features 14 shades in ultra-matte, duo chrome, and metallic finishes that let you create softly-glamorous looks any time. Each shade is fully-pigmented and easy to blend. The palette is luxuriously packaged, with a large mirror and double-ended brush.
Here is a close-up view of the palette! And below is an even closer view of the different textures of the shadows.
TOP ROW: Tempera (ultra-matte velvety beige), Glistening (iridescent gold with a hint of pink reflect), Orange Soda (ultra-matte pastel peach), Rose Pink (rose gold with a soft pink iridescent hue)
BOTTOM ROW: Dusty Rose (ultra-matte dusty lilac), Fairy (multi-dimensional light gold), Burnt Orange (ultra-matte deep orange), Sienna (ultra-matte earthy brown)
TOP ROW: Sultry (a hybrid satin metallic finish warm chocolate brown), Bronze (metallic gold bronze), Mulberry (ultra-matte mulberry)
BOTTOM ROW: Rustic (ultra-matte deep cinnamon brown), Cypress Umber (ultra-matte dark coffee), Noir (ultra-matte deep carbon black)
Review
As you know, I included this palette in my “January Shop My Stash” along with the Pat McGrath Mothership V Bronze Seduction Palette ($125) and Soft Glam is such an excellent companion palette to Bronze Seduction since Bronze Seduction is missing a few of those lighter transition shades. I’ve also been using Soft Glam a lot in conjunction with the Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadows, to deepen the crease and to blend out a matte along my lower lash line. So because I’ve been using it with those “special” glittery singles, I haven’t used the shimmers in the palette regularly, but I’ve used the mattes a ton.
Specifically, the shades I reach for the most are Orange Soda and Burnt Orange as transition shades. When I want to amp things up, I add a bit of Sienna in my crease and lower lash line. But when I want something super smokey, I go for Mulberry, deepen with Noir and blend out with Sienna, Burnt Orange and Orange Soda.
I do want to note that there are a few “repeat” shadows in this palette. Tempera, Burnt Orange, and Cyprus Umber are in the Modern Renaissance palette ($42). Orange Soda, Dusty Rose, Sienna and Noir were all ABH shadow singles as well. Norvina, who is Anastasia’s daughter and the current brand President, said that because Soft Glam was created as being her mother’s favorite shadows, they didn’t want to recreate the wheel when Anastasia really just wanted those specific shades to go into the palette. I have a few of these in the Modern Renaissance palette but this doesn’t bother me, as I think they are great shades! I’m also glad they didn’t basically include the same shades but re-name them and pretend they were giving us brand new shades because that would have been shady. I’m glad they were really up-front about the whole thing. That said, if you have a lot of ABH shadows, you might have a lot of these shades, so that’s something to note.
The description on the Sephora website says that the palette has some duochrome shades, and quite honestly, I am baffled by that as I don’t think any of the shadows are duochrome, so I just wanted to point that out, I didn’t buy this palette thinking that any of these were duochrome shades so it’s not a big deal to me. Just wanted to note that as well.
The shadows themselves are a bit powdery, in that typical ABH Modern Renaissance formula. You really need a very light hand when dipping in, as you’ll pick up a lot of shadow and need to tap off your brush before applying. Once you are used to it, it’s not a big deal, but it’s not the most beginner-friendly formula in the world. However, they do blend out beautifully, so they are excellent in that respect. I use my fingers to apply the metallic shades, as that’s the best way to get the most color pay-off.
Gallery
I wore this palette so much more than the number of pictures here. I’ve been so busy at work that I don’t even think about taking pictures until it’s too late. And y’all, I will never live down when my boss caught me taking a selfie with my mini ring light in my office. I think he laughed for like 10 minutes straight. But seriously, I feel like I’ve gotten some really great looks and I’m still excited to use it every day.
Final Grade: A+
Overall, I’ve really, really enjoyed using this palette since I got it. If you are into the warm neutrals, I think you would love this palette. The quality of the shadows is beautiful, and the color selection is really nice. I think this is a decent palette for beginners or those that are looking for a great neutral palette. I’ve recommended it to a few people lately and I think they will all be really happy with it!
If you are interested in buying it for yourself, click here to get it at Sephora!
Purchased; All opinions are my own
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laurenelectro
A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.