Spoiler alert: I love this palette.
I’ve used and loved a lot of makeup thus far in my life. And when it comes to eye shadow palettes, Anastasia Beverly Hills makes some of my favorites. Since I purchased the Modern Renaissance when it came out, I have loved ABH shadows and get excited when I see a new release. The colors generally are enticing to me and make me feel inspired to create looks.
Over the past…I’d say…year, I’ve been pretty disinterested in a lot of makeup releases. Recently, every brand has been releasing warm toned neutral palettes with pops of red or orange or pink. And while I love those colors and wear them, I can only have so many palettes highlighting them. So when I saw this, full of purples and pinks, my interest was peaked.
The Basics
I could be wrong, but I feel ABH is known for their stellar shadows. At least, when I think of the brand, my mind immediately goes to eye shadows. Again and again the brand puts out cult-favorite palettes including Modern Renaissance and Subculture, and they’re at it again with a special palette created and named after the founder’s daughter, Claudia Norvina. She wanted to “create a palette that embodies [her] spirit. [She’s] a dreamer at heart and get lost in my own fantasy world daily. It’s a whimsical place that leaves you feeling carefree. If [she] had to explain how these colors made me feel, [she] would say ‘happy.’
The basics of this palette are consistent with others from the brand. It’s a $42, 14-pan palette. Each pan contains .02 oz of product and is cruelty free. What’s fun about the ABH Norvina palette is that it contains 7 matte shades, and 7 metallic/shimmer/glitter shades, which is more than they usually contain.
The ABH Norvina, like their other palettes, comes with a double ended brush. I really like the brushes that come with these. The blending brush on this one, specifically, is pretty rough and sheds. But I still used it to blend out shadows, and it worked well.
Release Dates:
- ABH.com – available NOW
- Ulta.com – 7/29
- Ulta stores – 8/5
- Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, + Dillard’s – 8/7
Packaging
Again, consistent with the brand’s packaging on other palettes, it’s covered in a felt with the name on the front. I personally love the look of ABH palettes. They’re sleek and clean, and I love the purple.
Shade Selection
As I said, the color selection spoke to me. As soon as I saw promo photos, I knew I was going to snatch this up. I wouldn’t say it’s a cool toned palette. There’s definitely a ton of warm shades, but I think the pops of pastel is what makes this palette interesting. I generally have a hard time finding colors for all over the lid that I like, but this has so many. ‘Love’ is a gorgeous wash of soft pink, ‘Dreamer’ adds a soft shine, and ‘Drama’ can be smoked out and blended all over the lid for a sultry look.
Top Row:
- Dreamer – metallic pink champagne
- Summer – foiled metallic golden topaz
- Wild Child – duo-chrome frosty pink w/ magenta shift
- Rose Gold – metallic rosewood
- Celestial – duo-chrome plum w/ violet shift
- Dazzling – cool-toned duo-chrome bronze w/ violet shift
- Drama – duo-chrome aubergine w/ cool bronze shift
Bottom Row:
- Base – matte eggshell
- Soul – matte wisteria
- Incense – matte dusty terracotta
- Love – matte mid-tone cool pink
- Volatile – matte warm charcoal
- Eccentric – matte dark burnt orange
- Passion – matte deep garnet
There’s definitely a potential for a lot of cool, pink and purple looks, but there’s also a ton of neutral, warm, and every day combinations within this palette as well. I think this will easily be worked into the daily routines of many of us.
Formula + Application
I never experienced the controversial kick-up from Subculture, but I definitely would note these shadows are a lot softer and more powdery than I experienced with the Modern Ren. palette, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just be gentle. If you go in too hard with your brush, you’ll notice a ton of powdery kick-up, but if you gently coat your brush, you’ll be just fine.
Also, despite the soft, powdery nature of these shadows, they blend seamlessly and easily on the eyes. I was really pleased when applying these. They remain pigmented and don’t blend into one muddy mess, which can sometimes happen with shades similar to each other. Each shade in this palette stands on its own.
The Bottom Line
I hate it.
JUST KIDDING.
I love this palette. As I said, I haven’t been this excited for an eye shadow palette in quite a while. The colors are lovely–wearable with a pop of something different–and I think I’m going to have fun creating a multitude of looks with this. There’s a ton of potential for pastel pink and purple looks, but the possibility of neutral, everyday eye looks is there as well.
The bottom line is I would recommend this if the colors speak to you. If you hate the colors, I’d recommend some of the other palettes in the ABH family.
Are you thinking of purchasing this palette?
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