Modern Renaissance Palette Lives Up To Expectations

In the makeup world, the most popular shades for this fall are dark red, orange and olive green. While the Modern Renaissance palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills doesn’t offer any green shades, the fiery berry and neutral tones that it possesses are more than enough.

The palette was sold out for about two months at Sephora, Ulta and the Anastasia direct website. As soon as it was restocked, I ordered it (which is a good thing, considering it sold out again in less than a week). It cost $42, which is a normal price for a high-end eye shadow palette.

I was a little skeptical about the palette, since Anastasia is known more for brows and contour/highlight. Most of my eye shadow is from Urban Decay (Naked 2 and Naked 3), so I was venturing out of my comfort zone a little.

I received the palette about three days later, and as soon as I opened it I understood the hype. The eye shadow comes in a beautiful light pink velvet case, with a built in mirror and brush.

The brush is double sided, with a denser applicator side and a looser blending side. The brush is a lot better than the Urban Decay palette brushes. It’s much easier to blend, and to apply in the crease with the Anastasia brush. It feels very light and effortless.

Since there are 14 shades included, the looks that are possible are endless. If you want more of a day-to-day look, the calm neutrals such as Golden Ochre, Primavera and Warm Taupe are your go to. Primavera is a great color for the majority of the lid, while Golden Ochre and Warm Taupe are good for your outer crease and upper lid.

For more of a bold look, Red Ochre and Venetian Red work to make your eyes pop. Those shades are great to blend for the outer crease.

I personally love using transparent tape on the corner of my eye and applying Cyprus Umber to my outside corner, to create a dark and winged look for my eyeliner.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Modern Renaissance palette. The shades are so blendable, much more than any other brand of eye shadow I’ve ever tried. If you’re debating between Urban Decay and Anastasia, pick Anastasia every time.