This year has been a great one for the beauty industry! There have been some amazing new releases and collections and as a beauty blogger I have tried to keep up and buy as many of the new products as possible!
One of the biggest and most anticipated releases was the Anastasia Beverley Hills Subculture palette. After the Modern Renaissance palette, which is now considered a cult beauty item, it was only natural that people would be excited about the ‘sister’ palette! When the palette design and colour selection was leaked early, the reaction was very divided – many people loved the unusual mix of colours while others couldn’t see how they could ever use them. Personally, I immediately loved the selection and couldn’t wait for the palette to come out!
When it was finally released, I was straight on the ABH website to order it! Within a few days it was in my hands and I was in love!
There are 14 eyeshadows in total, 11 are ultra-matte (Dawn, Roxy, Destiny, Fudge, New Wave, All Star, Mercury, Untamed, Edge, Axis and Rowdy), 2 are duo chrome (Cube and Electric) and 1 is a metallic glitter (Adorn):
All of them are intensely pigmented and soft pressed, which is one of the biggest reasons there has been so much controversy about the quality of the palette. The shadows are pure pigments and there have been lots of reviews stating how difficult the colours were to blend and how much kick back they had when using the palette. There have also been criticisms about the duo chrome shades not being intense enough.
My Review
I watched lots and lots of reviews before and after purchasing the palette and I am pleased to say I have not had any of the problems others claim to have had! I haven’t had any trouble blending the colours and the duo chromes are gorgeous! As for fall out, if you understand that the shadows are soft pressed you will also recognise that there will be more fall out than with full pressed shadows. When using the Subculture palette, you only need to lightly press your brush into the colours and that will be enough to cover one entire eyelid with full colour and minimal fallout! There is no need to swirl your brush around as shown in some YouTube videos! With the duo chromes, you can use a fixing spray to intensify the colour but I’ve only done that when I want a really strong pop of colour, they are just as lovely and noticeable without.
The Swatches
Naturally, one of the first things I did when I received my palette was to swatch it! Look at how intense the colours are:
Whilst many people thought the colour choices were at best unusual and at worst completely incompatible and clashing, I thought they could work really together and I loved the fact that ABH turned conventional colour selection on its head! I have already created a few looks with the palette and love inventing more! Here’s some of them:
Final Thoughts
I loved the Modern Renaissance palette when that was released and now I love Subculture! Everytime I use it I am challenging myself to try different combinations and I’ve never been disappointed. I think it is excellent quality and good value for money, especially as the eyeshadows will last a while if you treat them correctly! If you have not tested the palette or have questioned whether to buy it because of all the mixed reviews I would highly recommend going to a store that stocks it and testing it for yourself – you will see how beautiful it is!
Contributor:
Dippalli Naik
instagram.com/Dippalli/
