Notice there’s no specification on whether this is an iRant or and iRave or an iBitch? That’s because I have veeery mixed feelings about this one.
Like NARS, Estee Lauder and (believe it or not,) Sleek, I hear the name Anastasia and have come to expect perfection (Dip-Brow Pomade review coming soon). These palettes fall very short.
I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned this but I am a review FANATIC! I will NOT buy anything, whatever it is, unless I have done EXTENSIVE research on it and weighed both positive and negative reviews. So after seeing this here at N4,500 (it’s sold out now), I was amazed at how much you get for such a relatively low price because anyone that is aware of ABH products knows they don’t come cheap. So I got on my computer and went review-hunting. There were mostly glowing reports and amazing swatches (which I don’t know how they achieved..more on that in a bit) and there and then, my decision was made for me.
And now, the review:
The kit is a set of two palettes: Bold brows and Beautiful eyes. The plus with this is that they would (or would have been ) perfect for travel because of the size, weight and how much is packed in.
They come in book-like little palettes in an encasement modeled after a book sleeve. The names of each palette are written on the ‘spine’ of each one and face outwards to complete the effect.
Volume 1 – Bold Brows; Volume 2 – Beautiful Eyes
The packaging is really nice; it’s one of the things I like about it. They have these tribal print Aztec-looking designs all over them that serve as extra eye-candy.
Bold Brows (without flash)
Bold Brows (with flash)
This kit includes a colored pomade, a taupe brow color, a pair of tweezers, and a dual-ended brush; one side spoolie and the other side, angled brow brush. I must say the tools ARE pretty good;
the tweezers are the kind you’d buy on its own at a store
and the double-ended brush isn’t bad at all.
But that’s where the good features of this palette end.
The brow pomade, which I must say, is NOTHING like the real-deal ABH Dip Brow, is ridiculously un-pigmented. Honestly, if I didn’t know how good the brow pomade is, I’d have made a snap judgement based on the congealed watercolour encased in this ‘palette’. And lets not get me started on the powder. Unless they intended this for ‘afins’ (albinos) and white people only (racist much?), the powder’s pretty much useless. I guess this was their attempt at a universal colour; which is ridiculous ‘coz I don’t see how that’s possible. What they could and should have done is have colour options for the brow palette so each hair colour gets their shade. Well in their defense, the dip brow alone is N4500 here (about $28) so making a palette that had the exact same quality of the dip-brow gel as well as an eyeshadow quad at the same price, would have been quite the shot in the foot for them, I guess. But hey, like my people say, if you’re gonna eat a toad, eat a fat one. (No, Amber and Ashley, we don’t actually eat toads here -_-)
(left) Brow Pomade (right) Brow Powder
I literally swatched the pomade about 15 times to get it this deep. I don’t mean literally figuratively, I mean literally literally. 15 swipes! Imagine having to do that on your brows everyday. You’d lose your job before the week runs out. As for the powder, don’t let the lighting fool you, it’s barely there.
Now the eyeshadows:
This palette includes 4 eyeshadow colors: a matte cream shade, a peachy pink shimmer, a satin tan, and a deep black/brown with shimmers. It also comes with a dual-ended brush that sports a medium shader on one end and a crease brush on the other. These were actually much better than the brow products, yet on their own, I’d rate them a 5/10. Here’s why: the only really pigmented colour is the deep dark brown one at the end followed by the shimmery peachy coral one.
As you can see, the first and third ones are barely there and that’s with 300 swipes. Which goes back to my awe-struck wonder at how these bloggers were able to get such pigmented swatches out of theirs; skin tone maybe?
I dunno. All I know is they’re just okay and Anastasia Beverly Hills is not known to be ‘just okay’ so I’m a little disappointed.
Here are a few looks I created with the palette. One’s a daytime, work-appropriate look and the other’s more dark and smokey.
Daytime look:
Beautiful…
…in the day
Eyes:
Beautiful Eyes palette: Colour 1 on brow bone, Colour 2 on Lid, Colour 3 in crease
MAC Fluidline gel liner in Black Track
Lashes – Ardell Lashes in … I forget.
Face:
Black Opal Stick Foundation in Nutmeg and Truly Topaz
Milani Concealer in Honey
Sleek blush in Life’s a Peach
Lips:
Jacqueline by Patina lipstick in Purple Haze
Smokey/evening look
Bold…
…at night
Eyes:
Beautiful Eyes palette: Colour 1 on brow bone, Colour 2/3 on Lid, Colour 4 on outer ‘v’ and crease
Lips:
MAC Lipstick in Verve
Brows in all photos were done with the MAC eyebrow crayon in spiked and the ABH Dip-Brow pomade in Chocolate; ain’t nobody got 5 hours to fill in brows.
So that’s the review. Would I repurchase? Am I mad? Am I a learner? Do I look like Awilo Logomba?*
However, if you are white or very light skinned, based on the swatches from the blogs linked above, I would think these shades are more suited to your complexion so if you want to, you should give them a shot.
Darris all, folks. More to come; I obviously have a lot of catching up to do. (I missed you too)
Be Luxe. Be Lovely. Be Vain. No Apologies.
* – (non-Nigerians may not understand)
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