Anastasia Beverly Hills Fall 2012: She Wears it Well Palette

Brow expert, Anastasia is at it again. This time leaning on the glamour of Hollywood, circa 1930's for her fall palette, She Wears it Well:

I love that this palette comes with '30s inspired looks - the illustration is just lovely. The packaging is just as adorable. It's a crocodile embossed cardboard case with foil metallic accents - it's like a cute little clutch purse. The mirror is substantial - great if you take this as your only palette while taking a trip. It also comes with a dual head mini brush, which will work in a pinch but I do prefer my full sized brushes instead.

This palette is a mix of five shimmers and four matte shadows - it's a great balance of textures. I, personally don't like an all shimmer or all matte eye. The eye is multi-dimensional and interesting if you can blend both in one look.

Here's another look at the "How-to" cards:

Great for the makeup novice or for the advanced cosmetic user that needs a bit of inspiration.

I am somewhere in the middle and I found these cards fun.

Let's take a look at the sensual nude shades:

Trophy - taupe shimmer
Glow - golden bronze
Latte - light mocha shimmer
Foxy - golden reddish-chocolate shimmer
Sunset - golden/champagne like shimmer
Frosting - light pearl pink shimmer
Onyx - matte black
Almond - matte light beige
Toffee - matte neutral brown

The shimmers, with the exception of Sunset, weren't buttery soft to the touch. It reminded me of a MAC satin finish. I have to really pack this on a dense shadow brush. Sunset was softer in comparison, almost like a Urban Decay finish, you didn't have to work to hard to get this on your brush. The mattes were also reminiscent to a MAC matte finish.

And of course, the swatch lineup:

I tried out the Eyes and Dolls Anytime look:

Sunset applied all over lid and lightly over brow bone. Then Foxy is applied to crease and outer-v. I use a damp pencil brush and apply Foxy on the upper lash lines. I did apply this on top of Stila's Smudge Crayon in Smoke, a shimmering grey taupe.

I used a black gel liner to tightline my upper lash line only. I do get a good eight hours of wear time when I wear these shadows over a lid primer. The colors are a bit sheer on me but I suspect the fairer wearer will get more of a color impact. I prefer to wear these shadows on top of a cream shadow for more pigment. Layering two colors together also work well - I do like Trophy and Latte layered together. Also, you do get more color payoff when using a damp brush vs. dry.

The illumn8 formula features Youthful Synergy Complex - clinically proven to illuminate, firm, and hydrates the skin.
From the Anastasia website:
"Key Ingredients 
Youthful SynergyTM Complex in Shimmer Shades Brown Algae - A key ingredient that smoothes, firms, hydrates, and revitalizes the appearance of skin. Diamond Core Powder - Diffuses light for a soft focus effect. Sea Whip Extract - Soothes the skin Macadamia derivative - A natural hydrator capable of holding up to 300% more water in the skin. Powerful antioxidants of Vitamins A, B, C, E, and F. Balkan Botanical Infusion®"


I will say that if you truly love collecting nudes or looking for a palette to take on vacation this may be for you. I just recommend that you bring other brushes along with you, the brush included isn't really the best. Also, if you already have plenty of nude palettes in current rotation, you can pass.

But for $34/USD it's worth a look!

For a video demonstration:

Available at Sephora (store and online) as well as the Anastasia site. 

This was sent to me for consideration from the PR team at Anastasia Beverly Hills.