Review: Prism Palette (Anastasia Beverly Hills)

I’ve been so excited for this holiday season (and spending a crazy, stupid amount of money) because there have been almost endless limited edition products being released – from the Fenty Galaxy Launch, the Urban Decay (which is my favourite holiday release) and then now this… I need to relearn how to exist. Anyway, before I get carried away with my little antics, let’s get into it.

So Anastasia Beverly Hills is based out of – you guessed it – Beverly Hills and they’re especially known for their brow products (their pomade is one of my favourites and daily essentials). They have also become really popular for their Modern Renaissance palette and… well, also went viral for the Subculture palette which was much less well recieved. Their next release was one that a lot of people have been anticipating – how would it compare to their original, cult classic and would this be a repeat of the ‘Subculture disaster’?

This is the Prism Palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills, which is their limited edition (at the moment) holiday release for 2017. This is available online at Cult Beauty and from Sephora US – unfortunately, it has yet to hit Australian shores and I’m not sure if it will or when. I got this from overseas and it is currently selling for USD$42 – which is the standard price for their eyeshadow palettes. Compared to Korean beauty brands, these luxury Western brands are definitely a lot more expensive but I really think that these eyeshadows are so much better quality and easier to work with that it’s incomparable. Personally, I usually reach for these palettes over Korean eyeshadows because I’m a fan of bold colours and super pigmentation – both of which this palette delivers!

Let’s get right into it because I want to show you all these colours!

So the packaging of this palette is the same as the others that they have released. It is housed in a matte finish, black cardboard box and the actual palette is also housed in a board palette. It has a really pretty and luxurious looking velvet cover and gold foiling. For it’s aesthetics, Anastasia really gets it right – classy but fashion forward and youthful. However, I have to admit that I am one of those people who aren’t a fan of the velvet and board. I would prefer a simple metal case as I find them a lot easier to clean. This also doesn’t seem as sturdy or secure and I was really nervous taking this back to Sydney from my travels. It doesn’t help that the product is known to be really pigmented and soft too.

Aside from that, the palette opens to include fourteen shades, ranging from ‘universal neutrals to prismatic metallics’ – it has mattes, duo chromes and metallic finish shadows. All of these, even that yellow lime-ish colour (it is super hard to photograph and always comes out looking too yellow and basic), are really wearable shades. I’ve used this palette going out and even for my daily work looks and the range that is given is so flexible. You can really do your entire eye look with just this palette alone.

It also includes a decent sized mirror (as seen above, although I haven’t taken the branded sticker off of it yet) and a brush. For the mirror, I feel like I would rather it have a thinner border and a larger surface – since I always find that to be a waste of space – but it also makes me wonder whether the border is so thick because the palette is essentially made of cardboard?

The brush that is included is duo ended with one shorter and denser packaging brush (for metallics and packing on colour), while the other is a soft and fluffy blending brush for the crease. The quality of this is pretty decent and I think it would be alright if you wanted to take it travelling. However, I still like to rely on my own brushes instead and – to be honest – I think that I haven’t used a default brush since when I was learning to do my own make up with the Naked2.

Overall though, I like that this palette looks festive and party-ready without being overly ornate or shimmery. It is a really classy release for the holiday season – when a lot of design can start to look rather tacky.

And, of course, we’re all here for the swatches so check them out below! The mattes are really soft, buttery to touch, and (mostly) they blend out really well. The metallics are also really pretty, though it’s clear to see that some that meant to be stronger than others. Compared to the reviews that I had been of the Subculture palette, I didn’t notice any excessive kick back when I was using this, nor did I have problems blending the colours in together. Of course, there will be a little bit of fall out when you’re working with a formula that is so pigmented, but it is really minor. You only need to tap your brush in (not swirl) to pick up enough product. A little goes a long way.

I’m also going to include a list of the shades (taken from the Anastasia product page):

• Lucid: Duo chrome white gold with pink reflect
• Eden: Ultra-matte coral pink
• Unity: Ultra-matte nude ochre
• Sphinx: Metallic warm bronze
• Osiris: Metallic midnight violet with red reflect
• Sphere: Ultra-matte electric green-yellow
• Obsidian: Ultra-matte deep black
• Dimension: Duo chrome silver-grey with pink reflect
• Parallel: Ultra-matte truffle
• Pyramid: Metallic yellow gold with green reflect
• Throne: Metallic blackened blue-green with multicolor reflect
• Saturn: Ultra-matte terracotta
• Eternal: Metallic violet copper
• Lure: Ultra-matte ashy lilac

As my observation, my favourite shades were definitely Dimension, Pyramid and Sphinx – I absolutely love these super metallic shades and they’re so striking on the eyelid. I did notice that, in the pan, the metallic formula seems a little bit ‘wet’ and looks as though it is ‘sealing’ itself over as you’re using it. However, I think that this is just how the eyeshadow works and forms because it doesn’t have any adverse effect on how it applies to my eyes. My other favourite colour is definitely Lure and Sphere (although I admittedly use the latter a little less). The first is such a beautiful and wearable ashy colour and Sphere is ridiculously unique! I honestly don’t think that I have ever seen that sort of colour in my life.

Of course though, I would be lying if I said that all of these were amazing.

Obsidian (which you can see doesn’t swatch well on my hand) looks like a really beautiful and dense black in the pan. However, I find that it applies greyish and a bit chalky – it is definitely not the blackest black that I have used even though it is described as a ‘deep black’. It’s strange that this colour specifically doesn’t seem as buttery or blendable as the other mattes. I generally just use a touch of it in the outer corner of my eyes if I want to deepen a metallic shade a little.

The other colours – which I do like but find myself a bit confused by – is Throne and Osiris (especially the first). I look at it in the pan and I’m expecting this stunning emerald and deep purple, even on my finger tips it looks accurate to the pan. However, once you start working it on with a brush, it seems that the glitters are overshadowed by the black and you end up with 95% black and 5% glitter. I think that these colours would have worked better if they were formulated with matching shadow bases (a dark green and purple) rather than black.

That being said though, they are still really beautiful colours and – aside from Obsidian which is truly disappointing to me – all of the others are so beautiful and fun to work with. I find myself reaching for this palette a lot, especially when I want a look that is more ‘special’ and eye-catching; which totally makes sense since this is a holiday palette.

This was actually my first introduction to the Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows (I tried out the Modern Renaissance palette after this) and I was pretty happy with it! I can’t say that this is my number one, favourite palette out of my entire collection but the Prism palette is still good. There are so many interesting and unique shades in here, but paired with some more neutral colours that make the palette so wearable, that I think this isn’t just going to be a special occasion palette. It’s versatile and the combinations allow for so much flexibility.

I like working with Western palettes a lot of the time because I prefer bolder eye make up looks – and also because I like to play around with colours and formulas every day. Depending on your application style, technique and how much product you use though, you can also use these shades to create a more subtle look that suits Asian trends.

So, here’s my verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A palette with 14 shades ranging from ultra matte, duo chrome and metallic shades

THE GOOD

• Classy and minimalist packaging
• Unique and beautiful colour range
• Highly pigmented
• Soft, buttery and (mostly) very blendable
• Good colour and formula range
• Widely available (Sephora and many online stockists)
• Decent quality brush is included

THE BAD

• Obsidian is really chalky and dry
• Cardboard packaging that gets dirty easily
• Not travel friendly
• Expensive

RATINGS

• PACKAGING | 4/5
• PRICE POINT | 3/5
• FORMULA | 4/5
• PIGMENTATION | 4/5
• BLENDABILITY | 4/5
• COLOUR RANGE | 5/5

OVERALL RATING? 8/10

WOULD I RECOMMEND?

If you’re after a neutrals palette then (obviously) this isn’t for you. However, if you’re looking for a palette that has both unique and wearable colours – and which you can use on its own – then this is going to be a great one to check out.

I have been some negative reviews online from people who feel that this isn’t much better than the Subculture mess at all but, since I’m not having any trouble with this, I think that this may be because of both my own technique and the style of make up that I do? I think that this would be a palette that I recommend checking out, but definitely have a play with it in store first to decide if this is for you.

WHERE TO GET IT FROM

I had my relative buy this for me at Sephora US (and bring it over to me) but I have also recently ordered it off of Cult Beauty for a friend of mine. This palette is also available at a bunch of other offline and online stores. However, Anastasia Beverly Hills products do get counterfeited a lot so make sure you check this FAQ on their website to ensure that you’re buying off an official stockist. Remember, if it’s too much of a bargain, it’s too much to be real!

anastasia beverly hillscult beautymakeupsephorawestern makeup