Swatches and Review: Fake Anastasia Beverly Hills' Modern Renaissance Palette

Okay, so I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with fake eyeshadow palettes. and yes I know that they bring a risk since you never know what it's really made out of and that it's disrespectful to the creators of the real palette. However, I am willing to accept the risk with the cheaper price and the quality of the eyeshadows nearly equal to the actual real palettes.

I brought the ABH's Modern Renaissance palette on eBay for £9 along with the #12 spooly and slanted eyebrow brow duo brush. It arrived within 3-4 day's and I was in utter shock when I first swatched it. The shadows were so extremely pigmented I almost couldn't believe that it was a fake. Even the packaging was incredibly well made and looked almost identical to the real version, I could not point out any flaws with it.

Sorry for the change in lighting but it managed to rain within the 30 seconds that I swatched the next row of the palette. Where else would you experience the bipolar weather like England?

But, even with the change in lighting, you can see how beautifully each eyeshadow came out. Most of them came out super pigmented and smooth as heck but you can also see that some were a little weak compared to the other shades. For example, Tempera and Raw Sienna didn't come out as powerful as the other colours but with a little work, it can be intensified with one more layer. Also, some colours were a little patchy since there was quite a little bit of fallout but what else do you expect for a fake palette that costs less than a quatre of the original palette.

Above are the brush swatches of the palette and as you can see, the colours are still pretty pigmented although the shimmers didn't come out as glittery. However, it can easily be intensified with a little fix plus spray on the eyeshadow brush. 

With so many pretty colours in the palette, you have so many different looks that you could create and I had trouble trying to settle on one. I was conflicted between a normal everyday look or a sunset look so I decided to try a little bit of both. Because of my heavy hooded eyes, I usually have to spend a lot of time and dedication in blended and choosing the right colours to actually make it look like I have something on my eyelids. If I don't put enough then as soon as I open my eyes, it would all disappear and look like there's nothing there. But, if I put too much then it would make me look like a clown and make my eyes look smaller.

So I created this look by first laying down a light base colour and so I choose Tempera to really emphasise the other darker colours. Then I swept Raw Sienna over 3/4 of my eyelid and Burnt Orange over the outer half to create a nice gradient effect. I proceeded to add a little bit of Red Ochre to the outer corner of my eyes, just to add a little more depth and to finish it all off, I lined the outer quarter of my waterline with Venetian Red just to spice up the look. The dash of colour really makes the eyes stand out and make it more distinguished from the rest of your look. 

Overall, the fake palette was really good quality with extremely pigmented shadows for a super cheap price. The shades ended up not being so patchy after just a little bit of blending.

My favourite shades from the palette were Primavera, Red Ochre and Venetian Red.

My conclusion is that although I have nothing against real palettes and their creators, I just can't afford to spend that much money on a product. Personally, I will be continuing to use the fake version since they are a cheap investment that works just as well if not better. If someday I do earn enough money to treat myself, I may buy the real version but since the fakes have almost the same quality and pigment, I will continue to use it.