Best Anastasia Eyeshadow Palettes of All Time (Well, So Far)

Best Beauty Products
Contains: Affiliate Links, Purchased
Christine |

Best of Anastasia

Eyeshadow Palettes

Anastasia Eyeshadow PalettesAnastasia Eyeshadow Palettes have been some of the more, seemingly “must-have” products that have released in the last several years, and most of them have been limited edition, but here’s a look at how they’ve rated over the years.  The palettes still available for purchase are Modern Renaissance (permanent), Soft Glam (permanent), Norvina (limited edition, as far as I’m aware), and Sultry (limited edition).

The only palette I’ve returned to regularly has been Modern Renaissance, though I feel like I might go back to the Mario palette more often if I was a regular consumer (instead of a blogger).  The shades in the Mario palette are some of the brand’s best (ever), and I’ve always found it a disappointment that they never re-released some of the shades into the permanent range (even if they had to adjust the names).  I’ll be curious if the Sultry palette calls my name at all in the future!  In general, when I go back to Anastasia eyeshadows, I reach for my singles (which I enjoy quite a bit).

We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Glossover Breakdown
A
3
B
10
C
0
D
0
F
0
86%
Average
Glossover Averages
product
8.5
pigmentation
9
texture
8.5
longevity
8.5
application
4.5
Total
86%
product
8.5
pigmentation
9
texture
8.5
longevity
8.5
application
4.5
Total
86%
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Explore Temptalia

We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!

Here are some useful resources for you:

Foundation Matrix™

Find your next foundation or concealer match!

The Dupe List™

Find a product dupe or compare two palettes.

Swatch Gallery™

Find swatches by color, product, formula, etc.

Compare Any Two

Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!

19 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Genevieve
Lightest, Pink undertones. Dry skin. »

I think that Mod Ren was the most famous one, as it inspired a whole new generation of shades, particularly of the very warm toned variety. When I look at the collection, I do see a lot of similarities between the palettes – neutral/warm shades, with pops of colour.
The only palette I have purchased from ABH is the Sultry one – as these shades lean more neutral to cool.
I think her singles are pretty good too.

Mariella
Very Light, Pink undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. »

I have both Sultry and the Master Palette by Mario (ha! the 2 best, it seems!) and I love them both. I wish I’d been able to get Self-Made but it predates ABH’s availability in-store in Canada. I really look forward to new ABH palette releases withe anticipation I used to reserve for UD.

P Jill
Medium, Peach, slight pink undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. »

My first ABH was the Modern R. palette. I also have the Prism, Mario, and Norvina palettes but none of them has measured up to the Modern R. IMO.

I have customized a couple of quads using their single shadows which I think are better quality (using the summer shades from 2017)
The market is flooded with good palettes these days!

Katinka

I still love the Anastasia Catwalk palette from a few years back – perfect fall/winter shades. The mirror is fun-house-level bad, but the shadows are great.

Nancy T
Medium, Olive, neutral undertones. Combination skin. »

So far, I only own 3 ABH e/s palettes: Self-Made, Subculture and Modern Renaissance. I almost never even think to use Self-Made. But I do still use Subculture when I feel like going autumnal or very Grunge-esque. It is Mod Ren that gets the most regular usage, however! I now regret not getting that Mario palette out of all the others above.

Janice
Medium, Peach, slight yellow undertones. »

The MR was my first Anastasia purchase, then Soft Glam, & Sultry. I enjoy all 3 very much. Love the pigmentation, the color stories. They blend beautifully for me. I always use an eye primer with them though. So many different looks within the palettes themselves.

Stacy
Light Plus, Neutral, slight pink undertones. »

I cashed in my ulta points and coupons to grab it, and it was worth it! I actually pair it with modern ren quite a lot (which I never use to really use!) because the shimmers in sultry pie so nicely with those warm mattes as well. Also the sultry palette can give you the most variety and least muddiness IMO

Denise S.
Deep Tan, Yellow, moderately yellow undertones. Combination skin. »

My first ABH eye shadow palette was the Modern Renaissance. I brought it after the hype, when it went on sale. Then I brought Prism and Subculture on sale also. I really like all of the ABH palettes I own. But I’m mostly drawn to their highlighters.

Nyxx
Very Deep, Yellow, moderately yellow undertones. Oily skin. »

I have the MR, Self-made and Norvina. My Self-made palette was my favorite palette for 2 years in a row. That palette just works for me. I love MR and wore it probably for about a year straight when I first got it. I hit pan on a few of the shades and after that I was quite done with it for a while. I didn’t use it for about a year and pulled it out a couple of weeks ago to play with again. I just picked up the Norvina palette and I love that it has so many shimmer shades. I have worn it a few times and so far I really like it. I don’t pick up everything ABH releases b ut I do enjoy what I do purchase. I also have a few singles which I enjoy as well.

Jessica
Deep, Yellow, slight yellow undertones. »

I’ve purchased Mod. Ren., Subculture, Prism, Norvina, & Soft Glam. Of those, I still have Subculture, Prism, & Soft Glam. Mod. Ren. I decluttered to my younger sister and Norvina went back to the store. Norvina was just too similar to Soft Glam for me, and the deepest shade wasn’t deep enough to add any depth to a look which was annoying. Mod. Ren. was okay, but half of the palette wasn’t useful for me and I just wasn’t wowed by it. I may buy a single of Love Letter one day, but for now I don’t feel a burning need for it.

I know it gets a lot of flack, but I actually really love the Subculture palette, and I think it’s one of their best palettes. It is a palette that does take additional work and you do have to make sure you take your time and go in slow with the shadows, but it really is a good palette and I’ve always loved the looks I create with it. Soft Glam is a great everyday palette and Prism is a interesting palette that is nice to have, but not one I reach for regularly.

I find ABH to be pretty hit or miss and I’m losing a lot of interest in them b/c it seems very much the same.

Z

Subculture is the only ABH palette I own and it’s easily one of my top five palettes of all time. Those of us who like it are few and far in between!

Mags

Norvina is my favorite palette of the bunch. I love the variety of whimsical looks I can create with it and I never thought that purples could pair so well with warm browns, but I find myself enjoying nearly every look I’ve created.

heavymetalteacup
Light Medium, Yellow, slight yellow undertones. Dry skin. »

I have Mod Ren and Norvina, and am probably going to cave on Sultry and get it because there’s just enough happening there on the cooler side that while some of the more common shades, I can dupe, there’s a few I can’t, and I know I’d use them. But ModRen is pretty, and I’ve had it for awhile, nothing bad to say about it other than I’m finding it’s too seasonal for me (summer only, otherwise it’s just too warm for me here in our dark winter season). I may eventually buy the single of Buon Fresco, because I have nothing like it and do love pulling it into cool, grey-based smoky looks.

Norvina is one I find surprisingly versatile for me, it inspires me to mix it up and bring other shadows into the mix, usually something deeper/darker – I’ve got an Inglot shadow that’s a dead-on dupe for “Rowdy” (out of Subculture) that works great with it, for instance (Pat McGrath Mothership V is also fun to mix up with this one). In any case, I’ve put together looks I really liked, and tend to treat those chunky shimmers about like I would the glittery shades in PMG palettes; usually with a wet brush or fingers.

Z

I quite like my Subculture palette and almost liked the Sultry palette (I want to burn that solo pink shade in a fire) – it’s a lowbuy keeping me from picking it up. The Softglam is quite lovely too and I had also considered it, but have most of the shades I’d buy it for in other palettes or singles. This year in particular I’ve been a little more ruthless about new makeup purchases. But if I wasn’t? Yeah, I’d have some of these. I also like the feel of the singles I’ve swatched in store, but haven’t picked any up yet.

Bonnie
Medium, Yellow, slight yellow undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. »

You gave the highest grade to Sultry and I have to agree. I started collecting with MR, so I’ve got that, Subculture, Prism, Soft Glam, Norvina, and Sultry. Sultry is far and away my fave.

Nikki

I have the MR palette and The sultry palette.
I had subculture but I returned it. It just didn’t work for me.
I love Sultry the most so far and I also love her singles.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!