Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Anastasia!
my answer: Though not entirely their “fault,” but they are a brand that feels overly hyped up, no matter what’s being released, even if nobody has tried it yet. Some products I like, but I haven’t found a lot of products I love within this brand.
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I feel like a lot are overhyped as well. Especially the contour palette. It doesn’t work for my skin tone and I feel like I wasted $40 on it. I do, however love the browwiz. That is something that j feel like ABH got right. Most liquid lipsticks are hit or miss, though.
Ditto! I was really hoping that this palette would be a simple introduction into the world of contouring for me. But, the powders do not blend very well, there is only one cooler-toned dark color that I can use, and it doesn’t come with instructions (like other contouring palettes I’ve heard of). I definitely feel like I wasted $40.00.
I find that the consistency of the powders are chalky. The chalky texture makes them challenging to use. Can’t use them to set concealer they’ll come off too cakey. Can’t add them to highlight too heavy. The contour powders like Havana aren’t deep enough and carob is too red for darker complexions.
I plead the fifth.
I reallly want to hear what you have to say, Dusty. You woke me up from my ABH clone daydream with your post on IG months back and you have since deleted. I need more!
I would also really want your take on this Dustin, it feels like ABH has seeked out every makeup guru online today and bribed the hell out of everyone with every products she makes just to get exposure from said guru. It kind of cheapens the brand IMO.
I agree!!! It has definitely taken the mystic out of the brand by her marketing/pr going in and sending out gratis to every YT guru in existence.
Don’t forget her daughter, Norvina! It seems she’s becoming “friends” with many of these same “gurus”, and even appearing on their social media sites. If it were the occasional few, it would seem genuine, but she seems to pop up on accounts that have a cult-like following, and whose followers literally buy *anything* the “guru” mentions…
Well actually it cheapens these “gurus”. They’re accepting profit to lie/embellish these products.
I would also like to hear Specifics. I like some of these gurus but it’s odd that they are all ranting and raving about every Anastasia product. Nobody’s product line or perfect. In particular those liquid lipsticks look a hot mess and dry. The cream contour kits just seem like another way to capitalize on the contouring insanity. I would like to know about thier single eyeshadows and see if they are really that great or if they have some outstanding ones in the line.
I love their products in general, but I hate that their eyeshadow palettes aren’t permanent. It’s hard from me to get thru an entire eyeshadow and having it in a pre-made palette form was convenient. It’s annoying!
You can buy the colors from the palettes as singles now.
For so long Anastasia resisted the notion that many of us needed a cool toned color that was more grey than taupe. Finally, she created Brow Wiz in Granite and I’ve been a happy camper ever since. Since I have good brows to begin with, I really haven’t been interested in any of her other brow products. Plus: She does offer a wide selection of colors in different formats (pen, pencil, gel, powder, etc.). Minus: Her venture into eyeshadow was totally uninspired.
For me they became just like Benefit; way too much hype and an incredible amount of PR samples, to the point that if feels like even my neighbour’s dog has the Benefit push up liner and Anastasia’s contour palette. This kind of aggressive marketing just turns me off.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Too Faced is starting to go down that path as well. I agree that it’s a total turn off.
see I’ve never been even remotely tempted by Too Faced, even though they are cruelty free.
For me personally it’s really rare when I buy something without searching it first. I try not to do that. Swatches aren’t reLly accurate as we are all different. So maybe a product looks great on one person but not on another. Don’t think that has to do with brand. It’s just we are all different. I did purchase 2 of the 3 palettes that Anastasia introduced & I loved them. They worked well for me had no issues. That being said, I don’t see me spending so much on brow whiz. I personally like a more natural look, I don’t overdraw my brows I just slightly fill them in. I spend $5 on Milani wonder pencil or whatever it’s called & that works fine for me. Certain products even if they are better I just don’t see me spending so much on. Another product for me is mascara, I just can’t fork out 20, 30 or more on a mascara. The high end ones I do have either came in holiday boxes or Ipsy or some subscription box. Lots of products are hyped & unless I try them for myself I ain’t sending the money on them. Especially if it’s high end. A product for me that was wayyyyy too pricey is the Nars Audacious lipstick, people love them. For the price wasn’t worth it for me. It’s just a matter of opinion really. We are all different and we all like different things. Again, what works for me may not work for you.
Meh. Have the brow wiz and like it but it’s becoming less and less unique practically by the second and I have not been compelled to shell out on any of their other offerings over other brands.
Finally, someone says it. I don’t always get the hype either.
I couldn’t get Dipbrow to look natural no matter how little I used. I looked like a clown!
I love Anastasia’s brow powders. They have a great range of colors, including cool light shades, when a lot of brands tend to do reddish shades that just look terrible on me. I also use one of their stencils when I want to look really polished with perfect brows.
I don’t really care for the rest of their makeup. For me they’re good at brow products and the rest is not that interesting.
I don’t own other stuff from them. But I do own the Tamanna Palette. And I’m in love. Great great pigmentation. The colors are beautiful and wearable. I hate the packaging though. It’s made of cardboard. And the mirror is horrendous. I can’t see a proper reflection and it makes me dizzy to even see it. For putting that mirror, they might as well have not bothered. But the actual product is terrific. If it had a good mirror, it would be my everyday/travel palette.
This is totally off topic, but are you in Canada Nabeela? I have a cousin of the same name and have never seen it elsewhere! 😀
Hey Meghan. Actually in from the States. Nabeela is an Arabic name. It’s a common Arabic name. It means noble.
I only have one product and that’s the Dipbrow. I love, love, love it. I have blonde eyebrows and barely dab the brush in there and it adds just enough. I have been heavy handed and put too much on before so I can see where it can go horribly wrong. I love how it lasts all day. I was using Smashbox Brow Tech for years before and the Dipbrow is much better IMHO.
I too feel the brand is over-hyped .. especially the Dipbrow
Well the only product I’ve ever tried from them is the new liquid lipsticks, and I really love the two I bought.
I have yet to try the brand but I’ve heard great stuff about their eyebrow products.
Overhyped and pushed by beauty gurus to the nth degree. Because they’re all basically bought out to market them. It’s ridiculous. Some of their products are really good, but like you said Christine, there aren’t a lot of great products.
The only thing I’ve tried is their Dipbrow Pomade, and it’s HG for my brows. Easy to use, makes my thin brows look groomed and full, and lasts all day and night if I set it with a little bit of brown eye shadow. Love!
I don’t have a lot experience with them. I love the liquid lipstick I got in Party Pink. I tried out the Dipbrow. I thought it was nice, but wasn’t in love with it, though I know its hugely popular. I guess they’re just not really on my radar. It seems the Dipbrow, Brow-Wiz, and the last few eye palettes (Tamanna, etc.) were really promoted, but not the rest of their products. I could just be out of the loop.
I’ve only tried the brow products which I like, but have been looking for other pencils (liking Dior Universal Brow so far). Haven’t been at all intrigued enough to buy anything else. I think most of the products are just over-hyped by IG/YT. But there’s obviously a market for everything.
LOVE their brow products but everything else is so overhyped it’s ridiculous. Especially the liquid lipsticks. Plus their swatches are so inaccurate a lot of the time, everything is overphotoshopped/filtered/whatever. Ridiculous.
Their new products seem really intriguing but I don’t care for the way they handle their releases. They’re bigger than most indie brands and a little more accessible so I expect to be able to easily buy them. I don’t mind the occasional sold out sign but the whole exclusive release method is annoying. I’d love to buy some of the new liquid lipsticks and a contour palette but not online. There’s too many mixed reviews for me and I’m not comfortable handling returns via the mail if I don’t like it. I just wish they’d release new products at all locations. I’m much more likely to grab a new product in stores than taking a chance online
I love Anastasia’s brow pencils and brow gel, they’re holy grail for me and worth the money (it’s difficult to find a blonde brow pencil that is light enough but not too reddish nor too grey). Their other cosmetic products don’t appeal to me, but I understand why they wanted to expand their brand given brow products are a niche market.
Try maybe line pencil in dark blonde! Its wonderful, goes on ez, not high intensity color. I have dark brown brows and I used it for a long time, but needed a little more color so I went to Anastasia too. But, try it, I think you’ll like it.
Their dip brow is really the bees knees but the only downside is how fast it dries out. I haven’t tried the contour palettes yet but I have thought about it. Their brow pencils would be better if they were shaped like the hourglass one but for now they are just okay. And their shadows look pretty awesome but I think I’ll wait on that. lol The best thing they have right now are those liquid lipsticks. They are amazing.
I agree with Christine. I kinda feel like she should have stayed in brows. Now the other brands are actually outdoing her in brows. Stiila has an amazing brow gel out now and the “medium brown” ..It is actually medium brown..not black! The brush stinks. So a regular angled brush will do. But the liquid lipstick s and the eyeshadows..so hyped up by the instagram and youtube gurus. I just have to think they were paid. Those lipsticks are not that great and really, totally NOT moisturizing at all. I think the contour palette is not bad. But, not the best. it was the first out for consumers..so there is that. I think she should have taken the brow part and run with it though IMO.
Yeah, I was really surprised when Christine gave most of the liquid lipsticks a B rating because of how everyone on youtube was singing its praises and saying it was an amazing fantastic product. It made me really wonder how many of the youtubers I watch were just saying that because they were sent free PR samples.
I love the brow pomade and the contour palette, but they’re not a brand I LIKE to shop with. Their website is glitchy and difficult to use, their shipping and communication after an order is subpar, and I get sick of seeing them on my Instagram ALL THE DAMN TIME.
So yeah.
Honestly, I am just happy they make ash blonde eyebrow products that are actually ash. Now if only they had a lighter ash blonde shade, I’d probably never use any other brand.
I remember when Anastasia were mostly known for their brow products, which were really good. Then they started branching out with their eyeshadow, then the contour kit, and recently the liquid lipsticks. There have been so many Youtubers backing up this brand and their products and then I’ve heard things from other people saying that it’s not as good as other people are making it out to be.
I hate when people say that it is annoying her liquid lipsticks aren’t moisturizing! You are purchasing them fully aware that you are buying a MATTE long wearing liquid lipstick. Your lips may feel like a sahara desert but you go into it knowing that. I have the brow wiz, brow pomade, contour kit and several of the liquid lipstick and i love every product. The brow pomade is hard to use if you don’t know how to I will admit. And if you are new to contouring and haven’t a clue what to do or need ‘instructions’ on how to use a contour powder you shouldn’t be purchasing a professional, multi- shade contour kit in the first place.
I only have the liquid lipstick in Party Pink, but I really don’t find it drying at all. I thought it was quite nice and was considering a couple more shades.
I’m also a bit confused about the contour palette. I thought it was aimed at advanced users and MUAs, not beginners. It sounds like it confused a lot of people, though. I hope they can find some good tutorials on YouTube, so their money isn’t wasted.
I’ve never used any of their products!
I like the Brow wiz but I dont see it as a unique product. I can live without it.
I hate the fact that 9 out of 10 youtubers use their eyeshadows as if they werent being sponsored for doing it. I find it really annoying. Plus they all pick the same shades everytime, such as the onipresent “dusty rose”. Gosh, show us variety at least!
I recently bought the brow wiz??, in dark born, and I love it! It glides across my skin n brows like a feather. Dark enuf to fill in where needed but not to dark that it looks like I have caterpillars over my eyes. It can glide on making short strokes w ease to imitate hair from the start of me eye to the pointy tip. I have tried so many other brands…yet another is “on the way”, and have been so disappointed with the various results. The brow wiz, however, s my HG for brow pencils.
I adore the brow duos and I was really impressed by the color selection for the matte lipsticks. I’ve got Potion, and I think it’s a great idea to do a fussy color like that in a longwearing formulation. I would never get a YLBB in that formula and would be hesitant even for a red, though, because I think it’s unnecessarily unpleasant to wear for a color that is anything OTHER than innately high maintenence. I liked the brow pencil pretty well, though they ran out quickly. Good colors, lasted well, like the powder duos.
But I HATED Dipbrow. I found it impractical to apply on a daily basis, absurdly easy to overdo, and for the life of me I couldn’t make it last through the day. Aaand I found it tricky to find a good color match, finally went with chocolate but it may have been to warm. A complete fail for me, basically. never touched the contour palette, it seemed very excessive for personal use, and way too warm toned for me.
I actually really love the dipbrow pomade and their brow gel. The pomade is easy to overdo and there is a technique to it, but when you do it right it can look natural and will last all night long. I’ve done hard workouts with it on and it’s still been there, not smeared or streaked or running down my face. The brow gel is great, too, but I wish it was waterproof. I haven’t really tried any of their other products, but most things are overhyped it seems.
Love the brow pomade. Just bought it Friday and have worn it everyday since.
OK for the liquid lipsticks I like the colors (I have 3). But u get more product for the same price with kat von D. And anastasia does pro discounts (u pay 13). Idk I just have mixed feelings about this brand. I don’t know much about anastasia other than then being famous for their eyebrow products buy I don’t usually support entrepreneur makeup brands. Everyone is jumping on that bandwagon right now
Anastasia is SO hyped! Every once in a while it drives me nuts on the channels I subscribe to on YouTube. They seem provide a lot of social media personalities with a ton of products, then they obviously those people have nothing but the best things to say about the products. It’s too phoney. Yeah, I’d be psyched to get hundreds of dollars worth of products too! Send that stuff over my way…
I have two of the eye shadow palettes (Tammana and Maya Mia), and the light contour palette, which works well on my skin tone; so I like the few things I own. I haven’t tried any brow stuff, but they seem to be a cult classic brand for that.
I’ve always thought there was too much hype. So much that it actually turned me off to her products, especially when she sends all the YouTubers her stuff for free to review and hype up. Of the few things I have tried, I returned. Not a huge fan and nothing really catches my eye. The marketing is too much.
I live by their brow powder duo. I’ve had one forever and it’s still going strong. It also works well for my black eyebrows-not grey, not warm brown, not black, but just the right shade of taupe. But I haven’t been intrigued by anything else they’ve put out that wasn’t a brow product.
love their products, what they do they do well, but its crazy that they seem to be products already produced, like the liquid lipsticks, kat van d and many other brands started first, and the brow gel, stupid of mac to release it as a limited edition item.. dont get me wrong the brow wiz i love, just not the price so much ..
I have black hair so I appreciate the color range Anastasia has for brows (yay for Ash Brown!). I own a Dipbrow and a Brow Wiz. Most of what bothers me is just that the products get hyped beyond anything they actually are and the brow pencil is a good example. It’s a pencil with a spoolie and Youtube reviews would tell you it’s the greatest thing know to man. There are plenty of decent brow pencils and the Brow Wiz is one of them. The selling point is really the color range and that’s a great enough selling point. Outside of the brow or contour bits, I’m less familiar with the brand.
AGREED! A friend of mine is absolutely obsessed with the eyebrow pen, but I’ve taken a few products for a test drive and I just remember being disappointed that it wasn’t mind blowingly amazing. For the longest time I was just filling in my brows with a matte brown eyeshadow (I use a drugstore kit now), so I’ve always felt like super expensive brow products were quite a waste.
One thing I love about Anastasia is that Dipbrow works great for me because my brows are extremely sparse. It’s great for people who are missing a lot of hairs, or who shave their brows or have no brows naturally. It stays put exactly as I apply it. I also appreciate that they put out both warm and cool toned shades for brows, especially since they came out with a Granite Dipbrow that matches my dyed-black hair. I also love their Lash Genius Waterproofing Top Coat.
I definitely haven’t been a fan of their excessive PR, though, which is, unfortunately, something a ton of brands do. There’s so much hype, but it’s hard to tell how genuine people on the internet are. I try my best to pick up people’s vibes on whether it’s just PR or if it’s a true opinion, but I definitely think some of their products are great quality.
Me personally my I think all of these “new brand” or “new products” are getting too much hype…
I can pretty much come up with a liquid lipstick formula or eyeshadow myself in my own room, get about 100,000 people to follow me on YouTube or instagram. With the house of hash tags or shout out a from other popular pages, and it would sell. I’m not buying everything out there
. I’ve never even bought from limecrime (and I’m So glad). But anastasia’s brow pomade is worth looking at, that’s the I was using Mac’s waterproof eyebrow set at first but I like anastasia better. But as far as liquid lipsticks and eyeshadow there’s many other brands to choose from. Same for the contour palette I think nyx supposedly has one also
First let me say that I absolutely love Dipbrow &Browwiz. Those products are revolutionary!!! With that said I am disgusted with Anastasita liquid lipstick!!! I purchased Pure Hollywood and when I compare it to other liquid lipstick products like LimeCrime Velvetines, Anastasia’s lippies are a huge fail, There are so many problems with this product. The formula being the main one and it’s simply unacceptable coming from a beauty company on their level when you have other indie companies that have gotten it totally right. ABH has no excuse!
I hate that last year I finally got a great Anastasia brow pencil, and I left my makeup bag on an airplane, to be lost forever. It also had my Kat Von D concealer in there…. sigh. Sorry, I’ve only tried one product and this was all I had! I wanted to be included!
I have full brows already so the most I’ve ever spent on a brow product is $10. I can’t judge ABH in the brow realm, other than saying I feel no need to pay premium for brow products! I wish I could use their contour powders, but as a deep-skinned girl, it’s a little overwhelming for me to search and sift through resources in order to get swatches & the like. Neither of these rants have anything to do with the brand itself though.
I had my brows done at IMATs once and really liked the work they did. I do use one of their powder duos (auburn) which I like because I can mix a bit to get the color I like.
That said, the duo IS pricey (I don’t mind so much because this one pan has lasted me for freaking ever) and honestly a little more than eyeshadow and if I kept looking, I could probably find a cheaper replacement.
The rest of their stuff? It’s there and it’s both price and too-warmed toned. It’s not a brand I look to first for anything else.
Hello!! I actually like their liquid lipsticks. The bright colors will be amazing in the summer. I live up here in Alaska and even though we don’t have snow, the bright colors pop in chilly weather. We live with chap stick anyway up here!!
I’ve never used their products, but they’re a sponser on this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which I find interesting.
The brow products seem to be pretty popular, but I don’t really need brow products.
I personally am turned off by any company that will send hundreds of thousands of dollars of free merchandise to “famous” Instagrammers and Youstubers, yet expect me to shell out over $20 for a tiny pencil. To me it makes them look desperate. I believe how good something is is by word of mouth rather than seeing picture after picture of it being unboxed after a well-known person in the beauty community recieved it free in the mail.
Amen sister!!!! ☺ and their customer service is one of the worst I have ever encountered.
What upsets me is the pro discount that they offer. You don’t even have a full line of makeup, such as MAC to even be offering a pro discount. It turns me off from buying from them
To be honest, I’ve never tried their stuff. Most of their products contain parabens, which puts me off. I do want to try their liquid lipsticks, though!
I’m surprised at all the negativity towards the brand for sending free products to bloggers/YouTubers to review. Pretty much every brand does that; it’s hardly unique to ABH. I agree that there seems to be an excessive amount of hype but I think something people forget sometimes is that a lot of the people receiving the free products are pros, and their criteria are going to be slightly different to the average user’s. Take DipBrow, for example – I have no interest in a product like that for my own everyday use, but if I needed that sort of coverage and long wear, I would learn how to use it. The palette with all of the brow powder duos is not aimed at people who do only their own makeup.
I have, and like, the Brow Wiz pencil in Caramel, the brow gel in Auburn, and the clear wax stick (forget the proper name). I like the texture of the Brow Wiz and the fact that I don’t need to sharpen it, and the shade has enough red in it to work with my dyed-red hair without being full-on. The Auburn gel is more full-on, and the perfect deep red-brown. The clear wax stick keeps my brow hairs in line on days when I can’t be bothered to put colour on them, but want to tame that one damn hair that thinks it’s supposed to point straight down, and it also doubles as a clear lipliner to prevent feathering, so it’s a fantastic travel product.
Crucially, I think, is that the ABH brow products don’t irritate my sensitive skin, and come in shades that work with my skin and hair. I’ve tried other stuff and found that the vast majority of brow pencils do irritate my skin, so I’ll be sticking with Anastasia. I’d love to try the eyeshadow palettes as well but haven’t taken the plunge there yet.
Yes it mat be true that all brands do it. However, I dont think I have ever seen as many people using products from the same brand. Some youtubers only wear ABH eyeshadows these days, nothing else, which makes me think that there is a clear orientation given to them about what products they may or may not use.
When I dyed my hair red a few years ago I had no idea what to do with my brows. I had them done at the Anastasia salon inside the Times Square Sephora in NYC and the girl used the Anastasia brow powder in Strawburn (now called Caramel) – gamechanger! A color that mimicked the color of a natural redhead’s brows rather than being bright red or orangey-warm. I’ve used the powder and the Brow Wiz pencil in Caramel ever since, and I’m interested in the Dipbrow pomade purely to see if it saves me a few minutes in the mornings.
I have zero interest in other products by the brand, though. I agree it’s overhyped but the hype doesn’t even work – the products don’t appeal to me at all. But I’ve got to give it to her on the Caramel color, nothing else comes close. (I do think blondes and brunettes have more options now and Anastasia might not be the best product, but this particular color will always be in my makeup bag.)
I’ve tried their dipbrow pomade, one liquid lipstick (Potion), and one eye shadow (Beauty Mark). I thought the eyeshadow was pretty good, the liquid lipstick is alright. I only wore it once to test it out and it bled a little (it’s a blackish purple color) but it was alright. Their dipbrow pomade is a staple for me and is one of those products that I will always dish out the extra cash for.
The problem is not that they expanded their line- they are a business after all and I’m guessing a lot of big makeup companies had to start somewhere. Also it’s not like they’re putting out poor quality products because their products are generally quite good. The problem is I am getting a little sick of hearing about them through every youtuber- it’s never just “ok I’m gonna use this product from ABH”- it’s usually “I’m using this product from ABH and it’s my favorite thing of all time!!”. So yeah I agree, overhype is a big thing with them. Also, I think contour palettes are a waste of money unless you’re a professional makeup artist.