A few years ago if Anastasia Beverly Hills was mentioned, most people would immediately have thought of brow products but now it's hard to know if it's eye shadows, lip products or highlighters that would come to mind first because they basically do everything so well. I first heard about the brand when I read that Kim Kardashian will only let Anastasia do her brows - the entire beauty world paid attention at that point! I've tried quite a few products from the brand so I've decided to compile my thoughts into a brand focus post (others in the series here) and as with all of my other brand focus posts, this post is not sponsored. Frustratingly, not all ABH products are available this side of the Atlantic but if you are interested in buying any of the products mentioned here today, they are available from Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty (free shipping on ABH products this month) or directly from Anastasia Beverly Hills UK site.
Base:
Stick Foundation: So far, the brand only has one foundation available, which is the Stick Foundation that I reviewed here. I have since given this foundation away because, ultimately, it is more suited to normal/combination/oily skin types rather than my Sahara-like skin. It has a demi-matte finish, light-medium buildable coverage and had a wear time of around 6 hours on me but because I have other foundations that suit my skin better, I found that I was reaching for those more. It is available in an impressive 30 shades so if you don't have dry skin, it is worth checking out. £24.
Pro Series Contour Kit: I feel like this was the original contour palette! When I bought mine, there was only Light-Medium available and it was probably the most hyped release of 2014. The soft texture of the powders make contouring very easy and the shades are the perfect contour colour - neither too warm nor too grey, however I eventually found that I just used Java and Fawn and all of the other shades were left neglected. For anybody who takes contouring seriously, this palette is all you need but I just go for subtle definition these days so I gave the palette to my sister in-law's nieces and they were able to replace the two pans I had used as they are available to buy individually, which is a real bonus with this palette. I would like to try the cream contour palette so if you've used it, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! £39.
Blush: These blush trios are a recent release from the brand and are only available directly on their website. There are five colour options and I own Peachy Love, which I reviewed here. The texture of these blushes is silky smooth, which makes them very easy to work with as long as you apply with a light hand as they are very pigmented (at least the one I own is). These blushes last well on the skin and at £27, they are pretty good value given that there are 3 shades in each compact. £27.
Illuminator: This was the brand's first foray into the world of highlighters. These illuminators not only look stunning with the art deco embossing (which never seems to disappear) and classic black and gold packaging, the product inside is absolutely beautiful. The texture is so soft that it is almost creamy, which means that this highlighter is an absolute dream to apply and blend and it can be layered to take you from "lit from within" to "can be seen from outer space" - depending on how you like your cheeks to look! I have the shade So Hollywood, which is gold in colour but there are two other shades available. £22.
Glow Kit: Last summer saw the release of the Glow Kits - three were released and I own two - That Glow and Sun Dipped (which is still available to buy). Each kit contains four intense highlighters that can be used individually or layered - depending on how intensely you want to glow. The powders are, as you'd expect, very finely milled, smooth and soft without even a hint of glitter, although the finish is quite metallic. I like to use them dry but you can apply them using a damp beauty blender to increase the intensity further. Last Christmas saw the release of the Ultimate Glow Kit, which I passed on buying but couldn't resist the release of the Anastasia x Nicole palette earlier this year (review & affordable alternative here). The glow kits are housed in sturdy cardboard packaging but I do feel that they should have a mirror in them. If mermaid style highlighting is your thing, check out the Aurora Glow Kit. £39. Have you seen the new Liquid Glows? They have my name written all over them!
Eyes:
Brows: Anastasia takes brows seriously and the range of products includes gels, pencils, powders and creams. I have tried the Brow Wiz, Dip Brow Pomade and Brow Definer. All of these products are brilliant products so it really just comes down to personal preference when choosing one. The Brow Wiz comes in 9 shades and has a spoolie on one end and a very fine, retractable nib on the other. The texture of the product is the perfect balance between firm and waxy - it doesn't snap or scratch when drawing in fine hairs yet it also doesn't smear or budge once applied. The Brow Definer has a larger, angled nib and I find that I can achieve defined brows so quickly with this product - the shape of the pencil does the work for you. Both of these products last all day without any fading on me. I personally find that the Dip Brow Pomade requires a little more effort in applying but that's not to say that it's hard work - I just need to be careful that I don't go overboard. The formula is quite creamy, yet it's smudge-proof and dries matte for a long-lasting finish. £18-21.
Eyeshadow: Now on to probably my favourite products from ABH - I'm an eyeshadow addict and I would say that the formula and texture of the eyeshadows from this brand are in my top 3 of all time. They are pigmented, long-wearing, soft in texture, blendable and easy to work with. The Modern Renaissance Palette was one of the biggest releases of 2016 and I have yet to read a negative review of it. The Master Palette by Mario palette followed last winter and is definitely one of my favourite palettes ever. There is also the option to build your own palette if you order directly from the Anastasia website and although the individual shadows are pricey at £10 each, if you buy 4, they are priced at £30 and you receive an empty palette to house them or if you buy 8, you receive an empty 8 well palette and the total price is £50, which is a £30 saving. You will never regret splurging on an Anastasia eyeshadow. Who has bought the new Subculture palette?
Lips:
There are no regular lipsticks available yet (actually there are, they were released yesterday here) but at the moment there are Liquid Lipsticks and Lip Glosses. When the liquid lipsticks were first released, I bought Pure Hollywood and I absolutely hated it. Yes, it was pigmented, easy to apply and matte but I absolutely hated how drying it was on my lips and I couldn't wait to remove it. I have dry lips at the best of times but no other liquid lipstick looked as bad on me. I immediately gave it away to my sister in-law's nieces, who loved it! Last winter, I decided to try the formula again and bought Allison and this time around, I really loved it. I don't know of the formula changed or if it was just because my lips were in better condition and the shade was more forgiving, but I got on really well with it. It is very pigmented and completely budge-proof and not too drying on the lips. I'm looking forward to digging it out again this Autumn! The lip glosses are some of my favourites I have ever tried - they are non-sticky (very important!), are pigmented (unusual for glosses) and apply evenly. The size of the doe-foot applicator means that I can achieve precision with just one swipe. Oh and did I mention that they smell like toffee? Yum! I am absolutely gutted that I left my favourite (Dainty) behind on holiday because it was the perfect coral-pink nude shade that works so well on my skin tone. I will have to buy another because I love it so much. £16-20.
Overall, if I could recommend only one product from the brand, it would be the eyeshadows because it is very difficult to find others that are the same quality, but the brow and highlight products really aren't very far behind. It is a quality brand and yet the prices aren't as high end as you'd expect. I wish that we had Anastasia stands in the UK & Ireland - last year when I was in Sephora, there was an English girl browsing the stand at the same time as me and she was hilarious - swatching everything, high on excitement and saying "can you believe it - feel these" about every single product - we laughed at our giddiness over makeup!
I would love to hear what your favourite Anastasia Beverly Hills product is? Is there something I haven't tried that I need to? Tell me in the comments below!
Base:
Stick Foundation: So far, the brand only has one foundation available, which is the Stick Foundation that I reviewed here. I have since given this foundation away because, ultimately, it is more suited to normal/combination/oily skin types rather than my Sahara-like skin. It has a demi-matte finish, light-medium buildable coverage and had a wear time of around 6 hours on me but because I have other foundations that suit my skin better, I found that I was reaching for those more. It is available in an impressive 30 shades so if you don't have dry skin, it is worth checking out. £24.
Pro Series Contour Kit: I feel like this was the original contour palette! When I bought mine, there was only Light-Medium available and it was probably the most hyped release of 2014. The soft texture of the powders make contouring very easy and the shades are the perfect contour colour - neither too warm nor too grey, however I eventually found that I just used Java and Fawn and all of the other shades were left neglected. For anybody who takes contouring seriously, this palette is all you need but I just go for subtle definition these days so I gave the palette to my sister in-law's nieces and they were able to replace the two pans I had used as they are available to buy individually, which is a real bonus with this palette. I would like to try the cream contour palette so if you've used it, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! £39.
Blush: These blush trios are a recent release from the brand and are only available directly on their website. There are five colour options and I own Peachy Love, which I reviewed here. The texture of these blushes is silky smooth, which makes them very easy to work with as long as you apply with a light hand as they are very pigmented (at least the one I own is). These blushes last well on the skin and at £27, they are pretty good value given that there are 3 shades in each compact. £27.
Illuminator: This was the brand's first foray into the world of highlighters. These illuminators not only look stunning with the art deco embossing (which never seems to disappear) and classic black and gold packaging, the product inside is absolutely beautiful. The texture is so soft that it is almost creamy, which means that this highlighter is an absolute dream to apply and blend and it can be layered to take you from "lit from within" to "can be seen from outer space" - depending on how you like your cheeks to look! I have the shade So Hollywood, which is gold in colour but there are two other shades available. £22.
Glow Kit: Last summer saw the release of the Glow Kits - three were released and I own two - That Glow and Sun Dipped (which is still available to buy). Each kit contains four intense highlighters that can be used individually or layered - depending on how intensely you want to glow. The powders are, as you'd expect, very finely milled, smooth and soft without even a hint of glitter, although the finish is quite metallic. I like to use them dry but you can apply them using a damp beauty blender to increase the intensity further. Last Christmas saw the release of the Ultimate Glow Kit, which I passed on buying but couldn't resist the release of the Anastasia x Nicole palette earlier this year (review & affordable alternative here). The glow kits are housed in sturdy cardboard packaging but I do feel that they should have a mirror in them. If mermaid style highlighting is your thing, check out the Aurora Glow Kit. £39. Have you seen the new Liquid Glows? They have my name written all over them!
Eyes:
Brows: Anastasia takes brows seriously and the range of products includes gels, pencils, powders and creams. I have tried the Brow Wiz, Dip Brow Pomade and Brow Definer. All of these products are brilliant products so it really just comes down to personal preference when choosing one. The Brow Wiz comes in 9 shades and has a spoolie on one end and a very fine, retractable nib on the other. The texture of the product is the perfect balance between firm and waxy - it doesn't snap or scratch when drawing in fine hairs yet it also doesn't smear or budge once applied. The Brow Definer has a larger, angled nib and I find that I can achieve defined brows so quickly with this product - the shape of the pencil does the work for you. Both of these products last all day without any fading on me. I personally find that the Dip Brow Pomade requires a little more effort in applying but that's not to say that it's hard work - I just need to be careful that I don't go overboard. The formula is quite creamy, yet it's smudge-proof and dries matte for a long-lasting finish. £18-21.
Eyeshadow: Now on to probably my favourite products from ABH - I'm an eyeshadow addict and I would say that the formula and texture of the eyeshadows from this brand are in my top 3 of all time. They are pigmented, long-wearing, soft in texture, blendable and easy to work with. The Modern Renaissance Palette was one of the biggest releases of 2016 and I have yet to read a negative review of it. The Master Palette by Mario palette followed last winter and is definitely one of my favourite palettes ever. There is also the option to build your own palette if you order directly from the Anastasia website and although the individual shadows are pricey at £10 each, if you buy 4, they are priced at £30 and you receive an empty palette to house them or if you buy 8, you receive an empty 8 well palette and the total price is £50, which is a £30 saving. You will never regret splurging on an Anastasia eyeshadow. Who has bought the new Subculture palette?
Lips:
There are no regular lipsticks available yet (actually there are, they were released yesterday here) but at the moment there are Liquid Lipsticks and Lip Glosses. When the liquid lipsticks were first released, I bought Pure Hollywood and I absolutely hated it. Yes, it was pigmented, easy to apply and matte but I absolutely hated how drying it was on my lips and I couldn't wait to remove it. I have dry lips at the best of times but no other liquid lipstick looked as bad on me. I immediately gave it away to my sister in-law's nieces, who loved it! Last winter, I decided to try the formula again and bought Allison and this time around, I really loved it. I don't know of the formula changed or if it was just because my lips were in better condition and the shade was more forgiving, but I got on really well with it. It is very pigmented and completely budge-proof and not too drying on the lips. I'm looking forward to digging it out again this Autumn! The lip glosses are some of my favourites I have ever tried - they are non-sticky (very important!), are pigmented (unusual for glosses) and apply evenly. The size of the doe-foot applicator means that I can achieve precision with just one swipe. Oh and did I mention that they smell like toffee? Yum! I am absolutely gutted that I left my favourite (Dainty) behind on holiday because it was the perfect coral-pink nude shade that works so well on my skin tone. I will have to buy another because I love it so much. £16-20.
Overall, if I could recommend only one product from the brand, it would be the eyeshadows because it is very difficult to find others that are the same quality, but the brow and highlight products really aren't very far behind. It is a quality brand and yet the prices aren't as high end as you'd expect. I wish that we had Anastasia stands in the UK & Ireland - last year when I was in Sephora, there was an English girl browsing the stand at the same time as me and she was hilarious - swatching everything, high on excitement and saying "can you believe it - feel these" about every single product - we laughed at our giddiness over makeup!
I would love to hear what your favourite Anastasia Beverly Hills product is? Is there something I haven't tried that I need to? Tell me in the comments below!
All products are bought by me, unless otherwise stated. Opinion is always my own.
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