There has been many undesirable reviews going around the internet about the newest Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture palette, the sister palette to the adored older sister the Renaissance Palette. Before I received the palette in my hands, I was expecting the worst from what I read and saw online, but to my advantage I learned on how to approach the powdery mess by not swirling the color till it hit pan on the first swatch (As Seen on YouTube).

Pigment:The pigment of the eye shadows vary, the mattes are the most powdery and pigmented eye shadows. Some color do tend to go on darker when applied to the skin, and with primer. All you need to do is only tap the Matte shadows once and at most, twice to get enough color. The 3 non-matte colors : Adorn, Cube, and Electric have a different textures between them all (see below for each color description)

In comparison to the Mario and Renaissance palette, all 3 palettes have fall out, are highly pigmented eye shadows, but the difference with Subculture is the colors and ingredients are a bit different, as well as how they are pressed. (read Bustle article with Norvina's responses below) With the Mario palette, I love the warm tones to create a look on my clients. The Renaissance is a beautifully blendable warm cool toned palette I also carry in my kit. I was looking to add more fun and editorial edgy colors to my kit and purchased the Subculture palette. It has colors that look like September "fall-out" leaves and is quite edgy is why I was drawn to the palette.

To see Norvina's responses in regard to the palette's powdery mess, her tweets can be found in an article by Bustle.

Pressing issues:

It is said that the eye shadows are not pressed the same way, that can the cause major fallout but it doesn't explain how some of the matte colors blend splotchy and muddy together.

Product Details:

Price: $42

Eyeshadows: Made in USA

Brush: Made in China (PRC)

An essential eye collection with fourteen shades featuring grungy mattes and bold metallics with an underground edge.

Cruelty Free Product | Hypoallergenic | Dermatology tested

Ingredients:

AXIS, DESTINY, MERCURY, DAWN, ROWDY, FUDGE, ALL STAR, EDGE, NEW WAVE, ROXY, UNTAMED: TALC, HDI/TRIMETHYLOL HEXYLLACTONE CROSSPOLYMER, ZINC STEARATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, DIMETHICONE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SILICA, MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR (+/-): YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140), CARMINE (CI 75470), ULTRAMARINES (CI 77007), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), FERRIC FERROCYANIDE (CI 77510), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) *CONTAINS CARMINE AS A COLOR ADDITIVE.

ADORN: TALC, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, ZINC STEARATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR (+/-): MICA, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77499), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891)

ELECTRIC: TALC, CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE, ZINC STEARATE, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SILICA, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, TIN OXIDE, MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR (+/-): MICA, IRON OXIDE (CI 77491), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891)

CUBE: TALC, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, SILICA, ZINC STEARATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR (+/-): MICA, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891)

The Colors: (How I see and describe it)

• Roxy: Matte Peachy Shade is super pigmented with lots of fall out, darker when swatched. Applied smooth with no patchiness.
• Cube: Looks white in the pan but is a Pink iridescent shade, has a waxy texture that I had to scratch some off to apply.
• Dawn: Camel Matte Shade a nice subtle shade
• Electric: Lime Green metallic shade with gold micro specks of glitter is slightly waxy but has more color payoff than cube and easier to apply. I like this unique color.
• Destiny: Cool Navy Green Matte Shade
• Fudge: Warm Brown Matte Shade
• Adorn: Metallic Bronze. My favorite color and texture in this palette, it is creamy and heavily pigmented. I used my finger to apply this as it feels like the Colourpop Supershock shadows. Love~
• New Wave: Mustardy Turmeric Matte shade
• All Star: Brown Plum Matte..gets a bit patchy
• Untamed: Cool Pale Green Matte
• Mercury: Neutral Gray Matte, came out a little uneven
• Edge: Mustard Yellow Matte
• Axis: Forest Green/Teal Matte
• Rowdy: Dark Blackened Brown Matte

 

Primer: (I used no primer on the left side of my swatch picture and video)

With primer, (I used Mac painterly pot) the colors stick better but again it the mattes blends out muddled and uneven. I have used my fingers, my own synthetic brush, and the brush that comes with the palette, same result.

Possible reasons:

Although these colors really look nice, maybe the ingredients that create these colors don't work well with each other. It can also be the reaction to our body chemistry and heat that it changes the color on our skin. Also many of these color when mixed with each other will equal muddy browns or gray. The patchiness however has to do with the formulation of each color. Just like with liquid lipsticks ( I have tested 100s) each color has different quality in wear. In my many years (decades, I am old) of experience with eye shadows I have yet to find a matte yellow that was smooth and creamy.

Getting it to work:

Try using only 1 matte color with 1 of the metallic/duo chrome shades as that would cause less muddling, or using 1 color for a monochromatic look. If you really want to get it to work try different primers, brushes, and go lightly. I am hoping something may work for you. Check hastag #abhsubculture on instagram for videos to see if it may help.

Conclusion:

With all that , if you are unsatisfied with the Subculture palette, ABH has a great return policy in place. They include a return shipping label with your package if you order from Anastasiabeverlyhills.com and can return it within 30 days for a full refund (Sephora as well). Instead of going "berserk" online or being rude with clickbaity thumbnails, state the facts politely. Remember there was a team of people who put sweat and hard work into creating this product. Hopefully from all the feedback from us consumers, ABH can release a V2 of the palette, because a lot of us are loving the color combinations in this palette. It is unfortunate that quality can differ from batch to batch, and maybe one of us might hit the "good batch lottery." At this time I am unsure if I will be returning it, I may keep and use it for a monochromatic look with the less patchy colors. I give this palette a 3 out of 5, how about you?