Anastasia Beverly Hills Masterclass by Mario Palette Review
By Amanda V.
Just about everyone in the beauty industry knows Mario Dedivanovic aka @makeupbymario on Instagram. He's the celebrity artist behind all of Kim Kardashian West's iconic makeup looks as well as the rest of the Kardashians and Jenners. He is pretty much the king of sultry and sexy. Whether you're a fan of Kim Kardashian or not, the one thing you can't deny is that her makeup is always extra gorg and crushes hearts with that iconic bronzed eye. The minimalist in me has been preferring the natural looks she's been sporting recent especially her latest looks at Paris Fashion Week that Mario has given her as well as some of my girl crushes like actresses Shay Mitchell, Priyanka Chopra and Supermodel Jourdan Dunn. I was just about obsessed with it all. These makeup looks all trace back to Mario and his new Masterclass by Mario palette in collaboration with the ever popular Anastasia Beverly Hills brand. He himself has stated that Kim was his muse for the easy neutral shades in palette filled with multiple mattes and metallics. Everyone from the super minimalist to the Drag Queens will fall head over heels over this palette.
The hype about this product was so real, I knew I just had to grab it during the release day. Packed into a chic, simplistic cardboard palette with magnetic closure are beautiful rich warm and cool toned mattes, soft nude and smokey jewel toned metallics. This palette has everything you need to go from super soft day to super sultry night. It's very easy to work with that even beginners can slay. This product came out at the perfect time heading into the perfect season for these shades. These autumnal hues are reminiscent of the gorgeous shades of the falling leaves I see while walking through Central Park. This product gives me beautiful enchanted forest vibes.
It is love at first swatch. What I absolutely love about these Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes is the quality and pigment of these shadows. They are buttery smooth and glide on like a dream. My favorite shade that I fell in love with is "Marina". It is the most beautiful, glowing, intense metallic peachy gold I've ever come across and it deserves infinite heart eye emojis. It is made of mermaid dreams, I just want to bathe in it. (Fun Fact: I have used it as a highlighter already). The photos will never do it justice. A close second in favorites in this palette is the shade "Bronx". A beautiful warm earthy olive shade with a gorgeous golden shimmer. This shadow shade is pretty similar to Urban Decay's "Stash" 24/7 glide on eye pencil. The mattes in this palette are the holiest of matte shadows. The pigmentation of these mattes are batshit crazy. The vibrancy is there even with a finger swatch and without using an eyelid primer/base. I did favor the "Isabel" matte shade. It's the perfect warm, light orange creamsicle shade that is ideal for transitioning in the crease. The only disappointing shade to me was Hollywood. It goes on a bit chalky and it wasn't as buttery smooth as the others and when blended it pretty much became transparent on me. I've always found that the quality of the shadows in ABH Palettes are better than the single shadows. They're softer and blend more seamlessly and attaches to the brush better and you don't have to keep digging into the shadow to get the intensity we all want from a shadow. Of course there is a bit of fallout but let's be real, what shadow doesn't?
The cost of this palette is $45 for 12 shadows that's are 0.02oz each. The palette is Limited Edition so it might be difficult to get your hands on. What is a tad bit annoying is that all of the Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes from the past were all less than this price point. Even her permanent classic "Modern Renaissance" palette, which contained 2 more shadows than this one is slightly cheaper at $42 and The limited edition "Self-Made" palette which also had 14 shadows was only $35. The price increase is a bit wild but I understand that Mario has to make some collab profit. You will be getting your money's worth because it's a gorgeous palette with rich pigments which isn't always easy to come across and it can be used everyday for even the most subtle look. If you need more convincing just stare at the glowing swatch of "Marina" until you've completely surrendered soul, and your dollars.