Anastasia Beverly Hills Riviera Eyeshadow Palette

Spring has almost sprung and that means it’s time for new seasonal collection releases! We’ve seen a few announcements from Looxi Beauty, ColourPop, and now Anastasia Beverly Hills. I initially planned to hold off on purchasing the Anastasia Riviera palette ($45.00), but my car somehow drove to Ulta yesterday against my will and dropped me right at the entrance. I ain’t mad at it! And while I was there, I *had* to go ahead and pick it up right!? So today, I’m thrilled to bring you my first impressions of the Riviera palette in this post.

This palette is the brightest Anastasia eye palette thus far, bringing back memories of the ABH influencer palettes from Tamana and Amrezy years ago that included selections or bright corals, purples, and blues. That color palette dimmed some in recent releases and I’m so glad they brought it back.

The palette features a mix of mattes, shimmer and I think even a few are Anastasia’s signature Titanium formula (think ultra creamy, extra shimmery). I’m a sucker for the Titanium shadows because I haven’t been able to find a comparable from other brands. The single eyeshadow “Truffle Glitter” in that forumla is one of my favorite go-to shadows for an extreme smoky eye! I’m pretty positive that Seychelles, Palermo, Seaside, and Mediterranean at least fall into this category (plus possibly Inheritance). Yacht swatches more like the traditional shimmer formula and the rest of these babies are matte.

Now let’s get down to business – my first impression. I love the pretty balanced mix of mattes and shimmers which are defined by bottom row (all matte) and top row (all shimmer except for Sails). Sales, Estate, Cabana, and Coastline are four solid base shades. Do we need four base shades? No. I would have swapped Estate or Coastline for a matte turquoise blue in a heartbeat to go with shimmery sea blue Seychelles. The other four mattes – Bahamas, Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Palm are all distinct enough to warrant inclusion in the palette. Monte Carlo and Coastline are of a similar family, but Coastline shows up a much lighter beige on my skin whereas Monte Carlo is more pink. I suggest applying Bahamas in the crease and then blending out with Monte Carlo. Then sit back and let the combo blow your mind. Those too shades blend seamlessly. Talk about love at first blend!

Moving on to Cannes, I was thrilled to see this swatched. It applied true to color even on my skin and I couldn’t wait to get it on my eyeballs. Imagine my dismay when I applied it to my eyes, began blending, and watched the color fade almost instantly. I tried with eyeshadow primer, without concealer, and on bare eyelid all varying my brushes. No luck getting the color to stay put. This is surprising considering I could get Bahamas to hold its own on my eyeballs and on my arm. Hopefully, you will have better luck. Lastly, Palm is truly a beautiful neutral brown. It doesn’t quite show up on my skintone, but will work nicely if I’m looking for a matte brown lid. I assume it’s role in the palette is to deepen the crease, but if you are my complexion you will either have to pull out a deeper brown or a black to achieve that effect.

I have nothing but fabulous things to say about the top row – save for maybe the inclusion of Sails. I’m not really sure what I’ll do with a matte while shade. It’s a bit harsh on my skintone so I’d either have to use it to blend out another shadow or let it sit unused in the pan. The other shimmers are basically the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. I may be exaggerating a little, but if you need a reason to purchase this palette, you’ll find it in Seychelles, Palermo, Seaside, Inheritance, and Mediterranean. Pair them with their matte matches directly below each shade for some gorgeous looks!

For $45.00, I would recommend this palette – especially with spring approaching. You can get a TON of use out of this. Go all matte or all shimmer, or standout with a vibrant monochromatic look. This palette is overflowing with creative inspiration and it’s all yours for the taking!

Questions? Comments? Hit me in the comment box below!