review: carli bybel x anastasia beverly hills eyeshadow palette

Anastasia Beverly Hills has had an awful lot of hits and the occasional misstep. For the most part, this high end brand is known for richly pigmented eyeshadow shades and warm, wearable colours. (Not to mention their best-selling brow products.) In the past, I have tried a handful of their eyeshadow palettes, and more recently, the Carli Bybel eyeshadow palette. This limited edition set is cruelty free, gluten free, and has fourteen shades to work with. How do they perform? Is this palette a must have? Keep reading to find out all the beauty-related details.

ABH x Carli Bybel Palette Review: Packaging

When it comes to packaging, Anastasia Beverly Hills has a pretty standard formula. Their palettes tend to have the same shape on the exterior - and the same shape and size for the eyeshadow pans inside as well. They aren't a brand that is known for dramatic or over-the-top packaging. That being said, the ABH palettes are sturdy, simple to use, and convenient to store. With the Carli Bybel eyeshadow palette, they added some fun details to the packaging. Even if it does still fall into their somewhat formulaic structure. The top of the palette has a pink sort of bubble design, with accents of gold and white. This adds interest and personality right from the start. 

Like all of the other ABH palettes, this one also comes with a duel ended brush. On one side is a light and fluffy blending brush and on the other, a shorter and denser brush for a more concentrated application of product. The inclusion of this double ended brush always makes me happy. Not only does it make Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes perfect for travel or on-the-go makeup application...but the brush is high quality and works well. All in all, the packaging is simple, straightforward, and effective. If you are looking for lots of bells and whistles, this palette may not wow from the outside. However, if cute designs and functionality are your top priorities, the Carli Bybel palette will suit you well. 

Carli Bybel Palette: Shade Selection and Pigmentation 

Now to really dig into this eyeshadow palette. Packaging is all well and good but what it really comes down to is the eyeshadows. How they perform, the colours themselves, and whether or not you will need to pull from outside palettes to create a finished makeup look. As you can see from the picture above, there are a lot of really beautiful shades. It's true! That includes everything from mid-tone browns to warm reds, metallics, and unique holographic shades. This is certainly a unique and dynamic collection of colours. My personal favourites are Bybel, Mandala, Libra, and Jode. (A good chunk of that top row.) They are very different to anything else in my existing makeup collection.

All of the colours are pretty, warm, and wearable. They have a lovely romantic quality to them. Plus, there is a good variety of finishes to choose from, including shimmer, glitter, and velvet matte. Both the shade selection and the variety of finishes is stellar. I only wish there was a darker eyeshadow shade included here. That would make this palette a little more dynamic. It would take it from a daytime palette to a day or night palette. The deepest shade is Boie, that medium brown, which doesn't do quite enough to add depth and darkness to the crease. Here are some swatches to give you a better idea of how these shadows perform....

In terms of pigmentation, these shadows are a bit of a mixed bag but impressive overall. For instance, Moo is a gorgeous creamy shimmer but simply cannot compare with the bold pigmentation of the other gold in this palette, My Angels. There is also a decent amount of fallout with OA and Aura if applied with a brush. Your best bet for maximum colour payoff is to use a damp brush, a sponge applicator, or your fingertip during application. However, there are some truly incredible shadows included in this palette. The pigmentation level of Libra and Boli is shockingly good. The matte shades aren't quite as pigmented as the shimmers but they build nicely and blend with ease. 

Overall Thoughts and Makeup Look

Want to see how the look (shown above) was created? Then be sure to check out my latest YouTube video. It is a chatty get ready with me style video featuring this oh-so-fabulous palette. There is also a full review of the palette on my channel as well, which you can check out here.



So...is this eyeshadow palette worth looking into? It sort of depends on what you are after. If you want a one-stop-shop kind of palette, this won't be it. In order to create dramatic looks or create a bold smokey eye, additional products are required. That being said, there are many unique colours included in this palette. Taupe, a shimmery red, a glittery holographic colour, and beautiful warm mattes. If you are looking for a supplementary palette or something that works well for daytime, then the Carli Bybel palette is something to consider. I really love the unique shades here as well as some of the warm and wearable colours. I love that this isn't a full neutral palette but it isn't a rainbow palette either. It is interesting, romantic, and special. 

Rating: 4 / 5

Are you a fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills? Have you tried this palette?