Anastasia Beverly Hills Eye Shadow Singles: Chiffon, Comfort, Chocolate Crumble, Rosette

~ stashy

I remember a time when Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) was solely a brow product brand.  And look at it now!  According to Sephora, their most popular product is their Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette.  You know me, I can’t commit to a large scale palette so I was quite psyched when I learned that ABH launched single refills and a customizable palette.

I got these right before Christmas last year as gifts to myself. 😉

ABH currently offers a whopping 104 colours in their single shadow line. They’re divided into 7 finishes: Satin, Metallic, Ultra-Matte, Velvet, Shimmer, Titanium, Duo-chrome, and Sparkle (the finishes are listed differently on Sephora versus ABH’s site – I default to ABH’s descriptions).

The eye shadow singles sell regularly for C$16 each, and the empty 4-pan palette is valued at $8. Sephora offers a filled palette for $56 ($74 value), which is a $18 savings.

Each pan contains between 1.5g to 1.7g of product (Chiffon and Chocolate Crumble are 1.5g, Rosette is 1.6g, and Comfort is 1.7g) – similar to other single shadows.  The packaging for each refill is very secure, each pan is housed in a plastic clam shell inside cardboard sleeves.

After extensive research, I settled on these 4 colours:

Chiffon: antique gold (Titanium)
Comfort: antique copper (Satin)
Chocolate Crumble: smoky amethyst (Titanium)
Rosette: burgundy shimmer (Titanium)

I’ve tested out these eye shadows for about a month and here are my thoughts on them.

I was most looking forward to trying the Titanium finish shades – hence why I got 3 of them! – as they look gorgeous in the swatches I’ve seen online. I would describe the Titanium finish as a shinier than a shimmer, but not as shiny as a metallic. The formulas aren’t consistent across the 3 Titanium finishes I tried.  Chiffon and Chocolate Crumble are most similar – their texture are a bit chunkier and behave like pressed pigment. Rosette is drier and less pigmented, and apply more like a velvet finish. Comfort is a Satin finish and applied quite similar to Chiffon – I found both to be very smooth and pigmented.  The colours are beautiful when swatched:

A major issue I faced was that while the shadows applied well on the lids with a shader brush (in a patting motion), as soon as I started to blend, the colour would blend away to nothing. I often had to add 2 or 3 layers to maintain the intensity I wanted. There was also quite a bit of fall out – I feel as though there’s a binding ingredient missing from this shadow formula.  The inconsistency between the Titanium finish also meant the 3 shades perform differently: I found both Chocolate Crumble and Rosette to fade on my lids and crease at around the 6 hr mark. Comfort and Chiffon lasted better but the longest they stayed looking intact was around 8 hrs (I always use my usual primer and eye base).  To put the hours into perspective – I get ready in the mornings at around 7am, and by around 1pm, my eye shadows are starting to fade and crease.

I was expecting more of these shadows since so many people rave about the quality of ABH eye shadow palettes.  Plus, these are $16 each (compare that to $8 for MAC refills). I was surprised that out of the 4 shades I tried, my favourite turned out to be the shade Comfort, the lone Satin finish!  Rosette was my least favourite. At the end of the day, I’m unsure if I’d purchase more ABH shadows – there are just so many brands / options out there.

Interestingly, Chiffon, Comfort and Chocolate Crumble are made in the US, whereas Rosette is made in Italy.

Actually, I do really like the ABH empty palette – it is nearly identical to the MAC 4-pan Pro palette except there are indents to more easily remove each refill pan.  Unlike the MAC palette, the ABH palette itself is magnetized while the refill pans are not (the reverse is true for MAC’s system).

MAC on the left, ABH on the right

The best part? The ABH empty palette is now available on Sephora for only $1, no strings attached! 😮 I’m fairly certain this is  new price drop – I guess the idea is that one would buy the ABH eye shadow singles to fill the palette, but I’m probably going to just refill them with other 26mm eye shadow refills (MAC, ColourPop, MUG etc). 😉

Pros:
• Highly pigmented
• Wide variety of shades and finishes
• Blends well

Cons:
• Colours blend away easily
• Significant fall out
• Not long wearing (fading and creasing)
• Expensive compared to other refill systems

Stash worthiness: 6/10

I should qualify that my rating is restricted to just these 4 shades that I’ve tried. Maybe this is a harsh overall rating, but I just have no tolerance for expensive eye shadows that perform poorly. I would specify that the shade Comfort is an 7/10 and the empty palette is a 9/10.

Here are some comparisons between the ABH colours and other similar shades in my stash:

Chiffon against Shu Uemura P Gold 350, MAC Sea Worship, and Coastal Scents Cherry Moss

Coastal Scents Cherry Moss is fairly similar except for the warm base colour.


Comfort against MAC Woodwinked, Ardency Inn Rose Gold, and Shisiedo BR214 Into The Woods trio (left pan)

On the eye lids, the Shiseido is similar.


Chocolate Crumble against MAC Stolen Moment, Satin Taupe, and Lancome Timeless Taupe

It should come as no surprise that I basically own the same taupe colour 3 times over. 😛  The formula on the others perform much better than the ABH though.


Rosette against MAC Rich Core, Burberry Mulberry, and MUFE D826 Fig

MUFE Fig has a similar tone but it’s much more glittery.


It’s always interesting trying to find similar shades – some of them look so similar in the pan but when swatched, they don’t look all that similar, and vice versa!

These shadows are my first ABH products. Have you tried ABH eye shadows?  Or other ABH items? What do you think of them? I’m still undecided about this brand – I’ve heard their lip products are supposed to be good.

75 thoughts on “Anastasia Beverly Hills Eye Shadow Singles: Chiffon, Comfort, Chocolate Crumble, Rosette”

  1. Suuuuch gorgeous choices!! I’m obsessing over Comfort honestly, so so me! Loved reading this and thank you so much for all the comparing swatches- super helpful!! Great post Stashy xx

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  2. Damn! I’d wanted the modern renaissance palette but hearing you don’t rate these really puts me off! I thought in the pans the titanium ones would be like the makeup geek foil ones they look more impressive and interesting in the pan to me compared to be swatch!
    Rosette looks the most interesting to me but hearing the most disappointing is annoying. May just ship the MR palette and go for more makeup geeks instead!

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    1. Yes, those Titanium ones I thought would be like foils based on the texture in the pan… but nope, just kind of a more intense shimmery finish. I was really hoping these would be spectacular but they just aren’t. I tried all kinds of primers / bases with them but couldn’t improve how they wear on me. I say stick to MUG!

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  4. Gorgeous shades, but the problems you indicate in your post are some of my complaints too. I have found the best way to use these shadows is with a very light hand and lots of building up. I like using a MAC 217 to apply the shade starting in my crease by using circular motions. I find that makes for a pretty hazy look, but they aren’t the best for packing onto the lid.

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    1. Good to know that I’m not the only one who experienced similar challenges with these shadows! I have been using a mixture of MAC 239 shader and the 217 blending. I just expected more since they’re gorgeous colours and swatch nicely.

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    1. I haven’t even tried their Brow Whiz. I know people rave about it but it seems expensive and gets used up quickly? I do like these colours I chose, but too bad about the performance. :/

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  8. Oh no such a shame you didn’t like them. I love the ABH MR palette but I’ve never tried any singles. I wonder if the quality and finish is different even though palettes and single pans should be the same c

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  10. I have one of the single shadows but I forget the name. I have the Tamanna/DressYourFace palette from 2 or 3 years ago. I like that one a lot. I’m a BIG fan of the Brow Wiz & Dip Brow and the glosses. I just got the stick foundation to try as I heard it plays well with oily/combo skin. Used it over the weekend but still need to play with it more to form a full opinion.

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    1. I’ve heard great things about the ABH glosses! I might check them out for the VIB sale. Oh I didn’t know that ABH launched a stick foundation. So odd that stick foundations seems to be the rage these days? Hourglass released one too, right?

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      1. Hourglass released one last summer. I e tried that too (Influenster sent it to me a couple weeks before it launched).

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  11. I’ve not seen these single eyeshadows before. They looked so pretty, pity they were disappointing when you used them. You would expect them to be better than that at the price but the empty palette sounds good, especially at that price.

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  14. Chocolate Crumble is my jam! I’m really into it! I love that you pulled similar colours from your collection – Satin Taupe is so similar in the swatch. I’ve tried ABH shadows in my Modern Renaissance palette which I really love. I think the only other items I have from Anastasia is the clear brow gel (amazing) and the lip primer (not bad). I may pick up a few of the empty palettes though…

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    1. Yes, Chocolate Crumble and Satin Taupe are nearly dupes. I had thought that Chocolate Crumble was deeper because of how it appears in the pan but the swatches don’t lie!
      I don’t think I’m going to get any more ABH eye shadows any time soon but I’ve heard good things about their lip products. And yes, that empty palette is worth checking out if you have any MUG or MAC refills.

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  18. Argh, so sad these didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped! Rosette is stunning! Choc Crumble is very pretty but kind of dupable. I love the palette system…maybe I’ll try these in the Satin finishes. I prefer less sparkly eyeshadows. That Sephora sale should be coming up, no?…

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    1. Yup Sephora sale is coming up next week I think. I haven’t received an email or postcard yet. And yes, I’m inclined to think the Satin finish is better. I’m curious how the Ultra-Mattes are too.

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  19. Wow your experience is so disappointing! I have two shades (names are escaping me right now) and I’ve been pretty pleased with them but the price is a deterrent for me. That said, I do really love Chocolate Crumble.

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    1. Maybe I’m harder on them because of the price points but I honestly have drugstore eye shadows that out perform these ones from ABH. I agree, the colours are really pretty – what’s why I chose them! 😛

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    1. Yes I have oilier lids too and I always use a primer and base with all of my makeup (currently using Nars primer and MAC Paint Pots) but even when paired with those, the ABH shadows don’t last all day.

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    1. I used to find MAC Woodwinked to be too warm for me but I’ve managed to make it work (not blend it too high above my crease). And Ardency Inn is so pretty – I’ve neglected it!

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  23. I have never tried their single shadows, but I love my Renaissance palette 😍 I think it’s definitely worth the hype and the price! I also have the World Traveler palette that was Limited Edition and I’m pretty impressed with the palettes. I have also tried the brow Definer which I really liked and will be trying the brow wiz soon, I took advantage of the Ulta sale. 🙂

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    1. I’ve read lots of raves for the ABH palettes. And I do agree the value is really good with the palettes. The World Traveler palette was one of their earlier ones, right? Such fun colours in that one. 🙂 Good to know the Brow Definer is good too – all I ever hear about is the Brow Wiz.

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      1. The Brow wiz is comparable to the Nyx micro brow. I just got the ABH brow wiz in the mail today. I thought it would be a good time to try at 50% off lol. I hope you will reconsider and try the Renaissance 😍

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        1. 50% off! Wow, we never have awesome sales like that here. Maybe one of these days I’ll try the Modern Renaissance… I just have more palettes than I know what to do with (don’t we all?)

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          1. Yeah it was during the Ulta Beauty Steals. Maybe Ulta will expand and come to Canada eventually! 🙂 You’re right about palettes…lol. Though I pretty much just have more makeup in general than I know what to do with! Lol!

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  25. How disappointing that the formula is not up to snuff considering the price. What a waste of some gorgeous colours! The only ABH palette I have is the Master Palette by Mario one. Formulation is good but the variety of colours is a little lacking – the shades all tend to blend together if I don’t go outside of the palette when I’m doing different looks.
    I didn’t realize that Chocolate Crumble was so similar to Satin Taupe. That one stood out to me! I wonder if their Metallics are better performing – I feel like companies do those finishes the best, although of course all of their shadows should be consistent across different finishes.

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    1. I was a bit let down with their performance. Sometimes eye shadows that require different application techniques turn out to be really good for longevity (like the Make Up For Ever ones) but these didn’t even turn out to be long wearing.
      I really thought that Chocolate Crumble was going to be WAY darker based on the swatches I saw online and I was surprised how similar it is to Satin Taupe. I’m sorta curious about the other finishes… but I’d rather try some MUG or ColourPop ones first! The most unique shade turned out to be Comfort and Rosette for me.

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  30. Well, at least their eye shadows are not made in China. It’s a bit sad that they blend to nothingness. Their moonchild palette is a total scandal, for that price and they’re made in China.

    1 dollar for the palette! That’s a fab deal 😀 Great found, Stashy.

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    1. True, at least they’re made in Italy / US. I’m fine if certain brands mostly make their stuff in China and it’s common for them (ie NYX or elf) but a high-end brand like Anastasia dabbling here and there… seems sketchy.

      Yup, I was surprised to see the palette is only $1! I thought perhaps it was $1 if you purchased a refill, but nope, just on its own. 😀

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  31. Oh my goodness I love the colours you chose, especially Comfort 🎃 Have you ever done a post about your whole makeup collection? Would love to see it ☺ 💕

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