Product Review -- Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Eye Shadow Palette

After the "controversy" surrounding the Subculture Eye Shadow Palette, I wondered if it might be a little while before Anastasia Beverly Hills put out another eye shadow palette.

Despite the fact that the Subculture Palette isn't one of my all-time faves, I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case, though.

So I was pretty excited when photos of the Prism Eye Shadow Palette started showing up on Instagram.

Like the Subculture Palette, the shades in this collection are more unique and contain both warm and cool tones, and while I may struggle a bit to put together looks with these types of palettes, I really do enjoy the challenge.

The Prism Palette comes in a sturdy cardboard palette that's covered with a black faux velvet material just like the rest of the most recent ABH palettes. I'm not particularly a fan of the faux velvet because it grabs onto to any shadow fallout and gets dirty in a hurry. The black can hide some shades a little better than other colors, but there are plenty of brighter tones in the palette that still show up.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Eye Shadow Palette

Inside, there's a small mirror, but it's really only good for touch-ups and the palette doesn't stay open by itself so you have to prop it up against something.

 There is a double-ended brush with a flat shader end and a fluffy blending end included as well.

(Kudos to ABH for including brushes with their palettes that are actually usable. Urban Decay does this as well.)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Eye Shadow Palette 

The palette features 14 shadows: Lucid, a white gold duo chrome with pink reflect; Eden, a matte coral pink; Unity, a matte nude ochre; Sphinx, a metallic warm bronze; Osiris, a metallic midnight violet with red reflect; Sphere, a matte electric green-yellow; Obsidian, a matte black; Dimension, a silver-grey duo chrome with pink reflect; Parallel, a matte chocolate brown; Pyramid, a metallic yellow gold; Throne, a metallic blackened blue-green; Saturn, a matte terracotta; Eternal, a metallic copper; and Lure, a matte gray mauve.

From l. to r.: Lucid, Eden, Unity, Sphinx, Osiris, Sphere, Obsidian

From l. to r.: Dimension, Parallel, Pyramid, Throne, Saturn, Eternal, Lure

Right off the bat, I think that if you were someone who had problems with the Subculture Palette, you'll find that you like the formula in the Prism Palette better. The shadows are still extremely pigmented and kick up a lot of fallout, but not quite as much as the Subculture shadows.

A couple of the metallic and duo-chrome shades, like Lucid and Eternal, can be a little tough to apply with a brush. I find that they work better if you tap them on with a finger or dampen them slightly.

ABH also seemed to learn a lesson from the Subculture Palette, and has an entire page on their website dedicated to explaining how best to use the shadows in the Prism Palette, including a step-by-step guide to a few specific looks.

I personally appreciate the info, especially the look ideas, because I once again found myself a little unsure how to put together looks from the palette.

As I mentioned in my Subculture review, I'm not the most creative person when it comes to putting together shadow looks (despite the fact that I'm drawn like crazy to palettes that have more unusual shades). I can usually only handle one bold, bright, or deep shadow in a look at a time, so a palette like this can be a little intimidating.

That said, there are so many gorgeous shades in this palette -- Unity and Lure may seem a little drab, but I absolutely love them as transition shades.

Dimension, Pyramid, Sphinx, and Throne are so beautifully metallic, and Eden and Saturn are warm shadow dreams come to life.

I've done several looks with the palette, and I love that it allows for both cool (with shades like Dimension, Osiris, Throne, and Lure) and warm (with shades like Eden, Saturn, Sphinx, Pyramid, and Eternal) looks.

But I feel like all the looks I've done are roughly the same because I just don't have the creativity to come up with anything new.

So that's why the palette doesn't really feel like a standalone option for me.

The shades are beautiful and nice to work with, but I need to bring in some more neutral shadows from other balances to create a balanced look.

For those more creative makeup lovers out there, though, I'm sure there are a ton of beautiful looks that can be done with this palette. I just lack the vision for it.

I don't regret buying the palette, though. It has so many pretty shades that are pretty unique, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of it.

The palette retails for $42 on the ABH website, Ulta, and Sephora.

Have you tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Eye Shadow Palette? Which shades are your favorite?