Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals Review: Why I’m on the Fence
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- Does the Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals Palette Live Up to the Hype?
- Features
- Other Things to Know
- Pros
- Cons
- About My Skin Type and Coloring
- Rose Metals Palette Swatches
- Performance
- Alternatives to Try
- Who This Palette Is For
- Who Should Skip It
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals Review: FAQs
- Conclusion: If You Need This Kind of Color Story, Buy It. You Won't Regret It.
I’m a sucker for metallic eyeshadows (with a side of creamy mattes) and ABH palettes in general, so I jumped at the chance to write an Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals review.
What pushed me over the edge (as if I needed more convincing to buy it) was when I saw it compared to the grunge-glam shades and finishes models wore in the 90s. Why yes, I am feeling a bit nostalgic. That’s the decade I fell in love with everything makeup-related and started dreaming of becoming a beauty writer.
A few years later, it was my reality. I’ve loved following makeup trends and seeking out makeup brands that offer the best quality without exorbitant pricing ever since.
Does the Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals Palette Live Up to the Hype?
Yes and no.
I ordered the Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals palette online. When I first saw it in person, I was dazzled by the shimmer but underwhelmed by the color story. I thought I might return it. It’s not exactly inexpensive, and I missed the sale, so I paid full price for it ($55.00).
The first time I applied the shadows to my lids, they felt like butter and melted into each other, so I barely even had to blend them together. Even the mattes. I was in love. “Definitely keeping it,” I thought.
As I swatched the colors and played with different looks on my lids, the pendulum in my mind (love-hate-love-hate) settled in a more neutral position. It’s a high-quality palette that’s a dream to work with, but it might not be for me because of the colors and how they show up on my skin. Plus, I’d make a few changes in the color selection.
Features
How Many Shades Are Available in the Rose Metals Palette?
The Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals palette has 12 eyeshadows. Though the shimmers stood out so much to me at first, there’s a good balance of finishes: seven shimmers and five mattes.
What Kinds of Looks Can You Create with the Rose Metals Palette?
Though the ABH Rose Metals palette has a grunge-glam vibe, you won’t be stuck with the smudgy shadows and black liner of the late 90s and early 2000s. You can go that route if you want to (love it!), but you can create more polished looks with this palette. For example, use the mattes for a daytime, work-appropriate look.
Take it a step up from there by adding some sparkle to your lid with Heavenly, the shimmering light gold, to brighten your eyes and look more awake than you might feel.
Go sultry with a smoky look that leans heavily on Nocturne, the deep taupe with shimmer, smoked out with Ashes or Rose Quartz. This is where that smudgy black kohl liner comes in.
For a slightly-glam weekend look, try Haze or Nova on the lid (brighten the inner 1/3 with Heavenly if it feels too heavy and/or dark for your eye shape). Go with a crisp black or brown line from your favorite liquid or gel liner, then finish with mascara.
Other Things to Know
This palette is cruelty-free. It’s also free from parabens, phthalates, SLS, and SLES.
The eyeshadows are so soft and pigmented, you barely need to tap your brush in to pick up enough color. Start with just a tiny bit, then add more until you get an idea of how the shadows perform. You’ll probably be shocked by how little product it takes to get your desired look.
Though several shades look like they have cool undertones, the palette feels warm overall to me. Even when I use some “cooler” shades, like Rose Quartz and Ashes, they appear warmer on my skin tone than in the pans. It’s harder for me to achieve the cool-toned looks I’ve seen in promo photos for this palette, making it slightly less versatile for someone with my coloring.
Pros
- The packaging feels sturdy, protective of the eyeshadows, and easy to clean. It’s also beautiful. Just popping open the magnetic closure and lifting the lid sets the stage for creating a gorgeous, glamorous look.
- It has a somewhat universally flattering color story.
- These are the creamiest eyeshadows I’ve ever used. They’re so buttery, soft, and blendable. Even the mattes.
- The balance between shimmers and mattes makes it easy to create eye looks with depth and visual interest.
- As long as you’re okay with a bit of drama where texture is concerned, this is a wonderful everyday palette because it’s full of neutral shades. You can use it for special events, date nights, etc., too. As long as you’re not looking for a barely-there or wildly colorful look, this one could have you covered for days, nights, weekends, and whatever you have coming up on the calendar.
- If you have blue eyes and can pull off warm shadow shades, you’ll love how much bluer your eyes look when you use shades from this palette, like Rose Fire, Sunrose, and Element. Holy moly, that contrast!
Cons
- Dune (the matte reddish brown) isn’t for use around the eye area. It always throws me off when they put shades like that in an eyeshadow palette. I’m not sure what the best use for this one is, but I’ll try to remember never to line my eyes with it, in the very least. I wish they’d skip including shades like that because it’s not apparent on the palette itself. I might forget since I use so many palettes.
- It feels pricy for a palette with 12 shades in it. Especially when I don’t need my eyeshadows to be that big. People who want a single go-to eyeshadow palette to use daily will probably feel differently. The shadow size is perfect for that. Even with everyday wear, they’ll still last a long time.
- The shadows seem fragile. I bought this and returned it once because one of the shadows was cracked when it got to me, then repurchased it later. These are soft shadows, so I could see them shattering if you travel a lot or drop the palette.
- This is more of a personal preference than an actual con, but the shadows are so pigmented, they might be too glam/dramatic and challenging to tone down for an everyday look if you’re a beginner or prefer understated makeup.
- A light matte shade for brow bones and lids, and a deep neutral-cool brown or black shade for the crease, outer corner, and liner would be lovely. All the mid-tone shades are gorgeous, but it feels incomplete. Finding another palette or individual shadow for those shades is annoying.
- Some shades look very similar in the swatches and even more so on the eyelids. More variety would’ve been nice.
About My Skin Type and Coloring
I have very fair skin with cool-neutral undertones, and my skin’s on the dry side of normal. I have to use creamy concealers and color-correctors under my eyes, or they look scary a couple of hours into the day. Still, I try to keep those off my lids since they cause creasing.
My eyes are blue. The best shadow shades to make their color stand out are bronzes, taupes, and plums. Orange-based shades make my eyes look especially blue, but I can’t go too warm with my eyeshadow because of my skin tone. I like mixing warm, neutral, and occasionally cool tones to balance everything and make the most of my eye color.
I currently use two go-to primers under eyeshadow: Urban Decay’s Original Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I never apply powder shadows without one or the other underneath.
I almost always use the Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner and either Tower 28 MakeWaves or Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara (there are a few others I use, but these are the ones I reach for most). In this test, I used Tower 28.
Rose Metals Palette Swatches
All Shades, Swatched
Quick Notes About Similar Shades
In real life, some of these look similar. In photos, even more of them do, so I wanted to take a second to do a breakdown of how some of the shades compare:
Comparing Royal, Element, Dune, and Noble:
- Royal is more reddish-purple/plum and has some shimmer.
- Element is reddish but has less purple. It’s more metallic/light-reflecting but has less actual shimmer.
- Dune is a rich reddish-brown that leans more orange than purple. It’s a satin/matte (the description says matte, but it’s so silky).
- Noble has the same texture as Dune, but it’s more neutral. It’s more of a true medium brown with just a hint of red compared to the others.
Comparing Haze, Nova, and Nocturne:
- Haze is slightly cooler, not quite taupe, while Nova is more golden brown.
- Haze reflects more light than Nova, but both are creamy metallics.
- Nocturne is a cool-toned, more taupe shade, but it’s so much darker than the others; they aren’t that similar.
Comparing Rose Quartz and Ashes:
- Rose Quartz is pinker than Ashes and reflects more light. However, it is less reflective than Haze and Nova.
- Ashes is a muddier brown shade with a subtle pink tone. It behaves like a creamy matte.
Performance
They perform just like they apply–dreamy.
If there’s creasing on an average day, there’s very little, and it’s less obvious when you use the shimmery shades.
I put these eyeshadows through the wringer for the sake of this review. I sat in the (very warm) back seat of a car for about 40 minutes on the long way to a coffee shop my family loves. Once we had our drinks, we sat outside there to enjoy them, and it was early afternoon on a humid, sweltering July day in Georgia. We drove back home, then I took a quick nap on the couch, did a 20-minute Peloton ride in a hot basement with no fan, and then showered.
The eyeshadow was still there. Did it look like it’d just been applied? Not exactly. But it was still there. In the photos, it seems like there’s creasing after the bike and even more after the shower–and there was a little–but I think it has a lot to do with how the shadows, my skin tone, and the light interacted in the photo. There was a little of that in the photos where the shadow was freshly applied, too.
Bonus Look
Alternatives to Try
Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Eyeshadow Palette
Nouveau shadows perform similarly to the Rose Metals ones, but they’re cooler-toned. Though I own both palettes, I have yet to experiment with using them together.
They’d work well together, balancing each other out. Plus, the Paloma shade in Nouveau addresses my “no brow bone highlight shade” issue with Rose Metals. The packaging and pricing are similar, but this is an easier color story for people with cool undertones to wear.
Natasha Denona My Dream Palette
At first glance, the My Dream palette from Natasha Denona might not look all that similar. And there’s a depth there that Rose Metals doesn’t have. However, they both have light-reflecting shimmers and mattes in warm-neutral shades with the occasional hint of purple.
I like that the My Dream palette has the Blackest Black to deepen shades and use as an eyeliner in a pinch. However, it still lacks a lighter shimmer-free shade for lids and brow bone highlighting on my skin tone.
Based on the application of similar shades alone, I’d still choose the ABH option. Some of the shadows in the Natasha Denona palette are a bit dry and patchy, so swatch it first if you can. It’s beautiful, but not what I expected.
Milani Gilded Nude Palette
The Milani Gilded Nude palette is lighter and pinker, but some similarities remain. Unless many of the looks you want to do involve Nocturne from Rose Metals, this could be an excellent rosy, light-reflecting option for $20.00 or less. Plus, you get 15 shades, not 12.
This is a cruelty-free palette made from clean ingredients.
Natasha Denona Bronze Palette
With the Natasha Denona Bronze palette, you get the warmth, the shimmers, and the contrast of a couple of cool tones (that actually appear cool-toned on my skin).
If you have warm undertones, you’ll love this one even more than I do because of the golden undertones in some of the shadows (like that gorgeous Sundown shade I wish I could pull off). This is warmer than Rose Metals overall, full of toasty browns.
While Rose Metals is technically “warm,” it’s close enough to neutral to be pretty universally flattering. I can’t say the same about Bronze, but if bronzes, golds, and reddish-browns are flattering on you, this one’s gorgeous.
One drawback: This one costs more. As of this writing, it’s $69.00.
Who This Palette Is For
If you love eyeshadow that’s both bold and understated at the same time (that sounds impossible, but eyeshadow finishes can accomplish a lot), you’ll enjoy this palette.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for the 90s, get it.
You’ll like this one if you enjoy neutral palettes that skew warm.
If you live for the experience of applying creamy, easy-to-use, butter-like eyeshadows, stop reading and go to the store right now.
I’m not making any age-related recommendations because that’s silly. I plan to rock shimmers and colors in the nursing home like my great-grandma did (I’m not the only one who used to hear you should forgo shimmers after a certain age, right?). However, if you find that metallics and shimmery shadows don’t perform on your lids the way they used to and you’ve been shying away from them lately because of it (like me), this palette will probably bring you joy. Especially if you pick up a shadow primer.
Who Should Skip It
If you’re looking for something you can pick up and throw on to go to work and want a natural, no-makeup makeup look, skip this one. Though the shades are relatively neutral and so easy to blend you could do it with both eyes closed instead of just one, the shimmers won’t match the vibe you’re going for.
If you already have a drawer full of neutral palettes that lean warm and apply well enough (they probably won’t be as creamy as the Rose Metals palette, but that’s okay), you can skip this one for now.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Rose Metals Review: FAQs
Question: Are Anastasia palettes worth it?
Answer: Yes, they’re fantastic quality, and though they’re expensive, the pricing is in line with several other lines you’ll find in the same stores. The pigmentation and creamy application make Anastasia palettes a joy to work with and wear.
Question: Which brand eye palette is best?
Answer: Anastasia Beverly Hills and Natasha Denona palettes are my favorites. The color stories are beautiful, most shades glide onto the skin and blend with little effort, and they don’t wear off throughout the day as badly as others, in my experience.
Question: Are expensive palettes worth it?
Answer: My knee-jerk answer is yes. And that’s usually true. It’s true of Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes. However, some palettes in lower price ranges perform exceptionally well (I especially love Ulta’s selection, including ColourPop and Juvia’s Place). Some designers’ palettes cost more than ABH’s and are too sheer, too dry, come with fewer shades, and don’t have enough variation in textures to make a complete look.
Conclusion: If You Need This Kind of Color Story, Buy It. You Won’t Regret It.
If nothing in your makeup bag or drawer looks like this, or you love buttery high-shimmer neutral(ish) palettes (nothing wrong with that!), grab one before it’s too late. It’s a limited edition, and I don’t want you to kick yourself for months like I did when I missed the Anastasia Beverly Hills Sultry palette.
You won’t find a better formula if you’re looking for shades like this. I keep harping on how blendable and smooth these shadows are, but I can’t get over the experience it was to put them on my lids.
If you’re more of a minimalist in your makeup wardrobe and already have a neutral/neutral-warm palette you love, you don’t have much use for shimmering metallics, or you’re somewhere in-between, save your money. There are better palettes out there for your preferences that go even more seamlessly from day to night, day to day, and have all the shades you’ll need (including ones that can double as eyeliners).
