Honestly speaking, when I first saw the palette, I wasn't intrigued. The color story felt underwhelming and didn't speak much to my warm-tone-loving heart. Also, I've never been familiar with Carli Bybel, so I wasn't seeing the broader aesthetic. (I have read in many reviews by long-time followers of hers, though, that the color story is very much in line with her style.) I've been collecting ABH's palettes since Modern Renaissance, and realized this may be the first one I will skip.
I happened to stumble across the palette unexpectedly at Nordstrom ahead of my local Sephora's launch, and obviously, I had to touch it. Upon doing so, I went from not interested at all to 100% interested because the swatches were just beautiful! The mattes felt creamy and the metallics were beautifully opaque and shiny.
I went straight to check out, and was pumped to come home and pull together some looks to review the palette. I'm disappointed to say that's precisely where the excitement ended.
I did a few separate looks with this palette, two of which are pictured here:
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| Chai in the crease, Boie in the outer corner, Bybel on the lid with Mandala on top, Boli in the inner corner. |
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| Cindy in the crease, Stev in the outer corner, Jode in the middle of the lid, OA on the inner third, Boli in the inner corner. |
While the palette swatched beautifully, from first application on the eyes, I realized the formula was very unusual, and unlike the typical reliable ABH formula. In the first look, you will see that both the crease and the outer corner are not blended well because the more I tried to blend the shades, the more they would fade away. When I tried to blend the edges, the color would get muddy and would almost feel like the shadow was just fading way to nothing. No matter how much I tried to build up Boie, I just could not get it to the depth you see the pan. It felt like the shadow gets to 40% capacity on the lid, and just does not build up from there. I did enjoy Mandala as a topper, but as you can see, there was transfer, even though I used a glitter glue.
The second look was disappointing in that Stev was one of the colors I was most excited for, but similar to Boie, it just would not build up to full color saturation. I went into the pan and onto the eye at least 5 times to get the color to the brightness you see in the pan, but it was just not happening. Further, you will see that it's impossible to see any difference between Jode and OA,and that OA also transferred, despite my using a glitter glue under it. Not only did I have transfer, but I also had glitter fallout all over my face as the day went on, as well as major creasing a few hours in. (I normally never have trouble with ABH shimmers like this.)
As I mentioned earlier, I've happily collected every ABH palette since Modern Rensaissance, and have been genuinely pleased with the quality of each (yes, even Subculture). As such, I am very familiar with the traditional ABH formula, and while it has always been more powdery than most, I find that the soft formula contributes to easy and seamless blending, and regardless of being powdery, the colors always build up easily, to full pigment, and they last until removal. In this case, the softness seems to be the result of missing some essential ingredients, and makes for very weak shadows. I'm disappointed to say this is the first and only ABH palette I have ever had to return!
I am not an ingredients expert by any means, but it almost feels like there's not enough binder in these shadows. Oddly enough, this palette reminds me a lot of the ABH x Mario palette in that I found the shadows in the Mario palette to be unusually "thin" and soft, too. The difference, though, is that with the Mario palette, the whole color story is neutral, and so you can get away with a lighter, diffused application using just 1-2 shades. Given the ABH x Carli Bybel palette has so many bright and deep colors, however, I feel there's no room for weak application. I think the Carli Bybel palette might be somewhat workable for someone aiming to do very simple looks only with one or two shadows at a time, but if you like incorporating a lot of different shades and blending colors together for depth, this may be a frustrating palette for you.
PROS:
- The packaging is beautiful and super unique. The sequins on the top look 3D, and while they are not actual sequins, they have a texture and reflectivity to them that is super eye-catching and beautiful to look at. The white packaging is new for ABH, too, and is just beautiful in my opinion.
- The color story is very unique and diverse. You can get a lot of differing looks out of this color story, and there's a nice mix of cool tones. (I know there are a lot of people out there wishing for more cool toned palettes.)
- As I mentioned earlier, based on reviews by her followers, it appears this color story is very much on-brand for Carli, which I am sure is very appealing for anyone who is looking to emulate Carli's style.
CONS:
- The formula is just shockingly lacking. The mattes leave a lot to be desired, and the metallics fade easily and transfer way too easily.
- The shades Jode and OA are nearly identical. Seriously. It's like someone accidentally sprinkled some glitter in Jode, and decided to call it OA. I see no need for two shades that are this close in color and finish to be in the same palette. (OA is advertised as being a duochrome, but I don't see it.)
- The two deepest colors in the palette (Bybel and Boie) don't quite build up to the level I was expecting to deepen or smoke out looks. Again, I am not sure if this diffused look is what Carli usually goes for, but I found that neither of these shades were successful in giving my looks any depth.
The Carli Bybel Palette retails for $45 USD, and is available on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website, online and and in-store at Sephora, Ulta, and Nordstrom.
Overall rating:
C
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