It’s not an original but I love the idea of creating 3 looks with 1 palette. So many of my friends and coworkers ask me “but, do you actually use all the colors in a palette?”
My answer – Yes.
Now to keep it completely honest, I had a hard time using cool tones throughout college and in my early twenties (and at that time, eyeshadow palettes always have a silvery color and a cool tone taupe). But it was Laura Mercier’s Eye Art Artist’s Palette that completely changed my perspective on color. This is throwing it back to holiday season 2013 and was a Sephora exclusive. After popular demand it was brought back in 2015 and has remained in the collection (unfortunately they changed the packaging and the price increased from $48 orig to $55 current). But honestly this palette was groundbreaking for me. It made incorporating cool tones with warm tones easy and almost obvious.
I’d been hunting down purple eyeshadows for the last couple months (still being stuck in a nostalgic mind-frame) and purchased On the Rise, Glass Bull, Burner, 143, Howlin', and Brady from Colourpop. While waiting for my order to arrive (anyone else think Colourpop can improve their shipping?), sneak peeks and launch photos for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette started popping up on my IG feed.
I memorized the launch dates – 7/17 at ABH.com, 7/29 at Ulta, 8/7 at Sephora on-line, 8/10 at Sephora in stores (come on Sephora!).
I debated for a long time “Do I wait until August and get those VIB points?”
Who was I kidding? I secured my VIB status through 2019 in May (not showing off but also no shame here).
I immediately set up an account on ABH.com and patiently waited for 7/17. I stayed up until midnight in case it would sell out but it wasn’t until I woke up at 6 am that the palette had arrived (time zones, I always forget about time zones). I quickly added the palette (and a back-up dip brow) to my cart, clicked 2-day shipping, and checked out.
It arrived in perfect time. I was heading to Boston for a mental detox weekend and I wanted to bring the palette with me to thoroughly test out.
Here’s my review:
(Keep scrolling for the three looks, including face products used)
On a very superficial level, if you are a collector of the ABH palettes, this Lavendar felt packaging really compliments the colors of Soft Glam, Modern Renaissance and Subculture (oooo touchy subject). Useful tip my IRL friend @brokewithjoanie told me – Yes, these felt covers get dirty quite fast but if you take some micellar water on a cotton pad and wipe, the stains should come out!
The color scheme in Norvina is not for everyone, and it wasn’t meant to be. As it’s name might suggest, this palette is a curated collection of Norvina’s favorite shades that really speak to her dreamy pastel purple and pink aesthetic. Yes, there are a few repeat shades but there is also a great selection of new shades. And never before has an ABH palette featured so many shimmer shades in a single palette.
Having said this though, a lot of the pre-launch photos showed the shades swatched on darker skin tones and while this was a great move on the part of PR to being inclusive, I’ve definitely watched and read reviews by both pale skin and darker skin toned queens saying that they feel there is a bit of depth missing in the color scheme. And for deep dark to dark skin toned ladies, they felt that there was a very minimal range in terms of transition shades. I can understand this as well. For me personally, I think a charcoal brown or a charcoal grey would have been nice to round out the deeper matte shades and would have served as a great liner and outer V color.
But the formula of the matte’s are quite nice with the infamous ABH kickback. All ABH palettes have kick back (some more than others) but I would say that Norvina is more along the lines of Soft Glam and Modern Renaissance than it is Subculture (which I still like, should I even go there?).
The shimmers are definitely flakey but are highly pigmented. They apply great with a dry or wet brush of just packed on with a finger. The colors are quite vivid and they are great as stand alone's or as toppers.
Overall, I really like this palette and would recommend it if your warm toned world needs an injection of color. Kinda like how Lisa Frank stickers jazzed up your notebooks back in middle school (anyone else?! No, just me?). It’s a fun palette and while the shimmers and the purples can be quite intimidating – after all, when is the last time purple had it’s moment in the spotlight? – it’s also quite wearable.
L O O K O N E
Eccentric – all over the upper lid and blended up; Incense – Crease and outer V; Soul and Celestial – mixed together and applied to the lower lash line.
For those really not ready to wear color all over the lid, this look is like dipping your toe in the deep end.
L O O K T W O
Eccentric – transition shade; Love – mobile and center lid blended up, also on the lower lash line; Passion – to deepen the outer V and outer third of the lower lash line; Rose Gold – to blend together Love and Passion; Wild Child – in the inner third of the upper lid and lower lash line
The day before I posted this look on my instagram, I had asked a friend what kind of look she’d like to see and she said, “Maybe pink?” Little did she know this was coming her way
I wanted to do a more wearable “traditional” smokey eye with this palette to show that it was still quite wearable and wouldn’t require a crazy new set of skills to use.
L O O K T H R E E
Eccentric – Just the tiniest bit as a transition shade; Soul – All over the upper and lower lid, blended and smoked out; Base – on the brow bone; Celestial – Focused on my mobile lid, the inner third of my lower lash line, and center of my lip (just for extra dimension).
When I first saw Norvina’s sneak peak photos of her palette, my eyes were immediately drawn to Celestial and Soul. I knew these were the two colors I would most likely not use so I wanted to use them even more. I know, my train of thought is really something else.
I paired this eye look with Smashbox Cosmetics Always On Liquid lipstick in Throwback Jam but honestly, with a soft matte neutral, I don’t think it would be so unheard of to wear this on a fun summer night out.
I’m wearing Ardell 110 false lashes in these photos but this look works with just a great coat of mascara too!
The rest of my face –
Primer – Make Up Forever Mist and Fix setting spray
Foundation - Covergirl Matte Made in T30
Bake and Setting Powder - Kat Von D Lock-it Loose Powder
Bronzer - Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer
Blush - Mac Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul
Highlight - Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
Brows - Anastasia Beverly Hill Brow Wiz and Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel
Mascara - Lancome Monsieur Big Waterproof
Lip Look 1 - NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural
Lip Look 2 - NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural with Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss in Dirty Chai over top
Lip Look 3 - Mac Pro longwear Lip Liner in Fashion Boost and Smashbox Always on Liquid Lip in Throwback Jam