Anastasia Master Palette By Mario Review + Swatches

I've been seeing photos of the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Master Palette by Mario ($45) on Instagram the past couple of months, and I've been dying to get my hands on it! The Anastasia Modern Renaissance palette is one of my top five eyeshadow palettes of all time, so I didn't want to miss out on this one.
I stayed up really late on September 29th and was able to grab one from the Anastasia website before they sold out. Thankfully, it's launching online at Sephora, Ulta, & Macy's tomorrow October 4th (in stores around October 15th), so if you like what you see here, don't wait...order it right away.

I literally just got it today and I haven't played around with it too much, so...this post is going to be more of a first impression, rather than a full review. I just wanted to get some photos up for you guys since it's launching tomorrow and you might be trying to decide if you should buy it or not.

Let's take a look!

The Master Palette by Mario comes in a black and gold box with all of the information about the palette on the back...shades, ingredients, country of origin (USA), and a description which reads:

"A special-edition eye shadow collection created with celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic. The palette contains twelve neutral and jewel-toned shades in a range of matte to metallic finishes."

The palette itself is made of cardboard with a magnetic closure and the outside has a smooth finish...it's not like the fuzzy Modern Renaissance palette. The back of the palette includes the same information that was on the back of the box (minus the shade chart) as well, which is nice because then you don't feel like you have to keep the box.

Inside, there's a mirror, double-ended brush (just like the one in the Modern Renaissance palette) and twelve gorgeous neutral shades in matte and shimmer finishes.

I just wanted to point out that the mirror had a sticker that was covering it to protect it in transit and when I peeled the sticker off, it left a bunch of glue behind. It removed easily with a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel but I just wanted to make you aware in case it happens to you.

The shades in this palette were largely inspired by Kim Kardashian (Mario has been her makeup artist for over 10 years). Here's what he had to say about creating the palette:

"I had Kim on my mind a lot during the creation of the palette and the shades. She's just like every other girl when doing her makeup, so I wanted to create shades that would make it simple for any girl to do her makeup even when they are in a rush. The Kim shade to me is the perfect soft bronze that would look great all over the lid to add some color, texture and warmth to the eyes. I've always used these types of shades in all my work on Kim and I think this palette and especially the shades 'Kim' and 'Muse' are reminiscent of our classic signature look."

Here are some more close-ups...every shade is just beautiful don't you think?

As I said before, the Modern Renaissance palette is one of my favorites, no doubt about it, but this one just blew me away. The pigmentation is just insane...I mean, I was just saying things like, "oh my gosh" and "woah!" every time I swatched a shade. By the way, these swatches are on bare skin (no primer) and each one is one swipe. Each one is so creamy and buttery. Yup...it's beautiful.

There is some fallout, due to the formula being so soft, but I don't mind in the least because they're so intense and blendable. Also, Mario meant this palette to be used wet or dry and when wet, these shades get even more intense.

I can already say that this is definitely my favorite palette of the fall season (and there have been a ton of palette launches, right?!). The color selection is beautiful, especially for this time of year and these are shades that anyone can wear.
If you didn't buy the Modern Renaissance palette because you're not a fan of reds and oranges or weren't comfortable wearing those types of colors, this is your palette! If you do own the Modern Renaissance palette and love the formula, you'll definitely want to add this to your collection because the shade range is completely different but it's the same amazing quality (maybe even a little better). 

So head over to Sephora.com, Ulta.com and Macy's.com on October 4th to get yours before they sell out again...this is a limited edition, so please keep that in mind. Sephora and Macy's are on the East Coast, so you can start checking sometime after midnight Eastern time (9pm Pacific), while Ulta is on Central Time (so check at 1am on the East Coast and 10pm Pacific). This will also be available in stores sometime around October 15th...I'll update this post when I know for sure. 

What do you think? Did you buy this during the initial launch or will you be picking it up tomorrow?

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