ABH Take Two

Eyeshadow palettes are my weakness ... but it now takes something special to reel me in. I like to think I'm fairly selective when it comes to the palettes I buy, maintaining a high benchmark for potential purchases. Having said that, my last palette, Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture World Traveler Palette, was bought more for the sake of it than out of any intense desire or prior careful, prolonged consideration. I hadn't tried ABH shadows before and was curious to see how they stacked up against competitors, plus I didn't want to come away from my US trip without at least one palette to look forward to using once I returned home. I didn't end up loving it — both the shade selection and the quality of some of the shadows. However, something about the just released Self-Made Palette called out to me. (It did take a moment initially to realise that "Self-Made" was the name of the palette, and it wasn't a palette you assembled yourself.) Despite a relatively underwhelming experience with the World Traveler Palette, I had high hopes for Self-Made and eagerly waited for it to arrive in my Beautylish order.

The Self-Made Palette has 14 shades, 2 more than the Shadow Couture World Traveler Palette, though it is $5 USD more expensive at $35 USD (I paid under $50 for mine). The individual shadows are 0.7g each, with the total palette being 9.92g. Like the World Traveler Palette, it comes with a dual-ended eyeshadow brush that I've heard isn't half bad, though feels a touch stiff for my liking. Pink Champagne is the only common shade between the two palettes. Of course, for variety's sake, I would've preferred if they had included a different shade (maybe even identical finish to Pink Champagne, but another colour), but I did feel Pink Champagne was a standout shade in the World Traveler Palette, so I'm not mad.

The 14 shades as described by Anastasia Beverly Hills are:

Pink Champagne: A rose gold with a titanium finish.
Metallic Plum: A dark plum with a metallic finish.
Self-Made: A deep bronze with a satin finish.
Witchy: A khaki gray with a sparkle finish.
Blush: A light beige with a duo chrome pink finish.
Blossom: A lilac pink with a metallic finish.
Buttery: A buildable beige with an ultra-matte finish.
Deep Purple: An amethyst purple with a titanium finish.
Treasure: An ultra-light champagne with a metallic finish.
Hot & Cold: A rum brown with a metallic finish.
Sherbert: An ultra-light peach with a velvet finish.
Isla: A sea foam green with a duo chrome gold finish.
Spirit Rock: A galaxy black with a sparkle finish.
Hot Chocolate: Rich, cocoa brown with an ultra-matte finish.

They're good enough shade descriptions, though the ones I'm puzzled by are Blush (it doesn't look remotely beige to me — it's grey through and through) and Sherbert (how is it "ultra-light"? It's not that pale and multitudes darker than the truly ultra-light Buttery, which is only described as "beige"). Pink Champagne isn't so much a "rose gold" to me than a pinkish, silvery taupe. Very cool-toned.

l-r: Pink Champagne, Metallic Plum, Self-Made, Witchy, Blush, Blossom, Buttery

l-r: Deep Purple, Treasure, Hot and Cold, Sherbert, Isla, Spirit Rock, Hot Chocolate

As you might be able to tell from the swatches, the palette has no problems with pigmentation. All the shades knock it out of the park. The only colour that requires a bit of building up to achieve full opacity is Spirit Rock, but I think that's to be expected of any dark matte shade with chunks of glitter in it (Urban Decay Blackheart from Naked3 comes to mind). Fall out is also an issue with Spirit Rock, but not a noticeable problem with the palette overall.

I found the texture and blendability of the shadows in Self-Made to be superior to World Traveler, especially with the metallic shades. None of them seemed to be chunky or weirdly dry in texture or applied in a patchy manner. Though there are only two mattes in the palette, Buttery and Hot Chocolate, like the four mattes in World Traveler (Soft Peach, Morocco, Fudge, Noir), they're exceptional quality.

In terms of the colour selection, I am completely enamoured with the titular shade. Paired with Hot and Cold, the two remind me of Crème Brûlée and Hazelnut from the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette. An absolute winner of a shimmery neutral shadow duo. I've been experimenting with different colour combinations from the palette and mixing it up to see how each shade performs and wears. My favourite look from the palette is Self-Made all over the lids, Hot Chocolate to add definition, mainly focused on the outer corner and blended towards the centre of the eye, and Blush in the inner third of the eye. I was pleasantly surprised just how wearable Blush is, considering it looks like a light silver, a colour I've never gotten along with. There's a translucency to it that layers beautifully over a medium base shade, not overpowering it, but lightening it and adding an eye-catching, completely unique iridescent pink shift. One of the stars in the palette.

Metallic Plum wasn't as strongly plum in colour as I'd hoped, but looked more like a generic, cool-toned dark brown on my lids. Witchy, a khaki grey, can lean a little muddy and murky with my complexion. I did have fun trying to "recreate" (I use that term loosely) this look by Mario Dedivanovic where he uses Isla on the lid and Witchy in the crease and outer corner. (It didn't look anywhere near as good on me as it did on Olivia Culpo.) I found Treasure to highlight my inner corner wasn't the most flattering shade, in that it's a bit too reflective and whitish for me. Both Sherbert and Blossom could be used all over the lid, though they are on the lighter side.

Overall, I'm super pleased with the Self-Made Palette, despite the fact I will be reaching for certain shades more often than others. The price is lower than a lot of comparable palettes that have less shades, the quality is what I'm after, and the colour selection gives me lots to work with, as well as some stunning shades that are new favourites.