What it is: ABH Brow Freeze Gel is a clear brow gel with strong hold and a glossy finish that dries down and sets brows in whatever style you like. The formulation and thicker consistency is different than a regular brow gel, allowing for a little more versatility in how it can be used.

Price/Quantity: Full size is $26 for 0.24oz/7ml and the mini size is $13 for 0.15oz/4.5ml. The mini a slightly better value.

Availability: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Sephora, Kohl’s

Packaging: The outer part of the packaging has a soft-touch, rubberized feel. The wand is a plastic/rubber type of wand with two different lengths of bristles. One side has longer, more spaced apart bristles and allows for a lighter coating of product while the other side has shorter bristles that are spaced more closely together. Using the shorter side lays more product more quickly over the brows. Two sides of the wand also completely lack bristles at all and are just flat, so you can use it to press the brow hairs flush against the skin. Personally I find using my finger more effective than using the flat edge because that way I’m not adding more product while attempting to shape the brows. You can definitely apply too much and create a mess on the skin around the brows. I feel the wand holds a good amount of product so that I’m able to give both brows a light coating for a natural look without having to dip back into the container. If I apply it heavily to laminate the outer ends, I may dip back into the container once or twice.

Smell/Fragrance: No noticeable fragrance but I do smell a light chemical scent mixed with a moderate alcohol scent. If I apply it heavily, I can feel the cooling sensation of the alcohol as well. So far I haven’t noticed it irritating my eyes during application.

Expiration: 6 months after opening.

Ingredients:

WATER/AQUA/EAU, ALCOHOL DENAT., HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, POLYACRYLATE-2 CROSSPOLYMER, GLYCERIN, TROMETHAMINE, SORBITOL, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, PANTHENOL, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CITRIC ACID, ALLANTOIN, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM PCA, SODIUM LACTATE, ARGININE, ASPARTIC ACID, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, PCA, BIOTIN, PELVETIA CANALICULATA EXTRACT, LAMINARIA DIGITATA EXTRACT, GLYCINE, ALANINE, SERINE, THREONINE, VALINE, ISOLEUCINE, PROLINE, HISTIDINE, PHENYLALANINE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, BENZOIC ACID, MYRISTOYL PENTAPEPTIDE-17, SODIUM BENZOATE, PHENOXYETHANOL

anastasiabeverlyhills.com

Performance

Texture/Consistency/Finish: Doesn’t feel lightweight like a standard brow gel, but thicker and stickier like honey. It goes on the brows totally clear and dries down completely holding the hairs strongly in place. Once it sets, it continues to look glossy. It reminds me of those skincare facial masks that are a clear gel that you allow to dry for about 15 minutes and then peel off, but in a tiny little container with a precision brush. 

There is a small amount of flaking that happens but it is far less than what I got with the Milani Brow Wax (review). If I work quickly and get it applied thoroughly before it starts drying, I have much less, and possibly zero flaking. What you see above is how it ends up looking most of the time when I just do a natural look with it. If I work too slow and apply a lot of product, it can start to gum up as I brush it through the hairs and cause way more visible residue.

Application: It combs through the brows just like a regular brow gel but the brush design is supposed to help you style your brows in different ways. I can use the side with the longer bristles to move and shape the hairs into place in a more natural looking way. The side with the shorter bristles makes it so that I coat the brows with a bit more product and lays the hairs closer to the skin — this gives me something between a natural look and a laminated look. And you can also use the flat side without any bristles to press the hairs flush to the skin.

It gets on the skin if you do anything more than a natural look with it and it leaves a glossy film around the brows. If I only get a small amount on the skin, it’s not a big deal, but if I do a laminated look, it’s a ton of shine on the skin and it looks like a mess. In this case, trying to brush it away is difficult. Using a spoolie to do this kind of peels it away, leaving some flakes around the brows in the process. Using a pointed cotton swab with some makeup remover or micellar water to clean up around the edges gives me a much better result.

Used heavily to laminate the brows, it holds really well. It holds better than a wax and very nearly as well as soap. Even if I make expressions and move my brows around a lot, the hairs stay in place. I am able to apply pomade and brow ink over it and those things adhere perfectly fine over the dried brow gel in areas where it is coated very heavily.

If I use it just to fluff up the brows, where I’m not getting much of the product on my skin, I can still work brow powder with a brush through the hairs and onto the skin underneath without difficulty getting the powder to adhere or moving the hairs. The hairs stay in place well during application and I don’t get any flaking from touching the dried gel.

Longevity: After 1 wear test of about 11 hours, my brows didn’t move one bit by the end of the day. They still looked exactly the way they did when I finished them in the morning. No added flaking, no hairs pulling up away from the skin, and still fluffed up in the front half of the brow.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• I like that this is a strong hold product that comes in a tube with an applicator. It makes application easier, faster, and simpler than a product in a pot.
• Works well for the brow style I like which is natural most days with the occasional time where I want to laminate the outer 1/3 down (especially for photographing eye looks).

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• It gets on the skin if you do anything more than a natural look with it and it leaves a glossy film around the brows. 
• Completely laminated, “soap brow” style is possible but leaves a mess on the skin around the brows that is difficult to avoid.
• Dries down to a stiff/crunchy feel.

 Worth Buying?

If you only see yourself using this for the purpose of lightly grooming and shaping your brows, it will give you about the same result as a regular brow gel. If that’s how you plan to use it and you already have a brow gel, this probably won’t add a whole lot of usefulness. However, if you like the idea of having a little more flexibility with a single product that can do both natural and more bold brows, it might be worth trying. Likewise, if you have more coarse brow hairs and need an extra strong hold product, I could see this possibly being more effective than a regular brow gel. For fully laminated brows, I prefer the less glossy look of brow waxes and soap, but this one works decently well if you only laminate a small portion.

Natural Look

Partially Laminated Look

“Soap Brow” Look

I picked up the ABH Rose Metals Palette after giving it a good long eyeing. It is probably already long past the optimal time to post swatches but I am just getting around to it now. What drew me to this? I liked that the shimmers are all sort of in the neutral range without looking too similar to each other and two of the four mattes looked like shades that could be go-to’s for me. It just seemed like something I could get lots of “wearable” looks out of without getting too bored of the shade selection.

This palette is the same format as the ABH Nouveau Palette, where pan sizes are larger and contain more product (about twice as much) than older ABH palettes. I like the look and feel of the metallic outer packaging but I find it hard to read wording over it, especially the shade names inside. It feels well made and like it will last a good amount of time with constant use.

I’ve used this quite a bit now and I very much like the quality of the eyeshadows inside. If you have tried the Nouveau palette, the quality is just about the same. All of the shades have good color payoff and pick up easily on brushes. Nothing in here feels dry. There is a good balance where the powders feel almost creamy/emollient without impacting wear time too much or causing colors to be altered by blending or building. I get a very reasonable amount of fallout from some of the shades. It’s not enough to be bothered by it and it doesn’t adhere to the skin much so I can easily clean it up.

The 12 shades roughly break down into:

• 4 mattes (and 2 of them have a bit of fine shimmer in them)
• 3 standard shimmers (all fine particles)
• 2 shimmer/sparkle mixtures
• 3 sparkly metallics

I’ll be a little more specific about the finish of each shade below.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is a pinky taupe with a satin finish. This is one of the least reflective shimmers in the palette and is subtle enough in its finish that I can get away with using it as a transition shade.

Royal

Royal is a deep burgundy shimmer with some larger golden sparkle. Good color payoff without having to layer much. I do get some shimmer and sparkle fallout from this even when tapping off my brush but it isn’t that bad and brushes away easily.

Haze

Haze is a metallic bright olive with lots of large sparkle. This reflects more light than the previous two shimmers and requires a tiny bit more layering to get the same opacity. It isn’t sheer though. It is easy to pick up plenty of color and build up very quickly. I find this looks darker in the pan than it does once applied to the eye.

Rose Fire

Rose Fire is a metallic orange with a very similar texture to the previous shade. I get sparkle fallout from both of these shades but it doesn’t stick too badly to the face. This one requires a bit more building to get the same color payoff as the previous shade.

Sunrose

Sunrose is a matte light orange with tiny flecks of shimmer. The shimmer in this isn’t large enough to cause sparkle fallout and generally adheres well to the lid. When applied in a way that is more sheer, this shade mostly looks like a matte from a normal distance. If it is layered heavily, the finish begins to resemble a satin finish. Good, even color payoff and easy to blend.

Nova

Nova is a warmer olive with a very obvious golden sheen. This one has a mixture of fine shimmer and large sparkle.

Heavenly

Heavenly is a pale gold made up mainly of larger sparkles. It reflects light like a metallic shade but goes on more sheer than most of the other shimmers. The said, it is easy to build up opacity.

Element

Element is an orangey bronze with a standard shimmer finish. There are only fine particles in this and it gives of a smooth sheen.

Ashes

Ashes is a matte taupe with a tiny bit of fine shimmer mixed in. This is the same finish as Sunrose above. When applied in a more sheer way, it looks a bit warmer than it does in the pan and the shimmer is barely noticeable. As I build up layers, the shimmer also builds up and creates more of a satin finish and the color generally starts to look cooler-toned.

Dune

Dune is reddish brown with a true matte finish. I can use this shade alone without the help of a transition shade because it is so easy to sheer out without becoming patchy.

Nocturne

Nocturne is a deeper taupe with a shimmer finish. This one is mainly made up of fine shimmer but there does seem to be a mixture of particle sizes and colors. It has a more dimensional look to it, almost like a sparkly shimmer.

Noble

Noble is warm dark brown with a true matte finish. This one performs about the same as Dune. That one is slightly more even when sheered out than this one, but I can still get away without using a transition shade.

Product Details

The ABH Nouveau Palette contains 12 shades of mostly neutral eyeshadows and pressed pigments. They are not all your typical neutral browns, though some are, and could compliment an existing collection of neutral shadows. Three of the matte shades are pressed pigments and aren’t intended to be used near the eyes. Those are Paloma, Wisteria, and Metro. The format has been updated and the shades are now larger and contain roughly double the amount of product previous palettes had (like Soft Glam and Modern Renaissance). They are large enough that I was even able to carefully use a blush brush in one of the pans. The palette itself is the same width as older ones and will store nicely along with them. It retails for $55 (ten dollars more than their older palettes) so, if getting more product is important to you, there is an increased value there.

I have to give them kudos on the outer packaging. The green textured fabric and gold detailing are unique, visually beautiful and give it a memorable tactile element

Swatches

Here is an overview of all the shades swatched. To see more detailed, closer up swatches, see this post.

• Wings is a light golden green shimmer with mostly small particles. There are no large sparkles but the shimmer varies in size and gives off more of a sparkling finish. Hardly any fallout, lots of shine.
• Isle is a very warm peachy gold with no large sparkle. Gives off a solid, even reflect but is more subdued and not as metallic as some of the other shimmers. Minimal fallout.
• Belle is a medium neutral bronze with all fine shimmer. Not much fallout.
• Wisteria (pressed pigment) is a pastel lavender with a nearly matte finish. It has the tiniest bit of fine shimmer that I can barely even see on the eye.
• Lili has a base of warm pink fine shimmer with larger flecks of green, blue, and purple sparkle. This has some more fallout than the other shimmers.
• Hope is an olive green shimmer with mostly fine particles.

• Paloma is a pressed pigment. It is a pale nude with a nearly matte finish. The fine shimmer in this barely shows once it is on the eye. It has amazing color payoff, so I use this a lot to cover inner corner darkness and even out the skin tone on my brow bone.
• Fleur is a medium muted rose. Good, even color payoff, blends easily and smoothly.
• Liberty is a grayish green with a matte finish. This is the driest-feeling matte in the palette and the one that needs the most attention. I wouldn’t say it’s a dud or it’s terrible at all, but I have to spend more time layering and buffing with this than the other mattes. Stays mostly true to color when blended along the edges.
• Peacock has a warm reddish base color with a light blue-green sheen and larger pink sparkles. The blue-green sheen shows up pretty well in the swatch above but is not as obvious on the eye unless used over a sticky primer. Good texture and pigmentation but needs some help.
• Metro is a pressed pigment. This is an earthy orange shade with a matte finish. Color payoff and blending are fantastic. I don’t need to use a transition shade at all with this. It blends fast, with little effort and I can stretch it out pretty far. At the same time, it doesn’t blend away too easily.
• Muse is a deep brown with a satin finish. It is one of the least reflective shimmers. This shade had the most fallout out of all of them, and not just shimmer, but dark pigment as well. I can make this work but I need to be *extra* careful about tapping off my brush.

Formula Overview

I love the way both the mattes and the shimmers feel to the touch and how well they apply. Almost everything in here has really good color payoff. I have the original ABH Norvina Palette and one of the large ABH Pro Pigment Palettes. The formula feels different from either of those, especially the mattes. Compared to ABH Norvina, they feel smoother and less dry… but compared to the ABH Pro Pigment Palette, they are thicker and have better color payoff. On the eye, they adhere well both over primer and bare lids without dusting away too easily during blending. I didn’t have any noticeable fallout from any of them.

The shimmers are all equally nice to the touch, almost melting into the skin and giving off a satisfying level of color and shine. Some are composed of all fine shimmer particles and some also have larger sparkle. Fallout was generally minimal except for shades with larger sparkle (Lili & Peacock) and the deepest shade, Muse, had some dark pigment fallout. It was easy to pick up plenty of color on a brush and transfer to the lid with minimal effort. They look, feel, and swatch about the same as the shimmers in my old Norvina palette. The shimmers in the Pro Pigment palette are thinner, and have a slick, almost oily quality to them.

Wear Time

I have to say I did miserably on testing this for wear time. I wore it many times but most of those times, I was way too active and sweat the makeup off my eyelids LOL. I got two good, “normal” wear tests in and from those, it seems like it had average wear time compared to other eyeshadows I have. Over primer, I was able to get at least 8 hours of solid, crease-free wear and saw some fading/creasing midday without primer.

Looks

Note: Pressed pigments used in my looks are denoted with a * below. I feel fine about using pressed pigments, glitters, etc. near my eyes and usually don’t have any issues with them.

Look #1:

• Paloma* – Inner corner
• Wisteria* – Center of lid
• Lili– Inner lid
• Peacock – Outer lid/crease
• Fleur – Slightly above crease
• Wings – Inner lower lashline
• Liberty – Outer lower lashline
• Isle – Brow bone

Look#2:

• Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone
• Fleur – Crease, lower lashline
• Liberty – Upper part of lid, almost all the way up to the crease
• Peacock – All over lid, layered over Liberty
• Isle –  Inner corner

Look #3:

• Metro* – Crease, lower lashline
• Muse – Outer corner
• Belle – Center of lid
• Wisteria* – Brow bone, inner corner, below Muse

Look #4:

• Liberty – Crease, blended up into transition area, outer lower lashline
• Hope – All over lid
• Belle – Inner lower lashline, inner corner
• Paloma* – Brow bone

Look #5:

• Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone (covered up later by Wings), also used to clean up outer corner
• Wisteria* – Crease, outer lower lashline
• Peacock – All over lid (over top Too Faced Glitter Glue)
• Wings – Inner corner, brow bone (used with a dampened brush)

Look #6:

• Fleur – All over lid, crease, lower lashline
• Isle – All over lid
• Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone
• Muse – Lashline

Worth Buying?

I feel like this a pretty “complete” pallete by itself because there is a good range of color, depth, and texture to get balanced looks out of it. However, I still feel the desire to bring in other palettes and singles when I use it. When used alone, the looks I’ve most liked were the ones where I only used 2-4 shades. Even though I feel that way, I’m happy to have this because of the quality of the shades. I have some shades like this already in my collection but I’d reach for these over them because I know they’ll work well for me. Also, there are some less common neutrals in here which I appreciate, like Wings and Isle. Wings and Isle are somewhat unique for neutrals and Peacock is probably one of the better quality shades I have like this.

Comparisons

Above are the three palettes that immediately came to mind to compare to the ABH Nouveau Palette. All of them have some sort of lavender/purple/periwinkle pop in them and contain some warmer pinks/peaches as complements.

The ColourPop So Very Lovely Palette is just as good in terms of quality. The mattes in both have a similar texture and feel to them but the shimmers are definitely more sparkly in the ColourPop palette. The pop of lavender is nearly identical in color but the one in the ColourPop palette is a true matte while I can see a hint of shimmer in the ABH one. The color story is less muted/grungy and “sweeter”. Both of these are fantastic and both have a place in my collection.

The older ABH Norvina Palette that is right below Nouveau is here to show you visually the difference in pan size. These two have pretty different color stories but I also wanted to give you an idea of how the formulas compare. The shimmers feel about the same between the two palettes. They have about the same color payoff and finish and feel equally as buttery-smooth. The mattes feel slightly grittier in the older ABH palette and don’t blend as easily on me as the newer ones do. Both formulas have excellent pigmentation though.

The ABH Norvina Pro Pigment Palette is another one I pulled out for formula comparison. This one has a much wider variety of textures and finishes and a much larger and different selection of shades. In general, though, I find the more matte shades in this palette to have a thinner feel to them and a shorter wear time on my eyes before creasing. But, for being thinner they still pack a punch in terms of color payoff. This one has a mixture of smooth/fine shimmers and ones that are more like washes of sparkle. They are generally sheerer than the ones in the ABH Nouveau Palette. It’s geared more toward someone with a creative/artsy side but can be used as a neutral palette as well.

Here’s a simple, lighter neutral look with the ABH Nouveau Palette that isn’t brown-based. It’s nice to have an option like this that is still “wearable” but isn’t the same old thing.

This was a super quick look to put together. Technically, I used four shades but mainly 3 are what is noticeable. You could skip Muse on the lashline to save some time.

I packed the peachy matte shade all over the lid and blended it through the crease. Then, I layered the shimmery gold over top on the lid. It didn’t adhere super well used this way but patting it on (rather than swiping) helped to get it to show up more. You could also use a sticky base underneath or use a dampened brush. I smudged the deep brown into the lashline from underneath the lashes (so, not used as a traditional eyeliner) to help darken the lashline. Using this shade previously, I had some fallout, but using it this way, there was none. The only fallout I had was from Isle, which only has fine shimmer in it, so it just ended up looking like a highlighter.

Eyes: 

• Alter Ego Eyeshadow Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Fleur – All over lid, crease, lower lashline
  • Isle – All over lid
  • Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone
  • Muse – Lashline
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in 500 Boundless Bisque
• Maybelline Brow Ultra Slim Pencil in Deep Brown
• Essence Make Me Brow
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Covergirl Lash Exact Mascara

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used one of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any negative effects from it.

Base:

• Pacifica Kind Tint in 17
• Maybelline Super Stay Active Wear Concealer in 11
• Besame Brightening Vanilla Powder in Translucent

Cheeks: 

• Benefit Blush in Peachin’

Lips: 

• Maybelline Lifter Gloss in Crystal

The ABH Nouveau palette generally leans warm-toned but I managed to eek out a cool-toned look from it here. I wanted to see what that lavender would look like next to the blue in Peacock. Using it previously, the blue sheen wasn’t very strong, so this time I used it over a sticky base.

Wisteria wasn’t the easiest to use in the crease, especially once I attempted to blend Peacock over it. It seemed to easily lose intensity either by the base color in Peacock or by blending away (was hard to tell which), so I ended up going back over parts of it with a small brush to add more color.

There was a small amount of fallout from the large sparkle in Peacock but it brushed off easily. Using this shade over glitter glue made a whole lot of difference. Definitely recommend doing this if you want the blue to pop more.

Eyes: 

• Hourglass Veil Eye Primer
• Too Faced Glitter Glue
• NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray (to dampen brushes)
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone (covered up later by Wings), also used to clean up outer corner
  • Wisteria* – Crease, outer lower lashline
  • Peacock – All over lid (over top Too Faced Glitter Glue)
  • Wings – Inner corner, brow bone (used with a dampened brush)
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Covergirl Lash Exact Mascara (lower lashes)
• Jason Wu Brows Before Boys Brow Powder
• NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Pen
• MUFE Artist Color Pencil in 500 Boundless Bisque

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used two of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any negative effects from them.

Base:

• Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Primer
• Nars Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Salzburg
• NYX Bare With Me Concealer Serum in Light
• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque
• Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder

Cheeks:

• Fleur from the ABH Nouveau Palette

Lips:

• Maybelline Lifter Gloss in Silk

What to call this? Metallic grunge? I started this look out wanting to use Liberty (the matte olive green) over a larger area so it would be more visible than how I’ve previously used it, and also to use it alone without the help of a transition shade. It requires more blending than the other mattes in the palette but it does eventually get there. Something I appreciate about this shade is how it stays pretty true to color as it is blended and sheered out along the edges.

Another goal was to use Hope some more as I hadn’t really gotten a whole lot of use out of it since purchasing the palette. There was a little bit of sparkle fallout but it wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, it looks more gold than green here. That is somewhat true in real life too but these photos did come out much warmer than they should have.

Belle has a lot of shine and adheres well by itself without needing to use a dampened brush.

Eyes:

• Nars Tinted Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base in Light
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Liberty – Crease, blended up into transition area, outer lower lashline
  • Hope – All over lid
  • Belle – Inner lower lashline, inner corner
  • Paloma* – Brow bone
• ColourPop Spy Glass (from the Bare Necessities Palette) – Smudged into lashlines
• ColourPop Creme Gel Liner in Swerve
• NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Pen in Ash Brown
• Jason Wu Brows Before Boys Brow Powder (used deepest shade)
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used one of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any negative effects from it.

Base:

• Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer
• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque
• NYX Bare WIth Me Concealer Serum in Light
• Make Up For Ever Matte Velvet Skin Powder Foundation

Cheeks:

• Benefit Blush in Rockateur

Lips:

• Roen Liquid Lip Balm in Charlie

A warm, glam, winged eye look using only 4 shades from the ABH Nouveau Palette. The only one I had a little bit of difficulty with was Muse. It had some fallout that I ended up having to clean up with a cotton swab and some some concealer. Besides that, everything else applied quickly and with ease.

Eyes:

• Hourglass Veil Eye Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Metro* – Crease, lower lashline
  • Muse – Outer corner
  • Belle – Center of lid
  • Wisteria* – Brow bone, inner corner, below Muse
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Jason Wu Brows Before Boys Brow Powder
• NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Pen
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in 502 Infinite Sand

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used two of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any irritation or staining from them.

Base:

• elf Power Grip Primer
• Nars Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Salzburg
• Benefit Erase Paste
• Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder
• Physicians Formula The Healthy Powder (used over Benefit Erase Paste for more coverage)

Cheeks:

• Benefit Shellie Blush

Lips:

• Just some lip balm

Here’s more of a simple smokey eye using the ABH Nouveau Palette. I did this mainly to see how the matte greyish green (Liberty) and the duochrome (Peacock) would pair together.

Eyes:

• Hourglass Veil Eye Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Paloma* – Inner corner, brow bone
  • Fleur – Crease, lower lashline
  • Liberty – Upper part of lid, almost all the way up to the crease
  • Peacock – All over lid, layered over Liberty
  • Isle –  Inner corner
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Jason Wu Brows Before Boys Brow Powder
• NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Pen
• Essence Make Me Brow

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used one of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any negative effects from it.

Base:

• elf Power Grip Primer
• Nars Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Salzburg
• Benefit Erase Paste
• Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder
• Physicians Formula The Healthy Powder (used over Benefit Erase Paste for more coverage)

Cheeks:

• Benefit Shellie Blush

Lips:

• Just some lip balm

Here is my first look using the ABH Nouveau Palette. I wore this palette many times before doing this but only used 1-2 shades at a time. I wanted to try using a bunch of the shades together.

When I first saw this palette launched, the selection of shades as a whole didn’t really pique my interest all that much. I have several more looks coming up and, still, after trying it out so much, I’m having a hard time enjoying working solely out of this one palette. They are all nice individually though and I am itching to pair them with things I think might go better with them.

Eyes:

• Hourglass Veil Eye Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Palette
  • Paloma* – Inner corner
  • Wisteria* – Center of lid
  • Lili– Inner lid
  • Peacock – Outer lid/crease
  • Fleur – Slightly above crease
  • Wings – Inner lower lashline
  • Liberty – Outer lower lashline
  • Isle – Brow bone
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Jason Wu Brows Before Boys Brow Powder
• NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Pen
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in 502 Infinite Sand

Shades marked with a * are pressed pigments and are not intended for use near the eyes. I used two of them on my eyes here but didn’t experience any irritation or staining from them.

Base:

• elf Power Grip Primer
• Nars Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Salzburg
• Benefit Erase Paste
• Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder
• Physicians Formula The Healthy Powder (used over Benefit Erase Paste for more coverage)

Cheeks:

• Benefit Shellie Blush

Lips:

• Just some lip balm

The ABH Nouveau Palette is one of the most recent releases from Anastasia Beverly Hills. It is supposed to be somewhat green themed, containing 3 green-hued shades and one green-blue shade along with complimentary colors to go along with them. There are 5 mattes and 7 shimmers. Of the 5 mattes, 3 of them are pressed pigments and aren’t intended to be used near the eyes. Those are the shades Paloma, Wisteria, and Metro. I have done several looks already and used those shades on my own eyes without any negative effects, not even staining. From the use I’ve gotten out of this palette so far, I am enjoying the quality of the shades. The mattes are generally highly pigmented and apply and blend smoothly. Liberty is the only one that requires a bit of extra love to get the smoothest application. The shimmers aren’t thin or dry and give off a good amount of shine with a little bit of fallout from some of them.

Wings

Wings is a pale golden green. There are no large chunky particles in this shimmer but they do vary in size so the reflect sparkles in the light and has a little bit of dimension. In the pan, next to the other shades, this looks more green than it does by itself. It can look more like a neutral if used alone or with other neutrals. If paired with some opposing colors, it will help to bring out the green a little more.

Isle

Isle has a very warm yellow gold sheen when swatched or placed on the eye. In the pan, this shade looks like it has a pinky coral base, but I don’t notice that at all once it’s on the skin. The shimmer consists of uniform size, fine particle and creates a tamped down metallic look.

Belle

Belle is a light bronze with a smooth, nearly metallic finish. Small particles, uniform in size.

Wisteria

Wisteria (pressed pigment) is a mostly matte warm lavender. It has the tiniest amount of shimmer in it but it mostly looks like a matte on the skin. This is probably one of the best, if not the best quality pastel lavender I have tried. Super smooth, highly pigmented, not dry looking on the skin.

Lili

Lili is one of those shades that you look at in the pan and go “what color is this?”. It has a warm pink shimmery base with larger specks of shimmer that reflect light blue, green, and purple. Of all the shimmers, this is the one with the largest particles. Still, they aren’t so big that I get tons of fallout or that they look like glitter.

Hope

Hope is an olive green shimmer. Like the shade Wings, the shimmer particles vary in size and create more of a sparkling shimmer finish.

Paloma

Paloma (pressed pigment) is a pale, pink-leaning nude with a nearly matte finish, similar to the finish of Wisteria. There is a little bit of super fine shimmer but it doesn’t show up much at all on the eye and ends up looking matte. This shade is highly pigmented so I reach for it a lot to give me some extra coverage on the inner corner where my concealer doesn’t fully cover the blue/green of my under eye circles. There is something a little bit chunky about this shade though. It’s not terrible but it’s noticeably different in texture from many of my other pale nude matte shades.

Fleur

Fleur is a matte light brownish pink. Good color payoff and blends out easily and smoothly. 

Liberty

Liberty is a greyish green with a matte finish. The color payoff is good but it doesn’t blend out as easily as the other matte shades. Needs a little bit of extra time blending and layering to get it to look smooth. When blended out, it stays mostly true to color only warming up a tiny bit as I sheer it out.

Peacock

Peacock has a warm reddish brown base with a subtle blue sheen. It has a sparkling shimmer finish like Wings and Hope with larger bits of sparkle that look reddish purple in the light. Based on the way this looked in the pan, I was expecting the blue sheen to be a little more obvious than it is on the eye.

Metro

Metro (pressed pigment) is a reddish orange. Good color payoff, blends easily and smoothly even without the help of a transition shade.

Muse

Muse is a deep brown with a satin finish. So far this is the shade that has the most fallout. Definitely need to be careful to tap excess off the brush and use plenty of powder under the eyes so it doesn’t stick.

I pulled out a bunch of random stuff I rarely use and this look is the result. The majority of the color is from the ABH Norvina Palette and I topped it off with various other shiny things.

The night before this, I was decluttering some old makeup and some of the things I had in my declutter box were some liquid eyeshadows. I don’t think most of them are even around anymore but I thought I might as well try one of them out today. It ended up being something I’m gonna have to chuck because it’s dried out and it turned out to be such a minor and hardly visible part of the look.

I’ve been meaning to use the ABH Norvina Palette for a while. The color selection is intersting and I feel like I could do some really fun stuff with it but for whatever reason I’ve never spent the time on it like I have with other palettes. There really are way too many palettes in the world and not enough time.

Eyes:

• Alter Ego Eyeshadow Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette
  • Base – Inner corner, brow bone
  • Soul – Inner crease, outer 2/3 lower lashline
  • Love – Inner transtition area
  • Passion – Outer lid
  • Wild Child – Center of lid (applied with wet brush)
  • Celestial – Outer crease/transition, lower inner lashline
  • Dreamer – inner corner (applied with wet brush)
• Tati Beauty Textured Neutral Palette
  • Glitter in Soothe – Upper lid, next to star glitter
• Duo Brush On Adhesive
• NYX Gold Star Shaped Glitter
• Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit in Cashmere Love – Outer corner, underneath wing
• Tarte Double Take Liquid Liner in Burgundy
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in 500 Boundless Bisque
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Ulta Beauty Brow Powder Duo in Espresso
• NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray (for dampening brushes)

Base:

• Loreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation in 101 Classic Ivory
• Pixi Correction Concentrate in Brightening Peach
• Tarte Shape Tape Concealer in Light
• Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder

Cheeks:

• Too Faced Sweet Hearts Blush in Sparkling Bellini

Lips:

• Roen Liquid Lip Balm in Charlie

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Micro-Stroking Detailing Brow Pen is claimed to be “a waterproof, superfine-tipped pen ideal for creating realistic hair-strokes that will give you your most natural-looking brows yet”. It contains 0.5 ml / 0.017 fl oz of product and it retails for $22.

These types of brow pens have been around for a little while now. The one I’m most familiar with is Mac’s Shape + Shade Brow Tint Pen which creates more transparent strokes than this one. I found that one really easy and pretty fool-proof to use but at times I felt the need to keep building up the color to get it to show up in photos.

I purchased this in the shade Medium Brown, which I’ve used before in ABH’s Brow Wiz. The color is a pretty close match to the Brow Wiz, maybe slightly more olive toned. The product is quite pigmented and goes on darker than I was expecting. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just not what I’m used to. I think it’s just something takes some practice to get the hang of.

You can draw fairly fine strokes with it but you do have to have a steady hand to do so. It is easy to apply too much pressure and end up with thicker lines than intended. 

Though this is claimed to be waterproof, I don’t think that necessarily translates to being budge proof. Applied over any type of moisturizer, which many people wear, or even just slightly oily skin can cause the product to be prone to rubbing off. It’s not like a stain.

I use this to define the tail ends of my brows and draw in a few tiny strokes in areas where I have gaps in the hair. To me, filling in gaps with this pen will give the most natural looking result that would work well for “normal” everyday wear in real life. This is easier to do in areas with obvious gaps. In areas where I have a lot of hair, though, it’s better to use a brow powder to fill in the color. It’s very easy to lose control of the brush tip where there is too much hair in the way.

I like this enough to keep using it for now but I’m not sure I’d repurchase it after it runs out. I might go back to the Mac Shape + Shade in a darker shade. I found the more transparent formula of that one to be more forgiving if I didn’t do the best job with application.

Base Makeup

• Too Faced Born This Way Concealer in Almond – I used this in place of foundation.
• Pixi Brightening Peach Concentrate – I applied this to the very darkest parts of my under eye circles to help cancel them out.
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer in 13.0 – I applied this over the peach corrector and to the rest of my under eye area.
• Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder – I set everything including my eye primer with this.

Brows

• Mac Shape + Shade Brow Tint in Taupe – I used just the liquid side to fill in gaps and to extend the tail of my brows a bit.
• Viseart The Essential Brow Palette – I used the second shade in from the left on the bottom row to fill in my brows.

Eyes

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Eye Primer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Single Eyeshadow in Blanc – I used this on my brow bone and inner corner.
• ColourPop Pressed Pigment in Centerfold – I used this as my transition shade and applied it with a Luxie 231 Small Tapered Blending Brush. I also applied it in a diffused way on my lower lash line using a slightly fluffy brush.
• Maybelline The City Mini Diamond District Eyeshadow Palette – I used just the burgundy shade from this palette for my inner and outer lids. I blended the color up into my crease area. I also used an angled liner to apply this close to my lashes on my lower lash line and blended it into Centerfold.
• Essence Melted Chrome Eyeshadow in 01 Zinc About You – I applied this to the center of my lid with a Real Techniques Instapop Crease Brush.
• Mac Blacktrack Pro Longwear Fluidline – I tightlined with this using a Mac 231 brush.
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Liner
• Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in 502 Infinite Sand – I used this to neutralize the natural pink tones on my lower waterline.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

Base

• Ulta Full Coverage Liquid Concealer in Light Cool
• Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder

Brows, Lashes & Liner

• Maybelline Tattoo Studio Brow Tint Pen in Deep Brown
• Covergirl Lash Exact Mascara in Very Black (lower lashes)
• Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint Mascara (upper lashes)
• NYX Matte Liquid Liner

Color

Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette

• Base – (brow bone, inner corner, applied with Luxie 231)
• Incense – (transition, applied with Morphe M433)
• Passion – (outer lid, outer crease, applied with Sigma E55)
• Love – (inner lid, inner crease, applied with Mac 239)
• Dazzling – (center of lid, applied with Morphe M421)
• Soul – (lower lashline, applied with Morphe M506)
• Passion – (outer lower lashline, applied with Mac 231)

Tarte Love Trust Fairy Dust Palette

• Wish – (outer lower lashline, outer lid to deepen color, applied with Mac 231)

I added that last color from the Tarte Palette because I wanted something a little bit darker and cooler toned than what I was getting with the shade Passion.