Damn. When I started getting into makeup a couple of years ago, I would never have guessed that an eyeshadow palette would ever become as hotly debated, as loved/hated, as controversial as the ABH subculture palette. But for some reason (that reason being wrong expectations and beauty guru clickbait culture, or possibly inconsistent batches), this palette has been on every beautylover's lips for the past month or so.
Let me summarize the story.
Earlier this summer, Anastasia Beverly Hills announced the release of a new permanent addition to their collection, in the form of a sister to their cult favourite palette Modern Renaissance. Which happens to be my fav eyeshadow palette ever. Obviously, everyone was hyped AF, expectations were high. The only worry some people had was whether they'd be able to rock these colours, since they're a bit less safe than MR's range of warm neutrals. When the first reviewers got their hands on the Subculture palette, people were overwhelmingly positive, enjoying their palettes and demonstrating some really cute looks.
That vibe shifted just about when Alissa Ashley dropped her review of the palette. Demonstrating extreme kickback, bad blendability and oxidizing, Subculture seemed to go from an interesting new must-have to a complete fail by the much loved brand, all in the blink of an eye. Other high profile gurus like Jeffree Star, Raw Beauty Kristi and Laura Lee also showcased negative experiences, and the beauty community was quick to grab their pitchforks and demonize the palette. However, other vloggers like Stephanie Nicole, Atleeeey and Samantha Ravndahl did not experience any notable issues and created gorgeous looks using the very same palette.
Something rotten in the state of beauty vlogging, if you ask me. Just looking at the different styles in title and screengrab featured by the haters vs the (nuanced) lovers makes the conclusion clear for me. You don't see the Subculture supporters using the same extreme wording or attention grabbing emojis as the detractors, and that speaks volumes for me.
After seeing Stephanie Nicole's review, my mind was made up: I had to try this controversial palette for myself. And seeing the shades in action had also convinced me that there was plenty to love here, even for someone who doesn't pair 1324535 colours on their lids in one look. I ordered mine at Cultbeauty.co.uk which took longer than I liked, but it got here safe and sound in the end. Let's take a look.
Subculture boasts a range of mostly warm shades with a couple of cool toned shadows thrown in for variety. Fourteen eyeshadows, 11 mattes, 2 duochromes, 2 metallics. Mostly deep, muted tones with an autumnal 70s vibe: oranges, mustards, burgundies, golds, olives and navy blues. Definitely not as easy to create a simple look as with ABH Modern Renaissance, but frankly after 2 years of warm eyeshadows being everywhere I'm ready for something new.
And how does it work for me? Well, let's just say that I have used this palette every single day since I got it about a week and a half ago. Let me sum up the criticism and my own experience:
And how does it work for me? Well, let's just say that I have used this palette every single day since I got it about a week and a half ago. Let me sum up the criticism and my own experience:
- Kickback? Maybe a tiny bit more than with Modern Renaissance, but absolutely not to the extent that the performance of Subculture is different from MR. You do NOT swirl your brush in the pan here to pick up lots of product like you do with lower quality brands. You simply TAP your brush lightly in the pan, and then you apply to the eyelid. Simple.
- Fall-out? I have noticed a little bit of fall-out with Axis after wearing it for a couple of hours, but honestly, I have never worn a deep blue, pigmented eyeshadow that didn't migrate a bit to the under eye area after a while. Just carry a concealer with you when you wear this shade and you'll be good to go.
- Colours oxidizing? Nope. New Wave is just a little darker on the lid than it appears in the pan. Same for All Star.
- Issues with blending? Not at all. I seriously do not know what people are going on about, if you use the same type of light application as you do with Modern Renaissance, these eyeshadows will blend perfectly.
- Colours turning muddy when blended? Only when you blend together colours that are opposite of each other on the color wheel. Duh.
In short, unless there is significant inconsistency between palettes, the people who are dragging this palette are either not used to highly pigmented shadows, or doing it for the clickzzzz. Simple as that.
I created six looks using almost all of the eyeshadows to demonstrate Subculture's versatility and performance. None of these looks took me longer than 5 minutes to create, just as with Modern Renaissance - I don't have the patience to perfect everything and no one zooms in on your eye irl anyway. None of these gave me any issues, only thing I will note is that Cube isn't as pigmented as the other shades and a bit more finicky to work with (hardly shows up in the swatch above). Still, I got it to perform and I am NOT a mega pro by any means.
First look I created is a sunset themed smokey eye and the most intricate one - I was obviously excited to try as much at once as possible. I used Roxy in the crease, New Wave and Edge from the outer to middle of the lid, New Wave on the lower lashline, Electric on the inner half of the lid, Cube in the inner eye corner, and All Star in the outer V.
Second look is a cool toned look, something I was very excited to put together since I have basically zero cool toned high end eyeshadows and I've felt like that is a real gap in my collection. ABH if you're listening, please bring out a cool toned palette! For this look, I applied Cube from the inner corners to the middle of the lid using the stiffer end of the complementary brush, and Untamed and Axis in the outer V and along the lower lashline. Unintentionally Cube and Untamed got mixed a bit when I applied Untamed along the lower lashline, so you see how pretty the pink shift looks layered over the blueish green! Untamed looks more blue on my skin than green, it's the interaction with my skintone.
Third look I created was this super simple neutral gold/smokey eye using Adorn and Fudge. Adorn from the inner corner to the middle of the eye, Fudge in the crease, the outer V and along the lower lashline.
Fourth look! Something a little more outside of my comfort zone: pairing complementary colours and using a matte shade in the inner corner. Edge as an accent along the inner corner blended towards the middle, Electric in the middle of the lid, and Axis in the outer corner and lower lashline. I also very lightly blended Dawn along the crease, but I actually didn't love that warmer peachy nude sitting next to Axis so I'd leave it out the next time.
Phew, almost there! Fifth look, probably my unexpected fav, and another stab at pairing complementary colours (greenish gold Electric and two warm tones): Roxy blended throughout the crease, Electric from the inner corner through the middle of the lid, and All Star in the outer corner and lower lashline.
Finally, this look I'd probably only wear to a party (or when I'm feeling funky): this disco inspired gold/blue smokey eye. Basically, this is the look I thought Laura Lee was trying to achieve. I liked her idea but not her drama. I used Adorn in the inner corner to the middle of the lid, Axis in the outer V and on lower lashline, and applied a tiny dab of Cube with my finger to the inner corner.
And there you go, a thorough review of the Subculture palette, and my thoughts on the controversy. Honestly, if you want an unbiased review that is not concerned with drama and stirring the pot, always go for Stephanie Nicole. She's amazing. And if these colours speak to you and you aren't afraid to use a lighter hand, DO get this palette. I actually love it more than Modern Renaissance at the moment, because the colours are more unexpected and inspiring and because I'm tired of warm neutrals right now. I'm so happy I bought it and absolutely vouch for it.
If you have any more questions: shoot!
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