Funny Face Beauty: Anastasia Beverly Hills Holiday 2012 Sets: Mini Review

Hey Everyone,

Having only tried a couple of eyebrow specific products from Anastasia Beverly Hills, I was really looking forward to trying two sets from the brand's Holiday 2012 line. Unfortunately, due to slow mail service during the holidays, I wasn't able to review the sets as part of my 2012 gift guide posts. With that said, I have seen both of these sets at Sephora (as well as on the Anastasia website) in the past week, and wanted to share my initial thoughts on them, so that you can decide whether or not to pick one (or both) up before they disappear from shelves.

Want You To Want Me Set ($44 CND/$34 USD):

The first holiday set, "Want You to Want Me", which comes in a luxurious velour 'clutch', features nine super creamy eyeshadows (0.025 fl oz.), a mini jet-black liquid eyeliner (0.12 fl oz.), a mini dual ended eyeshadow brush and a mini clear eyebrow gel (0.085 fl oz.).

The shadows in this set range in colour from a light creamy pink, to a deep smoky plum, but all have a fairly neutral undertone, making them perfect for both an everyday soft look and a more dramatic smoky look. With a combination of matte and shimmer, the eyeshadows in this palette are all well pigmented, super soft, and crease-free. My only complaint with the shadows is, because they are really buttery, there is a lot of fallout, especially with the more shimmery shades. The 'Want You To Want Me' set comes with the following nine shades:

Platform Wedges: A creamy, matte, light beige with pink undertones. 

Front Row Center: A shimmering champagne with peach undertones and finely milled silver glitter. 

Ziggy: A shimmering lilac-purple with chunky silver glitter. 

Members Only: A creamy, matte brown with slight orange undertones. 

Power Ballad: A shimmering taupe with pink undertones and very finely milled silver glitter. 

Jellies: A shimmering pink with very finely milled silver glitter. 

Graphic T’s: A matte, deep brown with iridescent pink, green and gold glitter. 

Brass In Pocket: A shimmering peach with copper undertones and finely milled gold glitter. 

Iron On: A deep plummy purple with brown undertones and iridescent purple and gold glitter. 

Platform Wedges, Front Row Centre, Ziggy

Members Only, Power Ballad, Jellies

Graphic T's, Brass in Pocket, Iron On

While I am not the most talented when it comes to applying liquid eyeliner, I have found that the mini brush on Anastasia's jet-black liquid eyeliner makes creating a straight line much easier. The eyeliner lasts nicely throughout the day with very minimal smudging.   

Having already owned a large tube of Anastasia's brow gel, I was excited to receive a mini, travel friendly tube. I absolutely love this brow gel as it really helps smooth unruly eyebrows, keeping them in place without any  of that hard crusty 'crunchiness'.

Overall, I am really impressed with this set so far. All of the eyeshadows have great pigmentation, and are super easy to blend. The mini eyeliner and mini brow gel are both great for travel (or for throwing into your purse for mid day touch ups), and are great quality products. While I hate that this set is $10 more in Canada than in the US (what else is new?!), I still think the $44 CND price tag is amazing (to compare, the Urban Decay Naked Palette sells for $60 CND). 

Anastasia Kisses On My List Volume 2 Set ($39 CND/$30 USD): 

The second holiday set, 'Kisses On My List Volume 2', features six matte and shimmer, lighter toned, high-shine lip glosses. Three of the glosses (Sharona, Jolene, and Lola) have a more sheer (but still pigmented), opalescent finish, while the other three glosses (Moi, Roxanne, and Maggie May) are part of Anastasia's new 'Hypercolour' gloss line, which "reacts with your skin's chemistry to stain your lips a custom hue that is all your own". This set includes the following six shades: 

Moi: A matte, nude brown with pink undertones.

Maggie May: A matte nude pink with peach undertones.

Sharona: A somewhat sheer peach with brown undertones and iridescent silver, pink and blue shimmer.

Lola: A somewhat sheer, bright baby pink with blue undertones and iridescent silver, pink and blue shimmer.

Jolene: A gorgeous rosy pink with yellow undertones and finely milled iridescent green and silver shimmer.

Roxanne: A pretty, neutral pink with red undertones and finely milled gold shimmer.

Jolene, Maggie May, Sharona

Jolene, Lola, Roxanne,

All of the glosses, even those that have a more sheer application, are incredibly well pigmented and look gorgeous on the lips (even the lightest gloss looks great on my darker lips). 

While I am not the best judge when it comes to long lasting lip products (I always have to reapply several times throughout the day), I do find that these glosses are longer lasting than most. With that said, it is my belief that they are longer lasting because of their stickiness. While there are far more sticky glosses out on the market (hello MAC Lipglass!), I can definitely see longer hair getting stuck to the lips on windy days. 

With sunflower seed and jojoba oil, these glosses are fairly moisturizing, and despite their sticky texture, don't leave the lips feeling dry. 

The most unique thing about these glosses are their silicone, paddle applicator, which to be honest, I am still figuring out how exactly to use (I find the gloss somewhat hard to spread with  a silicone applicator.

While I do genuinely like all of the glosses in this set, I wish that Anastasia had included some darker, more dramatic shades. The decision on whether or not to purchase this set really comes down to personal preference. If you can't stand more sticky glosses, or want more colour variety, this set may not be for you. If, however, you are looking for a set of well pigmented, long lasting, lighter coloured glosses, be sure to grab this set before it is gone. 

Have you tried either of these Anastasia sets? Will you be picking one up before they are gone? What was your favourite Holiday 2012 beauty product or set? Be sure to let me know in the comment section below. 