I've got to admit, I have been absolutely sleeping on new releases as of late. I took the 'ignorance is bliss' approach, where if I ignored new releases, I wouldn't feel the need to buy them. Well, it worked, but it meant I'm now, a few months later, a bit behind.
BYS Cosmetics has been around for as long as I can remember. I wore their shimmery purple eyeshadow palette maybe everyday in Year 10. They've forever been known for their affordability, but not necessarily the quality. It's become pretty evident they've put in a lot of effort as of late to change that. How? Released some decent quality, on trend products, at the same low price point. The Berries Eyeshadow Palette is just that. Quality wise, it seems nothing like their old formulas, in a good way. This palette is on so on trend, it mimics (or copies) the shade range of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette. (Imitation is the best form of flattery!?) It remains aligned with the BYS reputation of affordability, at only $12 from Kmart ($19.95 from BYS website). So, let's compare the pair.
I swatched each shade from the BYS palette against it's closest counterpart in the Modern Renaissance Palette. Shade wise, most colours were pretty similar. Across the first three shades, Peachy from BYS (weird name seeing as it's not peach AT ALL), was about two shades darker than its ABH counterpart, Tempera. Both a matte/ satin finish. Of the two I definitely prefer the ABH shade, as it could be used as an under the brow highlight, or all over to set the lid. Peachy seems like just another transition shade, similar to MUG Creme Brule.
Radiance (BYS) and Vermeer (ABH) are essentially identical in shade. Both are a shimmery champagne. However, the ABH formula is smoother and creamier than BYS, so the colour when applied to the lid has a different finish. The BYS shimmers I would compare similar to that of Morphe, shimmery, but a tad chunky, so you may need to dip back in with your finger or brush a few times to get a full colour payoff when applying to the lid. The ABH formula you only need one swipe.
Same can be said comparing the formula of both shimmery gold between both palettes, Glow (BYS) and Primavera (ABH). Glow (BYS) is a tad darker and warmer than Primavera (ABH) evident in the swatch below.
Anastasia is well known for her pigmented, matte formula. I feel like it's a somewhat unique formula, because although they are highly pigmented, they're still very easy to blend in the crease or on the lid. As an arm swatch, the BYS shadows actually swatched smoother, and less patchy than ABH (evident in darker patches in swatches below). This is because, as mentioned, the ABH formula is just so pigmented. This isn't so much a problem on the lid however, where both formulas blend out very smoothly without patchiness. BYS Toffee and Sundown are both great transition shades. Pigmentation wise on the eye, I probably compare them to Makeup Geek, and are a more buildable formula. I was blown away with the pigmentation from Majestic, which was pigmented and blended out great. Again, on the eye however, the ABH matte equivalent Realgar is simply more pigmented.
Similiar story can be told for the shades below. BYS - pigmented, but not quite as pigmented as ABH. Both very blendable on the eye. BYS came pretty close in duping the ABH colour.
BYS Cosmetics has been around for as long as I can remember. I wore their shimmery purple eyeshadow palette maybe everyday in Year 10. They've forever been known for their affordability, but not necessarily the quality. It's become pretty evident they've put in a lot of effort as of late to change that. How? Released some decent quality, on trend products, at the same low price point. The Berries Eyeshadow Palette is just that. Quality wise, it seems nothing like their old formulas, in a good way. This palette is on so on trend, it mimics (or copies) the shade range of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette. (Imitation is the best form of flattery!?) It remains aligned with the BYS reputation of affordability, at only $12 from Kmart ($19.95 from BYS website). So, let's compare the pair.
Radiance (BYS) and Vermeer (ABH) are essentially identical in shade. Both are a shimmery champagne. However, the ABH formula is smoother and creamier than BYS, so the colour when applied to the lid has a different finish. The BYS shimmers I would compare similar to that of Morphe, shimmery, but a tad chunky, so you may need to dip back in with your finger or brush a few times to get a full colour payoff when applying to the lid. The ABH formula you only need one swipe.
Same can be said comparing the formula of both shimmery gold between both palettes, Glow (BYS) and Primavera (ABH). Glow (BYS) is a tad darker and warmer than Primavera (ABH) evident in the swatch below.
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| L-R Peachy (BYS), Tempera (ABH), Radiance (BYS), Vermeer (ABH), Glow (BYS), Primavera (ABH) |
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| L-R Toffee (BYS), Raw Sienna (ABH), Sundown (BYS), Burnt Orange (ABH), Majestic (BYS), Realgar (ABH) |
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| L-R Royalty (BYS), Red Ochre (ABH), Cherry Bomb (BYS), Venetian Red (ABH), Juliet (BYS), Love Letter (ABH) |
These last three shades is maybe where I was most impressed. Purples are for some unknown reason hard to formulate, but Berry Haze (BYS) is easily one of the nicest purple/mauve mattes I've tried from the 'drugstore'. Buon Fresco (ABH) is a tad more grey. The formula of Antique (BYS) is almost identical to Antique Bronze (ABH), makes sense, because so is the name! Colour is almost dead on, and it's that same 'satin yet tiny bit of shimmer' formula. Very creamy! Shaded (BYS) is well named, as it it's a highly pigmented dark brown which is great for smoking or deepening any eye look. It might not be as ultra pigmented as its ABH counterpart Cyprus Umber, but a great shade none the less.
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| L-R Berry Haze (BYS), Buon Fresco (ABH), Antique (BYS), Antique Bronze (ABH), Shaded (BYS), Cyprus Umber (ABH) |
The BYS Berries Palette contains 12 eyeshadows, whereas ABH Modern Renaissance contains 14. The ABH shades Golden Ochre and Warm Taupe missed out and didn't get a dupe.
The packaging is obviously different between the two. BYS have kept with their Urban Decay Naked style tin, but has the nice pale purple colour to match the velvet exterior of the ABH packaging. T
TLDR
For $12, BYS have nailed this. I would compare the formula of this to similar of Morphe. The colours come very close to their Anastasia Beverly Hills counterpart. The ABH matte formula is so ultra-pigmented and creamy that I honestly wouldn't expect a $12 palette to match it. For all you makeup junkies and makeup artists, I would still say splurge the $75 AUD on the ABH Modern Renaissance. But, for your everyday woman that doesn't buy a stupid amount of makeup (like myself) you cannot go wrong with the BYS Berries palette. Being less pigmented than the ABH formula means it's also easier to use, so would be great for beginners or those getting in to makeup.
Similar post coming soon comparing the BYS Peach palette to Too Faced Sweet Peaches!
Thanks for reading,
Em x