Clearly, the eyeshadow palette that generated the most buzz this year was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette. As a follow-up to the internet-breaking Modern Renaissance palette, shoppers had high hopes for this palette, too. After all, the colors in the ABH Subculture palette are bold, unique, and unapologetically pigmented.
Now about Subculture being unapologetically pigmented…You know how you sometimes “swirl” your brush into a pan of eyeshadow? Yeah, don’t do that with the Subculture palette. You’ll get about 10 uses out of that pan, and 80% of it will be airborne, lost, or in your mouth. If you have so much as a toe dipped into the beauty community, you know that many, many of the Subculture palettes were so powdery that they piled up dusty shadow with even the lightest brush tap. Many of the shadows in the palettes were completely obliterated upon arrival due to their incredibly soft composition.
ABH Subculture Palette, $45 at Sephora
That soft composition also contributed to the intense, almost psychedelic pigmentation of these shadows. One brush tap in a pan could easily cover an entire eyelid with deep, rich color, and the amount of fallout from that brush tap could cover your other eyelid. Newbies were taking full brush-loads and ending up with deep purple or neon coral pink all over their eyes, cheeks, and palette.
Then there was the issue of application. The colors were either unblendable or too blendable. They were sticking to the eyelid in one blob, or they were blending away into a ruddy, muddy mess. The inconsistencies were far-ranged and varied, but the bottom line was that everyone was disappointed. After all, its predecessor palette was Earth-shatteringly good… We only wrote about dupes for the Modern Renaissance palette because it was expensive – the quality of that palette is fantastic.
So what happened with Subculture? No one knows, for sure. Some say that the shadows were perfect, just under-pressed. Others say that the factories where the shadows were made changed and the formula changed with it. Some think it’s a batch issue, because there are palettes that perform perfectly with minimal fallout. Some even suspect that it was a rouse or conspiracy, but who has time to listen to that nonsense?
Photos from BeautyPalmira.de
ABH says that the palette came out precisely as they planned. The pigmentation is for skilled artists to skillfully apply these high-quality, finely-milled, “ultra blendable” shadows to faces in ways that seem to escape a huge portion of ABH’s customer base. ABH deserves all of the credit for putting these beautiful shades together, and if they made this on purpose – that’s great! The problem lies in the fact that they didn’t communicate that to the customer. You have to use this palette 100% differently than other 99% of other palettes. The large difference in performance between two related palettes should have been on ABH’s radar, and if customer education needed to happen, it should have. Clearly, it didn’t.
I actually think that Subculture is worth buying for the right customer. This palette is meant for people with patience, a certain degree of makeup knowledge, and a decent set of tiny makeup brushes.
Despite all of its flaws, the Subculture palette has us inspired AF. Putting those colors together was a brilliant move, and highlighting unique duochromes (…that performed poorly across the board but whatever…) in a palette full of rich, autumnal shades has got me all kinds of excited. Not so excited that I’m going to pay $45, but excited enough to look for some inspiration in budget-friendly, drugstore dupes for the Subculture palette.
Some of the palettes in this list come frighteningly close to the real deal, and others seem like a pretty big departure, but offer some similarities. If you fall in love with a palette, but it’s missing your favorite shade, scroll down for individual shadow dupes for ABH Subculture featuring affordable brands and indie beauty brands!
6 Drugstore Dupes for the ABH Subculture Palette
Sleek MakeUP Under a Spell Eyeshadow Palette
$12.99 at Ulta
If you love everything about ABH Subculture except the yellow-orange shades, this is the dupe palette for you. Sleek MakeUP has recently come to the USA and is making waves. They were known for their Solstice highlighting palette, but their eyeshadows have been shocking new users with their pigment, texture, and longevity. This Subculture palette dupe has more shimmery, glimmery shades but solidly covers the jewel tones and highlights of the original.
The ABH Subculture palette has a little bit more warmth to it, thanks to the yellows that are missing from the Sleek palette. While you have many of the same colors, the fact that most of them are shimmery or metallic is definitely limiting. The Sleek palette is meant for creating dynamic smokey eyes, so the range is medium-to-dark with only one, maybe two highlight shades. Also absent: duochromes.
NYX Perfect Filter Palette in Olive You
$20 at NYX Cosmetics
If you wish it the Subculture palette was smaller and didn’t have that one orange shade, this is the dupe palette for you. You have your gold tones, green shades, deep purple and copper… There are transition shades, cool tones, and even a highlight. All of these cozy colors with varied textures and finishes are a perfect blend of the Subculture shadows in a reliable, drugstore formula.
That one orange shade, though, is totally mixing. New Wave and Roxy both add a jolt of vibrancy that the Perfect Filter palette is definitely missing. If one of those golden shimmers could have been just a little bit more radioactive, this palette would be a perfect dupe.
Bad Habit Retro Love Palette
$10 at Shop Hush
If you love… the Subculture palette, this is the dupe palette – literally – for you. As far as dupes go, this is about as dupe-y as you can get without being a direct knock-off. Bad Habit is a brand I’m totally unfamiliar with, and Shop Hush is a website I just discovered, but people on Reddit said that this palette performed incredibly well, despite the shadiness and mystery. It has every single color from ABH Subculture. Word on the street is that it’s completely without any of the negative characteristics of the O.G.
Could it be true? We’ll never know because this puppy is currently sold out, but you can sign up to be notified when it comes into stock! My name is definitely on that list.
NYX In Your Element Earth Eyeshadow Palette
$30 at NYX Cosmetics
If you love the the variety of shades in the ABH Subculture palette, this is the dupe palette for you. The Earth palette is part of NYX Cosmetics’ In Your Element series, and it delivers some warm, muted, saturated shades that align really nicely with the Subculture palette. Mattes are abundant in this palette, but the metallic shade from Subculture is duped, and there are even a couple of bonus metallic shades in the NYX palette. You can’t see in this photo, but the cover of the Earth palette is also beautifully designed, and the size makes it easy to travel with.
You’ll be missing those elusive yellows and a the deep, dark purple from Subculture which are definitely trademarks of the palette. You’ll also have to miss out on the duochromes, as well. The Earth palette is fully warm-toned. The duochromes, cool grey, and deep purple help to balance the warmth of the original palette.
Urban Decay Nocturnal Shadow Box
$29 at Ulta
If you love the colors in the Subculture palette, but wish all of the shades were muted and sparkly, this is the dupe palette for you. Urban Decay makes great shimmer and metallic eyeshadows, and they’ve got some classics in this Noctunal Shadow Box. Many of the Subculture shades are represented here with a shimmery twist.
The pinks, yellows,and grey kind of get swept into a “taupe” umbrella with this palette. While you get duochromes (finally!), they’re not matching duochromes. Even though the shades in this palette are pretty close, you’re missing the yellow shades that would round out any Subculture-y looks you tried to make with it.
Pacifica Beachy Punk Mineral Eyeshadow Palette
$17.99 at Target
If you like the edgy colors in the Subculture palette, but don’t need all of them, this is the dupe palette for you. Unlike all of the rest, this palette has that eerie, swampy, green-yellow shade that Subculture proudly boasts. There are gorgeous teals, a rich coral, and even the shimmering copper shade! These shades are bright, eye-catching, and definitely emulate the vibes that Subculture brings to the table, but with fewer shades and a slightly different direction.
A true metallic is missing from this palette, as is anything resembling a duochrome. Also: lavender. Who needs it?
ABH Subculture Individual Shadow Dupes
Maybe you’re not into the entirety of the ABH Subculture palette – I totally get it! These colors are big, bold shades that aren’t going to inspire and flatter everyone. If you only love a few of the shades from the palette, or need to supplement one of the Subculture dupe palettes above, here are some budget-friendly dupes & drugstore dupes for individual ABH Subculture shadows!
ABH Cube Dupes (Duochrome)
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| Beauty Escape Cosmetics Lyra Pressed Shadow $6.50 at Beauty Escape Cosmetics |
NYX Duochromatic Highlight in Snow Rose $7.99 at Ulta |
Fyrinnae Exquisites in Breathtaking $8.40 at Fyrinnae |
ABH Dawn Dupes
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| Notoriously Morbid Shadow in He’s Going Through Changes $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
Colourpop Pressed Shadow in Running Late $6 at Colourpop |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Peach Smoothie $6 at Makeup Geek |
ABH Destiny Dupes
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| Shiro Eyeshadow in Grow Home, Douglas, You’re Drunk $6.50 at Shiro Cosmetics |
Bloody Mary by Bobbie Weiner Eyeshadow in Olive Green $9.99 at Amazon |
Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Cute, Weak & Kittenie $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
ABH Adorn Dupes
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| Juvia’s Place Eyeshadow in Casablanca $5.50 at Juvia’s Place |
Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Boe $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
Colourpop Ultra Metallic Shadow in Game Face $5 at Colourpop |
ABH All Star Dupes
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| Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Bitten $6 at Makeup Geek |
Morphe Single Eyeshadow in Secretive $2.50 at Morphe Brushes |
Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Boca Del Infierno $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
ABH Mercury Dupes
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| Shiro Eyeshadow in Exhumation $5 at Shiro Cosmetics |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Bandwagon $6 at Makeup Geek |
Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Gypsy Curse $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
ABH Axis Dupes
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| Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Peacock $6 at Makeup Geek |
Shiro Eyeshadow in Leaf Me Alone, I’m Pine $6.50 at Shiro Cosmetics |
Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Neutered $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
ABH Roxy Dupes
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| Colourpop Pressed Pigment in Slim Fit $6 at Colourpop |
Karity Eyeshadow Singles in Spring Break $5 at Karity Cosmetics |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Poppy $6 at Makeup Geek |
ABH Electric Dupes
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| Wet’n’Wild Midnight Mermaid Highlighting Bar in Midnight Moon $6.99 at Wet’n’Wild |
Colourpop Moonwalk Super Shock Shadow $5 at Colourpop |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Karma $6 at Makeup Geek |
ABH Fudge Dupes
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| Colourpop Pressed Shadow in Li’l Boat $5 at Colourpop |
Morphe Pressed Eyeshadow in Deep Cocoa $2.50 at Morphe Brushes |
Shiro Eyeshadow in We Can Find Out Anything $5.50 at Shiro Cosmetics |
ABH New Wave Dupes
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| Colourpop Pressed Shadow in Koi $5 at Colourpop |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Early Bird $6 at Makeup Geek |
Juvia’s Place Nubian #2 from Masquerade Palette $20 at Juvia’s Place |
ABH Untamed Dupes
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| Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Mayor Monster $5.50 at Notoriously Morbid |
Shiro Eyeshadow in Two Triplets $6.50 at Shiro Cosmetics |
Makeup Geek Pressed Eyeshadow in Enchanted Forest $6 at Makeup Geek |
ABH Edge Dupes
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| Colourpop Pressed Eyeshadow in Paper Tiger $5 at Colourpop |
NYX Hot Singles Eyeshadow in Butterscotch $4.50 at NYX Cosmetics |
Karity Eyeshadow Singles in Sanguine $5 at Karity Cosmetics |
ABH Rowdy Dupes
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| Morphe Singles Eyeshadow in Royalty $2.50 at Morphe Brushes |
Juvia’s Place Single Eyeshadow in Empress $5.50 at Juvia’s Place |
Shiro Eyeshadow in Gears and Levers $6.50 at Shiro Cosmetics |
All of the swatch photos from the ABH Subculture palette are from the incredible Temptalia. She also has a wonderfully comprehensive post with her own Subculture dupes from five major beauty brands. Definitely check it out if you’re on the hunt for the best, most perfect dupes!
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