Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette

There's a lot going on in this palette to little effect.The shades are nice but the quality just isn't there. It's like the Kat Von D spell has been broken in the makeup community and I'm so here for it.

I love matte shadows, they are pretty much all I use on my eyes so, I seriously consider purchasing any matte palette I come across, especially neutral and warm shades. I picked up the Revolution dupe for this because I didn't want to pay $62 CAD *cough*. I wasn't happy with the Revolution, it was really awful so went ahead and over paid for this.

I find the texture to be funky, like, they go on thick and if you shear them out, they just blend away. Too much powdery patchy texture. The shades are great in the pans, they look lovely, but I never really get a kick out of the looks I create with this. So, I guess I will use it but currently barely reach for it. I would rather use my Viseart, ABH or even Morphe palettes over this.

The packaging is absolutely amazing and the colors create such beautiful Smokey eyes.

I like this palette for everyday work-appropriate looks. The pigmentation is great, as well as the blendability and longevity. The packaging is sturdy and cute, and the arrangement of the shadows in neutral, cool and warm quads is helpful. Most of the colors show up on my NC 42 skin tone (except the pale taupe color on the top), and all the colors are either a matte or satin finish. It's fantastic for hooded eyes because of the finishes. The mates are not chalky, and no colors emphasize skin texture or wrinkles. You can create any type of sculpted eyes, smoky eyes and no makeup makeup with this palette. The black is rich and dark, I use it to line my eyes regularly. The light colors are opaque and brightening, very beautiful. I have experienced no fallout.

My only complaint are that the mirror is not very good and that there is no dark brown, off back color :( If I lost this palette I wouldn't repurchase because I would get instead one of the Tarte Tartelette palettes which DO have an off black dark brown color, a black, AND beautiful mirrors.

A fantastic matte eye shadow palette. Having tried every color in the palette over the course of this month I have to admit each one looks exactly the same on my lids as it does in the pan. And that's not something that happens very often for me! Each color is very pigmented, buttery and super blendable. Whether it's a neutral day eye I'm aiming for or a more bold smokey eye, I've managed to create many different looks with this which is why I've been raving about it to so many people recently! No fallout whatsoever and these last the entire day when I use a primer first (although not quite the full day if I happen to forget, but still a decent amount of time). Total re-purchase.


Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled many 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora) 


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Face Scrub: ‘Sisley' - Botanical Gentle Buffing Cream
9. Moisturizer: ‘Antipodes' - Rejoice Light Day Cream
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

The best matte eyeshadow palette I' ve ever tried. I also love the contouring shades.

Pros
-neutrals
-matte (very matte)

cons
-too dry
-7 light shades out of 12 so a little more than half
- powdery with lots of fall out
-colors can easily muddle together.
-some shades blend away easily



Honestly I just didn't like this palette. I can see it being a great beginners palette and a palette for the neutral loving person but this just made me so unhappy I would look at it and feel uninspired. and When I would use it looks would be very subdued or cloudy...the reddish shade and the black shade were the only shades that would stay intense as i would blend. Formula wise it made my eyes feel very dry and tight and after 3 hrs they would look crepe like in terms of texture. the only pro is they look great in photographs and some how it makes eyes look lifted. despite it looking bad in real life real dry and muddy and the formula feels uncomfortable.

This is my go-to neutral matte palette – and I love it. The formula is smooth, shades are super opaque, and all shades blend like a dream. I have never had an issue of similar colors “mudding” together, which is a major plus. I typically use this palette for easy daily looks, but if I want to step it up a notch I simply grab a more glimmer shade and pop it on top – I can take this from day to eve in a snap. While there is some kick-up with these, they apply smooth and I do not find any emphasis in texture. I find it’s a great deal for the price.

So, I recently went through a massive purge in an effort to embrace minimalism in all things, including makeup. This was one of only two palettes to survive and remain in my now modest collection. It is my day to day go-to palette to create the base of almost every eye look I do. The way the quads are arranged makes it a no-brainer to create some shape, from a perfectly natural contour to an ultra smoky look. All the shadows are matte, which is fabulous if you're 'of a certain age' and I tend to use other shadow singles to add some sparkle for date nights etc. These shadows are smooth and sooooo pigmented (I can't say that without hearing MannyMUA in my head) and they work well on all the eyeshadow bases I have tried. The pans are generous and I doubt I'll run out anytime soon, even though I use this almost every day. 100% hate the outside of the otherwise very sturdy packaging though, would have loved it during my 80's romantic Goth phase but it's just not my thing now.

This is a good palette for a beginner who is starting to get into eyeshadow. You can experiment with neutral, cool, and warm tones. You have everything you need to create a matte look, natural or dramatic. The shadows are very soft and blend easily. They basically blend themselves. They blend so well they tend to blend farther than you intend them too. I find that when I use more than 4 shades things get muddy real fast. Less is more. I think it is because they are so soft. The only reason I would not repurchase this is because I tend to use the same few shades over and over. I hardly touch the warm quad. It looks brand new on my palette. Instead of purchasing this again I would rather purchase single shades of the ones I use and abuse. I do not regret buying this and KVD is one of my favorite eyeshadow formulas.

$48.00

I love this palette and will never tire of it. The only thing I would change would be to add a couple of shimmers or even one and use different colors in the center group bt keep the black. I use that center area the least, but I do use the white and black in that one. I really don't mind an all matte look for a soft, everyday look. These shadow are well pigmented, easy to blend. Are few are a little powdery but most mattes are, yes, even Viseart, which "gasp" I think are highly over hyped and not that crazy about. They blend so flawlessly, they almost blend themselves and are so easy to work with and they never look muddy. I don't have the patience or talent to deal with shadows that are hard to blend easily.

This is the only palette I have ever owned that I love every single color and use every single one. I also appreciate the larger sizes in the 3 base colors and that they are not all warm toned. I am really over everything being so warmed tone. I don't want orange, red, dark bronzey eyes ever single day. Even the warm section isn't overly warm, a neutral warm. I will definitely repurchase this the next time Sephora has a sale just in case they discontinue it because I have it pan on some colors. I also love the packaging but I wish the color names were on the pans.

Description from the Sephora website:

What it is:
An eye contouring palette with three color quads in neutral, cool, and warm shades.

What it does:
Transform your eyes through the art of contouring. After tapping into makeup pro secrets, Kat Von D created this first-of-its-kind eyeshadow palette, specially designed for eye contouring—a groundbreaking technique once used only by beauty experts to define and enhance eyes. This palette features a gorgeous, versatile array of true contouring shades, arranged into three color quads—neutral, cool, and warm—to flatter every skin tone.

Three large base shadows are arranged above three coordinating powders for contouring, defining, and highlighting. The palette includes an easy-to-follow contouring guide with step-by-step instructions for creating three different eye-opening techniques. Each velvety powder is blendable and buildable, in Kat Von D’s signature high-pigment, long-wear eyeshadow formula for rich looks that last all day and night.

This palette contains:
- 3 x 0.08 oz/ 2.26 g Base shades in Laetus (creamy nude), Lazarus (cool taupe), Ludwin (peachy bronze)
- 3 x 0.04 oz/ 1.13 g Contour shades in Samael (dusty fawn), Saleos (smoky brown), Succubus (rich rust)
- 3 x 0.04 oz/ 1.13 g Define shades in Solas (espresso brown), Shax (jet black), Sytry (chocolate brown)
- 3 x 0.04 oz/ 1.13 g Highlight shades in Lucius (soft beige), Liberatus (pinkish ivory), Latinus (golden bisque)


What else you need to know:
"The true inspiration behind the Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette comes from all these years of trying to understand the usage of shadows and light within the portraits I draw."—Kat Von D

Kat Von D opens your eyes to a once-exclusive world of pro contouring techniques with the step-by-step insert included with the palette. Apply shades with Shade + Light Eye Contour Brush (sold separately), specially designed for use with this palette. She hand-sketched the "Shade + Light Eye" logo that’s featured on the palette cover.

Master three transformative eye-contouring techniques—lift, balance, and define—with the easy-to-follow guide, created and illustrated by Kat Von D: Lift to raise outer corners and accentuate or create a crease. Define to emphasize lash lines and create depth. Balance to draw eyes either closer together or farther apart.