Has an irrational hatred of packaging ever stopped you from purchasing an otherwise stellar product? For example, clunky and bulky cardboard packaging really irks me because they often dent easily in the corners, take up a lot of space, and grab onto loose powders flying through the air easily.
In this case, the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette ($44) was that AND ultra tacky. I mean, the aesthetic is just not for me. I refused to even take a picture of the front of the palette because it is hideous.
In every other aspect, however, this palette exceeded expectations. The huge mirror? Awesome. A contour shade for every skintone? Nice. A banana and peach shade for under the eyes? Awesome.
If you're familiar with the original contour kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills (the one BEFORE the contouring kit trend blew up in Sephora...) you'll be disappointed to find that there are no sparkleh, shimmery, iridescent highlight shade in this palette. Rest assured, if that's not a concern for you, you'll really love the fact that these powders are much more softly milled, silky to the touch, and much more blendable once on the skin.
Here are swatches of ONE swipe with no primer underneath, in natural indoor lighting.
I expected ultra-pigmented powders, which I got, but they aren't hard to blend out on the skin. Heavy handed Snickers bar contouring is a viable option, but I can also use a natural hair brush and a light hand to achieve the most flawless (and natural) contouring that's daytime appropriate.
The Shadowplay shade (warmer brown) sticks out like a sore thumb in a contouring kit. Here's where naysayers step in and take a massive dump on the streets of my parade. "It's orange! That's not the color of a shadow!"
Well no shit. But it's perfect for bronzing up the perimeters of the face after you've slapped an obvious stripe of GREY underneath your cheekbones. By the way, Sombre is perfect for that very technique and could fit anyone from NC20 to NC35. If you're deeper or like dramatic contouring, the Subconscious shade is a good option as well.
Here's my technique: contour with Sombre, blend out with a small amount of Shadowplay, and concentrate Subconsccious on the very back of my contour (toward the ear) if I want to amp it up for nighttime.
As for setting and highlighting the undereyes, I actually reach for Levitation (the peachy shade) because it helps hide my purplish dark circles. If you use a light hand, they're no heavier than your average setting powder. I didn't notice any major creasing into fine lines which is a huge plus for my dry under-eyes.
A few negatives:
The highlighting powders may blend straight into your skintone or be way too stark to use. My arm is currently at NC30 or so and you can see the starkness of the white powders.
Also, nothing is shimmery! There's no true "cheekbone" highlight in this palette.
Those on extreme ends of the color spectrum will find the color selection lackluster and exclusive.
There are a lot of contour kits out there that will fit your budget, criteria, or skin tone range. I didn't think I would like another "pro" palette like this one, but it actually condenses a lot of products I would use on a semi-daily basis into one ugly packaging. (I will probably depot into a smaller Z-palette for future usage.)
If you're looking for the perfect grey tinged contour powder similar to Sombre, may I suggest Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting powder in Medium, NYX blush in Taupe, and Dolce & Gabbana blush in Tan? All of these come in much more compact packaging.
xo Be
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