I've reached a vast level of saturation with matte palettes within this year. Viseart Neutral Mattes? I got it. Lorac Pro Matte? Sure. Tarte Tartelette? Hell yeah. Gone are the days of chalky, dry, patchy mattes (think Urban Decay Naked Basics) that come in stupid transparent shades and adhere poorly to the lids.
But did I *really* need the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Palette ($49)? In fact, I didn't care for it when it was hurriedly released after the contouring palette, which got everyone in a frenzy for KVD. It swatched badly (dry, powdery, chalky?) in stores and I wasn't completely impressed with the color selection. (I blame poorly blown out photos online that made me think that there were 3-4 white/cream shades within the same palette.) When I got in stores, the finger swatches of a few shades didn't quite give me a lady boner.
To my utter disbelief, I waited for several months and it kept on getting rave reviews from everyone across the board (except for one or two naysayers who claimed that these eyeshadows were patchy on the lid.) Everyone kept on saying that the 3 palette set-up for cool, neutral, and warm tones was helpful. Pigmented! Soft! Blendable! The list goes on. After watching many video tutorials that used this palette I was convinced that I had wronged myself and needed it in my life.
My biggest gripe with Kat Von D's newer packaging is its BULKY and HIDEOUS exterior. What happened to those sleeker tin/clamshells that housed the Saint or Ladybird palette? This palette is heavy and a pain to cram into my purse to transport from home to work. Artificial gripes aside, you could probably depot these eyeshadows into your favorite z-palette and you'll get a ton of product.
I commend KVD for including a bilingual guide for laying down the colors and placement on the lids. I also really like how she's designated the base colors as bigger pans. Out of all of these shades, I see myself using all of the warm quad colors, Lucius from the Neutral quad, and Lazarus from the cool quad as a face product to contour.
As you'll see here, these eyeshadows are NOT ultra pigmented like LORAC mattes when swatched with fingers. It took me two passes for each shade to build up the color, but a light swipe with a brush in pan gives much more pigmentation. I think this is typical of the mattes we see today which are packed tighter to prevent fallout but still ultra-pigmented once you use a brush.
These eyeshadows DO produce a bit of dust in pan but it does not translate to fallout on the face. I think this is because they have a tacky/grippy feeling to them. This means that they also do not blend into each other but will blend out when prompted. It's hard to do a cut crease when mattes keep blending into each other!
You can really use a liberal hand and blend furiously without a primer on your lids and not worry about massive fallout. I found that they were easier to blend on bare lids but a primer helps prolong the wear. I rarely experience creasing or smudging with eyeshadows due to my dry lids so I'm not the most helpful person to ask.
You'll be hard pressed to find the nuances/differences between the cream shades in my swatches but they are there! The colors below (indoor, indirect natural light) are more true to life than above (natural lighting through a window.) On my NC35-40 arm, the creams look stark while Ludwin looks almost invisible. My eyelids are closer to NC25-30 and all of these shades stand out.
Here's a creepy shot for you, but I want you to see the texture of these eyeshadows. Some are definitely more buttery smooth than others and some produce more "dust" than others.
If you want something more "buttery" than the Tarte formulation but drier than Lorac's, and without the exorbitant pricetag of Viseart, this palette is a great collection of mattes that can be used alone to create natural and smoked out eye looks.
xo Be
