Hey guys! I'm back after having abandoned my blog for more then two months now. Lifes been really hectic the past few months because of final year uni and stuff, but now that's all over, I can finally get back to blogging!
I've been really naughty the past few months, and made A LOT of cheeky trips to Oxford Street and somehow also managed to make time to make loadssss of online orders in between all my work! - ain't nothing stopping me when it comes to makeup, not even my dissertation LOL.
Anyways, amongst one of the many online orders I made, I finally caved in and ordered from Sephora! One of the things I HAD to pick up was the Kat Von D Shade & Light Palette. I heard lots of reviews, and people raving about it, and because I'm all about contouring and highlighting, I had to pick it up. Here it is..!
The pans come in a rectangular palette. Here's a closer look at the packaging, palette and mirror inside the palette, which is a pretty decent sized mirror.
I love the detail on the packaging, but the only bad thing I have to say about the palette is that it is pretty heavy, so is not an ideal palette to take away on holiday etc with you. In regard to the mirror, even though it's really nice and big, it does not stand up on its own, so you cant really use it unless your holding it in your hands because it flops down, this is what I mean if that doesn't make any sense to you ladies lol.. So basically it's pretty useless.
The palette also comes with a contour and highlight guide, which is a really nice touch. It gives you step by step guidelines on how and where to place the product to achieve a good contour and highlight.
There's three highlight shades, on the top row, each weighing o.08 oz each and three contour shades, on the bottom row at 0.16 oz each. The contour shades are all very warm toned, which for me personally, is not an issue as my skintone is also of a warm undertone, so works well. Here is a closer look at all the shades.
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| Top row: Right: Levitation (highlight) + Sombre (contour) Bottom row: Left: Lyric (highlight) + Shadowplay (contour), Right: Lucid (highlight) + Subconscious (contour) |
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| Left: Highlights - Top-Bottom: Lucid, Lyric, Levitation Right: Contours - Top-Bottom: Sombre, Shadowplay, Subconscious |
When I first received the palette, I assumed that I'd least dislike the contour shade Sombre, and thought that I'd automatically prefer the darkest out of the three, Subconscious as I like a (harsh-ish), visible contour. However this is completely the opposite. I LOVE Sombre, it's such a lovely shade to work with, and works so well on my skin tone! Because of how light it looks in the pan, I thought I'd get the least use out of it, but it's actually the only shade I use every single day. I also like mixing the middle shade, Shadowplay with Sombre just to intensify my contour a little more for day time, everyday looks. For more evening appropriate makeup, I do use Subconscious, but find that I can never use either on their own, without first starting of with Sombre.
Overall the texture and finish of all of the contour shades are pretty much the same. All are matte finishes, and have a matte to satin texture/feel. Their super easy to apply and blend into the skin effortlessly. Nobody likes a harsh contour where there are visible unflattering lines, so using this palette really helps give you a natural, flawless finish. What I also love about the shades is that their buildable. Even though the shades are really pigmented, you're able to build it up gradually to your desired look. I always mix the shades and they all work together, I never just use one on its own. Another thing is that unlike a few palettes and contour products, the contour shades don't look muddy or orange on my skin, which is also another bonus as I can draw the contours where natural shadows would fall on my face, making it look very natural.
Out of the three contour shades, I found Shadowplay to be the most powdery, which gets a tad bit messy. The other two however are not powdery, and apply more seamlessly.
For the highlight shades, I tend to get the most use out of Lyric, which is the most yellow toned highlight out of the three. I have used the other two, but not as much. I mostly use Lyric to set my under eye highlight/concealer, and OMG! I love it! It's soooo pigmented and just brightens up and lifts your entire face, and yet again, makes you look flawless! I've found that with some other powders, regardless of what under-eye brightener or concealer I'd use, it'll crease on me within a few hours, but using the Kat Von D palette, my under eye has not been creasing at all! - and I'm not just saying that because I love this palette. Moving onto the other two shades, I don't really like using them under my eyes because of the tones. Lucid is too pinky toned and Levitation is too peachy toned to use for my under eyes. However I do like to use either of these to empathise my contour line a little more, by dabbing a small amount just beneath the contour to make it look more visible.
I like to use two specific brushes when using the palette. Both are Sigma brushes, I like to use my Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour to contour obviously, its my favourite contour brush ever! I highly recommend it! For setting my under eye I like to use the Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki. I like this brush because there's different ways to use it. If I am in a rush, I just sweep the product across my under eye, or sometimes for a more highlighted look, I like to pack the product on slowly by dabbing it across. The brush is really dense but soft at the same time, so it doesn't tug or hurt that sensitive under eye area.
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| Left: Sigma F40, Right: Sigma F86 |
Overall I adore this palette, and haven't used any other products to contour and highlight for the past month, since I've bought it. I highly recommend it, it retails for $46, which is equivalent to about £30, which is really good considering the amount and range of products you get. I do wish the highlight shades were slightly more larger, because I know I'll hit pan on Lyric pretty soon! *cries*, but saying that, the contour shades are pretty good sizes. Its a really nice palette if your just starting out on contouring and highlighting, the guide included also will be of great help for beginners. In regard to staying power, it lasts a long time. I've gone full 10-12 hour days and when I've come home my contour an highlight still looks good, although it will obviously look less fresh an begins to look a lot more faded then when I first applied it, it lasts a long time; so that works for me! There's a range of shades and intensities to suit your desires, and although the palette drifts for better use by people of medium - tan and deep skin tones, fairer people can use this to! However I don't see all three of the contour and highlight shades coming in good use for them.
Hope this helped lovelies!
- Farzana xo
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