Understanding my sudden attraction to cream and liquid eyeshadow is a mystery to me. The Muse has always passionately hated creams and liquids but as of late she’s indulged in a few here and there and came out feeling all the better for it.
I recently fell in love with Coffret D’Or Fluffy Shine Eyes so of course when I seen KATE Gel Eyeshadow I thought to myself, “whoa these look pretty much the same and they are way cheaper! Must tries ‘em”!
I love pretty much anything KATE does as it has that certain edge that I like in my makeup so it was interesting to see softer shades released with the new KATE Gel Eyeshadows. The shadows are a typical soft mousse style formula with a nice dose of shimmer. I liked the shadows well enough but I didn’t love them and I think that the Jill Stuart and Coffret D’Or version will remain my favorite if I had to choose.
One main problem with the shadows is the fact they dry down so quickly. This actually turned me off so much that I won’t be purchasing them again for that sole reason. Application of cream shadow is such a pain to begin with! When you’re working with a product that dries down so quickly it makes it twice as difficult when you’re trying to blend and build color up only to have it dry in a matter of seconds which causes flaking and a general mess.
Aside from my rant about the dry down I do admit that some of the shades, not all, were rather nice. A total of 8 colors were release and I choose the four softest shades to purchase which were WT-1, PU-1, PK-1, and GD-1. Out of these colors I thought the WT-1 and GD-1 were the best as they had good pigmentation and had a rather nice finish. PU-1 and PK-1 were equally nice but a bit sheer and due to the problem with dry down it was difficult to build up color further without creating an utter mess. WT-1 is a shimmering true white, PU-1 is a soft sparkling lilac, PK-1 is a true pink, and GD-1 (my favorite) is a shimmering gold. Out of the four shades GD-1 is my favorite as I really liked how well it applied plus gold sparkle around the holidays is always so classic for me.
GD-1
Considering I loved GD-1 I overloaded on FOTD pics of it!
WT-1
PK-1
PU-1
The shadows come housed in a the typical KATE frosted glass jar a la the KATE Gel liners. They are about the same size as the liners as well but the jar is square and not round. It’s quite a nice style of packaging for the price.
They are worth trying out for yourself as I like them but I’m just not in love with them. If you’re deciding between these and other Japanese brand shadows I guarantee you can find something quite a good deal better but price wise this is probably the best you’ll get with such a small price tag! The inexpensive price tag, selection of colors, and nice finish to the product all get a raving hooray from me but I won’t be Muse Approving them for purchase since I consider the quick dry down an unforgivable problem.
Overall, the product is good depending on which shades you try out but the dry down period definitely creates a problem for me and is a big turn off. I loved the finished results but it does take a bit of work to get the shadow on properly, blended correctly, etc…..
Tried these?
Love ‘em?
Want to try ‘em?
Tell the Muse!
If anyone is interested I am selling off the white, purple, and pink which have all been used 1x each (still in the boxes) for $12 USD this includes shipping and confirmation within the US anyone who lives abroad I’m extending the offer to $13 USD for first class airmail but sadly no tracking is available on these. Just e-mail me at musings.of.a.muse@gmail.com if you’d like them!
Coffret D’Or Fluffy Shine Eyes Review, Swatches, and FOTD
Loving: KATE Glamtrick Palette Review and FOTD’s
KATE Website Update
KATE Spring Collection 2008: KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadow Review and FOTD’s
Related posts:
- KATE Website Update: KATE Gel Eyeshadows
- KATE Spring Collection 2009 KATE Diamond Cut Eyes Palettes
- Summer Collections 2008: KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadow Review
- KATE Glamtrick Palette Review
- Stash Spotlight: KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadow Palettes
- KATE Spring Collection 2008: Review and First Impressions
- KATE Gradical Eyes S in BG-1
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh these are so pretty,
I just cannot get gel or cream anything to work on my eyes!
laura,
I’m the same way
I hate creams b/c they are hard to work with ditto for gels and liquids but I have a little bit love for some brands 
and some actually blend really well but sadly not all 
I ordered purple and gold a couple of weeks ago from ichibanko! They were on sale for $10. I cant wait! Thanks for the post!!
Dana
yay nice hauling dana! good price too!
did you get ‘em yet? what do you think?
My pleasure
good to see ya!
too glittery for my taste but great review!
totally understand anonymous
thanks!!!
I have the same issue with cream or gel shadows. Le sigh.
Can I just tell you that I LURVE the coordinating wardrobe change with each eye color change. Details, details, details!!
i am skipping these! i think i will go for Coffret’s fluffy eyes if they are here since you LOVE them!
i am quite loving Deep Trap Eyes from Kate! Colour payoff is a little better than the previous palette I feel, and not as gritty?
And to my craziness, I bought all palettes!
I reviewed GY1 and BR1 in my blog… I find them rather meh and I agree about the blending difficulties =(
hello Andrea!
ditto
If they don’t dry down quick I’m ok but if they do forget it 
blah!
aww thanks! I’m a crazy matcher
You made my day thanks for noticing!
*hugs*
morning plue!
The Coffret are way way way better
I’m getting the other four shades shortly!
I haven’t tried the deep trap yet because none of the shades appealed to me but it’s nice to know they have a different texture formula compared to other kate palettes..kate is generally my fav brand for deeper, bolder looks
LOL enjoy your haul!
hi kathi!!!!!!!
I saw your review…ahh..some shades were meh and some were ok…they were good for me just now great and they dry down is just too quick which causes the blending probs
They have potential but sadly it’s a fail somehow!
I tested the Coffret, and they are quite nice.
It feels very moist, and upon blending, it’s slightly cooling. I like the blue and lilac shade best! i have the urge to buy both of it! the white and gold seems pretty normal to me, and pink, well, normal also.
It’s a shame that they dry so quickly cause I love all the sparkle! Sooo pretty!
hey plue!
I haven’t tried the other ones but I am dying to get the lilac as it looks so gorg
They are really much nicer than the KATE and yes you’re right they do sorta have a cooling sensation to ‘em
agreed ghoulina but the dry down is way to quick which makes blending such a pain
Did you see the coffret D’or ones they are so nice and the dry down isn’t terribly fast too!
hm, it kinda flakes on me as I blend it on the hands. wonder if it happens to you?
hi!!
I swatched these gel eyeshadow in Watson’s and I yes, I agree with u & Plue that they dry up pretty quickly and can’t really blend them well.. even on my hand.. but the colors are nice n pretty though.
Looks nice on u for sure… and wow… do u have a wide collection of headband!
I still can’t wait to get myself Jill Stuart’s jelly eyecolor tho..
ya shayna so pretty but so rotten in regards to formula sigh
nice but def not the best KATE product!
Ahh love JS Jelly Eyecolor, I own a few and adore them
the Coffret D’Or ones are quite nice as well!