Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette Review & Swatches
The new Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette ($46) was one of the first contouring palettes that launched earlier this Spring. In keeping with easy to do yourself Spring Contouring Trend this palette not only contains six shades contouring and highlighting shades but also a step by step guide to ease your way into contouring if you aren’t yet an expert.
Take a look!
The Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette comes housed in a sturdy cardboard case with a generously sized mirror and a decorated graffiti cover. Possibly the nicest thing about Kat’s makeup line is the attention they put into the packaging as much of the art work is done by Kat herself.
Inside the palette you’ll find generously sized powders and highlighters that weight in at 0.16 oz in size.
Shades include:
- 3 x 0.16 oz Shade powder in Sombre (true taupe), Shadowplay (soft brown), Subconscious (deep brown)
- 3 x 0.08 oz Light powder in Lucid (pinkish nude), Lyric (yellow beige), Levitation (soft peach)
- Step-by Step Guide
The palette is interesting and at a glance you never feel overwhelmed by it. I’m no contouring genius but the shades are very easy to identify with and instantly you’ll relate to them and understand where they should be placed on your face for best play on light and shadow. I wasn’t so sure about the semi-matte finish for the highlighting shades in all honesty as I’m one of those people that feels like you need some shimmer to downplay the duller matte of the contouring shades but with a little practice these shades actually play off the darker contouring shades very well.
The palette does run quite warm, I wish some of the shades were a hint cooler overall as they would best fit my skin tone but all in all this is an excellent selection of shades to sculpt, contour, and highlight with. The texture of the powders run very silky, they are a bit powdery but it’s nothing that doesn’t blend well! Possibly the nicest thing about the shades is how easy they are to either build up or sheer out with a little pressure applied to your brush. They just seem to have a knack for applying very smoothly on skin and looking seamless.
Inside the box along with your new contouring compact you’ll find an instruction guide. The guide gives you tips on which shades to use to slim your nose, define your cheeks, slim your face, and more…! They tell you exactly the spots you want apply shades and where to blend them using a facial diagram. So even folks like me, who aren’t really great at contouring, can figure out the best placement and application techniques.
The thing I liked most about the palette, which I mentioned above, was how well the highlighter shades played off the darker colors. As I said I typically thing a shimmer highlighter bounces off a darker matte contouring shade best but these semi-matte shades seem to have a real knack for adding very pretty light on your face and contrast well with the tans and darker bronzes of the palette!
When I originally posted about this palette a few people had mentioned how the shades would work great as shadow. And you’d be right! Not only can you contour with this but nothing is stopping you from creating some very pretty nude, natural looks on eyes. Colors apply well on lids and add depth and light to eyes! I do recommend a good primer worn under them as the thinner, silkier textured powder tends to adhere best to lids when a solid primer is worn under them.
All in all the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette is the perfect way to embrace contouring with very little no how. You can easily learn to shape your face with these shades and there’s very little room for mistakes. Heck if I can do it anyone can! 🙂
The Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette is available now at Sephora and Sephora.com.