Kat von D Serpentina Palette

A while back, Kat Von D beauty posted some sneak-peaks of the Serpentina palette, and I knew I had to have it. I am a Egyptophile and almost didn't care what was inside.  Once swatches of the inside were revealed, it seemed that the world wanted this too, and after the strange launch it seemed that a lot of people couldn't get their hands on it.  Read on to see if it's worth your hard earned cash when it comes to stores later this month!

Bloodmilk: Warm rusty red. Matte

Medusa: Metallic bronze with tonal sparkle

Ankh: Matte black chock full of fine copper glitter

Queen: Metallic rusty rose

L-R: Bloodmilk, Medusa, Ankh, Queen

Hieroglyph: Bright metallic orange

Nile: Pearl sapphire

Scarab: Metallic blackened teal

Venom: Muted medium purple. Matte

L-R: Hieroglyph, Nile, Scarab, Venom

Prophet: Metallic olive-y gold

PIGMENTATION: Nile, Scarab, and Prophet are tied for best pigmentation, and Ankh may be the least pigmented. I don't swatch over a base, so I'm sure that Ankh would perform better over one (especially considering all the glitter in this shade!)

PRODUCT: The textures of Queen, Hieroglyph, Nile, and Scarab, are SO good. Even though it's a color I probably won't wear much, Nile is the most definitely the winner of this palette. Ankh and Bloodmilk had a bit of a dry texture. Ankh and Venom were a bit powdery. I tested out Queen, Ankh, Hieroglyph, and Venom on my eye (sans base) and here were my findings:

• Every shade except for Queen had a bit of fallout. Ankh had the most of the bunch and was the hardest to clean up because it's black (duh) and had the most fallout.
• I wore my little trash look for about 4 hours, again without a base, and shockingly Hieroglyph didn't crease on my very oily lids. It was also pretty opaque in application  (I used a flat synthetic brush to apply if you're curious). Venom faded QUITE a bit-- it would definitely benefit from a base.
• Venom applied completely differently depending on the brush I used. With a round fluffy (synthetic) crease brush, it went on VERY sheer. With a small flat brush, the color was pretty true-to-pan.
• Queen blended out SO beautifully.

PACKAGING: This might be some of the best-looking cardboard I've ever seen! I really love the shiny gold foil motifs everywhere contrasting with the matte black. It's really awesome that the shade names are on the front of this. The lid has a strong magnet, and the space for Prophet is just big enough to hold the jar in tightly. Speaking of, I don't understand the inclusion of a jar of loose pigment.



PRICE: $45 for eight pressed shadows (1.1g each) and one loose pigment (1.5g)

Even though I like this palette, I don't think it's really anything to go bananas over.  On the plus side, there are some super nice shadows and EGYPT. On the downside, the are a few possible dupes if you're a fellow makeup hoarder (I'll revisit that topic in another post bc this one is already super long), and that random loose pigment wtf.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Kat Von D's Serpentina palette will be available in Sephora stores in or around July 22, and will be returning to both katvondbeauty.com and sephora.com eventually.



Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye: Plum

Wow it has been a very long time since I've written about anything! Today the mail lady brought me the Kat Von D Shade and Light mini palette and I knew that I had to write about it. This pallet has four color coordinating shadows that are meant to enhance and green eyes.

L-R: Base, Define, Contour, Highlight

Base: matte muted peach
Define: matte plum
Contour: matte medium greyed mauve
Highlight: matte whitened lilac-pink

PIGMENTATION: The define shade was ever-so-slightly sheer, but the rest had great pigmentation.

PRODUCT: The textures were a little inconsistent. Highlight was chalky. Define was a bit stiff. Base was very soft and buttery, and Contour was buttery but not as soft as Base. Bonus-- I think that Base could make a really nice blush for my skin tone. One thing to note: I always test makeup without bases/primers, and I've noticed that Contour  has pretty much stayed in tact after about 3 hours of being on my arm-- all the other shadows have faded.

PACKAGING: I really like how convenient the size is for travel, but the plastic feels very cheap. I'm a little afraid of how easily this could break.

PRICE: $26

Overall, this is a nice little palette. I like that there are neutral, warm and cool colors that not only are muted enough where one could wear them every single day and not feel "overdone," but also can lend themselves to SO MANY looks.  This palette will probably live in my bag, so I'll have to be careful to keep it safe in case the plastic is as cheap as it seems. With all of that said, I think that this is absolutely worth the price point.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Kat Von D's mini Shade and Light Eye palette in Plum is available now at Sephora. If plum isn't your thing, these mini palettes are available in three other colors.

Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette

Remember the Mi Vida Loca palette? (If not, here's my review of it.) Apparently it was a fan favorite (or maybe one that a lot of people missed out on) so Miss KvD and her beauty team created a revamped version.  Will it perform the same way as the original? Let's find out.

Warning: my camera was being fussy about photographing this palette. I'll note where things are off.

Muse: Pale lavender. Satin finish.
Echo: Medium matte violet with light magenta glitter. Worst performing of the bunch.
Dark Wave: Indigo. Satin Finish.
Synth: Bright light-medium blue. Matte finish.

L-R: Muse, Echo (definitely more violet in real life), Dark Wave, Synth. 

Hyperballad: Cool toned blue-green. Matte finish.
Lemmy: Metallic forest green.
Vinyl: Metallic acid green with pale gold shift
Misfit: Apple green with blue pearl

L-R: Hyperballad (a tiny bit more green in person), Lemmy, Vinyl, Misfit.

The lettering is silver, so I had to sacrifice read-ability for accurate color portrayal. Sorry!

Anthem: Medium red-violet. Matte finish. 2nd worst performing.
Löve: Metallic bubblegum pink.
Swoon: Slightly muted hot pink. Matte finish.
Destroyer: Muted red. Matte finish.
Rewind: Burgundy pearl

L-R: Anthem, Love, Swoon, Destroyer, Rewind

Rewind is at the top.

Harpsichord: Muted metallic copper. Best performing :)
Analogue: Matte orange.
Fran: True yellow. Pearl finish.
Legend: Pale white gold. Metallic finish

L-R: Harpsichord, Analogue, Fran, Legend.

Strutter: Cool-toned matte beige.
Lyric: Translucent pale pearly pink. SUPER gorgeous.
Black Metal: Matte black. This leans warm.
Skulls: Metallic cool toned white.

L-R: Strutter, Lyric (pic does NOT do this justice), Black Metal, Skulls

Noble:  Warm peach beige
Moulder: Matte warm cream.
Vox: Dark chocolate brown. Matte.

L-R: Noble, Moulder, Vox

PIGMENTATION: Generally the pigmentation was great in this palette. The most pigmented shadows were Harpsichord, Synth, Lemmy, and Rewind. The least pigmented was Echo, with Anthem coming in at a close second.

PRODUCT: Most were buttery and not too dry. I didn't have any problem building up Echo or Anthem without a base, but a base would definitely help.

PACKAGING: The palette is housed in a cardboard sleeve, like a record. Being the "remix" of Mi Vida Loca, I thought this was an awesome idea. The palette isn't exactly secure in it, as if it's turned over a little, it will slide out on its own. If you're klutz like me, there is an outer clear plastic box to keep everything together.  I really like how the shade names are printed on the front, and I hope future KvD palettes will have that too. This also comes with an instruction sheet for three different makeup looks you can achieve with the palette.

PRICE: $59

All in all, I'm thrilled to say this is SO much better than the OG Mi Vida Loca palette.  I love that there are neutrals to pair these crazy colors with, and for me, the color-wheel layout makes it visually easier to figure out what to pair with what. If you want ALL the colors in a variety of finishes in one place, you may want to check out Mi Vida Loca Remix.

Of course you don't have to take my word for it! The Mi Vida Loca Remix palette is available now at Sephora.

Bite Beauty Maple Agave Lip Mask (Canadian Exclusive)

First it was Socialized Healthcare. Now it's this. For fall, Bite Beauty released a Canadian-exclusive tinted version of their Lip Mask in a maple scent/flavor. I'm not sure if it's LE or if Bite will ever share it with us Yanks, but Canada did share Kids in the Hall with us, so there is a sliver of hope. I procured mine via a friend from Sephora's message board (Thank you Heartsmyface!) and I wanted to write a quick review in case you were curious to see if it was worth going through the trouble of getting it.

Maple: Ultra sheer warm rosy bronze with a subtle bronze sparkle.

PRODUCT: It's much thinner than my original lip mask, which I think makes it much better for wear during the day. Because of the thinner texture, it doesn't last very long. I've had it on for about an hour and am already feeling the need to re-apply. It smells and tastes like pure maple syrup, but it's not noticeable after a few minutes.

PACKAGING: The lip mask is housed in a plastic/flexible metal tube (like a toothpaste tube). The label is a matte ink, and there is a metallic ring printed at the top that shows the color. If this is anything like my regular lip mask, I am predicting the label will flake off on my fingers when I start using it a lot.

PRICE: C$30

If you live in the magic land of Canada, it is available on Sephora. If you don't, then you must seek out a kind Canadian.

Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadow: Hustle

New to my makeup arsenal is Colourpop's Super Shock Eyeshadow.  Although it's a cream, it's definitely different than any cream product I have. 

Hustle: Cool-toned burgundy with tiny tonal sparkles.

L-R: Applied with It Cosmetics Large Crease Brush, Swatched with finger, Blended with finger

PIGMENTATION: There is a slight translucency, but it's buildable to full opacity.

PRODUCT: Super Shock is a super squishy cream formula. Admittedly, it feels very strange. When I dip my finger in, it feels very smooth, but then it squishes like it's a cushion.  It blends very easily.  Once dried, it didn't budge when rubbed.  I forgot to do the water test (where I run the swatches under water), but it did wash off pretty easily.

As application goes, I recommend first applying with your finger, then blending out the edges with a synthetic brush. I also built the color up by lightly buffing more product over where I applied it with my finger.

PACKAGING: The packaging is pretty unfussy-- sleek white plastic with a screw-on cap. It feels pretty sturdy.

PRICE: $5

If you like cream eyeshadows, check out the Super Shock formula.  If you don't like cream eyeshadows, check out Super Shock shadows. I feel like they're a good medium between cream shadows (like Mac's painpots) and regular ol' powder eyeshadows due to how blendable they are. 

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it. Colourpop's Super Shock Eyeshadows are available in Hustle and a TON of other colors here: https://colourpop.com/

Kat Von D Ink Liner : Neruda, Woolf

Kat Von D's Ink Liner is a felt-tipped liquid liner that claims a 24-hour wear time. I've never been a fan of felt-tipped eyeliners, but I was extremely intrigued by some of the colors that were released.  In case you were too, read on!

L-R: Neruda stamped, Neruda stroke, Woolf  stroke, Woolf stamped

Neruda: Matte balanced white.
Woolf: Cool-toned matte grey

PIGMENTATION: Both colors are semi-opaque in one swipe and are buildable.

PRODUCT: It is a waterproof, flake-proof, and thin formula. I didn't have any fading after 10+ hours either.

PACKAGING: The felt tip is very, very firm.  I found that the best way to use it was to lay it length-wise against your eye to "stamp" the product onto your eye, as opposed to using the tip like a brush tipped liner. The handle was very lightweight, and there is a shaker inside to mix up the product.

PRICE: $19 for .19 oz

Even though I have to change my method of application, I definitely recommend Kat Von D's Ink Liners.  If you're not a fan of grey or white, there are eight other colors to check out!

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Kat Von D's Ink Liners are available now at Sephora.

Colourpop Lippie Pencil: Ellarie, Lumière, Tootsi

Ellarie: Deep cool-toned berry

Ellarie

Lumière: Nudey-Rose

Lumiere

Tootsi: Cool-toned greyish pinky beige

Tootsi

Just for comparison, top: Lumiere bottom: Tootsi

PIGMENTATION: Excellent! One swipe provides full coverage.

PRODUCT: Creamy, but not waxy. I broke the tip of Lumière by pressing too hard! Lumière and Ellarie left a slight stain behind. 

PACKAGING: The product is housed in white plastic. I used my Nars sharpener on Lumiere and didn't have any issues.

PRICE: $5 for 1 oz (each!!!)

All in all, I am digging the Colourpop Lippie Pencils. They glide on SO easily! 

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Colourpop Lippie Pencils are available now at colourpop.com.

Morphe Brushes Jaclyn Hill Favorites

OK so I know this palette was limited edition and will not be restocked, BUT all of the shades are available individually, so you can still snag any colors you're really into.  Because of this, I wanted to review these as single shadows. Just one sad note: some of the colors didn't photograph 100% accurately.  I noted which ones were off.

Left column (top to bottom): Pearl, Petals, Wink for Pink, Mysterious
Center column: Glisten, Deep Skin, Dancing Queen, Rosewood
Right column: Lustrous, Toasted Hazelnut, Bridesmaid, Sassy

Left to right: Pearl, Petals, Wink for Pink, Mysterious

Morphe's website lists the shades with color numbers and names, so I listed both.

ES4/Pearl: Metallic palest beigey-pink. This is very cool-toned.
ES67/Petals: Satin warm peach with a strong pink flash.
ES33/Wink for Pink: Shimmery pale melon-pink.
ES11/Mysterious: Metallic coppery red. (looks similar to the swatches I've seen of "Venus" from the Venus Palette)

L-R: Glisten, Deep Skin, Dancing Queen, Rosewood

ES54/Glisten: Shimmery palest white gold.
ES13/Deep Skin: Matte medium-dark tan with a warm undertone.
ES68/Dancing Queen: Metallic magenta. Slightly warm shift.
ES59/Rosewood: Matte cool-toned magenta. This was a tiny bit sheer.

L-R: Lustrous, Toasted Hazelnut, Bridesmaid, Sassy

ES6/Lustrous: Shimmery palest peach
ES62/Toasted Hazelnut: Matte medium dusty brown. (Photo didn't quite capture the color accurately- IRL it's a bit cooler-toned) This was a bit dry.
ES16/Bridesmaid: Matte muted burgundy. This was also a bit dry.
ES38/Sassy: Orchid with a faint blue shimmer.

Left column (top to bottom): Pink Moscato, Creme Brulee, Carmelized, Radiance
Second column: Caffe Mocchiato, Marbelized, Nuts for You, Midnight Kiss
Third column: Spice, Dazzling, Deep Cocoa, Secretive
Right column: Golden Glory, Fiesta (my camera couldn't handle its brightness!), Burlesque, Dirty Martini

L-R: Pink Moscato, Creme Brulee, Carmelized, Radiance

ES76/Pink Moscato: Metallic champagne.
ES63/Creme Brulee: Matte neutral medium-dark brown
ES15/Carmelized: Matte medium brown with warm undertone
ES53/Radiance: Satin medium purple with light purple shimmer. 

L-R: Caffe Mocchiato, Marbelized, Nuts for You, Midnight Kiss

ES64/Caffe Mocchiato: Satin orange-tan
ES20/Marbelized: Metallic pinky bronze. This was a tad powdery. (My camera didn't quite capture this color accurately:-/)
ES61/Nuts for You: Matte taupe
ES48/Midnight Kiss: Metallic eggplant with copper sparkle. This was quite powdery.

L-R: Spice, Dazzling, Deep Cocoa, Secretive

ES14/Spice: Matte burnt orange
ES47/Dazzling: Shimmery tangerine
ES24/Deep Cocoa: Matte cool-toned purplish brown
ES71/Secretive: Matte red grape. This was a tad sheer.

L-R: Golden Glory, Fiesta, Burlesque, Dirty Martini

ES75/Golden Glory: Metallic golden
ES66/Fiesta: Matte melon. This was dry, sheer, and difficult to get an even swatch.
ES74/Burlesque: Metallic burgundy
ES19/Dirty Martini: Shimmery medium muted green. Cool-toned.

PIGMENTATION: There were so, so many hits pigmentation-wise. Some of the best are: Burlesque, Spice, Dazzling, Marbelized, Pink Moscato, and Wink for Pink. The only truly disappointing one was Fiesta.

PRODUCT: The matte shades didn't perform as well as the other textures, but, with the exception of Fiesta, they weren't horrible by any means. Some of the shimmery and metallic shades were buttery and glided on my skin.

PRICE: $2 for 1.5g

All in all, the quality of Morphe's eyeshadows (except for Fiesta) far surpasses their tiny pricetag. If you're on a budget or are looking to build your collection/kit, you may want to check these out.

Of course you don't have to take my word for it, you can purchase all of these colors (and more!) on Morphe's website.