April 20, 2014

Kat Von D Chrysalis Palette


New for summer/14 is the Kat von D Chrysalis palette.  Sephora describes this as "a cool-toned eyeshadow palette," but it's more of a well-rounded palette. Read on for more info!


Top: Lifelike
Bottom (L-R): Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition
Lifelike: Matte cream with slight pink undertone
Hybrid Moments: In pan, this looked like eggplant pearl. Swatched, this was a matte eggplant with a red undertone
Mezzanine: Metallic medium pinkish purple with purple and blue glitter
Transition: Shimmering Mauve

L-R: Lifelike, Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition

Top: Lunar Lights
Bottom (L-R): Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk
Lunar Lights: Frosty white gold
Glasswing: Matte butterscotch.
Melancholia: Metallic pewter.
Black Milk: Matte pale warm-toned grey. This was a surprise favorite for me-- just enough warmth, with a buttery texture and excellent color payoff.

L-R: Lunar Lights, Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk

Top: Lucid
Bottom: Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay
Lucid: Satin lilac pink with iridescent glitter
Graphic Nature: Pearl graphite grey
Entombed: Metallic medium blue
Tornay: Matte navy blue

L-R: Lucid, Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay

PIGMENTATION: No pigmentation issues in this palette.
PRODUCT: No issues with application for any of the shadows, and most of them had excellent textures. Hybrid Moments and Tornay had slightly drier textures.  The former had to be built up for the swatch, but I had no issues with application.
PACKAGING: Cardboard packaging with magnetic closure
PRICE: $46

All in all, Chrysalis is a mix of warm- and cool-toned shades, with great color payoff and excellent textures. If you love playing with color, but prefer warmer colors, you will not be disappointed with this palette!

As always, you don't have to take my word for it, Kat Von D's Chrysalis palette is available now on Sephora.

Bonus!! Here's a look I did recently using this palette.
Used on my lid: Glasswing, Melancholia, Graphic Nature, Tornay, Lunar Lights

April 13, 2014

Kat Von D Monarch Palette

Kat von D's Monarch palette is a collection of 12 warm neutral leaning colors housed in a slim cardboard case.
Top: Entomology, Bottom (L-R) Wrath, Papilio, Summerfly
Entomology: Matte cream with yellow undertone
Wrath: Rust with faint copper sparkle. Cleopatra is similar, but matte
Papilio: Medium brown with soft copper shimmer
Summerfly: Rich 24k gold with gold glitter. One of my favorites!
L-R Entomology, Wrath, Papilio, Summerfly

Top: Telepathy, Bottom (L-R) Killing Jar, Delaney, Vanish
Killing Jar: Metallic rose gold
Delaney: Metallic taupe
Vanish: Matte tan. This was soooo buttery!
Telepathy: Metallic champagne with soft pink undertone
L-R Killing Jar, Delaney, Vanish, Telepathy

Top: Tiny Death, Bottom (L-R) Disintegration, Shadow Box, Dead Head
Tiny Death: Pale butterscotch with iridescent glitter. The glitter in this shade had a bit of fallout.
Disintegration: Antique shimmery bronze
Shadow Box: Rich matte chocolate brown
Dead Head: Officially the butteriest, most pigmented matte black I own.
L-R Tiny Death, Disintegration, Shadow Box, Dead Head

PIGMENTATION: No issues with any of the shades. All were densely pigmented.

PRODUCT: Other than the aforementioned fallout issue with Tiny Death, the only other problem was some shadows were a bit powdery. Because I tap off excess before I apply my eyeshadow, I didn't notice any fallout due to the softer texture of some of the shades.

Top row (L-R) Entomology, Telepathy, Tiny Death
Bottom Row (L-R) Wrath, Papilio, Summerfly, Killing Jar, Delaney, Vanish, Disintegration, Shadow Box, Dead Head
PACKAGING: As I mentioned in my Esperanza review, I am not a fan of the cardboard packaging of this year's palettes. However, this does have a decently-sized mirror and isn't too large for my bag.

PRICE: $46 

All in all, if you're a fan of neutral shades, but want some good quality mattes in your palette, check out the Monarch palette.

Of course you don't have to take my word for it. Kat von D's Monarch palette is available now at Sephora.

Kat von D Immortal Lash Mascara

It seems that Kat Von D has replaced her Sin-full lash with Immortal Lash for Summer/14. How does the latest lash offering from the brand fare? Read on to find out!

PIGMENTATION: Sephora describes this to be "ultrablack." I don't think this is any blacker than other mascaras I've used, just a standard black.

Left side: Immortal Lash, Right Side: no mascara
I am not wearing makeup in this picture other than Immortal Lash.

PRODUCT: The formula isn't as thick or wet as previous KvD mascaras so it seems to work well for lower lashes. On my upper lashes, this made them long, but I had to use a few coats to achieve desired length.  Unfortunately this gave me little volume, and clumped at the end of my upper lashes. About the claim that it's a "24-hour" mascara-- this flaked after about 12 hours for me.

PACKAGING: The wand in Immortal Lash has a pine cone-shaped tip with a row of spikes spiralling down the length of the brush. The shape is supposed to get the lashes on the outer corners, but I'm not sure how the single row of spikes is supposed to be effective. In the end,  my lashes were not nearly as defined as I expected them to be. Also, the brush was extremely flexible. Not sure what the point of that was, but I feel like if I was to use this a lot, then the brush may break off.


The outside of the packaging is matte black with red foil roses and a red foil logo on the cap. This is similar to the High Frequency mascara packaging, and all of the foiled details of that one used to rub off.


PRICE: $20

Immortal Lash has a gimmicky, ineffective brush, and an inferior formula. I rarely return things to Sephora, but this isn't fit for my cosmetic collection.

As always,  you don't have to take my word for it. Immortal Lash is available now at Sephora.