Disclaimer: Product featured was provided for review.
The 24 shadows come in a large, thin, square cardboard palette. The outside features a glossy black studded star design and the Kat Von D logo is embossed on the lid in shiny silver.
Inside the palette is a decent sized mirror and the 24 shades are found on the bottom flap. Each shadow is decently sized (1.4g) and the palette includes a detachable see-through plastic flap that shows the names of each shade. I really appreciate the fact that the platte didn't include any brushes (come to think of it, I don't think any Kat Von D palettes come with brushes) because I never use those and they end up just taking up space.
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| Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book |
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| Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book |
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| Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book |
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| Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book |
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| Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book |
I didn't notice that the shadows are grouped by fours with its adjacent shades before swatching so I kind of just swatched them with their horizontal neighbors. However, the shades are intended to be used in groups.
Lastly, before I delve into my review, I want to note that I have seen a lot of very negative reviews of this palette. There seems to be lots of comments about the pigmentation and how the shades don't swatch true to how they look in the pan. I am really not certain whether or not there are some variation during manufacturing or if people just have very different perceptions, but this palette features some seriously amazing colors, I was only really dissapointed with two shades. My swatches below are in no way manipulated to make them more pigmented that they really are. I used one to three swipes depending on the color.
Shade Name:
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Solar
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Nephilim
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Damned
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Division
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Shade description:
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Pale peach
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Golden brown
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Soft cream
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Bright pink
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Finish:
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Matte
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Metallic
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Matte
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Metallic
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Pigmentation:
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Good
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Excellent
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Good | Excellent |
Texture:
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Excellent | Excellent |
Good
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Excellent |
Shade Name:
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Platonic
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Madala
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Depeche
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Brass Knuckes
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Shade description:
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Soft orange with gold shimmer
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Bold orange
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Light brown |
Pale yellow
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Finish:
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Shimmer
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Matte
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Metallic
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Shimmer
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Pigmentation:
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Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Satisfactory
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Texture:
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Excellent | Excellent |
Excellent
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Good
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Shade Name:
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Anti-star
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Estrella
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Banshee*
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Violator
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Shade description:
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White shimmer
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Dark sapphire |
Soft pale pink
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Pale lavender |
Finish:
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Shimmer | Satin |
Matte
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Satin
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Pigmentation:
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Good
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Good
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Good
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Good |
Texture:
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Excellent |
Good
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Excellent
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Excellent |
Shade Name:
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Black Star
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Starflyer
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Gothica
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Fascination Street
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Shade description:
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Black with silver sparkles
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Electric blue
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Purple with blue and silver sparkles |
Violet blue
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Finish:
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Satin with sparkles |
Matte
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Shimmer with glitter
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Matte
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Pigmentation:
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Good
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Excellent |
Good
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Satisfactory
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Texture:
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Good
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Excellent |
Good
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Excellent
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Shade Name:
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Moz
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Heaven Knows
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Crosses
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Covenant
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Shade description:
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Nude cream
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Soft taupe
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Soft beige with silver sparkles
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Dark olive green taupe
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Finish:
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Matte
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Matte
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Matte with sparkles
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Metalic
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Pigmentation:
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Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
Texture:
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Excellent | Excellent |
Excellent
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Excellent |
Shade Name:
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Smiths
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Leather
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Craft
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Cult
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Shade description:
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Coppery brown
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Soft brown
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Dark green with light green sparkles
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Bright green with sparkles
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Finish:
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Metallic
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Matte
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Metallic with sparkles
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Satin with sparkles
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Pigmentation:
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Excellent | Excellent |
Satisfactory
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Good
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Texture:
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Excellent | Excellent |
Good
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Overall:
In terms of formulation, these are some really great shadows. None of the mattes were patchy or chalky, in fact, a few are some of the nicest mattes I've tried. Starfly, the electric blue, and Madala, the bold orange are two colors I've seen other brands attempt but they usually end up super dry and hard but these were soft and pigmented. The only two colors that felt a bit gritty were "Heaven" and "Gothica", the two shimmery shades with sparkles, but other than those two the others are really quite spectacular.
One thing I do have to note is that the color selection of this palette is not great, I feel like there are a few too many soft nude mattes. The palette could use a bit more variation but also at the same time, the slightly strange color selection might be a good addition for someone who has a lot of the popular, omnipresent colors. But all in all, this really is best holiday palette I've reviewed thus far in terms of formulation and pigmentation. Two thumbs up Kat Von D!
Availability:
Kat Von D is available online and in stores at Sephora.