Monday, November 16, 2009

Kat Von D Rock N Roll Eyeshadow Palette


**Warning. This review is not going to allow me to win friends and influence people. I may piss you off with my opinion about this product. For the easily offended and thinned skinned, read at your own risk.**

Kat Von D was introduced to me several years ago when I was watching Miami Ink. She was interesting looking. I liked her tattoos and I loved how talented she was. Fast forward to losing 30 pounds, mixed in with reality TV overexposure and she morphs into a caricature of herself. She becomes a bikini top wearing, loudmouthed, walking fashion don't. So what happens? She gets her own TV show and a cosmetic line from Sephora. Naturally! (I still find her incredibly talented as a tattoo artist.)

Recently Sephora's Beauty Insider 500 point "prize" was a Kat Von D eyeshadow palette. I wrote about it here. I think I even said I wasn't interested. But when my beauty bank reached almost 1,000 points I figured "why not" during the recent Friends and Family sale. I cashed in 500 points and got the palette. Call me a hypocrite. I'm OK with that. I changed my mind or perhaps I was caught up in the whole Friends and Family frenzy or perhaps I was so enamoured with the Givenchy Gloss as a 100 point perk I figured how bad could the 500 point "gift" be? Yeah. I was completely suckered. I admit it.

My F&F order arrives and my Kat Von D palette mocks me among the mounds of tissue paper in the box. I open the palette and it sure looks pretty. The colors are from the regular Kat Von D line of Rock N Roll Duo Eye Shadows. The duo shadows have a satin side and a shimmer side. so the colors are as such
Believer (Glitter) - Sparkly White
Confessional (pearl) - Shimmery Champagne
Groupie (pearl) - Iridescent Blue based Purple
and
Motorhead (glitter) - Glittery black.
So far so good. I'm pleased.


I swatch the shadows and well... they aren't as great as they look in the pan. The white is almost gritty and I think that perhaps I need a really, really good primer to have the sparkles show up. The champagne is decent enough. A good frost, a tad warm when compared with the other shades in the palette, The purple is very pretty and the pigmentation is decent. The black is sooty and the chunky glitter falls out upon application, again, another case for a decent primer.

The shadows don't wear as well as I would like. They tend to crease and fade after a few hours. That's even with a primer I like the fact that they included a neutral Champagne (Confessional) with the palette. I can use that as an all over wash with the White (Believer) as a highlight and close to the inner eye. The purple I have used as a crease color and liner color. It works well for both. It blends well but does seem to fade faster than most other shadows I own. The back is pigmented enough for a decent smokey liner and for a dramatic crease but honestly, the glitter causes so much fall out I would have rather had the satin version of it.

A few things that bug me about this palette are:
a) The brush it comes with is about as useless as tits on a bull. The brush is synthetic and flat and would be put to better use at the bottom of your trashcan.
b) The names are trying too hard to be edgy and cool. Urban Decay did this already. Move on. Try something new.
c) The Kat Von D line itself would be better suited for a 16 year old rather than me who is not 16 and not 40 but closer to one than the other.
OK. All you 20 somethings getting your panties in a bunch over me saying that the Kat Von D line is better suited for 16 year olds. I was using Hyperbole....so chill out you big babies!

Do you need this? Well honestly, if you have 500 points in your Sephora Beauty Insider bank you most likely do not. But I don't see them coming out with anything better for 500 points any time soon. HOWEVER. The Kat Von D Rock N Roll Eye Shadow Duos are a whopping $20 each and they are SOOO not worth that. So if you really love that purple color I guess 500 points when you have 1,000 isn't so bad. At least that's the justification I used. The other colors are not unique and you probably have a favorite Champagne, White and Black shadow in your collection already.
Posted by Elvira PinkSith at 7:30 AM
Labels: , ,

17 comments:

  1. I cashed in my points too to get this. However, I haven't touched it and I think I might sell it on Ebay. $20 or so bucks in my pocket wins out over a slightly cool looking but crappy palette.

    Ok, I think I'm going to post some info on my blog about a potential DC meetup. Still not getting any interest on MUA?
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  2. Thanks for the honest review! I, too, liked Kat when initially introduced to her, but a coke habit, plastic surgery (allegedly on both accounts..wouldn't want anyone legal getting their panties in a twist) and super-sized ego later, she's just really unappealing. I always thought the Sephora line of makeup for her looked shitty and cheap. Apparently first impressions were right. Thanks for filling us in! At least my point level was too low to be tempted. :P
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  3. Lol, tits on a bull...You cracked me up (again)...

    Anyway, I kind of dislike her the first time I heard about the brand because she use Beethoven as a name for her palette. (Seriously? one of the greatest composer of all time and a tattoo lady just don't appear at the same sentence...)
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  4. Aww, LOL. I don't mind Kat at all and to be really honest her full sized palettes are some of my absolute favorite eyeshadows. I have Ludwig and Beethoven and they're wayyyy better than any of the MAC shadows I own (though I realize their formulas can be very hit & miss). Pigmented, smooth & last forever on my eyes without creasing (with a primer of course). They're literally my most fool-proof shadows since the Shu (while I love them) crease much more easily and pigments have way more fallout.

    I was really disappointed to hear this 500 point BI gift was so poorly made though. You're definitely not the only one who hates it.
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  5. I refuse to buy from any celebrity line, including make up. I personally take offense that just because someone has name recognition and may be pretty/attractive they actually know or even care enough to put out a good quality line. I've swatched VonD's stuff and I do not like. She's got talent as a tattoo artist, but make up? No, thanks.
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  6. I got this too, and was pretty disappointed. I had purchased her brush set, and it was actually decent, so i figured why not cash in my points. I thought it was just me being a makeup snob, but every review I've read so far was as equally unimpressed as I am. I'm just not happy knowing my 500pts are equal to $500, and in turn received a palette comparable to something I could pick up at CVS. (scratch that, i own drugstore makeup that's better than this palette.) :(
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  7. Yikes! Caseybby just put it in perspective - your 500 points are equal to $500!!! This is the second hater review I've read for this palette. I like the design of her items and I have sinner perfume and I like it.

    I wanted this but not anymore. Great review:)
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  8. Well, for what it's worth, my local Sephora says the next 500 point item will be skincare of some sort. Might be good...

    And I'd love to go to a DC meet up. Did I miss something on MUA?
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  9. Priceless. Sith, you are funny.
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  10. many people warned me against this palette as they know how much i adore KVD's other palettes. well, once again you confirmed it. why they can't make all e/s the same standard? those KVD e/s palettes are wonderful. And I have just purchased that True Love. (Have all the rest).

    don't be discouraged by this. try her other palette. just one thing though, those LE ones has a cream e/s which dries up fast. Otherwise, all the powder ones are fabulous.

    awesome funny review as always!
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  11. ps: i disagree with you on the brushes. they are quite good for my small trigger fingered hand! :P
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  12. Well thank god I didn't get this!
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  13. wow, that looks un-fantastic for lack of a better word...
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  14. Oh Elvira - I just HEART your honesty!

    I miss the old Kat from Miami Ink and Season One of LA Ink - I miss the two other female tattoo artist. She lost points from me for losing them. If I want edgy - I go to Urban Decay and MAC. I'm really on the fence with her line. Even though my friend at Sephora corporate backs it up, then again she is a Sephora employee, I'm still skeptical. I've read the reviews and notice that she gets 5 stars across the board from the under 25yr set. I see a few over 30 crowd that gave her e/s 3stars and over. Yeah if I do invest in any of her makeup it maybe just for her Beethoven palette - it seems to get the best reviews.
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  15. I was tempted to get this, as my sister does have one of the Kat Von D palettes and loves it. Go figure -- I try to hook her on real brands and she's drawn to Kat's line ... but it looked great on her, and she loved it, so whatever.

    But finding out it's lousy quality, and not even the level of the real Kat Von D palettes? Meh. I'll save the points. I have plenty of GOOD eyeshadow, and even though I can never have enough purple (it's like my taupe) I have nice purples from Laura Mercier, Chanel, and Stila...I don't need a poor one.

    Thanks!! :D
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  16. Hi Everybody!
    I too, like everybody, got this palette with my 500 beauty insider points and I am really shocked at the bad review it is getting.
    YES it is not the same type of makeup quality that comes with Chanel, Laura Mercier, NARS, etc. Of course not. It is a much cheaper line of product and you can't expect the same quality.
    That being said, I really enjoy this pallete! Like any shadow with coarse glitter (such as these) there always an issue of fall off. Some of the higher quality shimmers ususally are made with a very fine shimmer which, by nature, applies smoother.
    The matte eyeshadows in the Kat von D line are very good quality, giving you the option of wearing them in a modest or bold way.

    I used all of the shades in the palette at one time, using a neutral beige eyeshadow from TooFaced as a base color on top of primer. I used my Mac brushes and had no problem with application or getting the color I wanted. All Kat von D shadows (and everything in the line, really... see: Sinner and Saint Perfumes) are meant so that you layer on the color from mild to bold. If you want it bold, you have to put it on thick. That's the point.

    That being said it is a palette, and it was free, so it's not going to be the best quality and isn't necessarily representative of the Kat von D line. I would reccomend this line to anybody! Especially her lip gloss, it's amazing!

    You are all make up junkies just like me and should know better than to judge a line by its pallete :)
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  17. Jeweled Thumb: Hey! I've been bad about posting on the MUA boards. Maybe in December?

    Sara: Heh. yeah. It's a shame. You might try out one of the Beethoven Palette I hear that gets good reviews.

    Citrine: :-) I try to make people laugh.

    Tessa: Oooh Skincare?!? I'm such a sucker for skincare. No meetup planned yet. Maybe after the holidays.

    Anon: Thanks! I try. :-)

    Jojoba: I might just have to check out her regular line of palettes. Oh and you are too cute w/ the little hands. I do like the brush to use as a liner, but not for all over application. :-)

    Joey: Heh. you might just get it and love it...if I decide to purge & send it to you.

    Mona: Hey. Yes. it's very un-wonderful indeed.

    Lexi: Yeah. I think you should try one of the regular line palettes, it's supposed to be better quality.

    Elisabeth: Maybe try a palette that has a purple. You must have the Chanel purple right? Oh it's so pretty!

    Jesse: A) Don't take MY personal opinion about a palette as an attack on your sensibilities. Your comment seemed defensive. It's perfectly OK to say that YOU liked the palette and that you disagreed with me, but to do so in a manner that patronizes me and makes assumptions that I didn't imply is just plain silly.
    B) I expect quality always. Just because it isn't Chanel does not mean it should be poor quality. I have some shadows that cost half of what Chanel does and they rival that of Chanel. Lower price should not mean sacrificing quality.
    C) The palette was free but I can still say it sucks. Free samples, palettes etc. are supposed to be good to entice the buyer into getting more from that line. Just b/c it's free does not mean it HAS TO be poor quality.
    D) Thanks, I know how to apply eyeshadow.
    E) I did not judge an entire line by one palette. I merely said I didn't like this one.
    ReplyDelete

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