Beauty Bar Blogs
KAT VON D SHADE & LIGHT EYE CONTOUR PALETTE: REVIEW, SWATCHES, AND TUTORIAL
Kat Von D recently released the highly buzzed-about Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette, a collection of all matte eyeshadows. This palette is genius for creating dimension on the eye. It has all the shades you could possibly need to create the perfect look for every eye shape and skin tone. You can use this palette alone, or you can mix the gorgeous mattes with more shimmery shadows from another palette of your choice. I personally love pairing it with Urban Decay or Makeup Forever shimmer shadows, so that I can add a sparkly highlight to my look for an extra pop.
The shades in Kat Von D’s palette have great color payoff, and they’re super silky. These shadows are surprisingly easy to blend out as well, which is rare for matte shades. The palette is set up by tone: neutral, cool and warm. There are 4 shades in each color section. The top 3 shades are the base colors, then you have a contour, define and highlight shade below (from left to right).
Now, how exactly do you contour your eye? You probably had no idea that you’ve already been contouring your eyes. Believe it or not, anytime you’re using more than one eye shadow on the eye, you’re contouring. Contouring is all about dimension, and when you use more than one color on the eye, that’s just what you’re doing. Heck, even if you’re using only one shade (different from your skin tone) you’re technically contouring.
When you think of the basics of contouring the same “rules” apply across the board. Any shade that is matte will create dimension and shading, pulling that area back or creating the illusion of a slimmer or wider area depending on how it is applied. Any shade with shimmer will act as a highlight and bring that area forward. With facial highlighting and contouring, you will typically use a darker matte shade under the cheekbones to make them appear more chiseled, and a lighter or shimmer shade on the top of the cheekbones to make them stand out. It is the same concept when applying eyeshadow. To chisel the eye for a more almond shape, you will apply a darker matte shade to the crease. This works great for hooded eyes to make the crease appear more defined.
When using Kat Von D’s palette, use the base shade all over the lid, the contour shade as a background or transition color, the definer shade for the outer “v” to add extra dimension or to carve out a shape, and the highlight shade under the brow bone. There are no rules to makeup, so feel free to mix and match these colors. With this palette’s fantastic quality and endless options, it is definitely worth picking up.
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| Left: With flash / Right: Without flash |
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| Left: Base shades with flash / Right: Base shades without flash |
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| Left: Cool shades with flash / Cool shades without flash |
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| Left: Neutral shades with flash / Neutral shades without flash |
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| Left: Warm shades with flash / Right: Warm shades without flash |
