Kat Von D is, generally speaking, one of my favorite cosmetic companies. I’m a complete eye shadow palette junky and Kat Von D (KVD) consistently produces lovely, high quality, cruelty free and relatively affordable palettes.

The latest palette from the brand is the Shade and Light Eye Palette (there is also a Shade and Light face contour palette which I have, but like a slacker, haven’t reviewed yet). This is a palette full of matte shadows in natural shades.

The palette format is consistent with the last few palettes that KVD has released.

The palette also came with a chart that outlines various ways to utilize the shadows.

Each of the following swatches was achieved with three passes of my finger over the product and a single swipe on my arm.

Pricing and Availability: KVD products are sold exclusively by Sephora and this palette retails for $46.00.

Product Consistency: These shadows are fairly comparable to other KVD eye shadows if you’ve ever used them. They are smooth and soft and a few of them are a tad powdery. They are all pigmented and easy to blend.

Longevity: I get a full day of wear time out of these shadows with very minimal fading and no creasing.

While these shadows are all matte shades, KVD mattes are a little different from other brands in that they have just the slightest bit of glow to them. It’s difficult for me to describe but they’re matte in the way that your skin is matte, they don’t shine or shimmer, but they reflect back just the tiniest amount of light so they don’t look powdery, they blend with the texture of your eyelid.

The one negative thing that I have to say about this palette (or any palette from this brand) is that if I get any product in my eye, it is irritating and will burn for quite some time. I’ve never experienced this with any other brand and I’m not a huge fan. These shadows also have a very faint scent to them and that may be what causes the irritation.

Overall I’ve really been enjoying this palette. I love that it has cool, warm and neutral shades and I love that there is a good range of depths as well. I think this is a great stand alone palette and an even better companion palette for anything that you feel might be missing a highlight, blending shade, matte or neutral anything shade.

Here are a few eye looks using this palette. I’ve been into fairly light eyeshadow lately but you can certainly achieve more dramatic or deep looks than you see here.

I NEEDED to post two pictures of that eyeliner. I’m not a skilled makeup person and I’m super proud of actually achieving some semblance of a wing despite my eyelid being slightly hooded PLUS a gradient?! What what?!

Do you have this palette? What do you think of it? Have you experienced the eye irritation from KVD shadows?