Smoky Eyes:  Kat Von D Memento Mori Look

Is it really Thursday?  Already?  I can’t believe it’s July 1st!  I only have about a month left of summer (aka no school) — time flies so fast sometimes.

You will need the following…

• Eyes: Benefit Tattle Tale Cream Eyeshadow (pale gold), NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base (neutral eyeshadow base), Kat Von D Sugar Skull Eyeshadow (white gold), Kat Von D Peggy Eyeshadow (teal), Kat Von D Tijuana Eyeshadow (black-brown with gold flecks), MAC Brule Eyeshadow (highlighter), Kat Von D Black Metal Love Pencil (black with silver glitter), MAC Plushlash Mascara (black)
• Face: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation (140), Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder (translucent), Purple Lab Pearlesque Show Primer
• Cheeks: Korres #15 Natural Blush (soft peach-bronze)
• Lips: Urban Decay Indecent Lipstick (soft coral), Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Lip Junkie (champagne)
• Brushes: 249 (flat, firm brush), 239 (fluffy shadow brush), 226 (fluffy crease brush), 219 (pointed crease brush), 116 (dense blush brush)

For eyes, start by applying Smudgeproof as your eyeshadow base all over the eye area with the 249, then apply Tattle Tale cream eyeshadow onto the lid as a color base. Using the 239, apply Sugar Skull eyeshadow on the inner half of the lid and pull upwards along the inner crease. Lightly blend Peggy eyeshadow on the outer half of the lid with the 239. Next, apply Tijuana eyeshadow into the crease with the 226. Blend Brule eyeshadow with the crease shade and highlight the brow bone.   Lightly tap Sugar Skull eyeshadow along the upper crease and then soften.  Bring everything together by applying Black Metal Love pencil on the lower lash line and Sugar Skull eyeshadow patted below. Finish by sweeping lashes with Plushlash mascara.

For cheeks, apply #15 Natural blush on the apples of the cheeks and sweep upwards towards the temple with the 116.

For lips, apply Indecent lipstick first, and then layer Midnight Cowboy lip junkie for a complementing lip.

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Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette: Memento Mori

Kat Von D Memento Mori Eyeshadow Palette ($34.00 for 8 x 0.05 oz. eyeshadows) has been on my radar for awhile, but I’ve only now been able to really try it out! It contains eight eyeshadows, each pretty much the equivalent of a full-size eyeshadow (MAC eyeshadows are 0.05 oz., for reference), so it’s a great affordable palette. It’s also a rather colorful selection, so it’s very fun to play around with and apropos for summer.

• True is a violet-blue cream shadow that goes on glossy but seems to dry down to a nearly matte finish. I found the surface of mine a bit dry, but once I got deeper, it was fine. I thought it was an eyeliner at first, actually!
• Solitude is an iridescent lilac purple with a soft sheen. It’s the least shimmery shade of the bunch.
• Meditation is a light bronze with a little copper in it. It has a frosty finish.
• Agatha Pink is a pale peach with a shimmery/frosty finish.
• Sugar Skull is a shimmery white-gold.
• Peggy is a true teal base with flecks of white-gold sheen/shimmer. Almost strikes me as a duochrome. It’s so pretty, but I found that this shade seemed to fade a little when worn.
• Hard Luck is a deep forest green mixed with gray.
• Tijuana is a darkened black-brown base with flecks of gold and copper glitter-shimmer. This shade at ridiculous fall out, even when used sparingly. It’s a beautiful shade, but clean-up seems to be a must. Use less rather than more, too, and tap brush against your wrist to avoid excess fall out.

I thought the box the palette comes in was beautiful, and I was a bit let down by the cheap, white plastic palette inside. It just looked and felt like something I’d buy for $10 at the drugstore–not something that’s $34 and from Sephora. The included dual-ended brushes are actually bristled brushes, but they’re rather flimsy.  They just kind of flop and make it a pain to really pack on color–plus they’re so tiny, I don’t have the patience to use ‘em myself!

All of the shades have a very smooth texture, and they go on evenly and are richly pigmented. I do find that they’re a little on the powdery side, and may even work best with sponge applicators–at least with some of the shades (like Peggy and Tijuana). Tijuana was the troublemaker of the group, which frustrated me as it was also the prettiest (to me), so I really wanted it to be as beautiful on as it was swatched!

Overall, though, I think these are solid eyeshadows worth taking a look at if a particular palette color scheme grabs you. It took some getting used to using these before I was able to minimize the fall out with these. They also blend very easily, which is nice, but it means use softer strokes and feather rather than sweep for most of the work!  I have heard that the Beethoven palette is one of her best palettes, so I might check that out next.

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• Product: 25/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 3/5

RECOMMENDATION: I like the palette overall, and I’m impressed at the level of pigmentation of the shadows. I think it’s a great option for a palette of colorful eyeshadows, especially if you’re on a budget.

AVAILABILITY: Sephora

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