Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette ($36.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a new and limited edition palette for spring. It’s supposed to contain “eight long-wear, full coverage shadows that deliver matte, pearl, and high-glitter finishes, plus one transformative color veil.” There are three more sparkly shades in the palette, and they had varying degrees of fall out (see below). The matte aqua green, Archangel, was powdery and, at times, chalky so it was difficult to work with; it’s a shade that would highly benefit from being applied over a primer or even a slightly tacky, white base, to maximize color payoff and minimize the powderiness and tendency to fade/sheer out. Shades like Placebo and Dog Roses were richly pigmented and easy to apply and blend. With the exception of Archangel which faded faster than the rest, the others didn’t show signs of fading until eight hours.

Selena is described as a “glitter purple.” It’s a lavender purple with subtle cool, pink undertones and a silver glitter/sparkle. The sparkle tended to separate from the underlying color, so some of the sparkles get trapped in the brush, some fall out during application, and the remaining ones are visible on the lid but do eventually migrate below the lid during wear. It had really nice color payoff when swatched, and on the lid, it was fairly good, but it had a tendency to look slightly faded. Tarina Tarantino Fantastical #2 (P) is lighter, more iridescent. Guerlain Two VIP #1 (LE) is warmer, more glittery. NARS Rage (LE, $24.00) is more fuchsia. Kat Von D Babe (LE) is purpler, less glittery. theBalm A2 (LE, $16.00) is cooler-toned. MAC Violet Impact (LE, $15.00) is less glittery. MAC Power Boosted (LE, $15.00) is darker, more fuchsia, less glittery. See comparison swatches.

Dayglo is described as a “transformer shade, iridescent white.” It’s a green-tinged white with a green-gold iridescent sheen. It had good color payoff and was mostly opaque. The texture was soft, a smidgen powdery, but smooth and blendable. Dior Dulcinee #2 (LE) is very similar. Dior Peacock (434) Eyeshadow #3 (LE) is slightly warmer. MAC Zestful is greener. See comparison swatches.

Galore #2 is described as a “pearl peach.” It’s a yellowed peach with a frosted, metallic sheen. It had good pigmentation, and it applied smoothly and evenly. bareMinerals Ball Gown (LE) is more frosted. LORAC Light Bronze (P) is warmer. Disney by Sephora Splendid (LE) is similar. MAC Hey (P, $15.00) is less yellow-toned. Buxom Collie (P, $18.00) is a cream product. See comparison swatches. You might wonder why it’s called “Galore #2,” and that’s because there’s also a shade called “Galore” in the Spellbinding palette–except they’re not the same. I did swatch them side-by-side to be sure (in the pan, they look more alike), but sure enough, this is a definite peach, whereas the previously released Galore is more of a peach-tinged beige–but much, much lighter. It’s really frustrating when brands do this, especially when it was just released a little over a month ago.

Placebo is described as a “matte peony pink.” It’s a medium coral-pink with a matte finish. It had fantastic color payoff, and it applied smoothly and evenly. This was a dream matte to work with. MAC Full of Flavour (LE, $15.00) is similar. MAC Free to Be (P, $15.00) is also similar. MAC Early Bird (LE, $15.00) just a smidgen pinker. MAC Dear Cupcake (LE, $15.00) is pinker, lighter. See comparison swatches.

Santeria is described as a “glitter greenish grey.” It’s a cool-toned, charcoal gray with teal shimmer and larger silver sparkle. It had really nice pigmentation, and the texture was fairly soft and smooth. Urban Decay Redemption (LE, $18.00) is similar. LORAC Slate (P) is less frosted. Disney by Sephora Jetsam (LE) is similar. Urban Decay Asphalt (LE, $18.00) is less cool-toned. MAC Jade’s Fortune (LE, $21.00) is less frosted. Make Up For Ever #1 (P, $23.00) is a cream product. See comparison swatches.

Archangel is described as a “sparkle seafoam green.” It’s a light-medium aqua green with a satiny sheen. It seemed like it had amazing color payoff when I swatched it, but the texture was also noticeably powdery–a little chalky. On the lid, it was prone to sheering away, so it’s a color that really performs better over a primer, as on bare lids, it just doesn’t stick well, nor does it last (showed signs of fading after six hours, much earlier than the other shades). Dior Dulcinee #5 (LE) is slightly bluer. theBalm B2 (LE, $16.00) is very similar. Sugarpill Mochi (P, $12.00) is darker. MAC Lucky in Love (LE, $21.00) is more frosted, bluer. See comparison swatches.

South is described as a “matte beige.” It’s a light beige with neutral undertones and a matte finish. It was soft, easy to blend, nicely pigmented, and not powdery. It’s a very basic shade, so there are a lot of similar shades from other brands — see comparison swatches.

Dog Roses is described as a “sparkle bronze.” It’s a coppery brown with golden sparkle and a frosted sheen. There is some loose sparkle in this, but it is less sparkly than Selena, so a lot of the sparkle seems to disappear between the pan, brush, and lid, so I didn’t notice a lot of fall out over time, just a stray sparkle or two. It was intensely pigmented, and it applied very smoothly. Tarina Tarantino Wonderful #3 (P) is lighter. Makeup Geek Glamorous (P, $5.99) is less frosted. Anastasia Rum Cake (LE) is browner. Clarins The Essentials #6 (LE) is similar. MAC Exquisite Ego #2 (LE, $21.00) is warmer, lighter. LORAC Gold (P) is similar. Marc Jacobs Beauty The Starlet #4 (P) is more copper-hued. NARS Isolde #1 (P, $24.00) is similar. See comparison swatches.

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Esperanza Eyeshadow Palette

Kat Von D Selena Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Selena Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Dayglo Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Dayglo Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Galore #2 Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Galore #2 Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Placebo Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Placebo Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Santeria Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Santeria Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Archangel Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Archangel Eyeshadow

Kat Von D South Eyeshadow

Kat Von D South Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Dog Roses Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Dog Roses Eyeshadow

Kat Von D Eyeshadows: Dayglo (inner lid), Archangel (middle of lid),
Selena (outer lid), Santeria (crease), South (brow bone)