Kat Von D Shade+Light Contour Palette Review and Demo

I’m super excited about today’s review. I finally got my hands on the Kat Von D Shade+Light Contour Palette. I’ve had some time to really get to know the product and learn how to best use it. So, without further ado let’s get into it.

An exclusive contour palette featuring three shades for contouring and three shades for highlighting, designed to shape and define facial features to create a look of authentic dimensionality. – Sephora.com

Firstly, Let’s talk about the packaging. Its made of a heavy thick cardboard material, embossed with the logo in a high shine finish against the matte black background. The font is trimmed in a silver foil and Kat Von D logo is printed in the silver as well. All in All, the aesthetic is pretty bad ass, I love the choice of font. It’s very true to her brand and right up my alley. The palette itself is super sturdy and sleek. Definitely good for travel. As you’ll see below you can create a whole look with this palette too.Inside the palette you have 6 shades; 3 for highlight which are matte and 3 for contour which is also matte. The shades range from cool, neutral, to warm. The picture above is not true to color, unfortunately.

– 3 x 0.16 oz Shade powder in Sombre (true taupe), Shadowplay (soft brown), Subconscious (deep brown)
– 3 x 0.08 oz Light powder in Lucid (pinkish nude), Lyric (yellow beige), Levitation (soft peach)

Starting at the cool end of the palette with Lyric, which is a pale pink based highlight, then you have Sombre which is a cool grayish toned contour perfect for fair skin. The two shades can be used to create a very subtle contour, great for day time. Sombre is just warm enough so that it is wearable on more than just very fair. It’s kind of perfect. For the neutral shades, Lyric is a yellow based highlight similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Banana shade. Great for under eye highlighting. It’s just yellow enough to color correct and brighten without pulling too yellow and adding a sallow appearance. I was apprehensive of that at first but was pleasantly surprised. Shadowplay is a warmer to neutral contour shade. Of course, on me being so fair it pulls warm. However, still very flattering on me. I love it for warming my complexion up after using Sombre for my contour. Also, I love the shout out to Joy Division, one of my favorite Joy Division songs is Shadowplay.Finally, the warm spectrum. Levitation is a warm peachy highlight. I find this shade to be very versatile, I can use it as a subtle blush and to bring a light warmth to my face. It would be stunning on dark skin tones for sure. Subconscious is a deep warm contour great for medium-dark skin tones, I don’t think it would show much on very dark tones, however. I can manage to use it for a dramatic contour at night without it looking too orange but I rarely do so. Instead, I use it as an eyeshadow more often. I do use it under my jawline softly for more depth. This isn’t a universal palette. I feel it was made with pale gals in mind, and being very pale myself I love it. However, if you are medium to dark I doubt this palette will do you much good. My advice would be to build a custom one with the Anastasia Contour Powders, and for a drugstore option Nyx now has custom contour palettes but I’m not familiar with the quality of those.

An expert sketch artist, Kat Von D uses shadow and light to create depth and dimension in her captivating portraits, infusing them with lifelike authenticity. Take artistry shading into your own hands with this Shade + Light Contour Palette. Effortlessly sculpt, chisel, shape, and slenderize your features for enhanced definition. Unlike traditional bronzing powders, the Shade + Light Contour Palette is loaded with a unique selection of matte shades that capture the true hues of shadow and light. The three contour shades create realistic shadows to recede facial features, while the three highlight shades impart a soft luminosity to amplify dimension. A true artist’s palette specially designed to be used with the Shade + Light Contour Brush, these silky, buildable powders blend effortlessly into the skin for a flawless, fade-proof finish that flatters every skin tone or face shape. This set is exclusively available at Sephora. – Sephora.com

Speaking of quality, This palette is of outstanding quality. The powders are silky soft, lightweight and buildable. The pigmentation is spot on. I’d recommend knocking the excess of before application because you can go overboard pretty easily. Start slow and build. Another thing I love is that since the powders are so pigmented they add some extra coverage yet don’t look cakey because they are so finely milled. As someone who draws (particularly faces) I appreciate Kat’s inspiration behind the palette of using the same techniques one would when sketching. For more on this and contouring, in general, please check out my post Contouring for the Porcelain.Okay, let’s get into the demo of how I use the Kat Von D Shade+Light Palette. AHHH! GHOST! Yeah yeah, I know.  I started with my foundation routine done and my face set with the ELF HD Setting Powder. For foundation and concealer, I used The Maybelline Fit Me Foundation and Concealer. I also have a review of them here. Gah! okay, let’s bring some life back into this face.
I started my contour using Sombre, the coolest contour shade brings it in a line down the hollow of my cheeks from my ear.
For this, I used an angled contour brush from Sonia Kashuk. With that same brush, I blended the product upward. You could stop here for a natural contour.
I then took Sombre on a small thin brush from ELF and contoured the tip of my nose and the hollow of my cupids bow.
Then on this rounded brush from Sonia Kashuk, I took the neutral contour shade called Shadowplay around the perimeter of my face, into my hairline and jawline to add some warmth.
Not that is real shown in the picture, I took a Lyric into my undereye area then Lucid along to the tops of my cheekbones, down the center of my nose, cupids bow, center of my forehead and below my cheek contour on my jaw bone to highlight. You’ll be able to see the highlight below better. I also took Levitation on a bigger blush brush and added it to my cheeks for even more warm, almost as if it were a blush. For more depth, I added the deepest shade along my jawline.The brush I use for highlighting is this small tapered cheek brush from ELF. As a bonus, I want to show you how you can also create and eye look using this palette as well.
For the eyes I took Levitation through the crease like a transition shade them added Subconscious into the crease with a fluffy brush. I topped it off with a touch an off black brown eyeliner smudged into the roots of the lashes and Maybelline Lash Sensational in black brown on the lashes. Oh yeah ,and I have a review of that too. Maybelline Lash Sensational Full Fan Effect ReviewAnd here’s the finished look in natural light ( I was awake during daylight hours for once) In these pictures you can actually see the contour and the highlight. I finished the face off with a matte blush from Tarte called Deserving. I wanted a fully matte face today, something I never do but I kind of like it.

Oh yeah, and for lips, I used Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Abu Dhabi, and you guessed it, also have a review of those too. Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream Review

So all in all the Kat Von D Shade+Light palette is a huge win for me. I can’t believe I waited so long to get it. The palette also contains a great step by step guide and you can purchase a companion brush as well.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Brush

The Kat Von D Shade+Light Palette is free of Parabens, Sulfates, and Phthalates. It retails for $46 at Sephora and katvondbeauty.com

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