Kat Von D in Singapore! Swatches, sneaks & a MOTD!

Happy Friday!!  I’ve had such an awesome week, terribly busy attending Sephora’s Fall 2016 Press Day and all the other separate side events with the various brands that were in town.  Today’s post has been a long while in the making, and whilst it wasn’t exactly part of the new Sephora Fall releases, it is definitely a brand that you should check asap because… Kat Von D is finally in Singapore!!  The lady KVD herself was in Singapore recently, and I had the opportunity to check out some of the collection, and here are some swatches and my thoughts on them.

So often in beauty, there is a big bifurcation between makeup artistry and makeup for the everyday woman.  Kat Von D is perhaps best known as a tattoo artist, and so naturally her makeup line takes things to a whole different level of artistry.  The level of pigmentation, intensity of colors, bold matte finishes, etc are all a reflection of that style of makeup where more is more, and I can definitely see the appeal to the younger Sephora crowd who are looking to define their personalities and styles via makeup, and who are not afraid to experiment.  For a late-30’s working mother like me though, things can get a little bit daunting.  But hearing Kat Von D herself speak about her line and watching Erik Soto work in person, it is hard not to get excited!

“…I think a lot of people have the misconception that our makeup line is designed for people who look and dress like me, and that’s not the case… The beauty of it is that there’s a duality to it that anybody in any age range in any culture, sub-culture, musical preference will love the makeup line.” — Kat Von D

The easiest way to ease into a new line is usually to start with lipsticks, and Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick [SGD31 each] is a good place to begin.  With 26 shades to choose form and a good range of nudes to bold reds, there is bound to be something for everybody.  They go on super pigmented and dries down to a soft matte finish.  Formulated with Vitamin E and sunflower seed wax, these Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks do not dry out your lips quite as much as other matte liquid lips, and they do not transfer at all.

Here are some swatches for your reference, courtesy of my babe Paperkitties (please click on images to enlarge):

The other product that caught my eye right away was the Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadow [SGD32 each].  There are only 9 shades, but they are all truly spectacular!  Each is super pigmented, and yet so smooth and easy to blend that it really takes artistry to the ultimate.  These are not your usual pressed pigments, but they really feel creamy to the touch, and goes on easily with a brush without fallouts.  The eye makeup look presented by Erik Soto in the image above was done with these eyeshadows.

And here are the swatches:

I love a good liquid eyeliner, and Kat Von D Tattoo Liner [SGD32 each] seemed really promising.  The formula promises to stay on for a full 24 hours, and the brush is made up of a whopping 325 bristles!  This gives the brush tip a plushness that can only be felt, and yet a density that allows full control over how thick or ultra fine a line you wish to create.

The Tattoo Liner felt good in my hands, and the tip really does offer very good control, both of which makes this highly recommended for beginners.  However, I found the ink does not seem to flow out quite as well, and on my oily hooded lids, the liner did smudge and rub off over time.

When I first learnt about Kat Von D, I thought the most iconic product was the Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick [SGD32] with its stunningly gothic black studded tube.  There are 39 shades to choose from, in a super-pigmented and matte formula.  They stay on my lids all day without fading nor feathering off, and left a nice stain behind even after eating.  Because they are so pigmented, I personally prefer to wear them as a stain for a casual everyday look, applying with either a brush or just dabbing the tube directly on the lips and then blotting off.  And it also works well with a layer of gloss on top.

Another popular product that I kept spying on people’s Instagram feed is this Kat Von D Shade + Light Face Contour Palette, and having played around with it, I can understand why!  The powders are amazingly smooth and a dream to blend.  There are 3 pairs of highlight and contour shades, arranged by undertones – cool on left, neutral in middle, warm on right.  The right pair is a little darker than the rest, but so ultra blendable it works on any skin tones.  Again, if you refer to the model’s makeup at the beginning of this post, you can see how Erik Soto had sculpted her typical flat Asian face into a very chiselled look.  By the way, she is about NC20 I reckon, very close to me if not fairer, and Erik had used the darkest sculpting shade from this palette under her cheek bones and around the sides of her face.

Some swatches for your reference:

All the shades in this palette are matte, which is great if you want to achieve a very sculpted look for photography without all the extra shine getting in the way.

And finally, I can never resist a good eyeshadow quad, especially when the packaging is this cool!  Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quads take sculpting to the eyes, and there are 4 monochromatic palettes to achieve your goals.  I have the Plum quad, and here’s a closer look:

And the corresponding swatches:

After being so wow-ed by the Metal Crush Eyeshadows, I was most disappointed by this Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum.  Whilst the Base and Highlight shades were buttery smooth like the Face Contour Palette, the Define shade lacked pigmentation and was so dry it applied patchy.  It was very stiff in the palette so I had difficulty picking it up with a brush, and no matter how much I worked at building it up, I just could not achieve as intense an eye makeup look as I had expected.  The Contour shade was decent, though it could certainly be better.  Unfortunately, I did not get to swatch the other Quads, so I am not sure if they all had the same issues.

I put together a makeup look using Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum on the eyes along with the Tattoo Liner.  On my lips, I am wearing Studded Kiss Lipstick in L.U.V. as shown earlier in this post, applied only to the center of my lips with a brush and then feathered out to a stain.  And the lighter cool-toned highlight & contour shades from the Shade + Light Face Contour Palette on my cheeks, nose and sides of the face.  This is the way I wear my makeup, and it takes me from office to outside after hours.  It is perhaps softer and not as precise and full-on as what you might imagine from Kat Von D, which is how I envisage the duality of her makeup line.  Find out more for yourself, check them out at Sephora online from 7 July and in stores 22 July onwards!

_{This post featured some products that were generously provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}