A few months ago I splurged and picked up the Kat Von D Spellbinding Book from Sephora.com and I’m glad that I did. I have been a fan of Kat Von D for years having followed her career as a Portrait Tattoo Artist and then her start with Sephora developing her own cosmetic line. I have a few of her makeup items and have loved them and when this palette was released, I knew I had to have it.
Unfortunately – this palette is sold out on Sephora’s Website, but check your local Sephora store as they may still have this in stock. The palette retails for $55.00 USD and contains 24 (twenty-four) eye shadows that were designed to work together in pairs so that you can pair them or layer them to create awesome looks. Of course, you can certainly use them however you wish as well – there is no set rule about it. Each eye shadow is 0.05 oz – the average weight for a full sized eyeshadow. Twelve of the 24 shades are stated to be “Never-before-seen” and labeled as such with an asterisk next to each name. While the Christmas Holiday has passed, if you see this palette, I would jump on the opportunity to get it. It has made my favorites the last couple of months and offers a wide variety of shades to create a number of different looks. Overall – I think this palette offers a great mix of colors, textures and majority of the shades offer great pigmentation and are long wearing.
The packaging on this palette is awesome. As I mentioned previously, I have followed Kat for some time and have been a huge fan of her artistry. Her work is graced all over this palette with the cover being an art piece she drew herself. I am always so intrigued and fascinated by her pieces and this one is absolutely gorgeous. The actual palette could have been made a tad bit better… while I think it is pretty easy to work with because it reminds me so much of an artists’ palette, it’s a bit cumbersome and would not be ideal for travel as it is really only protected by cardboard. Though – I have dropped the palette many many times, it has held its own fairly well. If there really was one suggestion I were to make, it is that I wish the names of each shade were printed below or above the actual eye shadows in the palette instead of the plastic cover. That plastic sheet is a pain in the butt to work around and there is ideal space where the names could have been printed on the palette for reference.
Now on to the fun part… the Swatches!
dark throne (new shade) a mostly matte finish – medium/dark gray shade. This shade offers cooler undertones and had great color pay off.
precious – a shimmery peach shade. This shade lends for more warm undertones (which I like) and offers smooth application with great pigmentation. It does have fall out so take your time to pack this shade on or use on a sticky base.
babe (one of my favorites) – a violet purple with blue/violet iridescent shimmer/micro glitter – cool toned. This shadow worked well for me as a “lower lash line pop of color” but when I tried to use it as a lid or blending shade it had a tremendous amount of powdery fall out or lost it’s color and shimmer very easily. I suggest that you use this over a stick base or to set an eyeliner pencil for a cool effect.
piaf (new shade) a medium gray that lends for a metallic silver shade. This color had awesome pigmentation but you must take your time to pack the color on because it does have fall out. The color blended nicely when used on the lid or to smoke out the outer v.
sunset blvd is a gorgeous yellow gold with a frosty texture. This color has some type of glitter and therefore can have fall out. It applied nicely however and does blend out really easily.
8 bit (new shade) a blue/teal with micro gold shimmer. This shade has a metallic shimmer but applies more like a frost. Great color pay off, smooth application and buttery.
geek (new shade) medium toned peachy-orange with a satin finish. Great color payoff – soft smooth texture and easy to blend.
fallen is a coppery bronze with warm orange tones. Great pigmentation, soft and buttery and very great texture. This has been a favorite bronze shade of mine the last few months.
holy bible a light silver with gray/white sheen and micro metallic shimmers. This is probably one of the shades that is not a favorite of mine – probably because it’s not a color I use often. It’s gorgeous an has good color pay off, but can be a bit powdery.
oddfellow is a deep black with teal sparkle/shimmer. This color can lose it’s shimmer easily so if you are looking to keep the teal sparkle, I would pack it onto a sticky base. Awesome pigmentation, easy to apply and blend. Overall this shade is one of the easiest to work with and a great black for deepening the crease.
birdcage is kind of a chartreuse green with a frost finish. I love this color because the shade is highly pigmented and applies smoothly and evenly.
gunner is a dark green (kind of reminds me of a military green) with green and silver sparkles. This shade is not the easiest to work with in the palette and will require you take your time in building up the shade to the color pay off you are interested in. It is a gorgeous shade but a little dry to work with.
instaglam (new shade) a frosty (cool toned) baby pink with lots of shimmer. This applied nicely but you can get a lot of fall out with this shade.
stupid autocorrect (new shade) A metallic/frosty burgundy shade. This is a great color for deepening the crease or as an all over lid color. The shade was smooth and easily applied with little to no fall out.
galore a peach toned metallic shade. One of my favorites, this shade works well as an all over lid color or can be blended softly onto the browbone as a highlight shade. Easy to apply and blend, smooth and highly pigmented.
hexagram (new shade) one of my favorite shades in this whole palette, this shade is like a burnt gold. Perfect for all over the lid. Blends easily, highly pigmented and very smooth and buttery.
smile now (new color) is a gorgeous peach toned shade with pink/purple iridescent shimmer. This shade is soft and smooth to the touch, blends really nicely and the purple iridescent/color shift is very visible and awesome over a color shifting base. Highly pigmented.
cry later (new shade) a deep brown with gold bronze shimmer. This shade has great pigmentation, blends nicely and applies smoothly. The glitter/shimmer stays on application even after blending.
arcadia (new color) a frosty lavender with soft silver shimmer. This color is kind of on the powdery side and while pigmented and smooth when applying, it can leave fall out.
wonderland is one of my favorite colors which can be used to deepen the crease, create drama in the outer v or use as an all over lid color. This shade is a very deep plum (almost a dark burgundy black) with brown undertones. It also has purple/pink iridescent shimmer which gives the shadow a slight color shift. This shade is a little powdery but blends well and applies nicely. Keep in mind that when used in the crease or blending this shade out you may lose some of it’s intensity and it may look more plum and lose it’s shimmer.
queen (new shade) is a gorgeous color shift shadow. It kind of reminds me a little of MAC’s Blue Brown Pigment which is one of my favorites. It’s a brown with a greenish/teal hue. This color can be blended out to be a perfect crease shade or packed on a colored base to show it’s true glory. Blends nicely, applies smoothly and is a great overall color. One of my favorites in the palette.
bukowski is a metallic teal shade with a light gold sheen. This color is gorgeous but it does take a little more work to build the color. It’s not difficult to work with but it does take a few swipes to get the color payoff you see in the pan. It’s a smooth shade, not powdery but I wish it were more buttery so it would apply easier. It is one of my favorite “pop of color on the lower lash line” shades however, and I do adore it.
countess (new shade) is a cream matte satin. This is a gorgeous shade for browbone highlight because it blends out so nicely and leaves the perfect amount of color. Great pigmentation, easy to blend and soft to the touch.
WTF is a gorgeous red (almost burgundy) satin shade. It has micro gold shimmer. This shade is gorgeous and because it is not a bright “true red” it doesn’t make my eyes look blood shot. This color is smooth and blends nicely.
In the look above I am using the shadows hexagram, galore, cry later, countess and dark throne from the Kat Von D Spellbinding Palette. I absolutely love love how versatile this palette is because it allows me to create a plethora of looks from a daytime or neutral eye look to something daring and smoky.
In the eye look above I am using Queen as my crease color and blended onto my lower lash line, Wonderland to define my crease, Countess as my Highlight. What I love so much about Queen is that it really offers such an awesome effect for colors. Because of it’s color shift – it changed my lower lash line to look tealish / blue when I blended it onto my lower lash line over my black eye liner, I did not use any other color to create that teal pop of color on the lower lash line that you see.
So – I know this is a long post… but overall I think this palette is definitely worth the buy. It’s universal for most and while it does offer a wide variety of bright shades, you can easily create a neutral toned or day look without a problem. Most of the shades are very pigmented and while a few were a little of a miss for me, it didn’t take away from the overall of the palette itself. If you are looking for something to offer you versatile use as well as great color payoff, buttery shadows and awesome packaging – then this may be something you may want to seek out. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this review… I know it’s a long one – but considering the amount of colors in this book, I wanted to make sure that I covered my bases. For those of you that watch my videos – I am in hopes of having a Short Video Review up on YouTube in the next week and I will be sure to post that video here.
{Self Purchased}
32 Comments
THAT’S IT! I need this palette!
I struggled to buy it because I wanted Vice 2 – but I ended up getting both. I just love it. 🙂 I know you will too 😉 Happy New Year love. <3
I have seen so many reviews of this palette and kick myself every time I do for not snapping it up when it was available online. Sadly, I live in BFE and can’t get to a Sephora store easily so my chances of finding one are slim to none. Ah, well.
Nice review and swatches and eye looks. 🙂
oh man – my sephora is about a two hour drive one way – so when I see items online to buy – I get them if I want them. Our sephora is also super small… so they don’t have a lot of stuff. Oh man, hopefully you can find a way. 🙂 Happy New Year and thank you so much 🙂
This is a beautiful palette. I love the colors.
it really is. 🙂
WOW That is an amazing palette!!! Dark Throne *drool*
ooh – yes, Dark Throne is gorg. 😉
I like the colors but if don’t think they qualify as her claim of “never before seen” colors!
yeah – I think they needed to reword that a bit. It should have said something like “never before seen colors in Kat Von D cosmetics” or something like that. Because there are a few I have seen similar with Drug store or even elf. 😉
Ohhh fallen is SO pretty!!
ooh – it really is 😉
I’m impressed with your swatches since mine didn’t turn out that well. I do like the palette a lot but I find that too many of the shades have that fallout.
many of them are powdery with fall out so I use them over my sticky base and pat the shadow on… so far so good – but it still happens. lol Thank you so much 🙂
Such a stunning palette – love the looks you created!
thank you so much 😉
I’ve been wanting to buy this palette long before UD Vice 2 first came out. Decisions, decisions, decision. Happy NY Honey!
I bought this palette first and then splurged on the UD. I’m glad I got this one first, because I would have been bummed if I missed it. Happy New Year Kath 🙂
Good grief, your eyes are gorgeous, honey. I’ve said it before, but I had to say it again. I am so glad to hear this is a great palette- I hope to pick it up one day soon.
thank you Sheila. 🙂 I hope you can find it… it is a great buy 🙂
I’ve never really looked at the Kat Von D palettes before. So many great colors. That last look you did is rockin’. Hawt!
I have a smaller palette from her and the colors are gorgeous. This palette is definitely a great addition to any collection. And… thank you darling 😉
Ooooh! Bukowski and WTF look great! 🙂
they are so pretty. 🙂
This is a really great book of shadows! I love the bukowski! Feel better…
it has such an awesome range. Bukowski is lovely. Thank you so much 😉
So many beautiful colors in this palette!
they truly are 😉
me too – I am glad I decided to pick it up – I would have been so mad with myself if I didn’t. 😉
thank you so much 😉 and yes, this palette is great 😀
Which do you like better (without primer)? This, or vice 2? I need help deciding!
And you look stunning in both looks here 🙂
omigosh – that is a hard choice. lol But, I’m going to say Kat Von D. From a price perspective, it is only a few dollars cheeper than Vice 2 but offers more colors (even if only a few). While I love Vice 2 – this palette offers more versatility to me and I can use it for a wide range of looks, where as Vice 2 – though I can do neutral eye looks, I like the neutral color range of Kat Von D better 😉 And, thank you 😀