Kat Von D Pastel Goth Palette | Review & Swatches (2017)

I'm a little behind on getting this review out, truth be told I purchased this the day it was released in stores. Kat Von D recently released two new absolute hit palettes, one of them being the Pastel Goth eye palette.

Let's start off by simply addressing the appearance of this palette. It's no secret that I'm a total sucker for cute or unique packaging, and KVD happens to be one of those brands that always knocks it out of the ballpark with the aesthetic of each product. The palette it's self is a nice matte black with the name, "Pastel Goth", spread clearly across the top in a soft colored rainbow gradient with metallic drop shadow. The font has that new age gothic feel to it with bubbly drips, which I find really quite suitable for the name

I feel like I can say with confidence that each color, maybe outside of the white, is truly unique in it's own way. Even what one might assume would be the most basic of colors just pulls so vibrantly, but somehow soft that it's actually soothing to the eye. From left to right you've got a yellow "Star", a peachy color "Clementine", a pinkish purple "Meow", a really unique purple "Dope", bright blue "Doom", the green being my personal favorite "Gloom", a true medium toned gray "Dagger", and a stark white "Shell". Each color in this palette is perfectly matte.

I will admit that when I first saw this palette I wasn't too impressed. "It's just another rainbow palette" I thought, as a lot of us know Kat Von D has released a rainbow palette before. But after feeling the formula I had to give it a shot. The formula of these shadows are unique in comparison to most shadows I've played with and used. At first glance they seem chalky, but they apply unimaginably smooth and blend almost without effort. After the general public threw a fit over the name "Pastel Goth" due to the colors not necessarily being what the average may consider pastel, Kat Von D herself did say that her inspiration was pastel chalks. Which, makes sense, she is an artist before anything after all. Anyway, my point is, I feel like this palette reflects her inspiration both in appearance and performance. If you've ever worked with artist pastel chalks yourself, these shadows will strangely remind you of that feeling and technique as you work with them. I'll admit, that may not be everyone's cup of tea. But as I've worked with this palette more and more I've come to love that the most about it and it's something I would suggest most people try out and see for themselves.

Overall, I'm glad this palette ended up being a very pleasant surprise.