I love eyeshadow palettes.  Singles are fun because you you can get the exact colors you want.  Palettes let you explore.  Sometimes you'll find shades you never thought you'd like.  When the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Palette came out, I was torn.  Warm tones aren't my thing, but they do have their place, like as a transition color.  I knew at least four colors would be warm.  Also, the color names.  There are a couple that make me cringe.

Front of box

I let my inhibitions fly, because what this had was a good base of colors.  I really wanted some mattes I could have as my bread and butter sort of shades.  Basic, dependable colors.

Back of the box

The Shade and Light Eye Palette has twelve colors.  Three of them are 2.3 grams and the other nine are 1.1 grams.  It is not tested on animals and is made in the USA.  They are all matte, which was the draw for this.  Good mattes are like black eyeliner, they're an essential to a beauty wardrobe. See, I can talk myself into anything.  It sells for $46.00.


The packaging is cardboard, but feels substantial.  It is a flat black with shiny raised lettering and silver highlighting.  It has a magnetic closure.


The color names are listed on the back of the package.  I prefer them listed on the inside, but at least it is something that stays with the package.

Matte attack

The colors are arranged with the neutral quad on the left, the cool in the middle, and the warm is on the right.  Now, onto the part you actually care about!

Neutral Quad

Laetus is a matte vanilla.  It is finely milled, has okay pigmentation and the color can be little patchy and powdery.  It leans a little warm.




Samael is one of the names I cringed at.  I seriously refused to buy this for a long time because of this color name.  It is a fawn color that even though is a neutral does lean a little warm.  It is fine as well, has good pigmentation, but can be tough to layer at times.





Solas is a dark brown with reddish tones.  It has decent pigmentation and can be a little patchy.  However it does blend easily.  This neutral also leans a little warm.




Lucius has a satin matte finish in a creamy beige color.  It has good pigmentation, feels creamy, and blends well.

Cool Quad

Lazarus is one of my favorite shades in this palette.  It is a cool toned matte taupe.  The texture is creamy, it has good pigmentation, and blends beautifully.  This color is wonderful as a transition color for pale cool toned people.  It could also be used as a contour color or even a brow color.  I adore this shade.


Saleos is a cool toned deep taupey brown.  It has good pigmentation, can be a tad powdery, and blends decently.  This is another of my favorite colors.  I love this as a crease color.  But I feel it could be used in similar ways to Lazarus.



Shax is a wonderful black with cool tones.  I like the name as it reminds me of Charmed.  It has good pigmentation, a silky texture, but can be a little tough to blend out.  It still is a good black and very useful in any palette.



Liberatus is another staple shade in this palette for me.  It is an ivory with pink tones.  It has good pigmentation, is creamy, and blends well.  It actually works as a brow highlight for me.  It may turn chalky on deeper skin tones.

Warm Quad

Ludwin is a satin matte peach.  It has decent pigmentation but sheers out well.  It blends nicely and is a wonderful warm transition color that can be quite useful.




Succubus is a rusty brown that has decent pigmentation but can blend out to a sheer color.  Others might not like that about this color, but I found that because of this it made it very wearable for my pale, cool toned skin.



Sytry is a chocolate brown with yellow undertones.  It has good pigmentation, blends well, but can be a little powdery.





Latinus is a satin matte in a buttery beige color.  It has good pigmentation, creamy, and blends well.






I have had this palette for about two months now.  I had mostly wanted it for the cool tones.  I had feared the warm shades, but thought the neutrals might have their uses.  Honestly, I reach for the cool shades nearly every day.  But I do enjoy incorporating the warm colors as well.  Especially, Ludwin and Succubus.

The neutral shades, while the majority lean warm, have been very useful as well.  I wouldn't say this palette will knock your socks off or contains revolutionary colors.  It does however, contain very useful colors that might have you reaching for it more than others because you can form the base for any look with this palette.

I would recommend using a primer with these colors.  I haven't really thought of it for eye contouring, that idea seems gimmicky.  It is very useful for transition colors, crease, and highlight.  You can do a full eye look with this palette for a more neutral look.

You will find this useful if you do get it.  Aging eyes will find it even more useful as mattes tend to be more flattering.  It does the matte look quite successfully.  I can see why this palette has gained popularity.

* I bought this palette with my hard earned money.  No one sent this to me or thought I should review it.  I purchased this at Sephora and I used Ebates, this is my referral link.