Kat Von D X Divine Collection Review

by - 7:59 PM

Kat Von D X Divine Collection Review


     I'm overcome with happiness, seeing an idol of mine (who's legacy shaped drag and counterculture as we know it) have a makeup collection released in their honor. PROPS to you Kat Von D for bringing Divine to the forefront of the makeup community and it's younger generation. For those of you unfamiliar with Divine, Harris Glenn Milstead (Divine) was born on October 19, 1945 into a wealthier family. After developing an interest in drag and counterculture Divine rejected her family's lifestyle and went on to become a well known drag queen. She starred in a number of films, most of which directed by her childhood friend John Waters, who gave her the name Divine. The films she starred in with John Waters directing, became instantly recognizable for their irreverent and outrageous content, helping to popularize them among the midnight movie circuit. Later in her career Divine went on to perform with Seattle group "The Cockettes" and created a string of hit songs during the 80's. Before Divine passed away in her sleep on March 7, 1988 from an enlarged heart, she was offered a reccurring role on Married with Children to play a character named Uncle Otto, bringing her dreams of being taken as a serious character actor to fruition. A year after her death, Walt Disney released The Little Mermaid. The main villain in the film, Ursula the sea witch bore a stringing resemblance to Divine, later being confirmed that the character was designed in her image.
     The eyeshadow palette features the eyes of Divine on the front and is encased with neon green packaging. The shades have been thoughtfully named after different aspect's of Divine's career; "Hairspray" is named after the movie Hairspray where Divine plays the main character's mother Edna Turnblad, "Female Trouble" is named after another movie Divine starred in where she plays a runaway girl who later turns into a hardened criminal, "Pink Flamingos" is named after the film Divine's most well known for. She play a underground criminal who is challenged by a couple that run an adoption agency for the title "filthiest people alive," "Filthy" is a reference to Pink Flamingos and the title given to Divine's character, "Waters" is named after John Waters, her close childhood friend who cast her in a number of movies he filmed, this includes all the films I've already mentioned, "Baltimore" is named after the city Divine was born in, "Hard Magic" is the name of one of her songs, and "Babs" is the name of her character from Pink Flamingos. The lipstick is aptly named "Divine" and was designed using the new Studded Lipstick formula.
     The palette which costs $38 contains 8 different eyeshadows consisting of mattes and shimmers, the palette weighs 8 x 1.70g/ 8 x 0.06oz for a cost of $4.75 per eyeshadow. The lipstick costs $19 and you're getting 3.4g/ 0.12oz. Both items are vegan and Kat Von D is a cruelty free company.

First Impressions:

     When Kat Von D first sneak peaked the palette on her ex-boyfriends Instagram I was bouncing off the walls in excitement. Leave it to Kat Von D to come up with the most interesting collaborations. When I saw the colors in the palette, my excitement dwindled. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but the palette didn't scream Divine to me. The blue shades were definitely appropriate as Divine would often wear blue when she wasn't wearing neutral colored eyeshadows (in one of Divine's most recognizable scenes that comes from Pink Flamingos, Divine is wearing over the top blue eyeshadow). The black and white eyeshadows definitely have their place in the palette, especially the black which is perfect to fill in a giant wing or cut a crease. What perplexes me the most is the green eyeshadow. I did read a comment on Instagram where someone claimed that the green eyeshadow was created to resemble Divine's bizarre character in color. I can see where they're coming from, but I don't know if I'm sold on that idea and furthermore, why name it "Pink Flamingos" was it because the trailer she was living in was half green, probably not. "Babs" is also another shade that perplexes me. I can't say I've across any photos where Divine is wearing champagne eyeshadow, but perhaps this shade was thrown in to make the color scheme more coherent and wearable. The last two shades "Filthy" and "Hairspray," I feel similarly towards. Divine did wear matte gray eyeshadows, but again, these shades felt as though they were thrown to ground the palette's color scheme. While I do like the color scheme as a whole, I just don't feel as though it completely screams Divine to me. I would have really enjoyed a neutral brown, a purple, or even a bright red eyeshadow, colors more synonymous with colors Divine wore. The lipstick though simple, is quite spot on, when Divine wasn't wearing bright red lips, she often wore beige lipsticks. The last thing that I need to address, is the absence of plus sized models for the campaign. Divine was a confident plus sized diva and to not feature at least one plus sized model felt inappropriate to me. I'm sure it was nothing personal, but being that Divine is an idol of mine, I can't help being overly critical towards every aspect of this collection.

Review:

     Just like any other palette I've tried from Kat Von D, there isn't much to complain about in terms of performance. Personally, I would prefer more pigmentation in the black (Hard Magic) and white (Female Troubles) shades, but the white shade does build up quite nicely. For the average makeup user, these less pigmented eyeshadows should be less intimidating to use, they're much easier to brush off if any fallout occurs and much easier to conceal if you make a mistake. The black and silver (Hairspray) eyeshadows are the only ones that gave me problems with fallout, but if you tap off your brush or apply extra powder under the eye, this is a simple fix. The silver and champagne (Babs) eyeshadows are a bit on the chunky side, which can make it difficult to load up your brush with this shade as some of it will just flake off the brush. I will say that all of the eyeshadows produce some kick up, but it's  was nothing too major. The eyeshadow that stood out the most to me in this palette has to be the one that I was most divided on "Pink Flamingos." "Pink Flamingos" isn't a basic green eyeshadow, it has the most beautiful lime green sheen which catches the light effortlessly. The lipstick is pretty standard for the new Studded Kiss formula; it's nice, creamy, and pigmented. I can do a separate review on the new formula, but just know that it's a nice lipstick and a great color choice in my opinion.
     Despite my initial critiques of the color scheme, the more time I've spent using this palette, I've come to realize that there is a rhyme and reason to the colors. Maybe it's because I love wearing bold colors, but this palette draws me in and the colors all work well together. Granted the lack of colors limits the number of varying looks, but I've been able to create whole eye looks using this on it's own. As any makeup user will tell you, it can be quite difficult to stay organized while applying your makeup; usually we scatter things about carelessly. If you can cut out more palettes or individuals from adding to the clutter by having one palette that encompasses all your needs, wouldn't you also say that this is a good palette to have? This palette has been quite the whirlwind for me, from excitement, a bit of disappointment, to absolute love! I'm absolutely thrilled that this palette came through in properly honoring Divine's legacy and that Kat Von D agreed to take on this project and bring it to life. I can't recommend it more!


(The eyeshadows on top were swatched using the 'Shade' side of the EcoTools Enhancing Eye Set, the finger swatches were done right below. I used Too Faced's Shadow Insurance as a base)

Dupes:


     Swatching these colors, I couldn't help feeling as though the palette was a combination of the Saint & Sinner Palette and Pastel Goth Palette. Looking for dupes in these two palettes produced surprising results. "Baltimore" is a less intense version on "Ministry" from the Saint & Sinner Palette. I thought I could dupe "Hairspray," but as it turns out, the closet dupe I could find in the Saint & Sinner Palette was "Heaven" which is more of a reflects lavender silver. "Hard Magic" is a pretty standard black and easy to dupe as most Kat Von D palettes have black eyeshadows similar in quality, I've compared it against "Sabbath" from the Saint & Sinner Palette; "Hard Magic" is a less intense black than "Sabbath." The next dupe was the most shocking, "Waters" is almost exactly the same shade as "Doom" from the Pastel Goth Palette. If I were to point out a difference, I would say that "Waters" is slightly more on the baby blue side and "Doom" is more on the aqua side, but to be quite honest, I feel this comparison is a stretch as it took me half an hour to find a difference between the two and let's be honest, most people would believe these were the exact same color. "Female Trouble" like "Hard Magic" is a pretty standard white eyeshadow and most Kat Von D palettes contain one, I've compared it to "Skull" from the Pastel Goth palette which is slightly more pigmented. If you have these two palettes, you may want to pass, but if you only have one and really want want this palette, I'd say to go for it. Plus if you really enjoyed any of these dupes and are afraid of running out of them, think of these as your reserves.


(The shimmer eyeshadows were swatched using my fingers and the matte eyeshadows were swatched using an E.L.F. eyeshadow brush. I used Too Faced's Shadow Insurance as a base)



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