Kat Von D Serpentina Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches (cruelty free & vegan)

Kat Von D beauty just came out with a limited edition 100% vegan eyeshadow palette! It is due to be in Sephora stores on 7/21/16.

The Serpentina palette is inspired by Egypt and features rich, jewel toned colors. The palette features 8 pressed eye shadows and one loose pigment.

The packaging is very sturdy and heavy. Unlike previous palettes of hers, this is long and thin, but, like I said, with alot of weight to it. There are ornate Egyptian themed and gold lettering and accents all over the package. There is also a mirror. Obviously, Kat being the artist that she is, really put a lot into the theme of this.

Here are all of the shades!

without flash

with flash

Pressed Shadows

top to bottom: venom, scarab, Medusa, hieroglyph, queen, bloodmilk, Nile, ankh.

These are the pressed shadows. I do really like most of these, although the formula is not the same across the board.
I really like the matte shades, venom & bloodmilk. They don’t feel buttery but they are smooth and pigmented. These blend easily. On the eyes bloodmilk performs better than venom. Venom looses some of its pigmentation when on. I would suggest using a very densly packed brush or finger for application if you want to keep the color bold.

Scarab, ankh and medusa are the three shades that perform best when on the eyes. These shades require the littlest effort put in to make them work and keep their pigmentation. I wish I wore green eye shadow more because scarab really is a unique and beautiful color. It almost looks black with a green blue shift.

top to bottom: scarab, hieroglyph and bloodmilk

All of the shimmer shadows have a ton of fallout. You would definitely need to do your eyemakeup before anything on the face, other wise you will have a mess. These might have the most fallout of any shadow I’ve tried next to Urban Decay. Which, they actually kind of remind me of.

Queen, hieroglyph, and Nile swatch beautifully and are gorgeous colors but they take a little more work and patience to get the color pay off. Hieroglyph is my favorite color but definitely requires some fixative spray or primer to get the best color.

Overall with most of the pressed shadows you need a primer. I suggest using denser brushes than you typically would if you’d like to keep the colors bold. These colors are all so gorgeous, if you’re just applying the color on with your fingers you will keep the color saturation.

Loose Pigment

loose pigment, prophet. applied wet with a brush

The loose pigment is really beautiful. It will perform the best wet. It looks beautiful and foiled on the eyes. You can also use this over lipsticks, as a highlighter additive and for other things. I would love to see more of these from Kat Von D.

Final Thoughts

I have hieroglyph, queen & bloodmilk on my eyes

Overall my thoughts on this palette are pretty good. I am happy I purchased this and can’t wait to explore it a little more. These for the most part are unique colors. You definitely can’t use this palette by itself. You would need to look elsewhere for transition and highlight shades. The packaging and product are definitely worth the $45 price tag, if these are shades that interest you.
If you are not vegan, Kat Von D has a few other palettes that used in conjunction with this would be great for complete looks. If you are looking for good and inexpensive shades to use everyday and for transition shades, check out my previous post on vegan Makeup Geek neutral shadows!

It is wonderful to see a high profile brand put out an entirely vegan palette. Its huge steps for animal rights! I love to support Kat Von D, especially since she is transitioning her line to be not just cruelty free, but vegan.

If you are interested in what other products are vegan, there is a #VEGANALERT section on their website!

XO
–MO

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