Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

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You know what? I almost didn’t buy this eyeshadow palette. I just naturally assumed that I was not Kat Von D’s target demographic. Don’t get me wrong – she’s beautiful. But the whole tattooed pin-up girl thing isn’t my personal style, so I just sort of glossed over her makeup line when it was released in Sephora. Over time, the rave reviews became hard to ignore, and eventually I picked up her eyeliner (which I love). Then, during my search for a well-curated eyeshadow palette that featured green shadows, I stumbled across the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Ludwig, and now I’m in love. In fact, based on my examination of Kat Von D’s makeup packaging, I now believe we’d enjoy watching BBC costume dramas together and doing each other’s makeup on a tufted velvet settee. Maybe afterward she could fix the tattoo I got in my late teens so it looks less like a magnet for middle-aged bikers, and a little bit more Rococo.

Kat Von D

But back to the Ludwig Eyeshadow Palette – you guys, this thing is spectacular. I’ve purchased a lot of eyeshadow palettes in the past few months, but this one, despite being one of the least expensive ones at $34, was definitely the most fun to open. Even the box design had a little touch of class, opening like an evening clutch instead of a run-of-the-mill box. Marie Antoinette would approve.

The shadows inside are even more beautiful than the packaging. I really love the colors selection in Ludwig – one of the biggest strengths of the Kat Von D palettes is how well curated they are. I specifically chose this one for the greens, and the greens do not disappoint. The colors themselves are highly pigmented. On my swatch arm they are shown without any sort of primer, and you can see how nice the color payoff is there. With an eye primer (I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance with these) the colors really pop. I am really looking forward to trying them out using my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk!

In terms of texture, most of the Ludwig Eyeshadows are way above average. They are drier than the Lorac and Urban Decay shadows in my collection, but still very smooth and easy to work with. The dark matte shadows (Leather and Lucifer) are a little more resistant to blending than the others (you can see what I mean on my swatch arm), but they are still easier to work with than dark mattes from other collections I’ve tried. I further noticed the color “Clay” is a bit on the crumbly side (also evidenced on my swatch arm). However, the crumbliness didn’t seem to cause any fallout, and that color is just as effortlessly blendable as most of the others in the lineup.

Overall, I’m very happy with the Ludwig Palette. Now that I know how much I like these shadows, I am definitely going to be picking up the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Ladybird, which is an all matte collection. Maybe afterward I’ll invite Kat Von D for tea and a viewing of Pride & Prejudice.

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 4/5 – Long-wearing (7+ hours with minimal fading), great color payoff, easy to work with
Quality: 3/5 – Beautiful color selection, and mostly great texture, though a few of the colors could stand some texture improvement
Value: 5/5 – $34 for eight, high-quality shadows in colors I’ll actually use is a great deal, especially when compared to the pricer palettes in my collection

Overall: 4/5

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