Sunday, May 24, 2015

Kat Von D Lightning Liner Metallic Eyeliner in "Bach" & "Amadeus": Review and Swatches

Disclaimer: Product featured was provided for review.
Kat Von D Lightning Liner Metallic Eyeliner in "Bach" & "Amadeus": Review and Swatches
After falling in love with the Sephora + Pantone Marsala Metalshine Liquid Liner, I was very excited about the release of the Kat Von D Lightning Liners ($25 CAD each). Available in ten electric shades, the Lightning Liners feature a pigmented metallic formulation. So are these liners as rich and intense as Kat Von D promises, read on to find out.......
Kat Von D Lightning Liners
Packaging:
Brand new Lightning Liners come with a "protection ring". Before first use, remove the ring by pulling it off the liner. Then, fully push the cap into the body until there is no space left in between. I initially didn't know how hard to push, but it turns out you have to apply quite a bit of pressure to get the cap completely attached to the body. The cap and the body are kept separate to prevent the liner from drying out. When the cap is pushed down, it pierces the sealed body.
Kat Von D Lightning Liner Metallic Eyeliner in "Bach" & "Amadeus": Review and Swatches
Kat Von D Lightning Liners
The liner dispenses via a twist-up mechanism. The liner is very runny, so one or two twists each time (while holding the liner with the brush end pointing up) is enough to bring out a lot of products.
The liner has a dense synthetic brush applicator. The quality is very nice and its width and stiffness are just right, providing a clean and precise application.
Kat Von D Lightning Liner Metallic Eyeliner in "Bach" & "Amadeus": Review and Swatches
Kat Von D Lightning Liners
Formulation:
Bach is a royal blue with not a lot of metallic particles; this shade is mostly an inky base with sparse silver shimmers. Amadeus is a reflective silver. I was expecting this one to be a lot more opaque; however, the formulation is super sheer. Both liners are very runny (almost watery consistency), with Bach being more pigmented but less metallic-y and Amadeus more metallic-y but sheerer. As you can imagine, the runny formulation takes quite a while to dry and with a sheer shade like Amadeus, I had to use at least two layers for the line to look half-opaque.
The other problem I have with these liners is how the product set as both liners dried very crusty. I even tried applying some shadow as a base and the same thing happened. The upside, though, is that the formulation is completely waterproof and smudge-proof.
Kat Von D Lightning Liner Metallic Eyeliner in "Bach" & "Amadeus": Review and Swatches
Arm swatches; one swipes of Bach and three swipes of Amadeus
Left: Bach; Right: Amadeus
Overall:
I am pretty disappointed by these liners. The formulation is simply too runny and not metallic enough. The drying time was lengthy, which led to smudging and when set, the liners felt crusty and drying on the lids. On the bright side though, these are very waterproof and smudge-proof.

Availability:
Kat Von D is available online and in stores at Sephora.
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