I’ve never bought anything from the Kardashian / Jenner clan but I have to admit that I was intrigued when Kim Kardashian announced that she would be releasing products with her makeup artist for ten years, Mario Dedivanovic who is responsible for Kim’s flawless, contoured makeup look. So, on the day of release, I decided to purchase my first Kardashian beauty product, the KKWXMARIO eyeshadow palette to see if it lives up to the hype. I’m a big fan of the Urban Decay Naked palettes so my expectations were set pretty high for this palette.
KKWXMARIO – Ordering & Delivery:
I’ve never bought anything from America before, so I was initially a little sceptical but it was actually super easy. I ordered the palette from the KKW Beauty website, and could see that some of the bundles had already sold out. Luckily, there were still eyeshadow palettes available. The palette itself cost $45 which is roughly £32 at the time of writing this so from a cost perspective, this actually works out cheaper than an Urban Decay palette which are typically around £37 for a Naked Palette although this has 12 shades, whereas the KKW palette only has ten shades.
I then had to pay the delivery charge for international shipping of $14.95 which is roughly £11 at the time of writing this. My confirmation email confirming my order arrived straight away and later that day, I received an email confirming that it had been dispatched. It also provided tracking details, that the USPS would be delivering my product and that I’d receive email and text updates from them. Pretty reassuring for someone whose never ordered something from America before!
Just over a week later, I received a ‘Fee To Pay’ card from Royal Mail, advising that a parcel had arrived for me and that I had to pay the customs fee of £15.20. This was surprisingly easy, you just login to the Royal Mail website, put in the number on the card and proceed with payment. Once this goes through, the parcel gets delivered.
KKWXMARIO – The Arrival:
I thought that it would take weeks to arrive, considering the high demand for the KKWXMARIO products and because it was arriving from America but I was surprised how quickly it arrived. One of my biggest concerns was the palette being damaged on arrival – I would be heartbroken if one of the shadows was shattered! While unpacking the parcel, I thought the parcel packaging was quite poor considering the £11 I’d spent on postage and packaging – it came in a medium-sized brown box and was bulked out with scrunched up paper which provided the cushioning for the palette. A little bubble wrap wouldn’t have gone amiss. Luckily, it arrived in perfect condition!
I like the way the product packaging feels, it’s got a matte feel to it and has a magnetic catch which is really satisfying. When I unboxed it, I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t a plastic cover over the top of the eyeshadows which meant that the mirror was a little bit dirty already with a little bit of eyeshadow on it.
KKWXMARIO – The Shades
There are ten shades to this palette, four matte shades and six shimmer shades and I really love how all of the shade names are really personal to Kim and Mario,
The shimmers are my favourite – they are so creamy with amazing pigmentation. I found the matte shades a little more powdery but they also had great pigmentation.
All of the shades are the exactly the sort of shades I’d wear which makes it a great palette as there’s usually a few shades in a palette like this that you’d never wear. The colours all work great together and blend really well with different types of brushes.The only shade I’m on the fence with is the gorgeous bright blue – while it looks beautiful in the pan, I’m not sure if I can pull it off and definitely not one for the office!
2008 – This is a beautiful beige / silver shimmery shade, perfect as a highlight on the brow bone or the inner corner of the eye.
Decade – This is a pale, peachy matte and works as a good base shade for eyeshadow. I didn’t think it’s as pigmented as it could be as it didn’t swatch that well when I tried it.
Glam – Easily my favourite shade from the whole palette, this is a beautiful bronzy gold shade and this has already become my go-to shade.
Albanian – This is a terracotta red matte shade, which works well to deepen up a crease.
Miami – I’ve been using this matte shade alongside Glam in my crease and on my lower lash line. The website describes this as a warm caramel brown but I’d say it’s a little more orangey than caramel.
Vegas – This is a dark purple shimmer shade, perfect for a smoky night out.
Armenian – This is my second favourite shade, with blue eyes I’ve always been a fan of gold shades and Armenian is no exception. It’s a slightly pale yellow shade, not too yellowy which I like.
Libra – This is the hugely talked about bright royal blue shimmer shade but it’s not as pigmented as I thought it would be. Weirdly, I really love it but I’m not sure I can pull it off! Rather than wearing this as a full eyeshadow, I’ve been trying it as a liner on my lower lash line. This is a more wearable way to wear this fun shade.
Loyalty – This is a matte brown shade and this is the only shade I was disappointed in, I thought it would’ve been richer and darker in colour.
Bronzy – If you can’t already tell, I love my bronzes, coppers and gold shades but I really love this gorgeous bronzy shimmer shade, the name of this kinda says it all!
KKWXMARIO – Overall:
In total, this cost me a whopping £58.20 for a ten shade eyeshadow palette.
Is it a good palette? Yes it is, the shades are incredible, blend really well and pigmentation is good.
Is it worth almost £60? No, not quite. The frustration to me is that I think the actual palette is reasonably priced at £32 and in line with the cost of an Urban Decay palette (can you tell they’re my favourite) but the delivery and customs fees send it over the edge.
Have you tried any beauty products from the Kardashian / Jenner clan? What do you think?
