Kat Von D Shade Shifter Eyeshadow: On the Road

This is the eyeshadow that started my new crush on this mini collection from Kat Von D's makeup line (a Sephora exclusive).  A brown-green duo-chrome?  You've got my attention.  I also wondered if it would be a reasonable dupe for my HG brown eyeshadow, the beautiful but discontinued for probably close to a decade, Chanel Irreelle Ombre Eyeshadow #23 Sphinx.  Just a warning, this will be a photo-heavy post.

I love that each box is unique and allows the customer to easily identify which shade is in the box.

Like I mentioned in the other reviews, I'm a huge fan of the packaging on the Shade Shifter eyeshadows, which retail for $16 each, contain 0.09oz of product, and are available at Sephora exclusively.  The matte black case, clear window to allow easy identification of the product, and white tattooed flowers make a visually beautiful piece.

A number of photos of the eyeshadow, because it looks so different, depending on the light.  It's a true cocoa brown with a significant and pronounced green duochrome shift.

Inside, no flash:

Inside, with flash- look at how different this color is!  It's a true chameleon.

I couldn't stop photographing this beauty.  Next, outside to show off in the natural light:

As I previously mentioned, each Shade Shifter comes with a large foam applicator meant for the custom wet/dry application.

There are 3 ways to apply these shadows.

1. Dry, with a regular eyeshadow brush (leaves a wash of color)
2. Dry, with provided foam applicator (dense, less duochrome)
3. Wet, with provided foam applicator (rich payoff, most duochrome)

My swatches are of the final 2 methods.  All are dry (left) and wet (right)

Outside, in indirect light.  Dry--- wet

Inside, with no flash.  Dry--- wet

Inside, with flash. Dry--- wet

Look at the green!


When I first saw this shade, I wondered if it would be a dupe for Chanel Irreelle Ombre in Sphinx. The base brown is very similar, but swatch-wise, it's not close.  Here's some swatches just because I could stare at these two shadows all day long.

Chanel Irreelle Ombre- 22 Sphinx (long since discontinued, sadly):

Swatched, Sphinx is on the left, dry On the Road in the middle, and wet On the Road on the right.

Outside (sorry it's a little blurry):

Inside with flash:

In a word: WOW.

Turns out, I was correct with the rich undertones, but On the Road is unique and certainly not a dupe of anything.  I can think of many ways to wear this shadow, and am so glad that it got my interest.