Going through the Taupes: Kate Dual Blend Eyes in BK-1

 One of the cool things about going through my taupes is rediscovering some that I had forgotten about (as well as finding ones I could go without; Bloom Slate, a murky grey, went straight to the purge pile after I swatched.) KATE Dual Blend Eyes in BK-1 was a pleasant rediscovery.

It has two shades: a puttyish beige and a deep cool brown with a bit of a violet undertone.

The selling point is that the two eyeshadow colors aren't completely separated and can be blended in the pan. I tried to clean up the beige side for you (aren't I nice?) but with normal usage, the area in the middle can become quite muddled.

Dark brown, beige, blended

Once the beige is layered over the cool brown, the effect becomes even more muted, even taupe-y. For consistency's sake, I like to take pictures in natural light. I had none, so these are all with-flash, which does have the benefit of showing off the shimmer.

I know I said that most KATE palettes tended to have one shade I don't like. There's generally a glitter stripe I delicately try to avoid or a useless creasy cream base. But here, both shades are smooth with buildable pigmentation. They're not the most densely pigmented in the world but they're also not sheer.

I wanted to show you how similar the Lunasol and KATE shimmer stories are. Again, with my lack of light box, voodoo powers, or ridiculous macro lens, the subtle yumminess of the shimmer (especially in the case of the Lunasol quad) is hard to see. But what I hope you can see is that they are similar in finish and even in their soft texture. Both of these palettes are my favorites from the respective brands, formula-wise, by the way. If you are looking into KATE, the Dual Blend eyes are a pretty nice place to start.

And here is the blended shade swatched along with some other taupes in a picture that dulls the shimmer considerably, as anyone who has ever owned Bronzed Taupe can guess.