When Kat Von D Beauty revealed Fetish, its holiday eye shadow palette for 2018, I could only think one thing: Why would I need this if I already have the Saint + Sinner palette? That palette had literally every shade I could ever want, no?
Determined to prove me wrong, the brand sent me the Fetish palette so I could play with it myself and get a grip on how its formulas worked. I was not expecting the first impression I received.
First things first: The Fetish palette ($63, Sephora) is absolutely ginormous, and its packaging brings home the BDSM theme in every way possible.
The shape of the packaging makes it a little harder to store than a traditional rectangle-shaped one, but the fun latex leather and rope textures on its front more than make up for that.
The palette comes complete with a whopping 24 shades — more than I even know what to do with — and each one has a name that'll make you blush profusely.
Here are just a few of the names that made me audibly giggle, because I have the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old: Sex, Submissive, Bondage, Safe Word, Rubber, Whip, Rope — this is surely the kinkiest beauty product of all time.
My first thought, after getting all my sex jokes out, was how much I appreciated the sizable mirror on Fetish's inside.
Most palettes, in my opinion, shouldn't even come with a mirror because there usually just isn't enough space for one. But I've actually been using the one inside Fetish every single day because it's now the best one I own.
I guess that also makes up for the storage issue.
But then I got to the swatches and was truly blown away by how easily they delivered this amount of pigment.
As it goes for most eye shadow palettes, the mattes in Fetish took one or two hearty swipes of my finger to reach full color payoff, but the metallics needed only one.
Before putting any of these shadows on my eyeballs, I prepped my lids with Kat Von D Beauty Lock-It Concealer Creme in White Out ($26, Sephora).
I figured a Kat Von D Beauty base was likely to be more compatible with these shadows than my go-to eye primers. I did all my base makeup too — if fallout occurred, there would be no going back.
I've been really into green eye looks recently, so I automatically gravitated toward La Petite Mort, a true matte green. It shockingly provided zero kickback and stuck fully to the brush.
"La petite mort," by the way, is French for "the little death," otherwise known as an orgasm. Nice.
When applied with a fluffy blending brush, it delivered a smooth and sheer (albeit buildable) wash of color — perfect for the transition I was aiming for.
Still on the green train, I used a packing brush to pick up Shibari, a metallic, olive-toned green. It also delivered zero kickback and stuck to my brush like glue.
I had to look up what Shibari is — turns out it's the Japanese art of rope bondage. This palette is literally teaching me sex things.
Shibari had one-swipe coverage and major sparkle, but it was extremely hard to capture on camera, hence this very silly angle.
Camera issues aside, I was damn impressed.
Curious if these metallic shades were capable of layering, I took a wet, angled eyebrow brush to the bright silver shade Cuffs, said "screw it," and drew a massive lightning bolt on top of both La Petite Mort and Shibari.
Though it only appeared in direct light, it definitely layered the way I hoped it would.
I switched to my other side, specifically so I could test out the palette's red shades, starting with the metallic Dominatrix, which also had one-swipe coverage and transformed into semi-matte burgundy when blended out.
Thinking there was no way in hell a matte shade could layer as well over a metallic, I took an eyeliner brush to Bondage and couldn't believe my eyes.
Rarely do red eye shadows deliver this level of pigment without some hefty elbow grease, but Bondage pulled it off (on top of a metallic shade, no less — that's a rarity).
What's even more impressive is that red eyeshadows are extremely difficult to produce with a vegan formula, as red cosmetic pigments have historically relied upon Carmine, a red dye made from insects. But Kat Von D Beauty DID THAT.
I finished my left eye off with Kink, a sheer yet bright purple, on my lower lash line and ended up with one of my favorite eye looks I've ever done.
Fetish palette, I didn't think I'd say this, but you can get freaky with me any day.
I expected these eyeshadows to be good, but I did not expect to leave this review with the innate sense that I legitimately need this palette in my massive collection. Each shade feels unique and new, and can be paired in endless ways. Like many of Kat Von D Beauty's other creations, it really forces you out of your makeup routines and encourages trying something you wouldn't ever dream of.
And, surprisingly, it differentiated itself quite heavily from the Saint + Sinner palette, with its dark and alluring metallic formula and range of strange, cool tones.
Just like the subject of its theme (whether or not that kinda thing is your bag), these shadows will have you surprised at just how adventurous you can be.
