I am laaaate to the party with the Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows! They were really hard to get my hands on when they first launched (and some of the shades are continuously out of stock because they’re so popular!) and the price point was a bit jarring ($25 CAD per shadow!).

However, I was at IMATS earlier this month and they had reduced prices so I decided to pick up two shades I’d had sitting in my Sephora cart for a VERY long time! It worked out kind of well because I’d also been sent one shade from PR (although it had arrived completely shattered and I had to repress it) so I was able to try out a few more shades and speak to the formula a bit more.

Oddly, I didn’t pick up the more vibrant shades (for once in my life) – I was sent Synergy (the bronze metallic) and I bought Raw Power (red/mahogany) and Thunderstruck (white duochrome/pearl). Thunderstruck is the shade everyone seems to rave about and it is ALWAYS out of stock on Sephora’s web site!

Swatched, you can see just how intense the pigmentation is. All of these shadows are metallic (hence the name Metal Crush), so you’ll need to pull in some mattes to complete your look.

This is a semi-out of focus shot (and unedited) to show you the colour dimension in Thunderstruck. It can look pure white straight on, but from an angle it reflects pink and orange and occasionally some tinges of blue (it’s quite opalescent). It’s a great shadow to put all over the lid and then pair it with other colours on the outer corner because it can shape itself to fit a lot of different colours. I know a lot of people also wear it as a highlighter on their cheekbones, but I was oddly not as keen on it that way.

Eye Looks Using Metal Crush

My Thoughts

I found that the Metal Crush shadows were extremely pigmented and beautiful. The shade range is gorgeous and exciting, and I do wish I had some of the brighter shades because they look absolutely incredible. The major stickler for people may be the price point ($25 CAD/$21 USD). Sure, the pans are much larger than your average eyeshadow (you’re getting about 1 gram more than normal), but if you want to pick up a handful of shades, you’re pushing close to $100 which can be a bit of a punch to the wallet. I am INCREDIBLY happy that Kat Von D released her Metal Matte palette for the holiday season which is an amazing value since you get not only a huge variety of her Metal Crush shadows, but you also get a ton of her matte shadows. While I don’t own this palette (yet) myself, the reviews have all said that the quality is amazing and on par for the brand. The Metal Matte palette is limited edition, so make sure you pick it up while you can!

To sum up my feelings on these shadows… I like the packaging, I think the shadow quality is excellent, the colours are beautiful (they’ve got some GORGEOUS vibrant shades!) and you’re getting quite a bit of product in the pans.

The Kat Von D Metal Crush eyeshadows can be purchased on Sephora.ca for $25 CAD each or on sephora.com for $21 USD each. Or, get a bit more bang for your buck by grabbing the Metal Matte holiday palette ($74 CAD/$60 USD).

The shade "Synergy" was sent to me for consideration.