Review: Kanebo KATE Dual Carat

Last year, when I took a month long trip to Taiwan, I went on a drugstore product binge. Kanebo KATE's eye shadow palettes were not excluded, and I happily picked up Dual Carat in PU-1. Based on reviews from other sites, this was supposed to be a great eyeshadow for roughly 10USD.

Is it that hot? Do you need it *now*?

Well....not so much. No. Definitely not.

Lets start off on a good note. The packaging is definetly very pretty--simplistic, sleek in design. My favorite part is that the clear plastic part is faceted, so when the light hits it, it looks like a true gem. Here's a good picture:

See what I mean? Also, here is the back:

I don't know what all that Japanese says but I find it nice that on the box (not pictured, long since tossed out) there is a diagram that tells you to use the darker shade nearer to your lashline, and the lighter shade as an all over shade.

Now, on to texture. I don't know what went wrong Kanebo! While this doesn't crease on me (over UDPP), and the texture is amazingly silky, soft, and blendable, it's chalky on me.

Chalky!

All that gorgeous shimmer, deep purple goodness and icy blue of Duo Carat PU-1?



Wasted!

It looks so horrible on me, and I doubt it's the colors' fault. Its the formula! Even seeing how great it looks swatched on my hand (and 'great' here is an understatement, you can see how its only semi-pigmented and prone to dull color), on my eyelids, its a great big fat yuck.

But if chalky dull eyeshadow floats your boat, Dual Carat comes in 7 different colors including blues, blacks, browns, bright hot pink, golds, and creams. Available for 17$ at Ichibankao.com.