03/10/2013

Feeling Professional

Hi guys! Today I'll be reviewing a product that I featured in my last Monthly Favourites. It is the Lorac Pro Palette. I won this in a giveaway from Sarah at More Than Adored, and I am so thankful to her, as I don't think I would have had the opportunity to try it otherwise! This palette has been so hyped up and has been really popular in the beauty community since its release. Keep reading for my thoughts!




The palette comes with a sample size of the Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. The only other eye primer I've tried is the Essence I <3 Stage Eye base (discontinued :( ) so I don't have a lot of experience with eye primers. This one has an interesting consistency. After a while, I'm not sure if heat is a factor here, but it started to separate. When I squeezed the tube an oily liquid came out and not the actual primer. This was a bit concerning, but I shook up the tube and the primer came out. It is sort of a slippery, lightweight cream texture that doesn't add any coverage. I think it works quite well, better than the Essence, but after a whole day there is a little creasing of the eyeshadow.


The packaging consists of a thin, cardboard palette with magnetised closure. It has a matte black rubberised finish which does tend to get dirty easily. It comes with a good sized mirror and I think it would be great for travelling as it is very light, thin and practical. There is a QR code on the back which says 'scan for tutorials'. I haven't been able to scan it (my scanner doesn't seem to be working/it's taking a very LONG time to do so) but I like the inclusion of it!




So as I am sure you all probably already know, the palette comes with sixteen eyeshadows, the top row is completely matte and the bottom are shimmery. They are mostly neutral shades, with a few deeper colours thrown in which I think would be great for colourful smokey eyes. It contains a really good mix of light, mid and deep tones too. All in all, the perfect combination of neutral and wearable shades, which could create any look. 

The formula on pretty much all of the shadows is really AMAZING, and consistently across all of the shades. A couple of them are a little sheerer than others, but are still very pigmented. These matte eyeshadows are probably the best I've ever tried. I really like the matte eyeshadows I've tried from The Balm, but if I had one complaint about those, they are a little bit powdery. The Lorac ones are creamy, soft, pigmented, not at all chalky and super blendable. The shimmery shades are absolutely stellar. There are a few different finishes, some more pearly, frosty and others straight out metallic. The pigmentation on most of these is CRAZY, seriously though, but they are so buttery soft, and just are a dream to work with. They wear really well with primer too, no fading at all. I think it's more to do with the primer in the wear department though.



On to the swatches!

THE MATTES: White, Cream, Taupe, Lt. Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, Black

In my opinion, White actually comes out as a shimmery shade.I think it has a super fine, pearlescent shimmer, but overall appears matte. It's a really great basic, quite true white shade.
Cream is more of a beige-toned off white. Great for highlighting the brow bone.
Taupe is one of my favourite eyeshadows in the palette. Its a nice mid toned, medium brown which makes for a great crease shade. I think this could also make a good brow colour for blondes or brunettes.
Light Pink is a light, slightly blue-toned pink. This has more of a satin finish and isn't as pigmented as the other shades. It's still really nice though, and typically in my experience, light matte shades tend to look a bit chalky (especially on my skin tone) but this one isn't at all!
Mauve is a really interesting shade! It is sort of a taupe-y mauve shade which would be great for a cooler crease or lid shade. For some reason I think of MAC Quarry a little bit. It appears slightly darker when applied.
Sable is a slightly deeper than medium, warm-toned brown. Again, a nice crease shade (though all of these would be great for the lid in a deeper look) to warm up the eye look and create definition.
Espresso is your classic dark brown shade. Really great and basic for deepening the crease or outer corner of the eye.
I love the inclusion of Black and I have been most frequently using it smudgily against the lash line. It's also nice for smoking things out.

THE SHIMMERS: Nude, Champagne, Gold, Lt. Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple, Slate

Nude is a frosty, light champagne shade - great for highlighting the inner corner of the eye!
Champagne is slightly darker than Nude with more of a pinky tone. This shadow is a little gritty with individual bits of shimmer, but still has good pigmentation.
Gold is, in my opinion, the shadow with the best formula in the palette. An absolute standout! It is an extremely metallic coppery toned gold. The pigmentation of this is absolutely outstanding, and it is so smooth.
Light Bronze is another fave. It is sort of a mix of bronze/peach/gold/beige/champagne but is so lovely as a lid shade.
Pewter is a shimmery taupe shade, a great shade for the lid, outer corner, or crease! Love this one!
Garnet is another beauty - a rusty, maroon garnet shade. Not quite burgundy but in my opinion, a wearable red.
Deep Purple is a very dark purple bordering on black. It applies quite a bit darker than it looks in the pan. The shimmer isn't as obvious in this one.
Slate is a metallic gunmetal blue-grey shade. 


The Lorac Pro Palette is fast becoming one of my favourite, must-have eyeshadow palettes. The variety of shades and finishes in here is amazing, and it can literally create any type of look. The diversity definitely, in my opinion, makes it a more useful asset than any of the Naked palettes (which I don't own, but I do own the Chi Chi Dupe). If you can get your hands on it, I definitely recommend it!

Have you tried the Lorac Pro Palette?