Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Amateur Approach

I've actually had the LORAC Pro Palette for many months, but apart from a brief mention in the Perfect Palette Tag, I've never been inspired to write about it in any detail. I bought mine from Tarazz, parcel forwarded from Sephora, for around $60. The relative difficulty of tracking down this palette naturally only increased its appeal. The fact you get a generous 16 shades, half matte, half shimmer, made it seem like a worthy investment for eyeshadow novices and experts alike. To be honest, I would say my primary motivation in buying the palette was for the Pewter shade, which I found myself transfixed by. Every swatch I came across of Pewter convinced me I needed the Pro Palette in my life. It's not an inaccurate assessment to say that I basically purchased the whole palette for that one shade.








l-r: White, Cream, Taupe, Lt. Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, Black

l-r: Nude, Champagne, Gold, Lt. Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple, Slate


First off, I have to say I can't fault the pigmentation of these shadows. They generally all have excellent colour payoff. The mattes are some of the best I've encountered, particularly my favourites Taupe, Mauve and Sable, while the shimmery shades are incredibly vibrant, especially the ridiculous Gold and Garnet. The mattes aren't powdery or chalky, though there is a bit of fallout with the darker colours. The metallic shades are the kind that you barely need a brush to apply. You can easily use your fingers to blend out the colours given how smooth, soft and packed with pigment they are.

Despite the high quality of these shadows, my main issue with the palette is the colour selection. It's almost too broad, but at the same time, the vast majority of shades are about as unique as their names. I don't do anything particularly complex or involved with my eyeshadow looks, mostly preferring to stick with a maximum of two colours — one for the lid, one darker which I focus more on the outer corner or blend upwards from the upper lash line. I feel the Pro Palette is oriented more towards those who want to get the most out of their shadows and are comfortable with intricate highlighting, shading and blending.

I've barely touched a lot of these colours because I simply have no use for them or don't know how to use them, e.g. White, Lt. Pink, Deep Purple and Slate. At the same time, there's a lack of those highly sought-after medium, neutral, all-over lid shades (the only two I would classify as such in this palette are Taupe and Mauve). I find the shades are all either too light, too dark, or too colourful and metallic. Even Pewter, the one colour I was most excited about, ended up being nearly as dark as Burberry Midnight Brown, in other words, too heavy to apply as a wash over the lid for the daytime.

All in all, it's a high-performing palette if you know what you're doing with eyeshadow, and you're not afraid of colour with some of the metallic options. When it comes to shade selection, I definitely prefer something like the Urban Decay Naked Palettes or NARS And God Created the Woman. Having said that, there's one shade in the Pro Palette which I love the way I thought I'd love Pewter, and that's Mauve. It's a little cooler, more purplish/grey than Nooner from the Urban Decay Naked3 Palette, but without a doubt one of my most used and favoured matte shadows.

51 comments:

  1. Oh my Pewter is indeed a gorgeous shade! Thanks for the high quality swatches and review :)

    letsrunawayx.blogspot.com

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    1. It is pretty, but I don't think it carries the whole palette like I originally thought. I ended up liking Mauve better anyway :)

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  2. Oh gosh, slate is such a stunning colour! I would have no idea how to wear it but it's beautiful! xo

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    1. I was surprised at how Slate swatched - it was so pretty but it's basically the same as Gunmetal from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I barely touch both :p

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  3. is it more or less than NARS or urban decay?

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    1. It's around the same price as Urban Decay but less expensive than NARS.

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  4. I think this is a really good review of this palette. Yes, the colours are beautiful and I've heard nothing but good things about the quality of the shadows... But the selection of colours itself is quite uninspiring if you already own the Naked palettes, as I do. Saying that, the swatches looks stunning.

    www.sophiemakesup.blogspot.com

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    1. True, there is quite a bit of overlap with the Naked palettes. For example Sin is similar to Champagne and Slate is the same as Gunmetal. If you have at least two of the Naked palettes, then you definitely don't need the LORAC one.

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  5. I love the mattes, especially Mauve and Taupe. Light Bronze and Pewter are so pretty too! I almost wish I had this instead of Naked 2 but the effort of getting it isn't worth the trouble. I would just collect eyeshadow palettes if I could heh. I hardly touch mine.

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    1. Light Bronze is way too light for all over the lid which is a bit of a bummer. I swatch my products on the underside of my arm which is like 3 shades lighter than my face, lol. I definitely prefer Naked2, there are more standout shades like Suspect and YDK which are missing in the LORAC.

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  6. I love Pewter and Mauve, but I'm surprised by how much I love Garnet. I'm a 1-2 shade person as well but love the options in the palette. One of my fave combos is Espresso + Gold. :)

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    1. Gold and Garnet seem like standouts from the palette but they fall in the "too colourful and metallic" category, lol. But they're so rich and vibrantly pigmented.

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  7. Garnet and Pewter are my faves out of the bunch! This palette is long on my list and there's a local online shop selling this palette for 70€!!!! of course I refused to pay that ridiculous amount of money T.T
    I am so far very happy with my naked 3 palette so I don't think I'll fork out some money for another 12-er palette..

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    1. Oh wow, that's $106 in Australian dollars *horrorface* I thought the NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette was bad at $115. Yikes. I definitely prefer Naked3 to the Pro Palette so I don't think you're missing out :)

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  8. I never understood the hype around this palette or why so many people wanted it... Until I saw this post. Your swatches are gorgeous and, even though you might prefer other ones, I now feel that little beauty blogger itch of wanting to add it to the 2000 other similar palettes in my collection... Eeek. T xx

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    1. Haha yes similar palettes is right :) I also wanted this palette badly and thought it was a must-have, but it turned out to be only all right. The two medium matte shades I mentioned in the post redeemed it for me though.

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  9. Oh my, LOL...I totally know and understand where you are coming from when you say you prefer or like using shades that work all over the lid and hence there's a huge shade range meant for highlight/contouring, crease work! I think you should've gotten the Lorac Unzipped instead! I felt the same way as you after thinking about this palette for more than a year and I've decided to order the unzipped instead because 7/8 of the shades are great medium shimmery shades instead of too many lights or darks. Well, from what I hear the quality of those shadows are amazing so I do hope you find the time to try more of the shades out!

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    1. I am totally eyeing the Unzipped palette, one night I spent like 30 minutes looking at swatches of it and I had one of those moments where I felt I NEEDED it. But then I kind of calmed down and talked myself out of it. But yes, I think I'd love it but it's really hard to buy unless I resorted to eBay or Amazon or something rather than a proper online retailer.

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  10. I really want this one ;__; along with unzipped - those beautiful warm browns scream for me.
    I really like the colours and shades here but I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. I really like Garnet and Gold. I have a soft spot for shadows like that.

    Anyway, thank you for your amazing review <3 Take care, have a nice day!*

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    1. Garnet and Gold are gorgeous when swatched but they're a bit too colourful and metallic on the lid for everyday wear in my opinion. The LORAC Unzipped palette is gorgeous - the shades are much more up my alley than the Pro Palette :)

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  11. I actually use most of these colours often! But I can see what you're saying, some people aren't comfortable or it just doesn't suit to wear those colours for every day wear!
    xx

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    1. I'm glad that you get a lot of use out of this palette :) It's a really versatile one that can create a whole variety of looks - I just wish I had the skill to utilise it to maximum effect.

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  12. I've been thinking about getting a new palette, and between this, the naked 3 and the narsissist I'm still not too sure. All three have its pros and cons. Or maybe just create my own mac palette

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    1. That would be a tough decision! Creating your own MAC palette sounds like the heaps pricier route though. I'd love to own the NARS palette but it's an insane $115 here (and sold out).

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  13. All the eyeshadows in the palette are pretty and pigmented. It has everything you'd need & all the colours I reach for. I want to track one down, but it is so hard to find in the UK.
    http://www.letstalkbeauty.co.uk/

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    1. There's definitely a wide range of colours and no shortage of options with looks you can create with the shadows. It's crazy how hard it is to get a hold of though!

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  14. I want this palette so much! Your swatches are amazing.

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  15. I am obsessed with these matte shades. I wish they made another pallete with only new, matte shades. I would definitely be buying it!

    Sandra - The Puzzle of Sandra's Life

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    1. The matte shades do swatch really well, they remind me a bit of the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette but with more colours :)

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  16. This is such a lovely palette but unfortunately it's not available anymore in Canada. Such a shame. xx
    Celina | The Celution | Bloglovin’

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    1. Oh, that's too bad for those still wanting it! And I guess it makes it even more desirable because it's so hard to track down.

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  17. I love Mauve as well which was completely unexpected for me. I adore this palette and I'm so glad I bought it while Sephora was allowing parcel forwarding services.

    Sarah | More Than Adored

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    1. Yeah, I'm kind of glad I have it only because it'd probably drive me mad if I wanted it but couldn't find it anymore! :p

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  18. This palette is amazing! I like to have it, I like so much the colors :)

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    1. There is a wide range of colours here in the one place but I'm sure you can find close shades in other palettes as well :)

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  19. Damn, this is so gorgeous! The problem is that I can't justify any more big palette/expensive neutrals purchases until I feel that I've made a significant dent with my NAKED1 palette. Otherwise, it's hard to finish up and truly appreciate a product, in my case at least. Oh wells.. xx

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    1. I can't imagine ever using up a whole palette so I salute you for trying and for being so self-disciplined in aiming to use up makeup before you buy more! :)

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  20. Yeah I personally never understood the major appeal of this palette for people who already own a bajillion NAKED/nude/neutral-esque palettes. Sure the pigmentation and formula is good but it just doesn't seem like a cohesive enough grouping of colors for me and I feel like I'd need multiple palettes to make a look that I liked :/ That being said: Mauve, Pewter, and Garnet really are stunners… if there was a quad with those three (and some other color) I'd definitely snatch it up :)

    ♥Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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    1. I guess it's because of the number of colours, how half of the palette is matte and half is shimmer, and the way the shades go from light to dark. It just seems like a palette that's very versatile in that it has the potential to create so many looks, and the quality of the shadows are generally excellent. But the shades themselves aren't all that unique - you can definitely find very close alternatives in other places :)

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  21. My friend recently came back from the States and had bought this. Naturally I went swatch crazy with it when she bought it over but I did have similar feelings about how wearable some of the shades are. I think it's gorgeous, but perhaps something I wouldn't get a lot of use out of myself x

    Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves

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    1. Yeah, I don't use quite a lot of the shades and when it really comes down to it, it's not really worth having if I'm only regularly reaching for 2 of them! But it's still nice to have in my palette collection I suppose :p

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  22. I lusted over this, heard that Tarazz stocked it, but it was unavailable :( Everyone raves about its pigmentation which is superb! Pewter stands out to me too, it looks like the shade I would reach to the most. I can definitely see the problem in colour selection in this palette too, they don't seem very versatile, unlike the Naked palettes. White, cream and light pink do not appeal at all and I cannot see myself using them at all! I'll probably give the Lorac palette a miss, which my wallet is probably thanking me for :)

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    1. I'm kind of glad I bought this when it was still available on Tarazz given it seems it's become quite difficult to track down since then. White, cream and light pink are definitely shades that I barely touch, along with most of the metallic shades to be honest. Your money would probably be better spent on other palettes with shades that appeal to you more :)

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  23. I know theres quite a few shades I've not touched in this palette myself - the pigmentation is incredible though!

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    1. Agreed, the mattes especially since they're usually harder to formulate well.

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  24. This review has helped reinforce the idea that I don't need this palette.I think the main reason I wanted this palette was because we can't get it here, once I worked out how to get I started to question myself over it. I don't need anymore eyeshadow and if I were to buy another palette I think I would go to Burberry/Tom Ford/NARS.

    Laura | Breton & Blush

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    1. The difficulty of getting the palette and it apparent scarcity of it really are such a fundamental part of its appeal, but when it comes down to it, most of the shades aren't all that unique and can easily be found in other palettes. I'd love to own palettes from those brands but they're just so pricey! I'm kind of wondering if I should have forked out a fortune for the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette, lol.

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  25. I really have only used my Lorac Pro palette a handful of times since I bought it, and I tend to agree with a lot of the points you've made in this review. Stunning shades but needs something more to lift it up into a staple palette for me.

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    1. Glad I'm not alone in my thoughts! Yes, I think the main problem is there aren't any super standout shades that are very unique/beautiful/complex. I thought Pewter would be the one but it's too dark and I find it similar to Burberry Midnight Brown so it's hardly undupeable (I just made up that word, lol). The two matte shades I like are more just solid neutral colours that are formulated really well.

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  26. i agree about the quality! i wanted this palette for so long and actually won it in a giveaway! i was over the moon. i never posted about it either htough it does deserve some recognition.
    use light pink as a highlight! or pat it over the lid to brighten things up. paired with dark liner and a killer lipstick and you're good to go.
    Jenn
    A Beautiful Zen

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