The Eyeshadow Palette You Need in Your Life – Lorac Pro Palette

Every so often a beauty product comes along that blows my socks off.  I can’t stress the “every so often” part enough – lately it just seems like there’s a lot of dud products out there.

The Lorac Pro eyeshadow palette is nothing new – it’s been out for years.  Unfortunately we don’t have access to Lorac here in Canada so when I had the opportunity to visit Ulta back in the Summer, a Lorac palette topped my shopping list.  Originally I had my sights set on the Lorac Pro 3, but reviews seemed to be mixed on it.  When I saw them in store, I decided on the original, even though it seemed quite similar to my original Naked palette.

I’ve been using this palette now for over 6 months now so I definitely feel I have a good handle on the quality of this palette – even if my initial thoughts were formed within the first month of use.

PRICE

The Lorac Pro palette retails for $44 USD on both Lorac and Ulta’s websites.  This equates to approximately $57 CAD, dependent on the current exchange rate of course.

The palette contains 16 eyeshadows with a net weight of 0.2 oz each, for a total of 0.32 oz. The palette also comes with a .19 oz. tube of their Behind the Scenes Eye Primer.

Here’s how this palette compares to other popular eyeshadow palettes:

• Urban Decay Naked Palettes contain 12 shadows at 0.05 oz. for $66 CAD;
•  Tarte’s Tartelette Palettes contain 12 shadows at 0.053 oz for $60 CAD;
• Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette includes 14 shadows at 0.02 oz for $55 CAD.

PACKAGING

This palette is constructed of a thick black cardboard.  I’m not going to lie – I’m not a fan of cardboard palettes.  I find they damage easily so I prefer not to travel with them. This is also black which means fingerprints and dirt show up very easily as well.

Inside a rectangular mirror is included; I rarely use mirrors in eyeshadow palettes to apply my makeup but they are nice to have just in case.

SCENT
No noticeable scent.

SWATCHES

Okay quick disclaimer – I suck at swatching eyeshadow palettes.  So I apologize in advance for these horrible swatches.  The pictures I took back in October didn’t look great when I uploaded them so I had to redo them and these didn’t turn out great either, particularly because my palette is a complete mess – this is when you really notice the fallout!  I also must admit these swatch horribly – particularly the mattes.  They come across really patchy but thankfully they’re the complete opposite when applied to the eye.

Top Row – Mattes (left to right):

Row 2 (from bottom to top):

FORMULAS

Shadows
The formula on these shadow is what every other eyeshadow aspires to be.  Both the mattes and the shimmers are super soft and creamy.  This does mean that there is a fair bit of fallout that can occur, particularly if you don’t tap your brush off before applying.  Even so, I’ve never had an issue with brushing it away with ease with a large fluffy brush.  These also blend and build like an absolute dream – I’ve layered them and never had an issue with any of them looking muddy, the colours just intensify and look even more beautiful.  They’ve also hit the sweet spot when it comes to pigmentation – while I love and appreciate a good pigmented shadow, when they’re too much so they can be difficult to work with and impossible to blend.

That said, I would say there are a few shadows that are less than perfect.  I’m not the biggest fan of Deep Purple, Slate and Champagne.  I find them a little patchy and they don’t show up true to colour on the eye.  Deep Purple and Slate both kind of show up as the same dull charcoal shade when blended. Champagne is a pretty colour but there is a fair bit of chunky glitter in it and it is one of the worst in regards to fallout.  While those three aren’t my favourite, they’re still usable and capable of creating some nice looks, especially when paired with the remainder of the shadows.   If I had to pick a favourite amongst them all, Mauve would have to be it – it looks beautiful blended into the crease or just as an all-over lid shade.

Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
This primer has a thin, lightweight consistency and the slightest hint of an ivory tint with a touch of shimmer.  It states that it is oil-free yet I find it leaves behind a slight oiliness once rubbed into my skin.

PERFORMANCE

As I’ve stated in my previous eyeshadow reviews, I always pair my eyeshadow with a primer.  I have super oily lids and there isn’t a shadow out there that will survive them.

When paired with my eyeshadow primer of choice (Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance), I get approximately 10 hours of wear, after which I start seeing some fading and creasing.

When paired with Lorac’s Beyond the Scenes Primer, I see a dip in performance.  I find the shadows appear to be slightly less pigmented when applied, and fade around the 5 hour mark.  I also see some creasing at around the 7 hour mark.  In my opinion this primer isn’t thick enough to combat the oiliness that I struggle with on my eyelids.  Because of its thin consistency, I don’t find it does anything to cover up visible veins or discoloration on my eyelids either, which is something I have come to expect from my eyeshadow primer.

Lorac also states that these shadows can be used wet or dry.  I’ve yet to use a shadow wet all over the lid but I have used some of the darker shades as eyeliners and used a spritz of setting spray on my liner brush before dipping into the pan and it worked well – so no complaints there.

VERDICT
I actually had to force myself to stop using this palette because I was using it so much I was starting to see visible dips in the pans. I don’t see myself back at a Ulta anytime soon so I really don’t want to whip through this palette that fast.  It has become my go-to palette for a basic everyday look or more intense looks for a night out – and everything in between. It’s taken the top spot amongst my eyeshadow palette collection – bumping my much-loved Naked Palette down a notch.  You can see how much I’ve used my Naked Palete here and while I still enjoy it, this palette just offers much more versatility and the quality of the shadows is superior as well.  So if you’re looking for a versatile, high-quality eyeshadow palette that can take you anywhere you need to go, I’d highly recommend this one.

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Tell me what your can’t-live-without palette is below!