The LORAC Pro Palette

LORAC Pro Palette

This review has been a long time coming.

I've had the LORAC Pro Palette ($42) since about mid-October, have used it countless times, and intended to write this post at least a half dozen times.

But between being without power for a couple of weeks, wanting to get up reviews of limited edition products, and other holiday related nonsense, it's taken nearly two months to actually do this.

Craziness.

Don't interpret the delay as an indication that I'm not a fan of this palette, though.

I think it's brilliant, actually.

In fact, while the Balm's Nude'Tude Palette may be my favorite neutral/natural shadow palette and the Urban Decay Naked Palettes are a close second, I would tell anyone who doesn't have any of these palettes to buy the LORAC Pro Palette instead of the others.

That's because while I like the Balm's shadow formula better and I think Urban Decay's matte shadows are little more pigmented and easier to blend, you can't beat the value of the LORAC Pro Palette.

In it, you get everything that you need to do a pretty, polished natural or neutral eye look.

Because the Pro Palette contains 8 beautiful shimmery shades and 8 lovely matte shades so you can do your entire look with this single palette.

LORAC Pro Palette and Mini Behind the Scenes Eye Primer

In addition to the shadows, you also get a mini version of LORAC's Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. I haven't tried it yet (I've been inundated with primer samples lately, so I'm trying to work my way through them) so I can't speak to how it works but it's 5.5 grams of products, which makes it a pretty generous sample.

The 16 shadows in the palette include (most shade names are self-explanatory so I'll describe the color if I feel it's not clear) : White (matte); Cream (matte); Taupe (matte); Light Pink (matte); Mauve (matte); Sable (matte), a warm, reddish brown; Espresso (matte); Black (matte); Nude (shimmer), a pinky skin tone shade; Champagne (shimmer); Gold (shimmer); Light Bronze (shimmer); Pewter (shimmer); Garnet (shimmer), a reddish copper; Deep Purple (shimmer); and Slate (shimmer).

LORAC Pro Palette

The palette seems to be covered with the same kind of rubberized material that NARS products are, which definitely give it a sleek look but mean that it's pain to keep clean.  My dirty fingerprints are all over the the damn thing no matter how much I wipe it clean.

It does have a pretty decent sized mirror on the inside, though, so it's a good palette for travel.  (Maybe it's just me but I always seem to do my makeup sitting in hotel beds rather than in the bathroom so I need to bring a good mirror with me on the road.)

LORAC Pro Palette's mirror

On the whole, I'd say the shadows in this palette are warm toned (which is great if you've got blue eyes) but there are a couple of cool and neural shades thrown in for good measures. While the shades are all pretty basic, there are a few standouts. 

Mauve is a lovely alternative to a traditional brown shade for the crease. Nude and Champagne are such gorgeous brightening shades for the inner corner or lid.  Light Bronze is the ideal lid color for a soft, daytime smoky eye.  Pewter is this delicious purple/gray/brown shade that would complement most eye colors, I think.  Garnet is stunning with blue eyes.  Slate is perfect for fair-skinned folks who want to do a traditional smoky eye - dark but soft enough not to overpower.

From l. to r.: White, Cream, Taupe, Lt. Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso & Black

From l. to r.: Nude, Champagne, Gold, Lt. Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple & Slate

 The shadows are all nicely pigmented - as is usually the case, the shimmery shades are a bit more pigmented than the mattes.  However, both formulas are creamy and smooth so they're all easy to work with.

All in all, this is a terrific palette if you prefer more natural colors. As I said, if you don't own any of the other well-known natural/neutral palettes like the Nakeds and Nude'Tude and you're on a budget, I would say skip those and go for the Pro Palette. It's only $42 for 16 shadows, including 8 matte shades that make creating balanced eye looks a breeze.

Of course, if you're a makeup fiend like me, there's nothing wrong with adding this to your collection of existing neutral/natural palettes.  The more the merrier, right?

What's your favorite natural eye shadow palette?