Lorac Pro Palette

*Purchased with My Own Money

So, where have I been?  I'll give you the very short version. The month of August has been super busy and there just wasn't time for blogging. At the beginning of the month I had a relief sale that I volunteer for, and then shortly after that I had a funeral to go to.  When I got back from the funeral my truck broke down and left us with one car, then for some reason we went on a small vacation.  That brings me pretty much up to now.

I got my first ever 20% off Ulta coupon a few weeks ago, and I was so excited.  I'm new to the wonder that is Ulta. It wasn't until this year that there was one anywhere near where I lived.  Since discovering them, I've spent way too much money on makeup.

The thing I wanted was the Lorac Pro palette. I love neutrals and this is a really great neutral palette.  I've even heard that it's better than the Naked palettes and it's a bit cheaper.  I do love a good deal, and I love it even more when I can get free stuff in addition to my great deal.  The "free stuff" in question was a set of samples in a makeup bag worth 75 dollars that I got for free when I spent 50. But wait, there's more. I didn't spend 50 dollars, I only had to spend the 42 that the palette cost, plus I got it for 20% off, and the cherry on top was free shipping.  I did a happy dance around my house after I purchased it.

Let's get down to the review.  I'm very picky about my eyeshadows and don't like it when I pay good money for something that doesn't perform.  I'm pleased to say the Pro palette doesn't disappoint. This palette came with a sample or travel size of eyeshadow primer which was pretty cool, but it's not my favorite primer. I much prefer my Urban Decay Primer Potion, I have very oily lids and this one started creasing after a few hours.

One thing that got me besides the price is that there are 16 shades and that 8 of them are matte.  I'm a shimmery shadow lover, and I can't wait to see if I love mattes as such as I do shimmer. I think everything looks better with a little shimmer or sparkle.

From left to right we have White, Cream, and Taupe.  Within these swatches is the only color in the palette I'm not happy with.  I'm not a fan of the cream, it's not very pigmented.  I use Wet n Wild's Brulee pretty much every time I do my makeup and it has excellent pigmentation for a 2 dollar shadow.  I just expected more from a high end one.

From left to right we have Light Pink, Mauve, and Sable. At first I wasn't excited about these colors but the more I looked at them the more I fell for them, especially Mauve.  It's a great shade, and I can't wait to use it more.

Finally for the mattes we have Espresso and Black.  Overall, they're okay as dark mattes, but I'm not a big black or super dark brown user.  I don't think these will be getting much use unless I use them as liners.

On to the shimmers! From left to right we have Nude, Champagne, and Gold.  Let me tell you, that gold is stunning it's like you smeared liquid gold all over your lids.  So creamy and gorgeous.  The other two swatches are great shadows, but to me they're a little too similar to each other.  I think they're both great highlight shades, but I think they could have been fine with one of the two.

Sorry about the slightly blurry picture. From left to right Light Bronze, Pewter, and Garnet.  Three of my favorite colors in the whole palette, I've used all three in different looks, and I think Pewter might be my favorite from the whole palette.

Finally we have Deep Purple and Slate. I do love a good gunmetal color and as well as a deep purple color, but this purple is almost black.  I think it would look great as a liner just like Espresso and Black.

I've done s few looks using a wide variety of colors and all of them seem creamy and not at all flaky.  The one disappointment is Cream and that's simply because I''m used to a little more pigment. I have to say that I'm very pleased with this palette and given the chance I would totally buy it again over either of the Naked palettes.  

You can find this palette at Ulta, Sephora, and from Lorac Cosmetics.

Now for the free stuff.  I go so many samples it's crazy.  They range from hair oil and deep conditioner to three perfume samples.  I've been testing and testing, the most memorable of which is the dry shampoo incident I mentioned on Facebook.  I've used dry shampoos before and liked them, so I was excited to try a new one.  I smelled it before I sprayed it and it seemed fine.  A little sweet and little musky.  When the weather is nice I prefer to use my dry shampoo outside, I just don't want my entire house to stink.  It wasn't until I got in the house and went about getting ready that I started to notice just how strong this smell was.  It was insane. To make a long story short it gave me the worst headache I've had in months and took three hair washings to get all the smell out.

I've been a bit scarred after that dry shampoo, and haven't done much else with the samples I got.  August has been super busy and I just haven't had the time. I've been grabbing my to go makeup since I know it's going to work well on me.