Lorac Mega Pro

 

About a month ago LORAC brought back their original Mega Pro Palette, much to my delight! The initial launch in 2014 was a bit of a disaster since some people were able to purchase the palette ahead of schedule, and quantities were very limited. I was bummed when I missed the first Mega Pro, so I made sure I purchased both the Mega Pro 2 and Mega Pro 3 the second they were released at Ulta. The Mega Pro 2 was a bit of a fail for me, however the Mega Pro 3 is my absolute favorite eye shadow palette. How does the O.G. Mega Pro Palette hold up in comparison?

 

First off, the packaging of this palette is absolutely lovely. It is a sturdy burgundy cardboard with gold lettering on the outside, and a wonderfully large mirror inside. Cardboard packaging isn’t typically my favorite, but I feel like the shadows will be protected in case I dropped this on the floor (Update: I already have, and everything was safe and sound).

 

 

Now lets get into the important part: the shadows! I found that the shadows were pretty comparable to the formula in the original LORAC Pro Palettes. The mattes are creamy and the shimmers are striking and pigmented. The LORAC eye shadow formula tends to be a bit powdery and prone to fallout, however I always apply eye shadow before my face makeup no matter what. This allows you to be messy with your eye shadow without ruining your base makeup.

 

I did find that the darker shades in the palette were more dry in consistency and sheered out pretty easily upon application. The fact that the darker shades are sheer doesn’t necessarily bother me since they’re build-able, however the dry consistency is an issue for me. This means that the shadows will be more likely to fade quickly throughout the day. The “dud” shades that stood out to me were Black, Caviar and Espresso, which truthfully isn’t a huge deal  to me since most standard palettes have a black or dark brown included. I can easily use another palette for those colors and be able to complete an eye look.

 

 

The color selection was intriguing to me since this is a very neutral palette. There are three “pops of color” which are Mulberry, Merlot, and Deep Teal; All three shades are nicely pigmented and very pretty. Indigo is the only glittery shade of the entire palette (thank God), which is a black base with multi-colored glitter running through it. It’s a pretty shade, but I’m not entirely sure I’ll get much use out of this one since I’m not a big fan of glitter.

 

The rest of the palette is truly neutral; the majority of the mattes are a beige or brown of some sort, while the shimmers are also beige with a pink or champagne thrown in the mix. I have to say, this is the perfect palette for work – the colors are not too jarring and you can easily achieve a subtle or dramatic eye look. On one hand I can appreciate a well crafted neutral palette (which this definitely is), but on the other hand the color scheme is a tad boring to me.

 

I remember when the Mega Pro 3 came out, many bloggers and Youtubers were critical, stating that the colors were a snoozefest. I was personally obsessed with the Mega Pro 3 since the selection was neutral, but still somewhat bold. The colors were wearable for any situation while being different from anything else I owned. The shade Cider from that palette is still my favorite lid shade and Pecan is the most gorgeous matte shade I’ve ever seen.

 

Final verdict: would I recommend this palette? If you’re just starting out or you are drawn to shades that create easy but put together looks then absolutely. However, if you own a neutral palette or two then I think you can skip out (and buy the Mega Pro 3!).

 

LORAC Mega Pro 3

PSA – I bought a new camera and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to remove the dumb date stamp in my pictures. Once I figure it out, I’ll swap the pictures.

 

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls – the new Lorac Mega Pro 3 has finally hit the shelves! Is is worth the $59? In short, yes – yes it is!

 

First off, the packaging is very reminiscent of the first two Mega Pro Palettes – except this is so much easier to get dirty. Regardless, the palette itself is gorgeous with a creamy white base and metallic rose-gold lettering. I took this out of town with me over the weekend and I felt SO fancy pulling this bad boy out when I was getting ready.

I think that the formulation of the shadows (both matte and shimmer) are on par with the first two Pro palettes, in the fact that they are creamy, bendable and pigmented. There is fallout per usual, but it’s nothing ridiculous. The shade range this time around is a lot more universal in my opinion. I picked up the Mega Pro 2 last year and honestly, I have used it once. I find the shades in that one to be too light and dark (if that makes any kind of sense). I didn’t find there to be many mid-tone shades to throw on the lid, most of the shades were brow bone highlights or accent shades for me. Also, I initially appreciated the fact that the Mega Pro 2 included some unconventional colors, however after the first use I felt myself shying away from that palette. I don’t wear Lavender purples and bright oranges on a daily basis, so as an everyday woman I felt that the Mega Pro 2 wasn’t very versatile.

The Mega Pro 3 has an unbelievable amount of brown/bronze shades, so if you have 1 or more neutral palettes than I doubt this will be something you need. I have enough neutral shadows to provide a bronze smokey eye for every woman in North America, so this was not a necessity for me. But have I gotten use out of this for the past week or so? You betcha!

I swatched a majority of the shades, and I haven’t found a true dud yet. I find that the shimmers are exactly that – shimmers. No chunky glitter in ANY of the shimmers, which is a major plus for me. A few colors like Cider and Rose Quartz come off a little more metallic, but they’re not too over the top. Also, there are a few muted pops of color (Pomegranate being the loudest color of the palette) that keep things from being too boring, which I appreciate. All in all, I feel like Lorac produced a well made and well thought out product that actually got me excited to wear eyeshadow again.

 

At the time of this post, you can find the Lorac Mega Pro 3 at Ulta stores and at Ulta.com for $59.

 

2015 Favorites and Updates

Holy crap, it’s 2016.

 

This year whizzed past me like no other year has!  There have been a lot of changes in my life, good and bad, but I am definitely ready for a fresh start.

My favorites this year are compromised of some usual suspects and some new loves that I am really excited to write about!

 

One of my resolutions this year is to learn how to take a picture, because mine seem to always be off center 😦

Anyway, my first favorite is the original Lorac Pro palette. I’ve hit pan on a few of the colors which has yet to happen in any of the other palettes I own, so you know this is a good one. There are a million reviews on this so I won’t go to in depth, but if you haven’t tried it yet you really should!

Next up is my mascara favorite, Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara. It’s black, thickens and elongates my lashes, AND it really does curl them. It’s pricey for sure but I’m never let down whenever I use it! An excellent drugstore option is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, however it gets pretty clumpy so be sure to wipe the wand off a bit before you use it.

For the face I was crazy about Nars Sheer Glow Foundation and the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. Nars Sheer Glow is not sheer by any means, so whoever created the name is a crazy person. I’d say it’s medium coverage with a great dewy finish, but it doesn’t slide off my skin like other creamy foundations do. MAC Pro Longwear is the best concealer I’ve found so far – it’s thin-ish but opaque and it dries down matte on it’s own so I never have to set it with a powder. The matte finish might be a problem if you have some wrinkles (beauty lines if you will), but I love that it lets me skip a step.

What powder did I love you ask? Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light – it’s amazing, just go buy it already. Check out my past post on Hourglass if you need a little enabling.

I am not a crazy highlighter person, but the one I most definitely used the most this year was Becca Champagne Pop. Yes I gave into the hype but oh it’s so pretty – it looked great when I had a tan and now that I’m pale/gray, so it works with a wide range of skin tones.

My favorite lipsticks this year were hands down MAC D is for Danger and YSL Rouge Pur Couture in Rouge Scandal. The MAC website describes D for Danger is a brick red – I don’t know what bricks they’re looking at or using, but this is definitely a deep raspberry red. I do think it has more of a berry tone to it than brownish/red, but maybe that’s just how it shows up on my lips. Regardless I have been wearing the crap out of this and it’s my absolute favorite lipstick! The YSL Rouge Pur Couture lipstick is a great deep red with a very creamy and comfortable formula, although it does move around a little.

The best lip liner of the year award goes to the Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip Pencil in 10C. If you need a little berry in you life then you need this – the formula is impeccable. It’s creamy but does not crumble, leaving a nice crisp line without making you feel like you lined your lips in chalk.

 

 

I have consistently used the Anastasia Brow Pencil in Medium Brown for the past few months and it is incredible. I have somewhat thick brows already and I prefer a natural look so this is perfect for me. It’s not super pigmented, but it’s so easy to use and always makes me look put together.

My ride or die lip balm is the Nivea Lip Butter. I don’t like the fact that I have to dip my fingers into the little pot but hey, I have flaws too. It’s SO moisturizing and every scent they have is amazing – I cannot recommend these enough.

Finally (phew!), my favorite scent is Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay Cologne. This is such an enigmatic scent – it’s crisp and earthy, but sweet and sultry at the same time. I try to rotate my fragrances so I don’t get used to them, but I love this one so much that I use it 98% of the time.

 

Since it is New Years (or 2 days after), I am making it my resolution to post more in 2016. I do love blogging, but after working a full day I usually sloth out on the couch and straight up neglect my blog. I know it is not much, but I would like to at minimum post twice a month and I would like to incorporate themes other than just makeup. Thank you to everyone who reads my mindless ramblings, I sincerely hope everyone enjoys a very wonderful 2016 🙂

 

Perfect Fall Eye Shadows

For the second installment of my Fall faves, I’m talking about one of my favorite things ever: eye shadow! Fall eyes to me is all about cool taupes, rusty bronzes, glimmering golds and a little bit of purple if you’re a bit daring .

The original Lorac Pro pallet is the epitome of Fall shadows – Taupe? You got it. Browns? It’s got 3 of ’em. A stunning gold and garnet? Pfft. The color selection of this palette looks like leaves after they’ve turned colors! Honestly, this is the only palette you could ever need for Fall and Winter since it has everything. It’s just the best!

The Lorac Pro 2 isn’t one of my favorites, but I definitely think the bronze and purple-y colors are beautiful when the weather gets chilly. The lighter neutrals are great for a wash of color with a bold lip, and obviously you can smoke things up to focus on your eyes!

Up next is my adorable little Chanel quad (oh you fancy, huh?) in Tisse Rivoli. At first I had no freaking clue on how to use this thing, and the wonderful Jacqueline (seriously one of the nicest people in blogging) from A Vibrant Day recommended that I use my fingers to apply these babies and I haven’t looked back since! I love this thing in the Fall – I feel like these colors are perfect year round since they’re really neutral, but I feel myself planning more looks with these shades now that the weather is finally cooling down a bit.

Finally, the one wash wonder/base that I’m crazy about: the Marc Jacobs Twinkle Pop crayon in Au Revoir. A really cool toned taupey-brown that is remarkable under every shade ever or on it’s own. I find that my shadows stick to it really well and it’s so easy to blend out. *Side note: these have a cooling effect that feels so good in the morning!