Lorac Pro 3

In today’s review I have a bit of a controversial one for you: The Lorac Pro 3 eyeshadow palette. Lorac is known for their buttery soft eyeshadows that are well pigmented and apply wonderfully to the eye. So why is this third installment controversial? Because nobody seems to like it. Many of the reviews I have seen claim this palette is sub par and doesn’t live up to Lorac’s standards. Maybe there was a bad batch or something, because I happen to love mine. In this blog post I hope to show you why.

Lorac Pro 3 eyeshadow palette

I bought my Lorac Pro 3 via Nordstrom: yes they ship to Europe. Yes, it’s expensive, but it doesn’t cost as much as flying over to the States to get your hands on it. So depending on how badly you want this, I’d say it’s worth the additional cost. The palette itself retails for around €45 on the Nordstrom website. I paid for the shipping, handling and custom fees to be charged straight away, which meant my package arrived quickly. I believe I received this within a week of ordering it.

The Palette

One thing that is great about the Lorac palettes is that they come with a free Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. This eye primer is comparable to Urban Decay Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance. It’s not a must have, but it’s great that this palette comes with a usable extra. You don’t get a ton of product in the palette: the pans are small and there isn’t a lot of eyeshadow in them, but that is typical of Lorac palettes.

The packaging of the actual palette itself is sleek and slim. Just like all the other Lorac palettes, the packaging is cardboard which makes it lightweight, but not the best for travel, as it is not as sturdy. The light shade of the packaging makes this attract dirt and grime quite easily and you have to be careful not to stain and smudge it. There is a decent sized and functional mirror inside, which make it extra handy to bring with you on the go.

The Shadows

As typical of any Lorac Pro palette, the top row of the palette consists of 8 matte shades. The bottom row is adorned with 8 shimmers. I love this lay out as it makes these palettes some of the easiest to use. All the shades are laid out in a light to dark gradient which makes it easy to pick out colors and see which shades go together.

What is typical of the Lorac Pro 3 is that it is very neutral in its color scheme. It is not overly warm, nor overly cool and only has a hint of color to it. That may make it seem very samey samey, but to me this is one of the best every day eyeshadow palettes on the market. That’s a bold claim to make, but I think that anyone who works in an office or who likes going for a more neutral eye and a more statement lip, this is THE palette to reach for.

The four lightest shades already hit the palette of on a high note. Blanc is a great matte off white. It’s neither too stark, nor too soft. I love shades like this as my brown bone highlight. Canvas is Blanc’s matte cream tones sister. With a hint more yellow, this shade is perfect for blending all over the eye. Light Gold is the first of the shimmery shades and is exactly that: a light gold, that is neither too yellow nor too white. It is the perfect in between.  Almond Pearl is easily one of my favorite shades in the palette. It is a more pinky toned equivalent to light gold. Depending on what you go for in your overall look, both shades can be stunning on the lid or in the inner corner.

Cool Taupe isn’t very cool and isn’t very taupe. I find this to have a hint of warmth as it pulls a tad yellow on my skin, but still a stunning crease shade nonetheless. Pink Nude is that perfect shade to blend out the crease. Again this is a great shade to use all over as well to ensure a flawless look. Medallion is the special needs baby of the Lorac Pro 3 family. This is the most intense shimmer in the palette and is best applied with a finger. Light Pewter is a perfect light shimmery taupe: one of my favorite eyeshadow shades of all time.

In the second half of the palette we find a few pops of color. Clay is a gorgeous matte neutral that works miracles in the crease and on the lower lash line. Terracotta is what makes this palette a little bit more interesting. A warm toned ochre yellow, this shade is lovely for smoking out the lower lash line, but also as a crease shade, lid shade and more! It’s one of the most versatile colors in the palette. Amethyst is a subtle purple. It has a very red undertone which makes this the only true pop of color. Rose Bronze is a stunner: easily the best lid shade in the palette.

Dark Brown is a more cool toned brown. I loved this for intensifying a look and apply it to my outer V. Jet Black is indeed that: Jet Black. The only shade I have no use for as I dislike black eyeshadow with a passion. Dark Mocha is another favorite shade of mine. It packs enough intensity and interest that it can be use pretty much everywhere on the eye. My favorite liner shade in the palette would be Truffle. This intense greyish brown is exactly the right shade for a smokey eye too.

The Swatches

Blanc – Canvas – Cool Taupe – Pink Nude – Clay – Terracotta – Dark Brown – Jet Black
Light Gold – Almond Pearl – Medallion – Light Pewter – Amethyst – Rose Bronze – Dark Mocha – Truffle

Swatches! As you can see all of these shades are very well pigmented. They are light, but the pigmentation is most certainly there. The texture of Lorac shadows is quite powdery. That is the case here, but also in the other Lorac palettes i own. They kick up quite a bit of dust and it’s wise to tap off the excess at all times.

I have no trouble applying these as well. Every bad review bangs on about the quality not being there with these, but for me these do not blend away into nothing and I can easily apply the shades with a brush, save for Medallion. That shade really needs something to stick to and I find it best applies when pressed onto the lid with a finger.

The Looks

Look 1:
Lid: Light Pewter
Crease: Amethyst & Cool Taupe
Brow bone: Blanc
Inner corner: Almond Pearl
Blend shade: Pink Nude
Lower lash line: Amethyst
Eyeliner: Dark Brown

For the first look I worked in some of my favorite shades. I immediately went for that pop of subtle purple. I absolutely adore this look! It is soft, natural, feminine and understated, while still defined. Add on a banging lipstick color and you have a look that is classic and classy. Perfect for work or an every time day time look.

Look 2:
Lid: Rose Bronze
Crease: Clay + a little bit of dark brownBlend shade: Terracotta
Lower lash line: Dark Mocha
Eyeliner: Dark Brown
Brow bone: Canvas
Inner corner: Light Gold

For an even easier look, I opted for a very minimal approach. Despite many of the colors being very close together, they still look distinct enough. I think this is just a palette that goes very well with my eyeshadow needs. I have a more deepset eye, which means that my crease naturally creates a lot of shadow. In order to create a fresh & open look, I find it works best for me to use lighter shades. Deeper shades work as well, but it makes for a very vampy look pretty much straight away. This is a great option to keep things simple.

Look 3:
Lid: Medallion
Crease & Outer V: Truffle
Crease: Cool Taupe
Blend shade: Terracotta
Lower lash line: Amethyst
Inner corner: Rose Bronze
Brow bone: Pink Nude

To show you that you can also create a more night time appropriate look with this palette, I used mostly the darkest shade in the palette. What I like about this palette is that the colors can easily be build up. You can easily blend out the shades to create a smokey look and even the darkest shade in the palette still works for me in the crease. And that is something that doesn’t happen often.

The Conclusion

My conclusion can only be that I absolutely love this palette. In my palette the quality is consistent with the Lorac Pro 2 that I already reviewed before. Yes the shades are light and very neutral which makes this palette not for everyone. If you are medium and up in your skin tone than these shades will look very powdery and chalky, but on me with my fair complexion and blonde hair, I find this works wonders. I highly recommend the Lorac Pro 3 eyeshadow palette if you are looking for a good every day eyeshadow palette that is easy to use.

What is your every day make up look?