Review: Lorac Pro Palette 3

Around Black Friday I went on a tiny makeup splurge (okay it wasn't so tiny, but who can resist a sale??) and I picked up my first ever Lorac product, the Pro Palette 3! The colors in it were absolutely gorgeous and I did a bit of swatching in store to see if they formula was promising.

I've heard some bloggers and YouTubers complain about the Lorac formula, saying that the shadows can be very powdery or have a lot of fallout, so I really wanted to try it for myself. I have a compulsion to try at least one palette from every beauty brand, just so I can compare them all! The Unzipped palette also looked promising with a beautiful color selection, but overall I liked the shades in the Pro Palette 3 more.

This palette includes 16 shadows, 8 matte and 8 shimmers/foils. The mattes are all very similar in application and texture but the shimmers vary greatly. All of the shades are on the warm, rose-gold spectrum in terms of color selection. It also came with a sample eyeshadow primer, which I gave to my mom.

The packaging is incredibly slim and light, a smooth cardboard palette that is not at all wide. It's compact, but perhaps not sturdy enough to travel with. It has a mirror and a strong metallic close.

Now onto the shades! I love that there are a lot of options in this palette, with many highlighting shades, crease shades, transition shades, and shimmers. It's overall a neutral palette but there are some unique shades in it, and you could get multiple types of looks from it.

The matte shades:

Blanc: White
Canvas: Neutral cream
Cool Taupe: Literally just a cool-toned taupe
Pink Nude: Peachy cream
Clay: Warm light brown
Terracotta: Orange-toned light brown
Dk. Brown: Neutral dark brown
Jet Black: Black

From left to right: Blanc, Canvas, Cool Taupe, Pink Nude, Clay, Terracotta, Dk. Brown, Jet Black

The shimmer shades:

Lt. Gold: Shimmery pale gold
Almond Pearl: Shimmery light silvery/gold
Medallion: Chunky golden brown
Lt. Pewter: Shimmery silver/gold
Amethyst: Shimmery plum
Rose Bronze: Shimmery rose gold
Dk. Mocha: Chunky dark brown (the glitter in this blends out, unlike Medallion)
Truffle: Shimmery deep brown

From left to right: Lt. Gold, Almond Pearl, Medallion, Lt. Pewter, Amethyst, Rose Bronze, Dk. Mocha, Truffle

All of the mattes have roughly the same pigment and texture. These shadows are a little powdery, but it makes them very easy to blend and I don't get any fallout with the matte shades. I like that there are so many transition/crease shades and two different colors that I would use on my browbone. The matte black in here is really nice, very pigmented but it will also smoke out well!

The shimmers, like I said, have a little more variety. Two of the shades, Medallion and Dk. Mocha, are very chunky/glittery and I get a ton of fallout with them. They may be more usable if you have Fix+ or another type of setting spray, but I haven't tried that technique myself so I just avoid these shades. It's a shame because Medallion is such a pretty color! The other shimmers are all much nicer, smoother, and have less fallout. Amethyst is stunning, I use it and Rose Bronze the most as lid shades. Lt. Pewter is also beautiful and I love the two lightest shades for highlighting the inner corner. I usually tap the excess powder off of my brush before I use a shimmer on the lid, just to avoid fallout.

Also I thought I'd include a photo of the palette after I finished swatching it--I didn't press hard at all and each swatch was only one swipe! It's amazing how soft these shadows are, but I'd imagine you could hit pan very quickly if you used it every day. They last pretty well, although I like to use a primer to prevent creasing and a glitter primer if I'm using one of the more glittery shades like Dk. Mocha.

Overall this is a beautiful palette and I do recommend it if you don't already have something similar in your collection! If you're a fan of the Naked 3 you would probably love this. It isn't widely available in all countries (sorry international readers!) but I know that Lorac is carried at Ulta and Kohl's in the US and through Amazon for Canada. You can purchase this palette here!

What do you think of the Pro Palette 3?
Xx Katie