Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette Review & Swatches

Lorac Mega Pro 2 for Holiday 2015, Ulta Exclusive ($59)

For Holiday 2015, Lorac Cosmetics decided to give fans a second chance at purchasing a Mega Pro. No, they did not re-promote the same palette that was notoriously hard to purchase last year because of its very limited quantity - instead they compromised on making a second one. Behold, the Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette is here! The good news is that it appears this palette has even more color range and is a nice mix of cool and warm-toned shades than last years. I give you the full scoop in my detailed review.

The palette costs $59 and is an ULTA exclusive. The packaging has that powdered cardboard feel (reminiscent of NARS, the powerhouse company that pioneered it) which is nice and sleek but can get dirty with fingerprints and stains. The palette has the same size as last year's (it's exactly twice the size of the Lorac Pro 1 or 2 palettes).

However, it is of note that Lorac reduced the quantity of eyeshadow housed in each pan to 2/3 of last year's palette! WOW that's a lot! You're getting 1/3rd less product for the same price ($59). The total net weight of product in the Mega Pro 1 palette was 0.62 OZ and for the Mega Pro 2 palette  it is 0.45 OZ. The pans must be more shallow because they *appear* to be the same size when placed side by side.

Now onto the shade selection:

Lorac Mega Pro 2 Shade Range

In good ol' Lorac fashion, we are getting half the palette as matte shades (16 eyeshadows) and the other half are a mixture of finishes including shimmer, metallic and some have just a slight sheen (16 eyeshadows).

The colors range from many versions of light colors (mostly yellow based and a couple of pinker tones), to a variety of transition shades (mostly browns), a couple of color accents (Purple, Tangerine, Goji). There are also a variety of smokier shades (namely Forest, Black Ivy, Ash, etc). You'll also find some very unique shades in this palette - such as Goji, Olivine, Prosecco, Forest, Ash which I can't easily find dupes for in my vast collection.

First Row L to R: Porcelain, Custard, Tawny, Burlap (double swatch!), Melon, Tangerine, Saddle, Forest
Second Row L to R: Bisque, Lavender, Purple, Sorbet, Goji, Cabernet, Ash, Black
Third Row L to R: Sugar, Chiffon, Prosecco, Soft Plum, Cinnamon, Sandstone, Gunmetal, Blue Quartz
Fourth Row L to R: Moonlight, Seashell, Peony, DK. Sienna, Penny, Olivine, Gold Leaf, Black Ivy

After swatching the colors, I was as usual very impressed with their smoothness and pigmentation. They pack a big punch and you only need to dab your brush in very lightly to pick  up plenty of product for your eye look. However, some have complained that they are crumbly - in my opinion this is more a review of Lorac Pro shadows in general rather than it being representative of just this palette. I have no problem working with any of the other Lorac Pro or Mega Pro palettes, and if you are the same, you won't have an issue with Lorac Mega Pro 2! I was almost afraid to purchase this due to the negative YouTube reviews on it - I'm here to tell you that it'll be just fine as long as you don't dig your brush into the colors or smash your palette around.

For reference, I've included some photos of the Lorac Mega Pro 1

Lorac Mega Pro 1 for Holiday 2014 (Amazon and Lorac exclusive)

Do you need this palette?

If you like some of the unique colors offered by the Lorac Mega Pro 2 and you know that you're already happy with the Lorac Pro eyeshadow formula, then I suggest you purchase it. If you're looking for something to create a wide variety of colorful looks, then this palette shouldn't even be a consideration because all of the shades will have a somewhat subdued look once applied and blended out on your eye. This is a very work-appropriate eyeshadow color range and you can give it some punch if you're going out for the night but it's not going to really do the trick for bold colors like Urban Decay or Kat Von D eyeshadow would.

If you have the Lorac Mega Pro 1 Palette from last year, like I do, then you should examine the shade range and decide if there is enough difference between the two palettes to justify the purchase. I personally did not find any dupes between the two Mega Pro palettes, although the lighter shades can be blended to look very similar.

I'm a collector of eyeshadow palettes but because I have so many, I pick and choose the ones which contain the formulas of eyeshadows I prefer working with. The Lorac Pro eyeshadows are ones I prefer over their regular formulation (as seen in the Unzipped palettes), I also gravitate towards Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows (which have a similar powdery texture and lots of color payoff), and Kat Von D eyeshadows (again, similar texture). If you're like me and enjoy those products, then get this one as a holiday treat for yourself!

Upcoming Holiday 2015 Product Preview - Standouts!

Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette - Sephora Exclusive ($59) available now

For me, this is the most exciting release of the whole year. Not for the faint of heart but definitely a hardcore makeup junkie's dream.

Arranged like a color wheel, this beautiful palette and accompanying sleeve are truly the work of a talented artist. I'm inspired just looking at the photo and it helps you keep in color theory in mind when pairing colored eyeshadows. For me this palette is an absolute must-have and I'm ordering it for myself! Kat Von D and Sephora have outdone themselves this time, especially during the holidays when almost every other company plays it safe with color selection.

With 17 vivid bright eyeshadow shades and 7 nudes & neutrals, you get 24 full-sized eyeshadow pans so this is a whopper of a palette. It's a great bang for your buck at just $2.46/eyeshadow. The quality has been reported thus far to be buttery-smooth with great color payoff.

Lorac - Mega Pro 2 - Ulta Exclusive ($59) available mid-October

Since last year, the world has been anticipating another Mega Pro Palette from Lorac and they did not disappoint. This year's Ulta exclusive palette promises to be in larger quantities than last so hopefully more makeup lovers can get their hands on it. Buyer beware, once these sell out, they're gone!

This year's Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette boasts some cooler shadow selections than last year and is arranged in a similar fashion with 16 eyeshadows being matte (the top half of the palette) and 16 eyeshadows being satin or shimmery (the bottom half of the palette). The pan size has gotten significantly smaller than last year but it is not noticeable in the packaging (last year's contained 0.62 oz vs this year's 0.45 oz of product).

Like last year's palette and most Lorac Pro products, the shadows kick up a lot of powder and it is advised that you tap off your brush before applying the color directly to your eyes to avoid significant fallout. With that being said, Lorac eyeshadows are notoriously some of the best blending shades on the market so if you're a fan, it's definitely worth the money!

Too Faced - Le Grand Palais - Sephora Exclusive ($58) available now

This year's Too Faced palette contains 3 highlighting eyeshadow shades, 15 eyeshadows, 2 blushes (Stardust and Skyline), a Flush highlighter and a Sun Bunny bronzer. As extra goodies, Too Faced also included a deluxe-sized Melted Peony liquid lipstick, a deluxe mini Better Than Sex Mascara, and a deluxe sized Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

This set is a good value (the website claims it is a $378 value) but if you were to choose the products yourself you probably would not have come up with this exact configuration, so take those values with a grain of salt!

Preliminary reviews of this palette have claimed that there are some very chunky glittery shades prone to fallout and the eyeshadow formulation is not as good as is usually typical of Too Faced powders. Most, if not all, of the colors, are fairly easily dupe-able and even seem repeated in Too Faced's own holiday palettes - since I have the one from last year, I'll be skipping it this year.

Too Faced X Vegas Nay - Stardust Palette - $45 - Ulta Exclusive, Now Available 

 My holiday purchase choice from Too Faced for this year was the Too Faced X Vegas Nay Stardust Eyeshadow Palette.

This kit comes with 12 eyeshadows (with phenomenal formulation across the board, I have not been disappointed by these) in slim travel and vanity friendly packaging, Nude Glamour Dust sample, deluxe mini Better Than Sex mascara, deluxe mini Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

There is a good but wearable variety of color in this palette and I was drawn to it because of the inclusion of mauve/violet shades and burgundies which are a little harder to come across in palettes of this size. This is overall a warm-toned palette lovers dream and I highly recommend it - the quality seems far superior to other Too Faced Holiday 2015 releases.

Tarte - Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette - $44 - Sephora Exclusive, Now Available

For the third year in a row, Tarte has come out with an Amazonian Clay Blush Palette which is available at Sephora.

If these colors appeal to you, it is a great value considering each Amazonian Clay Blush single costs $28 at 0.2oz of product and each blush in this palette is 3/4 of that size at 0.15oz but you get 5 of them!!! You're only paying $8.80 per blush shade even though you get 75% of product in each blush. I don't know about you but I've never finished an entire blush shade so these would last me literally forever. I may cave and get this palette this year because the colors are beautiful and the packaging is slim (that's really what held me back last year).

The colors of blushes included are: Fetching, Dollface (light pink), Prim, Smashing, Beaming 

Winter Wonderland Wedding featuring Lover.ly Feathers Dress

Winter Wonderland Wedding by lethalglam

To check out the full makeup look that compliments the Feathers dress, visit this blog post. This project was completed in collaboration with the website Lover.ly where you can go to Save inspirations, Shop & Plan everything about your future wedding!

I chose the feathers & ombre lavender dress because I love the way it hugs the body and makes the bride look like a swan transforming into a beautiful princess (very reminiscent of The Swan Princess).

I wanted to continue the ombre gradually getting darker down to the floor by pairing this dress with the lavender suede pumps. It was very simple to pick out a classic french manicure to match the pumps, even down to the silver line detail separating the pink base coat and white tips to match the silver bars above the heels of the pumps.

Since the weather is quickly changing and the first snowstorms of the season have hit North America, I found a Winter Wonderland theme appropriate, especially since the feathers of this dress are so inspired and would probably insulate the wearer quite well! A beautiful feminine white coat with a fur collar is such a natural pairing.

A sleek, simple yet sophisticated updo without too much fuss is so appropriate for this dress because I didn't want it to take away from the overall look by drawing too much attention. However, when the bride turns around there is an unexpected elegance flowing from the volume of her hair.

For accessories, Alexis Bittar offers some very complementary silver jewelry with small clusters that are reminiscent of feathers or angel wings. Dangle earrings are perfect with the sleek updo. I wanted to accentuate the elegance of the collarbone by choosing not to pair a necklace with this look. The bangle can be worn as an option or the bride can opt for the sleek finger-less lace gloves (for a very Swan Lake inspired look).

Ivory glove
etsy.com

Alexis Bittar swarovski crystal drop earrings
bloomingdales.com

Alexis Bittar cluster jewelry
bloomingdales.com

LORAC military fashion
kohls.com

Lips makeup
ulta.com

ShoeMint suede leather shoes
heels.com

Monsoon Madison White Party Coat
monsoon.co.uk

Confessions of a Palette Addict Tag & Palette Reviews

I wanted to do a post about my palette collection and I found a really informative way to do it through the "Confessions of a Palette Addict" tag. There are specific questions to answer and I'll list them below (providing as many photos as possible). I added a few questions of my own because there were some palettes I wanted to highlight, I've marked these questions with an asterisk (*). If you want to see any photos larger, click on them and they will expand to full size!

Questions:

1. How many makeup palettes do you have? I have 51 palettes in total (counting all palettes that have 4 or more wells of product).

2. How many of those are eyeshadow palettes? 50 are eyeshadow palettes, many of my palettes also include blushes (Be Bright & Be Merry, City Color Dreaming of Fantasy, Tokidoki palettes, Jasmine, Balm Voyage, and a custom mixed palette).

3. How many are non eyeshadow palettes? All except for my concealer palette, pictured below (so I own 50 eyeshadow palettes). I purchased this from eBay, it was very inexpensive, is good quality and great for contouring and having a wide range of colors.

4. What are you top 3 favorite palettes?

I have to give first place to my beloved Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette (unfortunately this was a very limited edition run). I absolutely love the color selection, you can create dozens of different looks with this and I don't even mind that there are no matte shades. I found my favorite shade with this palette, it is Curiouser in the palette but better known as Grifter eyeshadow single by Urban Decay.

I love Kat Von D's palette "Saint", which is very travel friendly, neutral oriented, but still contains a large range of colors, I can always create a nice muted look with this. The shades are very buttery and smooth and rival Urban Decay shadows in terms of pigmentation.

A nostalgic love of mine is the Disney and Sephora Cinderella collaboration. This palette brings me back to my childhood and combines beautiful and functional packaging with 20 eyeshadows that pack a punch. I am a huge fan of the greens and blues (specifically the light blues) for an ethereal princess look.

5. What are your palette regrets? I don't have too many palette regrets because I usually purchase them when they're on sale (unless they were limited edition) and I get a lot of use out of my palettes.

Although I picked this palette up at Nordstrom Rack for a measly $6 (it normally retails for $30 at Sephora), I wasn't very impressed with the pigmentation of these shades. Although they swatch well, they are not easily blended, buttery, and tend to have chunky glitter fall out. I also don't think the colors in this palette create nice looks together or are complementary. 

Another palette regret is the Tokidoki Arte Palette in Vegas, the pigmentation is just poor on these shades even though the color selection is pretty, so I don't reach for it.

6. How many limited edition or Holiday palettes do you own? So many. Here is a list: Tokidoki  Robbery Palette Trio, Too Faced Joy to the Girls and Be Merry & Be Bright and small holiday palette, the Tarte of Giving, Tarte's Bow n Go, Tarte for True Blood, Sephora Pantone Universe Elements Palette. Urban Decay: Glinda, Mariposa, Deluxe Shadow Box, NYC palette, Alice in Wonderland, Butterfly Book of Shadows IV, ELF Ursula & Evil Queen, Sephora + Disney: Cinderella, Ariel and Jasmine, City Color Dreaming of Fantasy, MAC Devoted Poppy, Estee Lauder Holiday Palette

7. How many of your palettes are custom? 6

I have 2 vintage custom MAC palettes with colors I chose and 1 new regular MAC eyeshadow palette full of Urban Decay singles and miscellaneous others.

 I have 2 Z palettes, one contains my domed shadows and blushes, the other is miscellaneous shadows. I also have a double-sided MAC palette filled with my Wet n Wild depotted shadows.

8. Of the palettes you own which 1 palette would you say wasn't worth the price?

My answer has to be the Dior 5-color shadow palette in 809 Petal Shine. Although the colors are beautifully pigmented and buttery smooth, the color payoff is good, but the price overall doesn't justify the purchase. I think you can find good dupes of these colors at the drugstore.

9. Of the palettes you own which 1 palette was worth every penny?

My custom Wet n Wild palette is extremely useful to me. It has 8 trios (Walking on Eggshells, Silent Era Film [LE], Sweet as Candy, I'm Getting Sunburned, Spoiled Brat, Cool as a Cucumber, I've Got Good Jeans, I'm Feeling Retro) and 3 of the 8-pan palettes (Comfort Zone, Petal Pusher, and Flirting at the After Party [LE]). These eyeshadows are among some of the best, rivaling high end companies. They are buttery, very pigmented, easily blendable, and beautiful all while being so inexpensive!

10. In the last 12 months how many palettes have you given away or returned? 7+ were given as gifts.

11. If for some reason one morning you woke up and all of you palettes vanished, which 3 palettes would you run out and get?
The Naked 1 palette (I feel it has the most variety of warm neutrals which I tend to reach for on a daily basis and for an easy beautiful look), my Wet 'n Wild custom palette for all the same reasons I mentioned before, and Balm Voyage for beautiful pops of unique colors, great quality and large pan sizes.

Naked 1 Palette

Balm Voyage

*12. What is your most loved/oldest palette?
The Estee Lauder Deluxe Shadow Palette (from the Holiday Gift set - I forget which year!), this was my very first palette and I received it as a birthday gift from friends of mine! I absolutely loved it and it's one of the things that got me so into makeup. The colors are so smooth, soft and easy to use, they blend well and go together perfectly for a variety of unique looks.

*13. What is the best palette for special occasion/wedding makeup?
From my collection, I absolutely love the Tarte for True Blood palette for special occasions. It has some wonderfully soft colors which can be pumped up with dark accents. It was absolutely stunning for my wedding makeup (which I did myself!) and it lasted all day. It actually far exceeds the current quality of Tarte eyeshadows, which I'm not too crazy about, partially because the color selection is so poor in their new palettes.

*14. What are some honorable mentions or palettes you'd like to share with exceptional quality?
I have to give a big shout out to my beloved Tokidoki Robbery Palette Trio, which has a wonderful color selection and nice blushes as well, and the City Color Dreaming of Fantasy palette which I snagged on eBay for an absolute steal! This palette is so cute and the colors are only slightly powdery but very soft and pigmented, so worth the purchase... Plus look at the packaging!