This is a look I wore a few times last month, including Valentines day. I love the combo of warm coppery-pink against the rich cocoa brown. To keep most of the attention on the eyes, I kept my cheeks and lips understated but still polished. To see how to recreate this look, read on.

Products used and how I created this look:

Face

• Lorac PoreFection Mattifying Face Primer – I applied this all over my face to create a smooth base for my foundation to sit on.
• Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation in Classic Ivory – I dabbed this on areas where I have larger pores or the texture is not as smooth as I’d like. It doesn’t look heavy and helps blur the texture a bit.
• Cover FX CC Cream in N Light – I applied this to areas where I have more discoloration (jawline, upper cheeks) because it has good coverage and the color matches my skin tone really well.
• IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer in Neutral Medium – Using my ring finger, I applied this to my under eye circles. I used a concealer brush with a very tiny amount of this concealer to go over the darkest spots to add some more coverage.
• Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in Shade #3 – Using an eyeliner brush, I applied a small amount of this to old acne scarring on my jawline and cheeks and allowed it to dry down for a minute before blending with a small pencil brush
• Guerlain Meteorites Illuminating and Mattifying Pressed Powder – To set my base makeup, I used a large powder brush to apply a light layer of this all over my face.
• Nars Contour Blush in Olympia – Using a small angled cheek brush, I applied the contour shade to the hollows of my cheeks.
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in True Love – Using the same brush, I applied this lightly to the apples of my cheeks and blended out.

Eyes

• Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base – Using my ring finger, I applied this to the lid and crease.
• Lorac Pro Palette 2 –
• Buff – Using a blending brush (Mac 239), I applied this all over the lid and up to the brow bone.
• Light Brown – Using the same blending brush and a light hand, I applied this to my crease and blended upward a bit.
• Beige – Using a small flat brush (Mac 231), I applied this to the inner corner for a bit of highlight.
• Rose – Using a flat stiff brush (Mac 239), I applied this to the inner half of my top lid and blended up into the crease.
• Mocha – Using the other side of the same brush, I applied this to the outer half of my top lid and blended it with Rose and up into the crease.
• Cocoa – Using my small flat brush from earlier (Mac 231), I applied this, a little at a time to the “outer V” and blended with my fluffy brush (Mac 239) after each layer to get a smooth gradient.
• Revlon PhotoReady Kajal in Purple Reign – Using the lighter end of this pencil, I applied to this to the lower waterline.
• Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara in Very Black – I applied one coat of this mascara to the upper lashes.
• Palladio Eyeliner in Taupe – I focused using this pencil on the tail of my brows, arches, and any sparse spots. I blended out the inner half of my brows with a spoolie to soften and blend the color, but left the tail and arch alone.
• Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Taupe – Using an angled eyeliner brush, I filled in the inner 2/3 of my brows with the lightest shade and filled in any sparser spots with the darker shade.

Lips

• Figs & Rouge Multi Tasking Lip Balm in Wild Cherry – Just using my finger, I applied a quick dab of this to smooth out my lips.
• Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Lovelight – I applied a light coat of this lipstick straight from the tube for a little bit of sheen.

Ugh, this month seemed to drag on. My fiance and I are in the midst of trying to get our garage fixed and getting ready to file taxes. I hate February… sorry but I do LOL. Because this month’s been busy, I haven’t spent as much time as I would have liked actually using my beauty products. I wanted to mention the few that have gotten some love, though.

1. Rituals Cosmetics Foaming Shower Gel Sensation in Yogi Flow – Thank goodness for Glossybox. It’s nice to have new things come to me instead of going out and looking for them. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping but this month, I have been thankful for subscription boxes! The texture of this is unique for a shower gel but isn’t new in concept. It comes out like a gel and as you spread it over the skin, it foams up luxuriously – sound familiar? It works just like a shave gel. The scent is also very lovely and spa-like. So far this is the second item I’ve enjoyed from this brand. I can tell they put a lot of thought into their products, which I appreciate.

2. Lorac Pro Palette 2 – I have used this a handful of times but every time it has been a pleasure. The shades I’ve mostly gravitated toward are Rose, Mocha, and Cocoa. All of the eyeshadows are buttery smooth and highly pigmented. I’m not sure why I waited so long to buy this! I like that the colors aren’t really “neutrals” but they aren’t too loud either. I have a tendency to get in a rut and do the same kinds of looks all the time so having some colors that are (a little bit) outside of my comfort zone is great.

3. Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base – Last month I used up my Urban Decay Primer Potion and replaced it with Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. It has come to have a reputation for being one of the best eyeshadow primers out there. It’s only been a couple weeks, but so far, I’m impressed. The one major difference between this and UDPP is the way it sits on the skin and affects the way shadows sit on the skin. Sometimes my eyelids can look a bit crepey, especially with matte eyeshadows and I found that UDPP made it look even more pronounced. This one is way more flattering and doesn’t have that drying effect.

4. Josie Maran Argan Oil – I’m getting close to finally using up my tiny bottle of this oil. I’ve been using it all winter as an eye cream, alternative to moisturizer and sometimes over moisturizer – depending on how my skin is behaving. I decided this past month, to use this exclusively and stop using moisturizer, to see what would happen. After about 2 weeks my skin looked more radiant and healthy than I’ve ever seen it look with moisturizer. I didn’t see any more breakouts or clogged pores than is usual for me. It takes longer than moisturizer to completely soak in but the results are worth it.

So, that’s all I have for this month. I know it’s only 4 products but hopefully I’ll have a few more next month. What beauty products did you enjoy most in February?

Lorac Pro to Go is a compact, travel-friendly palette containing 6 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, a bronzer, an eyeshadow brush, and an eyeliner brush. The eyeshadows remain in the neutral family and the cheek colors are nice natural shades, neither too bright nor too unnatural in texture. The palette costs $38, contains a total of .8 oz / 23 grams of product, and is available exclusively at Sephora.

Colors/Finishes

Eyeshadows:

• Pearl – Shimmery light beige with silver sparkles.
• Chai – High-shimmer copper bronze, a little darker and slightly less shimmery/frosted than Urban Decay Chopper.
• Mink – Plum-toned dark brown with pink and gold sparkles.
• Shell – True satin light nude. Lorac describes this as matte but it isn’t really. It has a sheen that is neither sparkly nor frosty.
• Cafe – Warm terra cotta brown, matte base with tiny sparkles. The sparkles are not really noticeable on the eyes.
• Black – Matte black, not the blackest black but certainly dark enough to use as an eyeliner or to deepen the crease.

Blushes/Bronzer:

• Coral – Peachy pink with very fine golden sparkles. Coral’s satin finish gives a nice glow to the cheeks without being glittery or frosty looking.
• Pink – Matte medium pink. A basic pink that will suit most complexions – similar to Mac’s Pink Swoon or Smashbox’s Radiance.
• Bronze – Matte medium brown. Not far off in color from Nars Laguna but does appear slightly warmer.

Performance/Experience

The eyeshadows, blushes, and bronzer all had a soft, smooth texture. I wouldn’t describe them as buttery because they have a somewhat drier feel to them but were not gritty at all. They had good color payoff, didn’t stain the skin, and blended easily. There is no fragrance in the product but it does have a light powdery smell to it.

I found all the colors to be very wearable and they all complement each other nicely. I am not one to normally go for copper bronze colors like Chai but in this case it adds a nice extra pop to the look because it is so complementary to the other shades. Cafe was just tad warmer than I prefer but not so much that I couldn’t make it work.

This palette folds up in a unique way. When I saw it on Sephora’s website I thought it was just a standard bi-fold palette but it’s actually a quad-fold palette. I admit I found it strange at first but it’s actually quite handy and becomes nice and compact. It is made of the same material as the Lorac Pro Palette and has a large mirror on each side of the quad-fold (one for the blushes, and one for the eyeshadows). The two brushes are soft and have a good density but they are really tiny.

I wore the eyeshadows for 6 hours with no primer before they started to crease. Worn over primer they lasted 8 hours without creasing. The blushes and bronzer lasted all day without becoming faded or splotchy.

Overall Opinion

[rating=5]

All in all, this is a good palette and not exorbitantly expensive for what you get. The quality of the eyeshadows and cheek products are great and all the shades work well together.

Product Description

Price/Quantity: $42 USD for 8.8 grams. Includes a 5.5 gram eyeshadow primer.
Availability: Amazon, Lorac.com, Sephora, Ulta, Departments Stores
Color Range: 16 colors (8 matte / 8 shimmery)
Color/Finish:

• White – stark white, matte base with very fine white sparkles
• Cream – pale cream, matte
• Taupe – warm light brown, matte
• Light Pink – very pale pink, matte
• Mauve – light purplish brown, matte
• Sable – medium brown, matte
• Espresso – dark brown, matte
• Black – pitch black, matte
• Nude – light beige, shimmery
• Champagne – light pinky beige, shimmery with silver micro glitter
• Gold – bronzy yellow gold, shimmery
• Light Bronze – medium beige, shimmery
• Pewter – taupey bronze, shimmery
• Garnet – redish bronze, shimmery
• Deep Purple – very dark purple (almost black), shimmery
• Slate – blueish steel grey, shimmery

Smell: These are not fragranced but they do have a very light and inoffensive powdery smell.
Packaging: The palette has a rubberized texture (similar to Nars blush packaging), is thin (1 cm) and lightweight, and clasps shut with a magnet. Overall the palette feels sturdy and the magnet works well at keeping the palette securely closed. The inside of the lid has a large good quality mirror (no distortions) and it also folds all the way back. The names of the eyeshadows are pretty straightforward and are labeled right underneath each pan. All the matte shades are found in the top row and all the shimmery shades are in the second row. I’ve had this palette for a few months and so far it holds up pretty well against fingerprints and eyeshadow marks. What marks do end up on it clean up pretty easily.

Performance

Application: These look great without a primer but do look a bit more vibrant and blend more easily over a primer. They don’t cling too much to dry skin or irritate my eyes. When going into the pans with brushes, there is a tiny bit of kick-up from the eyeshadows. The variety of colors offered coordinate well and offer great versatility.
Pigmentation: All the eyeshadows in this palette have excellent pigmentation. Just tapping my finger lightly over one of the eyeshadows leaves a significant amount of color on my fingertip.
Texture: The texture feels buttery smooth and sits smoothly on the eye. When worn with the primer, the matte and darker shades are a bit easier to blend. They are not packed too loosely in the pan but they are somewhat soft. There was a little bit of fallout from the very dark shades but nothing unmanageable.
Longevity: I noticed minor creasing at the 4 hour mark when worn without a primer. When I wore it with the included primer I noticed very slight creasing (hardly noticeable unless looking up close) after about 3 hours and it remained that way till the ninth hour. One little thing about the primer though – it started to separate after having this palette for a few months. In general, the matte shades last a little bit longer than the shimmery ones.

Overall Opinion

Pros:

• 16 colors, half of them are matte
• Packaging is compact and lightweight but still feels sturdy
• Large mirror inside lid
• Good Value – $2.625 USD per eyeshadow
• Buttery smooth texture and highly pigmented
• Versatile color and texture range

Cons:

• The individual eyeshadows are a bit small
• The included primer started separating after a few months
• A little fallout from the very dark shades

Would I buy this again? Absolutely. I personally prefer this over any of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes because the variety is amazing. The Naked Palette contains colors that are a bit more flattering on warmer complexions (not to say that cooler-toned beauties couldn’t make them work) and they don’t have as many matte options. The Lorac Pro Palette has something for everyone and for every occasion. Work, Parties, Traveling, etc. If you love makeup but either don’t have much of a budget to splurge on it or don’t like to have a bunch of clutter then this would be a worthwhile “investment”. The value is amazing considering the variety and excellent quality.