LORAC Mega Pro 2 Palette Review & Swatches

Hello everyone!

Tonight I bring you an exciting review...the new LORAC Mega Pro 2 palette. I just got mine in the mail earlier today and knew this post needed to go up asap. This palette is an Ulta exclusive, releasing this Sunday October 4th.

As with previous Mega Pro palettes, the quality is incredible! Each eyeshadow is buttery soft, pigmented and easy to apply/blend....everything you'd want in an eyeshadow. Overall, I think LORAC did an awesome job with the second edition to the Mega Pro.

The Mega Pro 2 includes 32 awesome eyeshadows and will retail for $59. So basically this means each eyeshadow is just under $2 a piece...insane deal for LORAC quality. The set up is just like the previous Mega Pro palette....two rows of mattes and two rows of satin/shimmer/metallic shades. With these larger Pro palettes, it's like getting two of the smaller Pro palettes all wrapped up in one!

The Mattes....

L to R:
Sorbet, Purple, Lavender, Bisque, Burlap, Tawny, Custard, Porcelain 

L to R:
Melon, Tangerine, Saddle, Forest, Goji, Cabernet, Ash, Black

The Satin/Shimmers/Metallic.....

L to R:
Dk. Sienna, Peony, Seashell, Moonlight, Soft Plum, Prosecco, Chiffon, Sugar

L to R:
Black Ivy, Gold Leaf, Olivine, Penny, Blue Quartz, Gunmetal, Sandstone, Cinnamon

As you can see, each color swatched great without needing a primer. LORAC has always impressed me with their eyeshadow quality especially their mattes. As shown above, their matte finish eyeshadows are very pigmented and blend great. Most of the time, mattes get a bad rap for being patchy and difficult to blend...that is not the case with LORAC. 

If you are interested in this new palette, snag one quick on the release day. I believe this one will sell out extremely fast. Here's the Ulta website where it'll be sold. 

I hope this quick review was helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section :)

xoxo

~Lexi

Urban Decay Vice 4 Review & Swatches

Hello everyone and Happy Thursday!


Today I'm sharing my initial thoughts plus swatches of the new Urban Decay Vice 4 eyeshadow palette. I ordered mine from the Urban Decay website (click here) when it first launched about a week ago. It's currently sold on their website but eventually, you'll find this in stores like Ulta and Sephora.  As with all Vice palettes, you get 20 brand new eyeshadows ranging from mattes to shimmers to metallic and even a few glittery finishes; all for $60. Not bad considering that each eyeshadow comes out to $3 a piece.

I like the packaging and overall esthetic of the product. In terms of packaging, this is the best looking Vice palette. Included with this palette is a cool looking pouch (could be used as a makeup bag) and double ended (crease/shadow) brush that isn't bad. I'm not a huge fan of the double ended brushes thrown in with these types of palettes. That being said, you could get away with using it to complete a look while on travel.

Vice 4

*The swatches have been applied without primer and a slightly damp brush was used.

L to R:
Fast Ball, Framed, Grip, Bones

~Descriptions (as they appear in palette)~

Bones: shimmery silvery beige 

Framed: matte beige with subtle pink undertone

Grip: matte gray with silver glitter

Fast Ball: shimmery mid tone pink

All of the above swatched nicely with a damp brush but a few things to note; Framed doesn't show up too much on lighter skin tones when used dry and Grip-really needs to be used damp for maximum payoff. My only complaint with this group is Grip...I'd prefer this to be completely matte without the glitter and more pigmentation.

L to R:
Flame, Bitter, Grasshopper, Discreet

~Descriptions (as they appear in palette)~

Discreet: matte pale lavender 

Bitter: matte reddish brown

Grasshopper: metallic bright green

Flame: metallic/glittery orangey-gold

Love all of these colors. There was a bit of fall out when using Flame. It has a chunky glittery finish which is gorgeous when foiled but there will be fall out due to the nature of the finish.

L to R:
C-Note, Arctic, Low, Crowbar

~Descriptions (as they appear in palette)~

C-Note: metallic gray-ish green

Arctic: bright aqua with silver glitter

Low: glittery brown with subtle purple tone

Crowbar: smokey golden olive with glittery flecks

All colors look pretty when swatched using a damp brush. Using them dry is nice but the effect won't be as intense as you see above. Low and Crowbar feel a bit drier in texture than all others in this palette which isn't something I'm particularly fond of. But it's workable! As you can see above, Crowbar is messy due to the fall out.

L to R:
Deadbeat, Beat Down, 1985, Underhand

~Descriptions (as they appear in palette)~

Deadbeat: dark charcoal gray with silver flecks

Beat Down: shimmery deep blue toned violet

1985: metallic fuchsia

Underhand: shimmery berry

Love these too! 

Delete, Robbery, Harlot, Pandemonium 

~Descriptions (as they appear in palette)~

Pandemonium: sparkly deep purple

Harlot: shimmery lavender

Robbery: metallic golden taupe

Delete: matte dark brown

These are really nice and all have good color payoff. Delete looks a bit patchy because I initially swatched this one dry and blended over it using a brush that was slightly damp. I'd recommend using Delete dry.

Overall, I think this is a good palette. The payoff of each color with the exception of Grip, is pretty good. It's what you would expect from Urban Decay.

When comparing Vice 4 to Vice 1 and Vice 3 (don't own Vice 2), I noticed there seems to similar tones of color in each palette. Within the Vice palettes I own, there isn't one particular shade that is exactly the same. The colors within each Vice palette are different but overall, the color family is very similar. So unfortunately, in my opinion this isn't super unique. That being said,  I like it and would continue using it. 

Here's a few looks I've done with Vice 4:

Flame applied damp on the lid. Bitter & Delete in crease
and lower lash line. Framed used as brow highlight.

Harlot inner half of lid and 1985 outer half
Blended C-Note and Delete together and applied to crease
Framed as brow highlight

So I hope this review was helpful. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comment section.

For upcoming tutorials using Vice 4, please subscribe to my YouTube beauty channel

Thank you for stopping by,

xoxo

~Lexi

Makeup Revolution 'Eyes Like Angels' Palette Review

Hello all!

It has been a really long time since I've posted anything here. Today I am back and thought I'd share my thoughts and swatches of one of my current absolute favorite eyeshadow palettes.

Makeup Revolution, a UK based makeup brand; is fairly new to me. I ordered a few things back in May and I've loved everything thus far. One of the biggest things I noticed from this brand, is how CHEAP everything is! Secondly, they create "dupes" for more expensive high end beauty items. Then to top it all, the quality is actually great :)

Today's post is on the 'Eyes Like Angels' ultra eyeshadow palette! One that I like  love so much. This palette contains 32 eyeshadows in a range of beautiful shades (bright to neutral) in a variation of finishes. There are a couple of matte finishes but mostly everything is either shimmery or metallic.

The pigmentation as you will see below, is amazing! The quality and creaminess of these shadows have a very high end feel. After converting currency from GDP to USD on the Makeup Revolution site, the total cost ended up being $12.50  What?! Insane.

Here are the swatches:

 The following photos are zoomed in to show the texture of these eyeshadows.

The metallic eyeshadows have a super creamy and soft feel. If you've ever tried the Makeup Geek foiled eyeshadows, then you'll have an idea of what these are like. You will actually see imprints of your finger and/or brush in the pan...just like MUG foiled shadows.

Overall, I'm in love. These are pretty awesome for the money. The entire palette of 32 eyeshadows at $12.50......means each eyeshadow costs 39 cents! This is crazy. I don't believe you'll find quality and pigmentation like this at this price anywhere else!

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves eyeshadows especially metallic/foiled finishes.

To shop this palette or to browse the Makeup Revolution line: click here
*Makeup Revolution does have USA website (limited products available for purchase): click here to access that site.
*Some products from Makeup Revolution (limited range) can now be purchased through Ulta: click here
(none of these links are affiliate)

I hope this review was helpful if you were curious about this brands products. If you've never heard of Makeup Revolution, I hope that you'll give the site a look through :)


Thanks for stopping by,
xoxo
~Lexi

Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette

Hello everyone!

I hope your Wednesday is going well so far. Today I'm reviewing the new Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour palette that I've had for a few weeks. I took advantage of the Sephora VIB sale back in April and snagged another palette. I truly am an eyeshadow palette lover hoarder!

The new Shade and Light Eye Contour palette is an all matte eyeshadow palette featuring a good mix of cool and warm tones. It literally has every neutral shade you could ever need! If I'm being honest, I was a little hesitant to try this Kat Von D palette because I've never really been impressed with the brand overall. I do love the tattoo liquid liner though! We all know that face contouring is all the rage right now and now it's becoming a thing for the eyes too. The concept of this palette is to help define the eye thus providing an enhanced look; similar to the effect we get when we contour our faces.

I was pleasantly surprised by the color selection, pigmentation and overall performance of each eyeshadow. I have been reaching for this a lot since I've gotten it and I really like incorporating it into my looks. I really don't need more neutral mattes but hey what's a few more?!

The Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour palette contains 12 matte eyeshadows. The top row of larger eyeshadows each contain 0.08 oz of product and the vertical eyeshadows each contain 0.04 oz. of product. I'd say the sizes are great and will last a while. It's currently available on Sephora.com for $46.

Let's take a look......

The exterior package is the traditional cardboard. The quality of it is very nice. It's definitely very Kat Von D!! 

All eyeshadow names are printed on the back
:)

 Swatches.....

Laetus, samael, solas, lucius

lazarus, saleos, shax, liberatus

ludwin, succubus, sytry, latinus

The overall pigmentation is great. These matte eyeshadows feel really creamy and blend easily too. I would recommend this palette to anyone seeking an all matte eyeshadow palette or to anyone who needs good basic neutrals.

Here's a look I created using this palette. This "Smokey Mattes" full tutorial is up on my YouTube beauty channel- click here to watch.

I hope this review was helpful :)

Thank you for stopping by,
xoxo
~Lexi

Make Up For Ever Artist Palettes (Summer 2015) Review & Swatches

Hello all,

I am so very excited to share my thoughts and photos on the brand new Make Up For Ever Artist eyeshadow palettes. These two palettes are part of the new MUFE Summer 2015 collection and can be purchased through Sephora. Each palette is $42 and contains 9 eyeshadows each 0.06 oz.....which is almost the same amount (0.07 oz.) as the full size shadows that run $21 a piece. I mean...this is an insanely good value! Artist 1 palette contains nine beautiful neutrals while Artist 2 palette has nine colorful/brighter shades.

I've wanted to try the new MUFE Artist eyeshadows for quite sometime but when I see the $21 price tag for each....I get very hesitant. So when I spotted these during the Sephora VIB/VIB Rouge 15% off sale last week, I knew I had to snag them and QUICK! If you've been wanting to try out MUFE, I'd say grab these while you can  now and thank me later.

I can sum up my initial reaction with two words.....Blown Away! I quickly realized how amazingly creamy, pigmented and intense these are. Two Thumbs Up!!

Here are the photos :) Enjoy!

$42 each 

I love design! The exterior packaging is the standard cardboard but very well made. The mirror is also a great size if you were to take this on travels. 

I really like the sleek look of these palettes as well!

Artist Shadows 1~

Shadow numbers & finishes
Artist 1 palette

Artist Shadow 1 

Artist 1 palette is full of great neutrals that I feel everyone should own. Neutrals are so invaluable in my collection and these will definitely be used often. Great color selection and pigmentation on these. A must have in my opinion!

Artist 2 Shadows~

Shadow numbers and finishes.
Artist 2

Artist 2 swatches

Artist 2 palette is much more vivid in color which is awesome for Spring and Summer. I am blown away by the pigmentation and creaminess of these eyeshadows. I am now realizing what I have been missing out on all this time. I would recommend this palette to any eyeshadow lover or to anyone needing colorful shadows. I really love this one.

Here's a side by side comparison of both palettes :)

(Left) Artist 1
(Right) Artist 2

Overall, I am very impressed and happy I got these! Honestly, if you needed eyeshadows, these two palettes is all that you would need with the except of a few mid tone neutral matte shadows. I hope this review was helpful. *Subscribe to my YouTube beauty channel (click here) to see these and many more palettes in action!

Have a great day :)

xoxo

~Lexi