Today’s review is for the Lorac Hollywood Glamour Mini Palette in Effortless Glamour. This will be one of the few reviews that I do in December because throughout the month, I’ll be sharing ALL of my favorites so I’m not going to have much time for actual reviews. However, it was important to me that I get this review up because one, it’s a holiday release and two, it’s definitely a new favorite. Last week I reviewed the Lorac Shine Bright Palette, their holiday release in 2018 that was re-released this year. I had some pretty mixed opinions on it and I will be comparing the formula of it to this palette so you may want to read that review. Now, let’s get into this review!

The Effortless Glamour Mini Palette is $15.00 and available on the Ulta and Lorac websites. There are a few other mini palettes available but most of them are exclusive to the Lorac website. This palette contains six, full size shades in a variety of textures; two mattes, one sequin (matte with glitter), one shimmer, one pressed glitter and one metallic. The palette is very compact, about the size of a debit card. It is made of cardboard, has a magnetic closure and a mirror, albeit a small one. Let’s discuss all the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Lorac has a new diamond shine formula that is used in these mini palettes and in their new Lux Diamond Palette. The shimmers and metallics in the new formula are SO much better than the ones in their older palettes. As mentioned above, I have reviewed the Shine Bright Palette but I’m also testing out the Pro One, along with the Lux Diamond Palette, and I can say for sure that the newer formula is better. I had no issues with these shadows crumbling, caking up or irritating my eyes. They also blend and layer together smoothly. I did NOT have to use them wet because they worked perfectly dry. They’re absolutely beautiful and some of my favorite shadows that I own.
• The Lorac matte formula has been consistently great across all the palettes that I’ve tried from them and it’s no different with this one. They’re pigmented but incredibly blendable. I had no issues with fallout as long as I tapped off my brush.
• I typically don’t enjoy mattes with glitter but the one in this palette is great. I used it in my crease and you could actually still see the shimmer in it even after a lot of blending. However, even though the shimmer was still there, it looked fine in my crease. It’s just a very versatile shade that could be used anywhere on the eyes.
• I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the pressed glitter in this palette. There are some aspects of it that I will discuss in the cons section but it was beautiful and easy to work with. I applied it with my finger and it stayed in place without a glitter glue.
• This might be a con for some but I love how compact and travel friendly this palette is. It doesn’t have every shade I need to complete a look but if I was traveling, I could easily take this palette plus a few singles and have everything I needed.
• All of the shades are so opaque and pigmented that I believe most skin tones could use and enjoy this palette. Of course, I don’t have a deeper skin tone so I’m having to base this off of my assumptions.
• I personally love this color story and even though it’s just a few shades, I still feel inspired to create different looks and use this palette along with my other palettes.

Cons:

• Pressed glitters are never eye safe. I used the one in this palette in my inner corner, as far from my actual eyeball as possible. That is the only way that I will ever use this shade. Lorac has no warnings on the palette or on their website and they most definitely should. Also, some glitters, if made from plastic, are harmful to the environment because they don’t break down. The first ingredient for this formula is Polyethylene Terephthalate.  As far as I can tell, that is plastic glitter and so it’s unfortunately not good for the environment. Lauren Mae Beauty on Youtube just did an excellent video all about this subject, you can see it here.

Swatches & Shade Descriptions:

These eyeshadows do have names but they’re printed on a separate sheet, which I hate. They also have shade descriptions but I don’t feel that they’re really accurate for a lot of the shades so I will change the ones that aren’t correct. I’ll be going from left to right, top row to bottom row. The picture of the swatches was taken with the flash on to really show how they sparkle.

• Champagne– shimmery champagne with pink and gold glitter
• Chiffon– metallic rosey brown
• Blush– sequin (matte with glitter) dusty mauve
• Sepia– matte tan
• Amaranth– matte reddish brown
• Gold Sequins- pressed gold glitter

Eyeshadow Looks:

I primarily used this palette alone to create two looks. For both of the looks, I used a cream shade to set my primer; I always use the essence Colour Intensifying Primer. For one of the looks, I used a brown shade on my lower lash line. When explaining the looks, I will go in the order of the swatches on my wrist; left to right and top to bottom. You can click on the pictures to see them better. Since these eyeshadows do have names, I won’t be describing where they are in the palette or what they look like.

I love both of the looks that I created with this palette but I think this one is my favorite. I did use a dark brown shade to line my lower lash line. I took the close up pictures with the flash on to show off all the sparkle.

1. I blended Blush into my crease and on to the outermost part of my lid.
2. I applied Champagne over the majority of my lid, in my inner corner and on my brow bone.
3. Using my finger, I applied Gold Sequins in my inner corner on top of Champagne.

I wore this look on Thanksgiving and loved it. It was so quick and easy to do.

1. I blended Sepia into my crease.
2. I deepened my crease and lined my lower lash line with Amaranth.
3. I applied Chiffon over most of my lid.
4. I applied Champagne on the innermost part of my lid, in my inner corner and on my brow bone.

Brushes Used:

• Detail Crease Brush
• Tapered Blending Brush
• Flat Eyeshadow Brush
• Small Angled Brush
• Smudge Brush
• Eye Crease Brush
• Blending Brush, I used this brush to blend out the edges.

If you are curious about any of the other products on my face, you can find these looks in my recent posts on Instagram.

Final Thoughts:

I love, love, love this little palette and think it is well worth the $15.00. I don’t plan to try any of the other ones, however, because they primarily contain just shimmer and glitter shades. I think this palette would be a great way to try Lorac’s formula at a lower price point if you’ve been interested in the brand but didn’t want to splurge. I would love to know if you’ve tried any palettes from Lorac and what you think about them or what you think of my review! Thanks for reading and have a great day!