Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette review, swatches, EOTD

Although the Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette has been on my wishlist since May and I was planning to get it in the last quarter of the year, I actually received it as a bribe from my parents, gifted under the delusion that I would not turn up at their place with a wishlist measuring a few miles, as they plan to attend the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair. High hopes. In fairness, I have already ordered a few things myself and simply arranged for them to pick up the packages, so there will be no wishlist. I am such a good girl, I ought to treat myself to a few goodies soon.
While I am certainly not a neutrals-only person, I have come to realise not all neutrals are brownish and boring. This is why the Lorac Pro 2 went on my wishlist.

Check out my review and swatches of the Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette.

Packaging of Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette

I do not like the Lorac Pro packaging. No, let me rephrase that. I do not dislike it, but I do not like it either. Give me Too Faced's fresh look, or Urban Decay's class, or theBalm's sass any day. What is so "wow" about the basic grey (or black in the first edition) flip matte cardboard? Oh, and the palette is flimsier than it looks. There is a long story regarding Jade and Cocoa being powdered to smithereens and I have barely managed to salvage 50% of both the shadows, thanks to nail polish remover. But that is for another day.

Formula, pigmentation and shades of Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadows

Just like Lorac Pro 1, reviewed here, half the eyeshadows are matte while the rest are shimmery. A couple of the lighter mattes are not as pigmented as the rest - Buff is the biggest culprit here for me, followed by Charcoal. All the shades were smooth and silky, though Silver and Cool Gray were not as soft as the rest. Most shades had in-pan fallout, though they did not fall out as much on to the cheeks. Black featured in the original Lorac Pro palette as well.
Four of the shades are really cool and not meh-neutrals. Nectar, Jade, Plum and Navy. Nectar is a neutral peach, Jade is a beautiful shimmery deep olive green and Plum and Navy are what their names say. I also love Chrome, which is erm... taupish gunmetal? Tarnished pewter-taupe? I give up. Nectar is a peach version of my skintone.

Swatches of Lorac Pro 2 eyeshadow palette in natural light and with flash and eye makeup look

Natural light first.
From left, row 1: Buff, Light Brown, Cool Gray, Nectar, Plum, Navy, Charcoal, Black
From left, row 2: Snow, Beige, Rose, Mocha, Chrome, Silver, Jade, Cocoa

With flash:

I have been wearing subtle EOTDs with Nectar and Cool Gray pretty much every day now and expect to hit pan on these two shades first.

Summary

I prefer the shades in Lorac Pro 2 over Lorac Pro 1. If you have to pick just one palette, I say go for this one above the original. Do you need the Lorac Pro 2 palette even if you have all three Urban Decay N@keds and Lorac Pro and TF Chocolate Bar? For the shades, yes. And, if you are looking for non-brownish neutrals, or a neutral palette which allows room for experimenting with some brighter colours, then yes, you do need it. This is definitely not one of those meh-neutral palettes. But if you think you already have the shades covered in a bunch of other palettes, then nah, you can skip it.
For my part, I love Lorac Pro 2 far more than UD N@ked 1 and 2 and Pro 1 But I love theBalm N#de'Tude, IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol 1 (reviewed here) and Too Faced Chocolate Bar, reviewed here, far more than Lorac Pro 2.
I think I am heading for neutral palette saturation. Someone please bring out a dedicated 12-eyeshadow blue palette, a purple and a green one.

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