Nikkia Joy: 2014

Hi beauties!

So my Monday quickly turned from mundane to magnificent! The postman arrived with a beautifully wrapped present and it happened to be the gorgeous new Lorac Mega Pro Palette!

This one is a limited edition palette - that follows in the same footsteps as the previous Lorac Pro Palettes 1 & 2 - except it adds MEGA into the mix.

It's essentially the same size as two of the original palettes - and much like its predecessors it contains half matte and half shimmer shadows.

The packaging is the same suede/velvet type material that we are used to in our Lorac palettes - except this time its in a bright burgundy shade. To be honest I wouldn't be devastated if they changed their packaging material - yes its sturdy, lightweight, thin - but it gets filthy! Even a hint of powder and it just attaches to it like glue!And I probably would have also preferred the outer packing to be black - BUT it does come with an amazing big mirror and is very thin in design - which definitely outweighs the other stuff!

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Ok lets move onto the important stuff - the colours! There is definitely an interesting mix in this palette - very different to the previous two palettes. There is a generous mix of warm and cool tones, and also a good balance of brights. They have included a lot of rose and pink hues in there too, also a nice change from the originals. Theres an abundant supply of transition shades - which is nice, especially if your not a tip top blender - these will help smooth out the edges of the darker/brighter shadows really well.

The matte black is interesting - it has a very green undertone - all the while being clearly labelled as black. I love the shimmery obsidian - you could smoke out your entire lids with this, buff it out with one of the orange based nudes and it would make the perfect smokey eye for a night out.

The neutrals would also be so easy to slap on for a day at the office or running errands - giving the lid a little extra without being too over the top.

Swatched below are 6 of the shimmer shades, they are all extremely pigmented - not surprised at all there - and the shimmer is really understated and nowhere near over the top.

Swatched left to right: Merlot, Indigo, Deep Teal, Granite, Copper & Vanilla

The matte shadows are also far from a let down - beautiful pigmentation, creamy to apply with minimal fall out - I think I'm in love!!!

Swatched left to right below: Espresso, Black (totally looks green doesn't it?), Dusty Plum, Mulberry, Camel & White

And then finally here is a picture comparing the Mega Pro to the original Pro Palettes 1 & 2. I would probably still stick with number 1 as being my favourite - it just has colours that are everyday generic and useable, and I definitely find myself reaching for it the most - thats not to say the number 2 and the Mega are not nice though - and it certainly puts a huge grin on my face having all three in my collection (but I am a little makeup cray cray!)

What do you guys think of the Mega Pro? Will you be picking it up?

The palette is limited edition - so you might want to jump on it quick. From what I have heard it pops up on Amazon quite regularly, and here in Australia you can still pick it up on eBay (but it will cost you a fairly hefty price - upwards of $150 - I'm assuming because of the exclusivity? Or maybe just because we always get ripped off on makeup here?!!)

BUY HERE: http://www.loraccosmetics.com/make-up_mega-pro-palette.html

Talk soon xx

Today we're getting all loved up with the Vice 3 - as you all probably know, every couple of years Urban Decay releases a new rendition of the Vice palette line and its 3rd instalment, the Vice 3, is certainly not a diappointer!

For starters it comes in pretty luxe packaging, I don't know about you guys, but I'm a total sucker for packaging - if its shiny and pretty and makes me go ooooh! then I buy it (whoops my bad!).

The actual palette comes inside a handy little zip up case - and they didn't skimp on this either - its thick, durable and has a sturdy zip. The gorgeous multicoloured pattern on this also makes it a complete steal! This one would be great for travel or even just storage around the home. You can keep makeup brushes, other makeup or keep your palette in there so it stays nice and clean!

I am actually obsessed with the design of the palette clutch case - it could totally double as a pencil case too!

The actual palette is also completely stunning - its obvious that they put a lot of hard thought and effort into it. It's quite a sleek design, featuring a metallic outer shell with the letters 'VICE' on the front in green bejewelled writing. The front is silver with the same rainbow design printed through the middle and the back is a metallic sour green. Its really not bad to look at, and is also a lot slimmer than the previous Vice palettes.

It feels sturdy when opening and closing it - I don't feel like I could break this particularly easily. The lid also clips to the bottom - meaning you can travel without worrying!

When opening it the first thing I noticed was the generous mirror - now this I love! Have you ever been to a hotel that had terrible lighting? I always seem to wind up doing my makeup in front of window which requires a portable mirror - thank you UD you have given me gorgeous eyeshadows and a portable travel mirror for me to actually apply them - I'm impressed!

Now onto the actual shadows themselves. HOLY MOLY!! I'm going to start off with hello pigmented - the payoff of these babies is pretty incredible. You will see that in my video review and tutorial at the end of this. I advise go cautiously lol - they come out just as strong as they are in the pan. And the colour selection is also amazing. We are all loving our warm plums, pinks and oranges at the moment and they have delivered just that. Along with some great blending/transition shades and some pops of green and blue. And like every good palette should - a deep black to take any eyeshadow look from soft and flirty to bold and dramatic.

Personally I detest the little double ended brush that comes with the palette - it just doesn't give me any payoff and seems to cause quite a bit of fall out - but hey you guys might not be a fussy with brushes as I am!

Some swatches of the colours below - these are one swipe and without an eyeshadow primer - pretty impressive huh!

In terms of price its reasonably expensive - I mean its nearly double the price of some of my other favourite palettes - but at the same time its totally worth it. These are limited edition collection pieces, and they will last pretty much forever, so I don't have a problem shelling out a few extra dollars for these types of palettes.

It retails for about $90 in Australia, and $60 everywhere else (damn you Australia with your import taxes and habit of making everything cost an arm and a leg!)

You can click the links below to buy directly

Australia: http://www.discountbeautyboutique.com.au/products/urban-decay-vice3-palette

USA/Canada: http://www.urbandecay.com/vice-3-eyeshadow-palette-by-urban-decay/246.html

Overall I love it and I'm glad that I made the effort to pick this one up - I think its going to receive a lot of love and use over the years! To watch a makeup tutorial featuring the palette click play below - its just a quick and easy way to throw some of the colours together for some extra glam!

Until next time!

xxx

Let's be friends!

Nikkia Joy

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