Review: Pirates Of The Caribbean Collection by Lorac

When Lorac announced that they were releasing a Pirates of the Caribbean collection, I had to pause my life, go find a cursed treasure with the power to resurrect the dead, and resuscitate myself because I died of excitement.

Guys, I love Pirates of the Caribbean. And, when I say Pirates of the Caribbean, I mean old school, Curse of the Black Pearl, why is all the rum gone, skeleton monkey Pirates of the Caribbean, not the At World's End, women turning into crabs, why is Penelope Cruz in this movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Although, On Stranger Tides did produce a bomb OPI nail polish collection, but I digress.

Anyway, when I first heard about this palette collection, I had a lot of feelings, as I noted above, but my overwhelming feeling was "I have to buy this." Right there and then--on February what ever it was--I decided that no matter how much it cost or what it looked like I was going to buy this eyeshadow palette. I was like, I hope this palette is good because I'm going to have to drop $50 on it. I was both excited and annoyed with Lorac. Excited because IT'S A PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN EYESHADOW PALETTE; HOW ARE YOU NOT EXCITED ABOUT THAT???? And annoyed because I felt like, by releasing this palette, Lorac was reaching into my pocket and taking $50 because, by making it, they made me obligated to buy it because how do you not buy A PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN EYESHADOW PALETTE. IT'S TOO EXCITING!!

Anyway, I checked the internet every other day for the collection release date, and as soon as it became avalible at Ulta--and I mean the instant it appeared on their website--I bought it. I was just going to buy the eyeshadow palette, but then I was like "who am I kidding?" and I bought the cheek palette too (in my defense, I had a gift card, so the eyeshadow palette was basically free).

Now, at this point in the blog, I have to pause and apologize because I've had these palettes for MONTHS now and I'm just reviewing them now. However, both these products are still available on Ulta's website, so, if you decide you want this palette, you can get it. Anyway, I'm sorry that I'm so behind on reviews! Now, without further ado, let's get to the review.

First of all, I should probably give you some background information about the collection. This collection includes:

• Pirates Of The Caribbean Eye Shadow Palette ($52)
• Pirates Of The Caribbean Cheek Palette ($30)
• Pirates Of The Caribbean Lip Duo ($26)

Obviously, I did't pick up any of the Lip Duos (although they're still available at Ulta if you're interested); however I do have the eyeshadow and cheek palettes to review for you today. 

Pirates Of The Caribbean Cheek Palette

I've had "meh" experiences with Lorac cheek products. I have a Lorac blush and two Lorac highlights and I don't really reach for them. The colors in this palette were calling my name though, so I decided to pick this up.

First of all, the packaging is gorgeous. It's very sleek, very pretty, it comes with a nice sized mirror, and the products come with a plastic insert with the different phases of the moon over them, which I thought was a creative touch. The pans in this palette are also quite large, so I do feel like you get a lot of product for your $30.

The shades themselves are also very pretty. This is a complete palette in that you have a bronzer, a blush, a couple of darker highlights, and a couple of lighter highlights. In terms of shades, I feel like you could easily take this palette on a trip and have everything you need. However, these shades are definitely aimed at light to medium skin tones. People with deeper skin probably aren't going to be able to use this palette, which is a shame. Obviously, it's difficult to make a face palette that suits all skin tones, but maybe Lorac could have released a deeper version.

In terms of the actual formula of these cheek products, I wasn't too impressed. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with these products, I just found them to be very "meh." There was just nothing special about them.

The highlights are kind of understated. You're definitely not going to get a blinding highlight with this palette; this is more of a "natural glow" kind of product. I know that some people like that--which is probably why Lorac formulates their highlights that way--but I just can't get on board with it. Fortune  is probably the one exception to that; I'm not saying it's poppin', but it's not not poppin', if you know what I mean.

The blush and bronzer (although, I've worn it as a blush) in this palette are, as I said, very pretty in terms of color. However, they're a bit difficult to apply to the face. I find that they apply patchily and are a bit difficult to blend. 

I'm not saying this palette is unusable or anything, and I will continue to use this and probably take it on trips, but it's not God's gift to face palettes or anything like that. Okay?

Final rating: 6/10

Pirates Of The Caribbean Eye Shadow Palette

You guys know that I die for eyeshadow palettes, so, of course, no one is surprised that this was the product I was most excited about in the collection.

First of all, let's talk about the packaging. The packaging for this palette is lovely. It has a HUGE mirror (I can see my whole forehead in it!) and it has this really cool galaxy look that is very on-trend right now. My only complaint about the packaging is that it's bulky. Like, this palette looks like it might have just swallowed a couple of Anastasia palettes as a snack. I think this thing is almost two inches thick, which is CRAZY for an eyeshadow palette, especially since it doesn't come with that much product.  If the pans were really big, I feel like I would be more understanding, but you've got these itsy bitsy pans of shadow surrounded by vast expanses of packaging. One of the reasons it's so thick is that it comes with a little drawer on the side for the blush palette. So, theoretically that saves space I guess? But, if you don't have the cheek palette it's pretty useless.

If you can get past the packaging however, this is actually a very interesting palette in terms of shade range. This is definately a very cool toned palette, but it's also very colorful, which is quite unique and imaginative. Like, if someone asked me to come up with a pirate themed palette, I probably would have gone for a bunch of warm toned neutrals, a couple of gold shades, and a pop of blue and called it a day. That's not what Lorac did. I mean, they got the green out. They threw in some red.  They gave us a blue. They popped in a silver. There's even one of those brown shadows with a green flash (it's called Black Pearl and it's beautiful). Plus, there are a few cool toned neutrals! This is a super versatile palette in terms of shade range.

As a side note, I also love the names of the shadows in this palette. I think they're very entertaining (I mean, come on, there's a shade called Arrrgh!). Although, I am a little bitter that none of the shadow names reference rum or a jar of dirt.

Row 1 (One Swipe, No Primer)

Row 2 (One Swipe, No Primer)

Row 3 (One Swipe, No Primer)

I had high expectations for this particular palette in terms of formula. I mean, I have the Unzipped palette and it slays all day. I've heard that this palette has the same formula as the Lorac Pro palettes. Now, I don't have any of the Pro Palettes, so I don't know if it's the same. Personally, I think the formula in this palette is a little hit or miss. Some of the shades, like Starry Night and Tell No Tales, aren't very pigmented. On the other hand, shades like Menace and Black Pearl are quite pigmented. Some of the shimmery, glittery shades, like Treasure and Compass, are difficult to work with and hard to apply with brushes, but if you use your fingers, they work much better. But, shimmer shades like Yo Ho are gorgeous and easy to work with. In general, however, these shadows are soft and very easy to blend. So, it's a mixed bag.

If you like cool toned palettes and you like incorporating color into your eye makeup, I think you would definitely enjoy this palette. Even if you don't use bright colors very often, I still think you could get a lot of very neutral, wearable looks out of this palette. (And if you like pirates, you will definitely enjoy this palette).

Is this my favorite palette? No, but I'm glad I have it in my collection.

Final rating: 8/10

Anyway, I hope you now feel more informed about the intersection of pirates and the high end makeup world. Worlds collide in this collection, and I like it.