Swatches & First Impressions: LORAC Spring 2015 Limited Edition The Resort Palette (Nordstrom Exclusive)

Purchased by Me 

In case you missed my original post about this eye and cheek palette, this is a Nordstrom-exclusive and it was available for purchase last week via the Nordstrom website for $20. I hope that you were able to get one when I posted about it (before they sold out), but not to fear if you missed out! Many thanks to reader @missjae1908 on Instagram for letting me know that LORAC mentioned to her on social media that they will be making this palette available on HauteLook eventually (as I was hoping they would!), so you'll have another chance to snag one if you want it. I will of course post here the moment I see them available there.

Speaking of HauteLook, in case you haven't heard, LORAC is actually on HauteLook right now (through Tuesday morning). The sale started at 8AM Pacific this morning and I of course logged on right at 8AM to see if The Resort Palette was available. Sadly, it's not, but there are other palettes available (actually, some are sold out at this point but you can see what's left HERE).

But back to The Resort Palette...

 LORAC Spring 2015 Limited Edition The Resort Palette (Nordstrom Exclusive)

(retail: $20, 0.84 oz total)

I ordered this via the Nordstrom site the day I posted about and I just received it last night. I wanted to get some swatches and first impressions up as quickly as possible, because strange things happen sometimes and IF this palette ends up back in stock on the Nordstrom site soon, I want you to have an idea of what it has to offer. And if it never does go back in stock at Nordstrom, you'll at least know whether you'd consider purchasing it over at HauteLook (whenever it becomes available). 

So let's take a look...

(click to enlarge)

front of palette

back of palette 

(Made in China)

The design on this palette is absolutely gorgeous. My photos do not do it justice.  Here's a closer look:

Love the little pops of metallic gold...

For size perspective:

I thought I'd show you this palette next to a palette that just about everyone who is reading this blog post is familiar with--a Wet n Wild 8-pan. But actually, I mistakenly grabbed a Black Radiance 8-pan for this photo, but it is the EXACT same size as a Wet n Wild 8-pan (Wet n Wild and Black Radiance are both owned by Markwins). 

As you can see, this palette contains a full-size mirror with the LORAC name at the top in gold. Here's a breakdown of what you get:

• Six eyeshadows
• One eye & cheek highlighter
• Two blushes
• One bronzer

All products swatched on bare skin (NO PRIMER):

Eye & cheek highlighter and four eyeshadows

Swatches on bare skin (no primer)

I've seen some people on social media mention that they weren't impressed with the pigmentation of this palette (for the record, I've also heard from people who WERE impressed with the pigmentation of this palette). In my very limited experience of playing around this palette (less than 24 hours), I'm actually quite impressed with some of these shades. You can see that the highlighter is quite visible on my skin without any primer (much more on this highlighter in a moment), and the matte nude eyeshadow is surprisingly visible without primer, considering that it's so close in color to my skintone. Both the highlighter and matte nude shades are both smooth and finely-milled.

The two darker matte shades (black and brown) above were both very pigmented as well. Unlike other black and brown matte shadows which can sometimes be dry and stiff, I found both of these shadows to be quite smoothy and buttery. The olive green shade, which contains both golden shimmer and iridescent microglitter, wasn't as pigmented as I was expecting, but I was still able to get decent pigmentation without the help of primer. 

Two eyeshadows, two blushes and one bronzer

Swatches on bare skin (no primer)

The pink and bronze shadows aren't super pigmented on bare skin, but they are quite shimmery (with some sparkle as well) without primer, and the texture is soft and buttery. I quickly tried them both over primer and they did become a lot more pigmented and almost metallic in finish, just FYI. 

The light pink blush has a beautiful sheen to it, but it is mostly matte in nature. This is a very light shade of pink and it doesn't really show up on my cheeks unless I layer it on pretty heavily. Also, it kicks up a good amount of dust when you're picking up color with your blush brush. The texture is smooth, but it is a tiny bit chalky.  

The reddish-brownish-plum matte blush (very Marsala-esque) is drier in texture, but I had absolutely no problems with pigmentation or application. In fact, I accidentally went a little heavy with it today, without even trying. This is a lovely shade that I can see working with lots of different skintones. Also, this blush does not kick up any powder at all when you're swirling with your blush brush.

The matte bronzer is not dry or chalky (it's smooth and silky to the touch) and the pigmentation is good, but when you blend it can become pretty subtle. I actually love that, because I have a tendency to overdo it with bronzers. Also, I think this bronzer would make a beautiful contouring shade on lighter skintones. There's very little warmth to this color (it's definitely on the cooler side) so if bronzers have a tendency to go orange on you, I think this one might do the trick.

Highlighter, Blushes and Bronzer BLENDED:

Blended (no primer)

My photos of this highlighter simply do not do it justice. There's a touch of pink to this color, which keeps it from looking frosty on the skin. It is very finely-milled (not chunky in the slightest) and the shimmer is just gorgeous. It reminds me of my Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight in terms of the subtle glow that it delivers to the skin. Candlelight is warmer and more of a champagne shade though, while the LORAC highlighter is cooler and more pink. But the texture and the glow that the LORAC delivers to the skin is VERY reminiscent of Kevyn Aucoin Candlelight to me. The pink blush it just too pale for my NC20 skintone (maybe I'll try it as a shadow) but both the reddish-plum blush and the bronzer work very well for me so far.

Reader @klyellow on Instagram, who has a deeper skintone than I do, shared some really helpful insights with me today about this palette that I wanted to share with  you.

@klyellow writes:

I used my Resort palette today and I love the look that came from it, especially the highlighter. It doesn't look ashy on me at all! I used the bronzer as an e/s base. I also love that plum blush and there are no repeats from their cheek palette.

Thanks so much for that, @klyellow, and also for confirming that there are no repeats from the LORAC Cheek Palette here!

Freebies

And I also want to mention that the sample choices on the Nordstrom site right now are very nice. I haven't ordered anything from the Nordstrom beauty department in a while, so I forgot about their samples until I was placing my order last week. Just like everywhere else, you get your choice of three (there was also a NARS primer option and lots of other choices) and I picked MAC False Lashes mascara (I've been wanting to try this forever), and Marc Jacobs and V&R fragrance samples because I already like these scents and can always use back-ups.

Additional thoughts: So far, I'm impressed with this palette. It's a great all-in-one type of palette that you could easily travel with (to a RESORT, perhaps?) and I think you can achieve lots of different day and evening looks for spring and summer with this one. A few of the shadows aren't as pigmented as shades in the PRO palettes, and the lightest blush is just far too pale of a shade for me personally, but that highlighter, the Marsala-esque blush and the bronzer are all winners as far as I'm concerned. Also, the matte shadows are all quite lovely as well. Overall, I think this palette was definitely worth $20 and I wouldn't hesitate to grab it (again) when it shows up on HauteLook. I think it's one of those "throw in your bag and go" types of palettes that are super handy to have on hand for weekend getaways and that type of thing, which is exactly what LORAC was going for (see description on box).

Did you order this palette last week before it sold out? If so, did you receive it from Nordstrom yet? I would absolutely love to hear what YOU think of it. And thanks again to @missjae1908 and @klyellow for the tips and insights!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.