Review: [Lorac] Pro Palette vs. [Urban Decay] Naked Palette

I'm sure a lot of you have heard or even own Lorac Pro palette. Besides, if you google around you will see many bloggers comparing it with other popular neutral palettes like Urban Decay Naked 1/ 2/ 3, theBalm Nude Tude, etc. For that reason, I won't do any comparison swatches you must have seen everywhere but I still want to share with you the reasons that I chose one vs. the other.

I bought the Urban Decay Naked palette (the first one) because I felt it was a basic must-have item for everyone using makeup and I know a lot of people even have all three versions ... Let me tell you this, after a few days I decided to return it to Sephora. Here're my reasons:

1. Most of the shades are metallic and I'm not very fond of metallic looks. There're only 2 matte shades: Naked and Buck.
2. Color range isn't very large.
3. Colors don't compliment my skin tone. I used the primer came with the palette and tried to put a lot on my eyelids but some colors are just invisible! 

Don't get me wrong; the quality of the Naked palette is still very good and I like the velvet packaging too! I don't know why or what's wrong with me - this palette has been used and LOVED by many people with all types of skin tone. I'm a little disappointed because the picture on Sephora makes the palette more colorful than it actually is in real life.

I decided to give the Lorac Pro palette a try since I was in need of a palette that has a quality comparable to the Naked but more wearable neutral shades. Too bad Sephora has stopped carrying this brand so I went to the local Kohl's to pick it up along with some eye makeup brushes.

The picture is misleading the true colors of the palette: the colors in general look richer and darker in real life than in this picture. For example, Gold (LR - the third left -> right on the lower row) is actually darker than Half Baked (UD - the sixth left -> right). I love love love this palette and here're the reasons:

1. Colors range is great and more wearable with 8 matte and 8 metallic/shimmery shades -> I can have both matte and metallic looks!
2. Very pigmented.
3. Texture is super soft and creamy, even creamier than UD Naked (can you believe it?).
4. Packaging feels thinner and lighter than the Naked so it's more travel-friendly but can still get dirty. The mirror is bigger.

There're a few things that might make people choose UD Naked over Lorac Pro:

1. UD Naked: $52 for 12 x 0.05 oz/ $204 value <=> Lorac Pro: $42.00 for 16 x 0.02 oz/ $110 value.
2. UD Naked includes a travel size primer + a brush <=> Lorac Pro includes only a travel size primer.
3. Metallic/shimmery looks are more favored.
4. People prefer velvet packaging of UD Naked to rubber packaging of Lorac Pro.

I really hope this post will help the ones who are considering buying one of the two. If you want a palette that works very well on you and you love it, I don't see the value compared here is important. Moreover, I think the Lorac Pro still has a pretty good value with the price. You can buy both if you have the budget as many bloggers suggested but to me, if I have the budget to buy two palettes, I would rather skip the UB Naked 1 and go for another one.

I also want to have a very quick introduction to the two brush brands that I've found while buying the Lorac Pro:

Real Techniques shading brush

Elle crease brush

I've been looking at some reviews and it seems a lot of people prefer Real Techniques to my beloved Ecotools. The Real Techniques shading brush ($6) is pretty good and looks nice but I still like the fact that Ecotools has a better variety of brushes compared to Real Techniques and they've worked well to me. The Elle crease brush ($12) looks nice and works well too but more expensive. These two brands will be the ones to consider when I can't find the type of brush I need from Ecotools.