Makeup Monday: Ulta-Exclusive LORAC Multidimensional Beauty Kit

I was so excited to get this when I ordered it, and then things got crazy and I never got to finish my post.... I'm still excited about it, actually, and I've had it for a couple months already.

LORAC Multidimensional Beauty collection. This is an Ulta exclusive and I'm pretty sure it's limited edition. In case you can't tell from this picture, the box is HOLO:

See?! How cool is that?? I know it's just a cardboard box, but it's a hologram cardboard box and you know what a sucker I am for good packaging.

But the outer carton isn't the only thing that's holo-esque... This kit comes with a metal-plated makeup bag that is pretty much the most amazing thing ever. My only complaint is that it's not big enough to carry as a purse. I took a million pictures.

The left hand side of the bag has a rainbow pattern that's always visible, but the right hand side has no stripes.

It changes colors depending on the angle. It's mesmerizing to look at. See down toward the opposite edge of the bag, where it looks like it's lighting up aqua? It looks even better in real life. Holo makeup bag. Gaaaaah so awesome....


Okay, enough about the bag already. Here's what's inside:

Three full sized eyeshadows in 3D-Luxe, 3D-Mension and 3D-Licious plus an Ulta exclusive shade of LORAC 3D Multiplex lipgloss in Ulta Glam.

3D-Luxe is a light ivory with peachy tinted duochrome and subtle iridescent sparkle, 3D-Mension is a plain metallic bronze and 3D-Licious is a MAC Club dupe (red toned brown with green-blue duochrome shimmer).

3D-Luxe is my favorite one... it's so gorgeous, none of my pictures come close to capturing how beautiful it is. It has such delicate iridescent sparkle and just a faint sheen of duochrome across the color...

If you enlarge these, you might be able to pick up a little of the depth of the color. You sorta have to see it in person to fully appreciate it.

The Ulta Glam shade of Multiplex gloss is just as mesmerizing... I think the purchase of the kit was worth it just for this beauty:
Ulta Glam is a copper rose shimmer base, sheer, with strong brassy gold duochrome at one angle and darker pink-rose duochrome at another angle plus lots of iridescent microglitter that also adds to the color-shiftiness. The best part? There's BLUE MICROGLITTER. Blue!!! Glitter!!


Swatched dry over bare skin: 3D-Luxe, 3D-Mension and 3D-Licious shadows and Ulta Glam Multiplex 3D gloss. You can kinda see the blue sparkles in the gloss, right?

This also came with a gift with purchase that I thought was pretty neat:

A sample of LORAC's new Multiplex 3D Lashes mascara that comes on a holo card, in a tube with holo text. Yep, no denying it, I'm easily swayed by how much holo foil comes on the package... The mascara itself it's something I'd normally use. I like the curved plastic pointy bristle brush, but the formula doesn't add any volume. It makes your lashes super long and defined, but doesn't add any thickness. It kinda seems like it makes them curl like those old curling mascaras, but it could just be my imagination....

The formula on the shadows seems consistent with the other LORAC shadows I've tried. Like I've mentioned before, I'm really new to LORAC shadows and I'm still not sure if this is the normal quality and texture or not. The texture is disturbingly soft and loose- I say disturbing because it seems like it loosens so much product every time I touch it with my brush that I could use the entire shadow in a week. Very loosely pressed, soft and powdery. Medium pigmentation and payoff, not super pigmented or opaque. Suitable for wet use to intensify the payoff and color. I'd recommend wet use if you like your colors intense like I do. They don't seem to wear very well due to the super soft light texture; they tend to fade a bit and wear off by the end of the day (I always use primer and it behaves the same over all primers I tried). The colors themselves are pretty and go well together and they look light and luminous on.

The gloss is amazing. I love the Multiplex formula. It's smooth and silky, lasts a reasonable amount of time and tastes/smells amazing. Is it lychee? I have no idea what the scent is, but it's light and fruity and soft and I really really like it. The Ulta Glam shade in this kit does not disappoint. It's super duochrome but also full of microglitter so it's sparkly on top of being duochrome. The only downside is that the glitter is kinda gritty.

I love this kit. I really hope LORAC keeps doing the whole multiplex 3D theme. They enable me in my duochrome addiction... Just wish they'd lower the price on their Multiplex glosses!

This is gone from the Ulta website already, but I've seen plenty of kits still in stock in-store recently, so you should be able to find one if you have an Ulta nearby. The whole kit is only $35 so it's an excellent value- a Multiplex gloss alone is $22 (and no, I won't stop complaining about the price) and a LORAC shadow single is $19.

LORAC 3D Liquid Lustre Spring 2011

This is the other item from the LORAC spring collection that had me intrigued. It's a rather unique item- a liquid that adds sparkle to your makeup. And it truly is a liquid, not a cream or a gel or a lotion- it's watery and somewhat customizable...

See how it settles in the bottle? It's like Northern Lights topcoat, the more you shake it, the more dense the glitter will be. It's a white gold flake and pearlescent powder suspended in a thin liquid.


Enlarge this to see the detail in the shimmer. It has a white shimmery pearly base with light gold flakes that reflect green at certain angles.




Here it is fully shaken, one drop's worth, blended on bare skin. You can see that the base is very white and has lots of glimmering gold flecks of glitter (it's smooth glitter, not rough or chunky, it's more like flakes) with subtle greenish reflection.

You can use this in several different ways.... Two of the ways you can use it are:

To make eyeliner out of shadow, or to use over liner. Here I used it over black shadow as liner. You can see that it makes the black appear green and gives it a subtle sparkle metallic effect. The liquid can also be mixed with loose pigment to make a shimmery liner instead of layering it like I did.


Here I layered it over my existing shadow to change the look. In this instance, I tried it just barely shaken and gently patted on the eyelid only. I wanted to see how subtle you could make it. If you shake it more, it adds a white-gold cast to whatever you layer it over, but if you shake it less, it's more sheer and you get more of a sparkly veil than a dense white-gold topcoat.

It is quite easy to use, but can be a little awkward. The dropper is good for dispensing an appropriate amount of product, but the fact that it's such a thin liquid can be troublesome. It can run and drip if you're not careful. I find that just placing a drop on the back of my hand and using my fingertip to apply it is the least messy way. You can use a brush, but the brush tends to soak up the liquid part too quickly and makes the shimmer a little clumpy.

It also dries very fast, so you have to work quickly if you're using it for liner. The fast drying formula is really nice, though, because you don't have to worry about the glitter transferring or creasing while it dries like you do with glitter gel.

After using it a few times, I have found two flaws with the 3D Liquid Lustre. The first one may not be so much of a flaw as it is a misunderstanding on my part. It's not very iridescent or duochrome or '3D' like I assumed it would be. Yes, there's a slight green flash, but I had honestly expected something a little more dimensional. The second flaw is in the packaging. The tube is small and long, you have to remove the cap to use it and the liquid inside is very watery. If you knock over this tiny, awkward tube while using it, you're going to lose all the liquid inside! And it's pretty easy to knock over because of the glass dropper and the light weight and tall shape of the tube. You have to be very conscious of yourself while the tube is open, one stray motion of the hand and you'll be covered in shiny gold fluid!

But, other than the precarious packaging choice, the 3D Liquid Lustre is a pretty fun item. It allows you to add glitter and sparkle with zero fallout so you can transform your eyeshadow look from matte to glittery in seconds. You could also use this to add a highlight on the skin, which may look especially cool if you're into dramatic or theatrical looks- I can see it being really fairy-like applied on the cheekbones and around the temples. Or, maybe a little dab of it on the center of the bottom lip?

Has anyone else tried this? I want to know what you did with it! I'm still trying to think of ways to use this.

(This was sent to me for review.)

LORAC Multiplex 3D Eyeshadow Palette Spring 2011

You may recall a few weeks ago when I was freaking out over LORAC's new Multiplex 3D collection, right?

Well, I had the privilege to try out a few of the new items, and I'm really excited to be reviewing them! Today I want to talk about my favorite item, the Multiplex 3D Eye Shadow Palette.

The box is holo. Oh man. I love it.


But not just the box! The palette itself is holographic, too! This seems like a mother of pearl-esque base with a black snakeskin pattern printed on top. It feels soft and leathery. It is absolutely gorgeous.



Here are the shadows in different lights and at different angles to show the detail. None of the shades seem to have names, but:

The top left shade is a light yellowy-golden peach with red pearl duochrome.
The top middle is a reflective bronze metallic.
The top right is a red-brown with green duochrome (think MAC Club)
The bottom left is a reflective metallic silver.
The bottom middle is a medium blue metallic with a sprinkling of microglitter.
The bottom right is a black with multicolored microglitter.

And on the skin:

I love the duochrome on the first one. It's like a warm version of MAC Vex! Subtle, but so flattering and fascinating.

Now, the official description of them says that they are holographic, but they aren't quite. They're all slightly duochrome and the black has multicolored glitter, but no holographic effect or hologram glitter to be seen. I am a bit disappointed by that, but not too badly because despite lacking holo, they're gorgeous shadows.

The texture is really unique. I don't have a whole lot of experience with LORAC eyeshadow, so I don't know if they're all this way or not, but they're really fluffy. They're light and airy and soft, they make a lot of powder when you put your brush to them. They seem really loosely pressed and powdery.

These can all be used wet or dry, and the packaging encourages you to use them both ways to change the depth of the look. I tried two looks with the shadows so far. First, with the warm half:



This was:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
The top left shadow used wet on the lid
The top middle in the crease
The top right just to accent and darken the crease and a little on the lower lashline
The bottom right used wet as liner and topped with the 3D Liquid Lustre (will review that next!)
Cover Girl Lash Blast

They apply pretty smoothly wet, and since the black glitter shade is so powdery, it's easy to mix in some water to make eyeliner. Actually, I used Pixi Eyeliner Sealer instead of water to make the eyeliner, but I used water for the gold color on the lid.


And then I tried the cool half:

This was:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
The bottom left shade on the lid
The bottom right shade in the crease and lower lashline
Kryolan UV pink as liner (I know, I know... but I was really in the mood for neon!)
Lash Blast


I accidentally smudged mascara onto my eyeliner, so I tried to cover it up by adding more liner and instead ended up with my lashes covered in eyeliner! Oh, irony. Anyway, this was a really fast and easy look to do. Just two colors and they blended together perfectly. I did notice that the silver was rather sheer and needed to be built up more than any of the other colors, and I also noticed that the silver had faded quite a bit by the end of the night. I think I'll have to try it wet next time. The black was smooth and silky, but almost none of that beautiful multicolored (blue, gold and silver!) glitter showed up on the eye.


My overall impression of these is positive. They're a lot lighter in texture than the shadows I'm used to, but they're also extremely soft and blendable due to that light texture. They apply just as nicely wet as they do dry. The colors mesh together well and you have both cool and warm options in the same palette. I also like that there's a shade dark enough to deepen a crease or create eyeliner included in the palette.

The packaging is just amazing. It is truly a beautiful sight to behold. The hologram snakeskin palette is just to die for. They score major points with me in the great packaging department. This is the kind of palette I'd like to display instead of hide it in a drawer!

The only downsides for me are the fact that the colors aren't holographic, only mildly duochrome, the glitter on the blue color seems to be overspray (or just really subtle) and that some of the shades are on the sheer side. They can be used wet to make them more opaque without layering, but I usually prefer not to add an extra step.

But... after using it a couple times, would I still buy it? Oh yeah. I'd buy it just for the duochrome gold shade, I don't have anything else quite like it. I love the colors in the palette and how shiny and sparkly they are. Even if the colors were hideous, I'd still want to buy it just for the palette design...

I really love the colors in this. I'm trying to think of a look to do with the blue. Silver and blue? Ooh, or a bronze smoky eye with blue liner?

I also have the 3D Liquid Lustre to review, I've already reviewed some of the Multiplex 3D Glosses (3D is being re-promoted with this collection alongside a new shade called 4D), and I ordered the Ulta Exclusive Multidimensional Beauty Collection, but it hasn't shipped yet... It has an Ulta exclusive shade of Multiplex gloss!

So, what do you think? Are you diggin' the Multiplex? And how hot is that holo snakeskin palette?!

(This was sent to me for review.)

(By the way, Happy Valentine's Day!)

Speaking of LORAC (Spring 2011)...

... Look what just showed up in my inbox! This looks like the coolest spring collection ever. Duochrome eyeshadows and lustre drops plus new shades of Multiplex 3D gloss?! I may faint.

(Warning: These pictures are humongous and may take a while to load, but they're totally worth viewing full size)

LORAC 3D Liquid Lustre. The press release describes this as a sparkling topcoat for eyeshadow. I've never seen anything like this but it has me super excited.


Multiplex 3D Lashes. A triple-volume mascara with a curved wand.


Multiplex Lipgloss in 4-D- a new shade? It's described as bubblegum pink with 3D glitter. They said the magic word: Glitter. It's being promoted in a set with 3-D (the bronze duochrome glitter shade I love so much)




Last but not least... a 3D Multiplex EYESHADOW PALETTE. They don't look very duochrome in the picture (except for that Club-clone in the top row) but they're described as, "luminous, prismatic, holographic" so I have my fingers crossed!

I think these items are up on Sephora.com now, but they were a complete surprise to me!

LORAC Ulta-Exclusive Box Office Hit Palette

This LORAC palette came out around Christmastime and it's one of those blockbuster-style value sets, though this time it's a more manageable, travel-friendly size.

The case has Lorac's signature faux-croc finish, this time in a deep glossy wine shade. This is one of my favorite palettes to look at, just for the finish. Shiny and pretty.


It opens like a book with a snap closure. It has a quarter-size mirror and the palette can stand up on its own, so this might be ideal for travel. Note the lipglosses below the mirror- they are covered with a see-through door- genius! No more powder and gloss mingling in the palette. I hate when that happens. There are eight glosses, twelve shadows, two eyeliner pencils, a blush and a bronzer.

The glosses with the door flap lifted. They range from light to medium and they're all in pink based tones. Some are creme finish, some are shimmer, and the texture is light and glossy.


Shadows on the top. A good sized eyeliner pencil in black and another in brown. See the ribbons hanging down? Those are so you can easily remove the pencils which fit quite snugly in their compartments. Another detail that I really appreciate. The blush, which looks very washed out in this picture, is a super bright pink. The bronzer is a warm terracotta.


Closeup of the shadows. Feel free to enlarge and view the shimmer in some of the shades. These shadows are all on the neutral and conservative side. Good office-appropriate shades or for a quick, subtle smoky eye. Nothing very dark or dramatic or super colorful in here.


The shadows: Top row, middle row, bottom row. See how the colors morph when applied to the skin. The pan colors are a little deceiving; they look quite different when applied.


Blush, bronzer, eyeliners. It looks too washed out in this lighting, but the pink is insanely bright and almost neon. It can be toned down by blending or applied more heavily for extreme candy color. The bronzer is too orange for my skintone, but might be better on someone warmer. Black and brown eyeliner pencils, average pencil formula, nothing noteworthy.


The glosses. They're on the sheer side and a bit lighter than they look in the pans. I feel like they should have included a lip brush in this palette because they're a little hard to apply with the fingers. They are halfway between lipstick and gloss; a little thick feeling like lipstick but lightweight, glossy and sheer like gloss.

The shadow formula seems the same as other Lorac palettes I've used in the past. They're light and sheer and very powdery and soft. They apply sheer but can be used wet for more coverage. The colors do seem to change after they are applied, I don't know if it's because of my skin chemistry or pH or just my skintone, but they don't look the same as in the pan. They blend easily but the sheer, powdery texture makes them easy to over-blend. None of the colors are super pigmented. I find that this palette is best for sheer, natural looks.

This palette might actually be a good gift for a younger teen girl because it's hard to overdo it with the sheer colors. The packaging is really luxe looking and it has a lot of different colors to experiment with. The only wild color in the bunch is that neon pink blush.

This palette is an Ulta exclusive and it costs $35. It was still available last time I checked, so I'm not sure if it is limited edition or not.

(This was sent to me for review.)