Laura Geller Passport to Pretty Travel Palette Review & Swatches

As a huge Laura Geller fan, I couldn't resist the Passport to Pretty Travel Palette when it debuted on QVC a few weeks ago. I have a few vacations coming up this summer and I always like to bring face palettes that have several different functions so I can save space in my suitcase. 

This one contains all baked formulas, which are made in Italy during a special 48-hour process. They start out as creams and are then baked on terracotta tiles (which you'll see if you get to the bottom of each pan). Because they used to be creams, they can be used wet for more intensity, or dry for a beautiful wash of color. 

Let's take a look! 

Packaging:

Passport to Pretty comes in a cardboard compact that's fairly large, but slim so it can still be packed easily...it's not bulky. It contains a large mirror and a double ended brush/sponge applicator.I'm not that fond of the brush (it feels a bit scratchy) but it works in a pinch. Inside, there are ten eyeshadows, two highlighters and a blush. Everything is set deeply into the palette, which resulted in a few negative reviews on the QVC website...people felt that they couldn't reach the eyeshadows easily, but that's only a problem if you plan on applying them with your fingers. Getting my brush into them was no problem at all and the pans are large enough for an eyeshadow brush to easily get in there. I think this palette was specifically designed with travel in mind so the deeper wells protect the fragile baked formula and keep it from shattering.

Eyeshadows: 
The eyeshadows are just gorgeous! They're set up so that the top row contains cooler-toned shades of pink, plum, and purple, while the bottom row is warmer beige, bronze, and brown. Most of the shades have some shimmer in them, but Sunstone and Mahogany in the second row are matte. Since these can be used wet, Laura suggests using the two deepest shades on the right hand side of the palette, Plum and Mahogany, as eye liners. I've tried it and I have to say...once they dried on my eyes, they became really long lasting!

Highlighters/Blush: 

There are two highlighters in this palette...French Vanilla, which is a super soft, almost matte highlight without visible shimmer, and Golden Rose, which is your traditional shimmery highlight.

French Vanilla is famous for a reason...I had no idea how much I was missing something like it in my collection until I got this palette! It's the perfect soft highlight...if you like that lit-from-within glow without looking like you have obvious highlighter on, you'll love French Vanilla. I use it under my brows, in the center of my forehead, down the bridge of my nose, a dab on my cupid's bow, and a little on my cheekbones to soften my blush. I have also used it as an under-eye setting powder and it's magical for that! It adds a tiny bit of coverage and brightens the entire area so much. Also, because it's not shimmery it doesn't highlight your pores and imperfections! It feels so soft, creamy and pigmented...I'm in love and will definitely pick this up separately (it's available here if you're interested).

Golden Rose is a beautiful pale golden champagne highlight that shares the same soft, creamy formula with French Vanilla, but it adds a bit of shimmer to your skin. It's very finely milled with no glitter chunks or anything like that. It just adds that really pretty pop to your cheekbones.

Malibu Blush looks bright in the pan, but it goes on sheer for a gorgeous pop of pink. When you dip your brush into the pan, you don't have to worry about clown cheeks...it's very soft and subtle at first, but can easily be built up for more intensity.

One complaint I hear about baked eyeshadows is that they go on sheer and aren't crazy-pigmented unless you use them wet, which is a little more work. These definitely go on more sheer when applied to bare skin, but I found that using them over primer makes them much more intense. The swatches below are over Lorac's eyeshadow primer so that you can see the full beauty of these colors. When I apply them to my eyes over primer, they give me a beautiful, almost foiled look and last all day. 

However, I know quite a few people who aren't really into heavily pigmented shadows and just want a sheer wash of color for a more natural look, so if that's you, you'll love to wear these on their own without primer.

Here are the cooler shades in the top row...so pretty right?

These are the warmer shades on the bottom row...I love these for everyday.

Here are the highlighters and blush...see how French Vanilla has a bit of a sheen but no obvious shimmer? Also, Malibu swatched heavily with my finger, but it doesn't go on that strong with a brush, I promise!

Here, I'm wearing the Malibu blush, French Vanilla highlighter on my cheekbones, forehead, down my nose, and on my cupid's bow, as well as the inner corners of my eyes. On my eyelids, I'm wearing Garnet in the crease and outer corner with Candy all over my lid. I softened the Garnet quite a bit since I was just going out to run errands that day and didn't want to look really made up. But that's the beauty of this palette...you can take a deeper burgundy shade like Garnet and sheer it out so it can still be worn during the day...or make it super intense for a bolder look. I also used the dark brown Mahogany shade wet as a liner. 

Overall, I'm loving the Passport to Pretty palette. It can be used so many different ways and is a perfect travel companion!

It's available now for $65 at QVC.com. I purchased it when it was on sale a few weeks ago, and it regularly goes on sale and/or Easy Pay, so if you're willing to wait, you might be able to get it for less! 

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