MUA Haul

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

With one of my New Year's Resolutions being to move back out of my parents' house and in to my own place again, I knew that 2015 - after spending Christmas treat money, obviously - would mean tightening up the purse strings. But with a promonent fixation on beauty products and the constant want and need to experiment and test out different looks, I knew that something was going to have to give.

So when I saw MUA, a budget brand I had been loving for a while now, had a 35% off sale, I couldn't resist taking a look. Then when I saw that a further 20% would be taken off my next order if I signed up to the newsletter - which, to be honest, I thought I'd already done! - I knew this was a good a time as any to get some items to test out whilst I save up those pennies for a flat.

I'll put it out there now, I'm not the biggest fan of buying makeup online. I like to see, feel and swatch the product before trying but when a 55% off sale comes along, it had to be done.

The first things to go in to my online shopping basket were some makeup brushes. Since entering the more intense beauty world, I've found the need for more and more brushes and thought I'd try out some of what MUA was offering. I ordered F4 (a powder brush), F6 (a contour and blush brush) , E1 (a eyeshadow brush) and E9 (a socket blending brush). On first inspections, it was clear to see that these weren't bad quality at all; the bristles being soft and the brushes style being quite classic and the right size/shape for their purpose. I found all of them picked up the right amount of product needed and all applied and blended the makeup well. I especially like F4, the big fluffy powder brush as it applies powder like a dream.

The £1 Lipstick in 'Shade 14 Bare' was next in, followed closely by 'Shade 11'. I had been wanting to get my hands on 'Bare' for months but whenever I went in to my local Superdrug store, it was always out of stock - as is my luck! - so as soon as I saw "in stock" on the page, I calmly clicked "add to basket" - oh who am I kidding, I almost broke the mousepad I clicked so furiously with excitement! 'Bare' is a beautiful pinky nude that seems to go with just about anything. 'Shade 11' is a few shades darker with more reddish tones and is just a nice on the lips. Both have great pigmentation and seem to last for a good few hours before wearing off. Considering they're £1 each (well, less than that in my case), that isn't bad going! 



'Bare' swatched on the lips

'Shade 11' swatched on the lips

Moving on to the eyes and I picked up quite a few things, as the eyes are where I want to experiment and improve on most this year. So first in to the online bag was the Pro-base Eye Primer. I have been wanting to get an eye primer for a while now but hadn't decided on which to get first, thus when I saw this at a normal price of £2.50, I thought "why not?". Considering it's at such a low price, I was impressed by this product! It worked well to keep my eye shadow in place for a couple of hours longer than usual and although it doesn't last all day, it'd be perfect for keeping eyeshadow on during a working day or a night out. Another fab find!

I then decided to give some of the eyeliners a go. As I mentioned in my 'Boots Haul' post, myself and eyeliner go way back but after not wearing it for about six years, I lost the magic touch and am learning from scratch again. However, as I am learning with the blacks, I'm also adding in a few colours here and there. This then leads me on nicely to the three colour offerings that have ended up in my possession: 3 in 1 Contour Pen in 'Sage', Intense Colour Eyeliner in 'Forest Green' and Intense Glitter Eyeliner in 'Gold Nugget'.

I love adding a bit of sparkle to the eyes, especially for special occasions and I forever envy the look other people create with gold eyeliner - which I then want to recreate myself - and 'Gold Nugget' is the perfect one to experiment with. It is highly pigmented and adds a touch of glam to the eyes! I also have to confess that green is never the first colour I pick out, however, I do enjoy creating the occasional green-eye look as it seems to suit my blue eyes. 'Forest Green' is a beautiful emerald green that isn't too bright or too obvious when worn, which is just how I wanted it, but does add a subtle pop of colour. It doesn't last all day, but it does stay much longer than expected! 'Sage' isn't as green as expected, instead it's more a silvery grey colour but it is again, beautiful. This pen is great too as you can create lines with different thickness depending on how you use it. I like to add a thin line above my lashes to create another subtle, yet lovely look. 



Swatches L-R: 3 in 1 Contour Liner in 'Sage', Intense Colour Eyeliner in 'Forest Green', Intense Glitter Eyeliner in 'Gold Nugget'

I also ordered MUA's Gel Eyeliner offering in 'Underground', as the liquid eyeliner I owned had run out a few days before (how's that for timing?!). I'm still trying to regain my eyeliner flick skills from my teenage years, but with this one, practise makes me happy! The formulation is thick and the brush (housed inside the lid - makes for interesting packaging!) is a good shape to make it easy to swipe on. Another plus to this product is the staying-power. It lasts for an impressively long time considering it's a budget liner and it also doesn't flake throughout the day. Definitely a new eyeliner staple.



Swatch of Gel Eyeliner in 'Underground'

On to the face now and I first purchased 'Shade 2' from the Blusher range. As you may have already seen on Twitter, I won Beautylymin's awesome giveaway of the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Set which I adore (more on that coming very soon), but I do begrudge using it daily as it's such a gorgeous set that comes from the high-end scale and with my "everyday blush" from Rimmel dwindling, I was looking for the next best thing. Enter: MUA Blusher. I read lots of rave reviews on this product beforehand and had a feeling it'd be a goodie. Well, let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. The colour is a lovely dusky pink, that is perfect for the colder months and the powder formula is easy to apply, strongly pigmented and the colour last on the cheeks all day. It's now become part of my 'Weekday Makeup Routine' and imagine it'll stay there for some time!

Finally, the Matte Perfect Loose Translucent Powder ended up in my online shopping bag. I'd been looking for a new powder since my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder was running low and after reading a few reviews, this one sounded worth the purchase. I've got to say that I have been pleasantly surprised with this product! As I've mentioned before, my skin is very oily but this powder keeps the shine at bay for most of the day and it applies like a dream. It's very lightweight and not much is needed to cover my face. It's another great addition to my collection and another product that's found it's way in to my 'everyday routine'!

All of that for £16 (inc. p+p); thank you MUA, don't mind if I do! This will keep me occupied for a good couple of months I'm thinking and I can already see myself going back for more in the future, which is great for my bank account and saving for my place!

Have you tried MUA products and if so, what did you think? Do you have any budget makeup recommendations for me?

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8 comments

  1. Replies
    1. I really did and despite it being a budget brand, it's all great quality stuff :)

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  2. Shade 11 lipstick looks gorgeous on you, Amy. xx

    http://ninasstyleblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nina, I do prefer that one over 'Bare' if I'm honest! :) xx

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  3. I have yet not tried any mua products, but these look interesting and nice!

    Z ♥
    http://beautybyz.blogspot.se/

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    Replies
    1. They are really good to be fair, definitely worth trying :) x

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  4. I didn't know MUA did brushes! Feel like I might have to buy a few now! :) xx

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    Replies
    1. They're definitely worth checking out, especially if you're looking for decent budget brushes :) xx

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