MUA Blush in Marshmallow - Review

I picked this up in a recent Glasgow haul due to MUA not being stocked in my town. I had actually meant to buy one of the cream blushes and was disappointed to find that I had grabbed one of the normal blushes by mistake! Saying that, the colour is lovely and I do usually use powder blush so I was keen to give it a go.

As you would expect from such a budget product, the packaging is fairly plain and quite flimsy feeling. I won't be carrying this blush around and so the packaging should be fine and the product shouldn't shatter. I do like the little touch of the logo being printed on the powder itself.

Marshmallow is a lovely baby pink shade. It can be applied subtly and blended to create a very natural look or applied with a firmer hand for a girly look. I applied plenty product to the apples of my cheeks and then blended it out for a less vibrant look. I love the finished result. After about 4 hours I saw this begin to fade although the colour was still visible.
Although not a long lasting product, for £1 you really can't go wrong with this. The colours available are lovely and the product is really workable on the skin. I will definitely pick up more of these, and some of the cream ones, next time I am shopping in a big city.

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Glasgow Haul - Boots and Superdrug

I live in a small city and, although shopping is fairly decent, our Boots and Superdrug stores are both small and limited. Recently I had a weekend in Glasgow with my boyfriend and took the opportunity to do a little shopping.

Boots

Real Techniques brushes are available in my town and I have quite a few of them. Whilst in the spending mood I decided to pick up a few more. I chose the stippling brush, £11.99 as I have recently purchased a few cream blushers and have been told this brush is perfect for applying these. I use my buffing brush for powder usually but thought I would give the powder brush, £12.99 a go instead and perhaps use my buffing brush for applying my foundation.

Superdrug

Superdrug have some brilliant brands but my local shop is tiny and has only a small selection of their brands. I have never tried anything from Look Beauty and so was keen to try them! I picked up this Matify Me Pressed Powder, £4 and thought it would be perfect to use with my new powder brush. I love this Mini Makeover Palette in Rock Chick, £4. It has 2 layers and contains eyeshadows, a blush and lip products, really handy for throwing in your bag.

A small range of MUA used to be available in my local store but has now been stopped. I bought one of these eyeshadow trios last time and have used it almost daily since so decided to get another. This time I chose Chocolate Box, £2.50. I have heard good things about the Undress Your Skin Highlighter and couldn't resist it at £3. Lastly I picked up a cream blush in the colour Marshmallow for £2. This will be great to try out with my new brush.

I got the Sleek contour kit for my birthday and love it and so decided to try another Sleek product. This blush in the shade Rose Gold, £4.49 is raved about by bloggers so I thought I would give it a go myself!

Over the next few weeks I will be using these products and reviewing some of them. If there is a particular review you would like to see, please comment below.

 

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MUA Undress Me Too Palette

MUA are a brand who I hear a lot about these days. Their products are so cheap and well spoken off that I am always desperate to try them. Unfortunately, the only Superdrug in my city is trying to make that impossible! MUA have two ranges, MUA and MUA Pro. MUA is the £1 range and the only range that my local store stocks. The MUA Pro range is where the most talked about products are from. I have been trying to get my hands on the highlighter, brow kit and this eyeshadow palette but I'm unwilling to pay postage costs to get these online. Luckily for me my boyfriend was away for work and came across a large Superdrug store! The other items I want were out of stock but he kindly picked up this palette for me to try!

The Undress Me Too palette is a dupe of Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. As I have never been lucky enough to own this I am unable to compare the two. Lots of beauty bloggers have compared them however and the swatches are very similar. The prices tags are the real difference! Naked 2 retails at over £30 while this dupe is a mere £4!

 

The palette contains 12 eye shadows and a double-ended foam applicator. I would say that the colours are not as heavily pigmented as usual MUA products but I prefer this for a smokey eye set as it makes it easier to build up and have light and shade.

 

On the reverse of the packaging the colours are named. I would have found it more helpful if the names were printed below the actual pans of colour but it is fairly new for MUA to even have names and it is a welcome addition. The packaging offers instructions on how to create some looks with the colours and I always find these really useful.

I am really looking forward to experimenting with this palette. For £4 this is an absolute bargain and something that I am delighted to now have in my collection.

What do you think of this product?
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Makeup Haul - Collection, Estée Lauder, Barry M

This is my first makeup haul post, and it's a fairly small haul to start off with but I popped into town for foundation and ended up with a few more items ....! The items listed are just the makeup that I bought. I also purchased hair bands, hair grips and some cream but they were too boring to mention! Most of the items came from Boots and Superdrug and one thing was from Semi-Chem on the way home.

Random Selection of Brushes:
Ok so not their official name but what better way to describe them. These are 3 random, cheap brushes. 2 from Superdrug and 1 from Semi-Chem. First up the Semi-Chem brush, an absolute bargain at £1.09. This is a basic blusher brush, fairly soft but a great shape and thin enough for me to use for my contouring. The bristles are all very secure and the handle has a nice, gripped texture. The 2 Superdrug brushes are not showing on the website although I only bought them in store today. Both brushes are super soft and good quality feeling. One is a powder brush and the other an eyeshadow brush. The eyeshadow is a really great size, perfect for applying dark corners as it is a small, delicate brush. I can't remember the exact prices and can't find the pricing online but I think the power brush was £2.99 and the eyeshadow one £2.49. All in all these are 3 great additions to my brush collection and great basics at a great price.

MUA Clear Mascara and Iced Glitter Eyeliner:
For a bargain brand I really like the MUA products. The two that I bought were £1 each so you really can't go wrong! Clear mascara is something I haven't had for a while but I like it as a base for my mascara and I also like a wee bit in my brows to keep them in place. The glitter eyeliner is something I've never used but I've been experimenting with eye makeup recently and thought it might be cool for a night out!

beautyuk Eye Shadow & Eye Liner Collection - Smoke Screen:

This brand featured in Miss Glossybox this month and, until then, I had never heard of it. I think it is a Superdrug brand and, although not quite as cheap as MUA, is definitely a bargain brand. This particular palette cost £3.99 and was available in 2 other colour schemes. If I like this one then I'll be buying the brown one as the colours in it were really nice. This collection contains 6 eye shadows, 2 gel liners and a 2-ended brush. I am unlikely to use the liner or brush but bought it for the eyeshadow colours alone. Really decent price and a nice addition to my makeup collection.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint, Dragon and Nail Art Pen, Silver:

I get my nails done fortnightly with either gel extension or Shellac so I rarely wear nail varnish. However, the colour of this polish was one that I couldn't resist so I had to buy it. I haven't worn it yet but have tried it out on my toenails and the colour is gorgeous. I love Barry M polishes and they are a really great price at £3.99 each. The nail art pen however, has disappointed me. I watched lots of You Tube tutorials before buying this and, maybe mine is faulty, but this does not dispense the way I expected. I find this really hard to use, almost as if it is clogged up. Safe to say that at £4.99, I will not be buying this again! 

Collection Shimmer Shades, Blushalicious and Lasting Colour Lipstick, Pink Shock:

Collection 2000 seems to have dropped the 2000 without me even noticing and their products have gone a bit more upmarket too! I love both these products. The first is the blush which, at £4.99 is not one of their cheaper items but is definitely worth the money. The blusher is 4 different shades which can be used on their own or blended together to make a lovely peachy-pink colour. I love this and might go and buy the bronzer version now. The lipstick is also a great product. The colour is so bright! I wore a full coat of if with lipcote over the top and it really is a shocking pink! I have also used a brush to dab it on which makes a lovely light pink, better if you are not looking to make a statement. Great colour and great price at £2.99.

Collection Smokey Eyes:

I love love love this! I'm not sure if this is available in other colour schemes but if it is, I will be buying them all! The palette contains 9 eye shadows, one of which is a cream, and a double ended applicator. The shadows are labelled medium, dark and light and on the reverse of the packaging there are suggestions on how to wear the shades together. I have used most of the shades and I love them all. A great product, great packaging and a great price - £4.99!

Rimmel VolumeFlash Scadaleyes Mascara:

I have had eyelash extensions for 3 months now and I am very out of the mascara loop! It is time to have the extensions off and let my eyes breath a bit and so I am back on the lookout for a good mascara that doesn't leave my eyes feeling bald! Normally I use Thick and Fast by Soap&Glory but I like to layer my mascara so I needed another to go with it. There is nothing particularly special about this product but I do like the brush which is a nice big, bushy one. £6.99 which is a decent price for a mascara but I think there is a promotion on just now where you can get this for free if other things are bought.

Estée Lauder Double Wear, Rattan (and sample of Tawny):

Finally we come to the highlight of the lot - Double Wear. I have heard nothing but good things about this product and I am really looking forward to trying it for myself. Taking the leap was difficult. This product is £27.50 which is far more than I would normally pay for a foundation. If it does what it promises and lasts as long as expected then the price tag can be forgiven! When colour matched in Boots she showed me Rattan, which I bought, and Tawny. Tawny is slightly darker and I decided to take a free sample of it so that I can try it on days that I have self tanned and need a darker face.

I really fancy a few items from ELF so hopefully my next makeup shopping can be from there! Let me know what you think of any of these things if you have them.