MUA Luxe Glitter Palette in Burlesque

MUA Luxe Glitter Palette in Burlesque - £4





I picked this up recently as I thought it would make a nice New Year's Eve related post for you all. I thought it might be a good product to use to really add a bit of wow-factor to your NYE parties/plans but I have to admit I'm SO disappointed by this product. It was definitely a big fat fail.

Usually I'm a huge fan of MUA and this palette really caught my eye because it's so sparkly and pretty. I love the copper/gold shades of the Burlesque palette but I cannot get on with the formula. The palette is for eyes/lips and face and the best way I can describe this is like a glitter topcoat nail polish. The formula is very gloopy and the sparkles are very sporadic on application, not good for using on your eyes at all. You need to really dig a brush in there to get a good amount of product. Obviously it works best on a base eyeshadow and it's easy to blend around the eye lid.

Unfortunately the product transfers straight onto the upper lid as soon as you blink and it's really horrible and sticky. The glitter isn't subtle at all so I personally wouldn't go for the full on, glitter all over look as it's just too much. It might be nice to add a few sparkles just above the lashes or maybe in the corners of your eyes but I can't be doing with all of that nonsense. I also can't personally imagine anyone wearing this on their lips/face. It would just look odd.

The product is extremely difficult to remove as well. My trusty old Bioderma even had quite a job trying to remove it. It just seemed to spread the sparkles around my entire face. This is just a palette that I can't get on with. The formula of it is horrible and I would have much preferred a sparkly powder shadow or something similar to a Barry M Dazzle Dust. I certainly wouldn't recommend purchasing this entire palette for your NYE's party look as it would be a waste of money. It's a shame but sometimes there does seem to be the odd product from MUA that I can't get on with, oh well, you live and learn!

MUA Colour Blast Eyeshadows

MUA Colour Blast eyeshadows in Unfaithful and Stay - £3*








I've been meaning to review these for quite a few weeks now. I received them from the lovely people at MUA and I think I'm in love. These are perfect eyeshadow sticks. I'd describe them as chubby sticks for eyes (although I'm pretty sure Clinique have made this product already, am I right?) and they come in a variety of basic shades.

I was sent the shades 'Unfaithful' and 'Stay', which are both lovely. Unfaithful is a wonderfully pigmented, smoky grey and is really my kind of shade. It's lovely to apply across the lid and glides really well. The formula of the shade is very creamy so it's great for blending with other shades or leaving as a block colour, which is what I tend to do. Stay is a shimmering cream/nude colour, which is not something I'd usually go for but I found it to be really pretty and a shade I would probably turn to when I didn't want such a heavy look.

For £3 these are real bargains and the best part is, the applicator rolls up and down! Hurrah! This means they will last absolutely ages. I do love eye pencils that you can roll up to get more product out of, they're just so convenient.

Have you tried MUA's Colour Blast eyeshadows?

This post contains PR samples

MUA Matte Palette

MUA Matte Palette - £4












Another lovely palette from MUA. I purchased this one with the new Smokin Palette and have been busy trialling it for the blog. I have to say I think I prefer the Smokin Palette but this does have some pretty shades and lovely formulation.

Unfortunately this one doesn't come with an eyeliner pencil like the Smokin Palette did but never mind. I really like the nude/beige and brown shades of this palette. They're lovely to apply and I love the matte finish but unfortunately there is quite a lot of fall out with these.

The nude shades make great bases while the darker shades are great for adding a little drama. I was a bit wary of the blue looking shade but on application it's a lot more grey than bright blue, phew.

The brown shades are definitely me and I really like the mix of nudes/beiges to create a subtle, almost no make-up on, look. For £4 this is really a great, basic palette. I will buy any new palette that MUA releases and this one will fit nicely into my collection.

Have you tried the MUA Matte palette yet?

MUA Smokin Palette

MUA Smokin Palette - £6














I would have very sore eyes at the moment if I was to show you every single colour, so instead I've opted to show you just a select few. I guess if you really wanted to see them all you could buy the palette yourself (hey, I should be an MUA sales person, not.)

I purchased this palette because I love all things MUA and I just knew it would be a good'n. The palette is predominantly aimed at creating a smoky eye but I wouldn't have thought a bright blue or green would be very smoky. The other shades are of course and they're all lovely and shimmery and beautifully blendable. There's also a couple of mattes in there too.

My absolute favourite is the shimmering brown as browns are always my go to colour in any palette. There is a bit of fallout, which you might be able to see from the images, but it's nothing major. They have great staying power and last all day long so you definitely get your moneys worth.

I like the fact that this comes with a kohl pencil. I haven't used a kohl pencil in years and this one isn't too bad. It's very thick and velvety on application and I think it will look great on the top lid but here I've opted for the waterline, which I think works equally well.

for £6 this is quite the bargain as you get some great shades that compliment each other perfectly. I can't wait to try out different smoky eye looks and I don't currently know of any other palettes on the market offering a kohl pencil too, so I'd definitely recommend you grab this one.

Have you tried the MUA Smokin Palette?

MUA Lash Boom

MUA Lash Boom - £3*

I'm a bit disappointed. I really love MUA and was excited when I saw their new Lash Boom mascara had been released.

I was really happy to receive it in the post but upon application I've found I'm not so keen. The purple tube is pretty cool and I was interested to see how it would lengthen and volumise the lashes but when I took the wand out it looked really scary. The brush is thin with a round end, which apparently helps you to reach all of the lashes. In all honesty the round end picked up lots of excess mascara and was too big for my lashes, meaning I ended up with mascara in my fringe and, as you can see above, lots of fallout.

Personally I don't think this really lengthens my lashes either. I have weird eyelashes that tend to point downwards a little or straight out so I'm always really keen to try mascaras that pull they upwards and give me a normal looking lash and unfortunately this didn't.

I would have liked a mascara tube with one of those devices that removes excess mascara when you pull it out. I had to wipe the brush several times to get rid of excess and even then it still clumped a lot.

Despite this review I am a real fan of MUA. I think they're brilliantly cheap and cheerful, but unfortunately not every product works for everyone. This is just one of those products I've not really got on with but I'm sure someone else will see it as the holy grail of mascaras. I'm sure I can find this one a good home.

Have you tried the MUA Lash Boom?

This post contains PR samples

The Cherry Pie Eyeshadow Palette

MUA and Fashionista Palette - £7*

The ever popular MUA has recently teamed up with make-up brand Fashionista and launched a great new range of palettes. The palettes are fully customisable.

I was recently asked if I'd like to create my very own 'Cherry Pie' palette and obviously I jumped at the chance. I picked four different shades, which I knew I would wear on a regular basis and are pretty much my go-to shades.

I opted for Subtle Glamour, Gold Rush, Sultry and Night Sky and I have to say I'm pretty happy with my picks. Although there's only four shades I feel I can create a variety of looks with this palette. Gold Rush would add a touch of glamour to any eye look, while Subtle Glamour creates a lovely nude look. Sultry is perfect for adding a touch of colour for blending and Night Sky is of course perfect for a smokey eye.

All of the shades arrived in their own separate cases which you simply click out and place into the main square palette so there all together neatly. You can mix and match the shades and also add a blush or a bronzer to create a palette that contains everything you need. As I'm not big on blush or bronzer I opted for the four eyeshadow shades.

I love the idea and it's so cheap to do too at £7 for four shades and £10 for six. Each of the shades are lovely and pigmented and great for blending. I am really happy with my final choices and I'd certainly recommend people give it a try!

This post contains PR samples

MUA Merged Baked Eye Shadow Trios

MUA Merged Baked Eyeshadow Trios in Theatrics and Emotions - £3*

I was really surprised to receive these eyeshadow trios in the post recently as I wasn't aware MUA had released any new products. The baked marble patterning is really interesting and I just think the palettes are really cute and for £3 they're a real bargain!

The eyeshadows themselves are moulded half balls of eyeshadow so the shadow is really packed in and it's difficult to get any product from them with a soft brush. I tried to do so with a soft brush and wasn't very successful so you really do need to use the little eyeshadow brushes that come with these palettes as they're a lot tougher and are able to pick up the product easily. Once it's applied to the lid you can then blend or do whatever you choose to with your soft brush.

The shade i've pictured above has been my go to shade during the past few weeks. It works well on its own but can also be blended with the other shades. They're all shimmering balls of loveliness and there's very little fall out on application so I personally think these are big hits! Definitely recommended!

This post contains PR samples

MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette

MUA Undress Me Too Palette - £4

I really love MUA's eyeshadow palettes and I stalked my local Superdrug store for quite a while waiting for this to come into stock. Our store isn't the most up-to-date so it always takes a while for new products to come in. Annoying!

I love the white casing as it really highlights the lovely, shimmering shades. The palette is supposedly a dupe for Urban Decay's Naked palette but I've never used the Naked palettes so don't have anything to compare this too. I love the rich, pigmented neutral shades. Neutrals are my go-to shades of choice so this palette is great for me.

Some are shimmery and others not so much but they all blend lovely together. I'm not too sure about the black shade as I don't feel it really fits with the rest of palette, but I guess if you're working on a smoky eye look this would be quite helpful.

The shades are really soft and lovely to apply, there's no fall out and they last a decent amount of time. I would certainly recommend this palette and for only £4 it's a real bargain!

MUA Giveaway

I recently checked out my 'product' box and found a few MUA bits that I hadn't yet used. Instead of using them once and them collecting dust in my make-up bag I thought I would run a little giveaway for my lovely readers!

It's pretty simple to enter, just follow the instructions on the form below. The giveaway is open to UK entrants only I'm afraid! I will draw the winner on February 6.

MUA All In One Beauty Balm

MUA All In One Beauty Balm - £4*

I was recently sent the MUA All In One Beauty Balm and was really interested to try it out.

For £4 it is a real bargain of a product. I was sent the Light Rose shade, which I thought would be a pretty good match, but upon application I think it is a bit too orangey for my skin.

The BB cream aims to prime the skin and even out its tone, while also making it look that little bit brighter. I think it does a good job of evening out the skin tone and brightening the skin, making it look a bit fresher, but as I mentioned this shade is a bit too dark for my liking.

Having let it sink in I think it does look a little better in the light and it gives a really nice coverage, a great alternative to a heavy foundation, providing you pick the right shade.

This post contains PR samples

MUA The Artiste Collection

MUA: The Artiste Collection - £6*
Top row from left to right: Pistachio, Mocca, Ice, Grape, Chocolate, Cookie
Bottom row from left to right: Pink Sparkle, Primrose, Bronzed, Shimmer Kiss

I think I'm a bit late to the party with this one. I was sent it quite a while ago but it's been sat in my 'to review' box for quite a while and I kind of forgot about it.

When rooting through my box I picked it out and I was impressed once again by the lovely shades in this palette, in particular the marbled shadows, which I almost didn't want to use as it would ruin the marbling.

Each eyeshadow shade has a hint of shimmer which I really like and the marbled effect gives a nice fleck of colour to something that would otherwise be a straight block of colour.

I like the fact that the bottom row of pans are blushes and bronzers, however I'm not really a user or either so they probably won't come in handy for me, but I can imagine how handy they would be for others that use them. All you need is this one palette, perfect for overnight travelling.


This post contains PR samples

MUA Nail Constellations in 'Libra'

MUA Nail Constellation in Libra - £3

When the whole caviar/beaded nails trend popped up, I have to say I was keen to try it. Then followed all the drama about not being able to call it 'caviar nails' unless you had used a specific polish, and it kind of put me off.

I did try experimenting with some DIY beaded nails with beads from eBay, but it failed miserably.

I knew it wouldn't be long until the likes of MUA brought out their own bead product for nails. Their new Nail Constellation range is rather brilliant. I brought myself the pot of beads in 'Libra' as, funnily enough, that is my starsign (and it's my birthday on Saturday). The beads are black with the odd fleck of metallic blue, which I really like.


I was really surprised at how mess and fuss free these were. I simply painted my nail, laid down a piece of paper to catch the excess beads and poured them out. The tube has this handy nozzle that you can use to direct the beads. It did keep getting blocked up, which was a bit annoying, but after a few shakes it was fine. The beads settle nicely on the wet nail polish and I really like the finished effect.

I'm not sure I would do every nail in this, but an accent nail does look great. For £3, this product is a real bargain. Another hit for MUA! I'd definitely be up for trying the other shades out.

MUA Going for Gold Palette

MUA Going For Gold Eyeshadow Palette - £4*

Like the Undressed palette, I watched with excitement as each shade of this new palette was revealed. When MUA initially announced that they were releasing an Olympics inspired palette I immediately imagined garish shades of blue, yellow, black, green and red, but luckily MUA have a bit more style than that and opted for shades of gold, silver and bronze! Much nicer!

I was surprised to see each pan was square, meaning less shades in the palette, but bigger pans which is a great move by MUA.

I absolutely love the idea of this palette and again, the colours are very much my style, although I'm not too keen on the top right shade which is a bit Orangey!

The brushes that come with these palettes are your typical budded eyeshadow ones which are a little too harsh for the palettes in my opinion. If you use them, they tend to really dig up the eyeshadow and break it up. I'd definitely use a more softer brush on these so as not to break the pans and create excess shadow.

All of the shades are highly pigmented and blend easily together. I think the paler Silver shades would make great highlighters while the coppers and bronzes are great for creating something loud and bright.

At £4 you can't get much better than this. I really rate MUA products and their palettes just keep getting better and better.

This post contains PR samples