MUA Brand Review: Eyes, Face, Complexion and Lips

 MUA, or Makeup Academy, are a brand that are exclusive to Superdrug or online. They are a British based bargain brand that offer high quality products at a super cheap price. They have two lines (like ELF) where the basics are only £1 each and the professional line is priced up to about £8. 

Lipstick

The MUA lipsticks are one of my favourite things from the brand. They are only £1 a pop, they don’t dry out my lips, they have a nice selections of colours and they are quite long lasting. The lighter colours, as with most brands, don’t last as long as the reds but for the price they are brilliant. 

Power Pout (full review here)

The Power Pouts are MUA’s answer to the lip crayon bandwagon that everyone is jumping on at the moment. They are soft, slightly blamy crayons that give you a pop of colour on the lips .They are a little too soft (and therefore messy for me) but they are a bargain at £3 a tube. 

 

Eyeshadow (reviews here, here , here and here)

The £1 single eyeshadows from MUA are my favourite thing from the brand. They have a huge selection of colours (quite a few MAC dupes in there too) and they are really nice quality. I prefer these over most of my eyeshadows, high end or not! They offer a range of matte and pearl finishes, all of which go on to the eye in a buttery like formula, and blend to a nice finish. 

Eyeshadow Palette (review here , here,  , here and here)

MUA offer a nice range of eyeshadow palettes which feature about 12 eyeshadows. The quality of the shadows is slightly less impressive than the singles, which I find strange considering how many of the colours can be brought in single form. They offer a bight palette for those loving colour (review here) and they offer a nice range of neutrals too including dupes for the Naked and Naked 2 palettes from the ever popular Urban Decay. They palettes are only £4 a go.

Eyeshadow Trio (review here)

The eyeshadow trios offered by the brand are similar to those offered by Bourjois but at much cheaper price of only £2.50.The trios come with three complementary colours that work well to create one look. You generally get a lid, crease and highlight colour, along with a sponge applicator for those without brushes. They can be used wet or dry for subtle or bold looks, and they have a collection for almost anyone’s eyeshadow preference.

Liquid Eyeliner (mentioned here)

The MUA liquid eyeliners are one of my favourites, ever. They come with a felt tip like brush meaning they are great for beginners (*cough* me *cough*) and they last all day. They are only £1 a go, come in a nice range of colours and can be used to create any kind of liner effect. You can go thick or thin, with a flick or without and these will work for you. They do take a few seconds to set/dry, which can be a bummer if you blink a lot but once they set they are there to stay! 

Pencil Eyeliner (full review here)

The pencil eyeliners, again only £1, are great. They aren’t the softest pencils your will find but they are softer than some that cost a lot more. They come in a huge array of colours, come with a sharpener on the lid and lash a decent amount of time. They have some matte colours, and some with shimmer/glitter. The colours are nicely pigmented, and blendable/smudgeable if you fancy something smokier.

Mascara (mentioned here and here)

MUA offer a range of mascaras from lengthening ones that only cost £1 to volumising goodies that cost about £3. My favourite from the brand are the £1 mascaras that come in a nice range of colour from black to pink and the Every Lash mascara which is £3 and is a dupe for Benefit They’re Real (full post here).

The basic £1 MUA mascaras are great if you want length for you lashes.  They are actually fibre mascaras meaning they actually make your lashes longer. The fibres can be a bit of a bitch if you fall into your eye but if your careful you can achieve nice fluttery lashes. 

The Every Lash Mascara is £3 a tube, and a total dupe for Benefit They’re Real, right down to the fight you have to have to get the darn thing off. It lifts, volumises and lengthens, and it lasts all day. It’s only £3 a tube, so it worth a try if you haven’t used it yet. 

The other offerings they have including a curling mascara (not a fan) and volume extreme and one other (it comes in a pink tube) which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of. They are all around £3 so it’s no great loss if you aren’t a fan! 

Blush

I adore the MUA blushes, and I seldom reach for other blushes in my collection anymore. They are pigmented, easy to blend and come in just about any colour I could want. I have bright bubblegum pinks, subtle pink flushes right the way through to simple coral/orange tone blushes. They are only £1 a go, and I think they are right up there with MAC and Sleek. 

Powder

The £1 powder from MUA is a great deal if you have a skin tone that could suit it. I found that even the lightest shade is too dark for me so I haven’t been able to really test them out! Maybe sometime soon they will over and ivory toned powder or something translucent in the pressed form for me to really try.

Highlighter

The MUA Undress Your Skin Highlight is a totally rip off of MAC products (much like the Nail Polishes are a rip off of Essie) but it really is great. The colour is similar to that which can be achieved by using MAC MSF in Lightscapde but it’s slightly more pink toned. The packaging is simple, and the shape of the power is very similar (read the same) at the MAC Extra Dimension collection powders that they offer on occasion. It’s only £3 thought, so a big saving on MAC but I do get slightly annoyed at how much they copy other brands.

Bronzer

The basic bronzers are bit to orange for my pink toned pale skin but if you have a slightly deeper skintone I would recommend trying thee £1 bronzers. They are cheap, last all day on your skin and blend quite well. The big boy of bronzers that MUA offer is something I’ve yet to try but if you want a huge, shimmery bronzer MUA have one at the super cheap price of £3. 

Foundation

The MUA basics line don’t offer foundation but the Professional line (just a tad more expensive than £1) do have a couple to offer. I have dry skin so I haven’t grabbed the Matte one yet but if you want something mattifying it might be worth a try for £2. The one I have tried, tested and adored is the MUA Undress Your Skin illuminating foundation. It’s a nice, lightweight foundation that is actually pale enough for Casper over here and it really does illuminate. It covers redness okay, but you might need a concealer for spots and the like because the coverage isn’t that amazing. It’s still a bargain at £5 for 35ml and I would repurchase it.

Concealer (full review here)

I was so happy when they released a liquid concealer. The brand have offered a stick concealer since the beginning but I hate stick concealers so never tried it. If you like sticks/lipstick like concealer then give them a try because they are only £1, but if you prefer liquid/wand concealer try the Cover and Concealer wand concealer for just £1.50. They have a really light shade, but sadly don’t go that dark You can read my full review here.

There are more things that MUA offer, like cream blushes, brushes and nail polish but I’ve yet to be able to try those. I would love to, so hopefully in the future I will pick up a few more bits from the brilliant bargain brand. 

Here are a few more reviews on things from the brand if you fancy taking a look at them! 

Pro-Base Eyelid Primer Review

MUA Primer

Check out MUA online here, or head into your local Superdrug to see what they have to offer you!

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