On to a much owed review of MUA Cosmetics.

MUA have brought out a primer and a (matte) foundation as part of their Pro line, and I believe each are £4?



I'll start with the primer. I know Enigma didn't get on with this, but I actually thought it was alright! It looks like this when you apply it - a sort of translucent white.

I'd use slightly more than that amount to cover my whole face.
The directions on the back say that you can use it alone, or apply foundation over the top. As I'm not a big foundation wearer, I can't vouch for that, but alone it genuinely did brighten my skin and evened things out a little - not a huge amount, but still damn decent for a £4 primer. I know GOSH do one for at least double the price.
This is going to totally fail, but photos of it on my hand (which will most likely look the same):

Still wet:


Dry:


Compare the dry with the original swatch of the primer. In real life, it was more even and looked smoother.
I find that after you've put this on, there is a five/ten minute waiting period for it to dry fully, during which it feels a bit tacky and odd. After that, it's weightless and you're good to go. All in all, I wouldn't mind repurchasing this! The fact that it just brightens up my face a little means it's great for those days where I want to conceal the fact that I've been up all night playing Assasin's Creed look less tired without having to apply and remove a full coverage foundation and concealer.

Now, the foundation. Hmm.


The shade I was sent was way, waaaaaay too light for me. I swatched it anyway, so you could get an idea of the shade:


Lol, yeah. Erm...I looked into the foundation range so I could buy a colour that actually fit me, but it turns out that there are only three shades. And none of them even come close.


Any UK beauty bloggers out there who think they'd fit Shade 2 (Honeycomb) comment with your email address and I'll send it to you if you'll cover postage (because I'm kinda broke right now, lol) and yeah, you can review it instead. If there are lots of people, I'll just randomly select.

I'm a tad disappointed to be honest, as the foundation looks incredibly promising - nice and thick, great coverage, and even the packaging feels luxe - but yeah, three shades won't cover most light skinned people, let alone we of the mysterious slightly less reflective skin type. Would love it if they'd bring out a few more shades in the future.

Sadly, not everything that I bought this year was up to standard...

Urban Decay Loose Pigments in Asphyxia and Graffiti

I'm not as butthurt over these as I would be if I'd bought them at full price, but the applicator that the packaging forces you to use is just so irritating I don't feel like using these that often - which is a shame as the actual eyeshadows are gorgeous and buttery soft! I think Urban Decay is discontinuing these anyway now.

Consider if: You'd use these more to highlight the inner corners than all over the lid.

Chit Chat (Poundland) Concealer Stick in "Dark"

Dark my ass. Please. It's barely a shade darker than their medium and light concealers. It doesn't cover up spots or scars at all, creases like a mofo and is just all around disgusting. It looks beige/brown in the tube but turns an atrocious shade of yellow on the skin.

Consider if: Don't. Unless you want a very, very cheap concealer to do a mediocre job on your under eye circles. It creases as well.

Elizabeth Arden Lengthening Mascara

I don't know the exact name of this mascara as the packaging has worn off...not something that I expect from a high end mascara. It's the formula of the mascara that I hate. It's insanely wet and gets everywhere, including your freshly applied eyeshadow which you then have to reapply or take a cotton bud too. It sucks for the lower lashes as well, and the wand isn't really to my taste but that's quite a personal thing. After a month or so, the formula manages the impossible and stays wet but clumpy? So you have mascara that's wet and gets everywhere and the amount that has managed to stay on your lashes is clumpy. Gross.

Consider if: you're buying it as a present for someone that you don't like very much.

Elizabeth Arden Eye-Fix Primer

I find this product only holds shadow for about eight hours or so, which, while not horrible, isn't anywhere near say Urban Decay Primer Potion's performance and they're around the same price...also, eyeshadow begins fading around the four hour mark.

Consider if: you don't have access to anything better.