ok, so it's been a couple of weeks now since i received my MUA order from earlier this month, so it's about time i give you good folk my opinion on a few things... prepare yourselves, it's not all good....
i was stoked when i opened my parcel - everything looked really bright and fantastic, and i was excited to get using it all... especially the MUA 'extreme felt eyeliner', and the two blushers i picked up; 'blush perfection cream blusher' and - the aptly named, 'blusher'.
well, on the surface the two blushers looked amazing. both really bright colours in the pot, and the 'blusher' too when it was loose on the brush. with other blushers i've used, i'd go for a few layers to achieve the colour i wanted, then tone it down a notch with a light dusting of loose powder. the MUA 'blusher' (in shade #1) did not need multiple layers to achieve the right amount of colour on my cheeks, although i did lose quite a bit of colour with the loose powder. i tried it the next day with less powder, and then none entirely the next day, and this seems to have rectified that situation. i quite like the light dusting though, it makes me feel 'finished', so i think maybe one more layer after the loose powder could be the answer. my overall feeling on the 'blusher' is quite good though! and at £2 a pot, something i could see myself buying again.
the 'blush perfection cream blusher' was a similar story; very bright in the pot, and when i tested it on my hand the colour came up really bright. things were looking good!... until, i tried it on my actual face, with other actual make up - i.e. my foundation, and it all went nowhere from there. no matter how much cream i added to my cheeks, i feel like i got no colour at all. this type of cream blush would be best suited for someone who perhaps doesn't wear any other face make up, or prefers a lighter, sheer blush coverage. i prefer my cheeks pink and rosy, so, even though this pot was only £1 i don't think i'd be going back for seconds.
the 'extreme felt eyeliner' was suuuuuuch a disappointment. i currently use the collection 2000 24 hour extreme felt tip liner, but thought that for the promotional price of £1.20 i would give the MUA copy a go. not only did i think that i would give it a go, i bought 3 of them, because i had such high hopes for it. on the surface, it matched up to the C2000. as soon as i tried to apply it, it was all over. the colour was much lighter than what i was expecting, and the liquid seemed to come out really weak. i could see drag lines in the colour, which proved how thin the liquid was. just to compare for myself, i drew two lines on my hand, one from each of the liners...
and finally, the other thing i have been using non-stop is the MUA 'eyebrow pencil' - there's clearly some marketing genii working over at MUA with all these stellar product names. anyhoo... am very much liking the eyebrow pencil, the colour is just about spot on for my skin and hair, so doesn't wash me out or make me look like a goth, and it's really easy to apply... i mean, it's a pencil. i guess there's no science to applying make up (although i suppose the artists would argue), but this made application easy. there's a brush on the end, and i would be lying if i said i knew what i was supposed to do with it. do you brush your eyebrows? i... don't. what i would like on it, is a smudger to move the colour about, rather than 'colouring in' the missing bits. my old pencil has a smudger and it means i use less pencil, as i can smudge the colour where it needs to go. i hope that makes sense.
anyway, of those 4 things, i'd say i'm happy with 2.5 of them, and rather unhappy about 1.5 of them. i still have nail polish and nail caviar to try, so keep your eyes peeled for my review of those over the next week or so.
have you tried any products you loved or loathed? what are they, tell me!
