If you know me, you will know I absolutely love MUA Make-up Academy from Superdrug for their great products and craaaaazy cheap prices! Lately they have really been expanding their range and bringing out loads of new products, which I am super excited about. One of their new additions is an ‘intense’ lipgloss called Intense Kisses- High Intensity Gloss.

I picked up the shades Smooch and Pucker Up

Smooch is a really pretty peachy/orange with lots of shimmer and glitter. I was wondering how ‘intense’ this colour would actually be when applied and was hopeful that it would live up to it’s name.

Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed with the colour pay off, as you can see in the image, its not particularly intense at all. The glitter is really pretty and adds a nice shine, I would say this colour is better for a more natural look.

On its own the gloss just offers a little shimmer to the lips.

I added an orange lipstick underneath and it added a nice effect however I feel any gloss could do this.

I like this lipgloss shade, it isn’t very ‘intense’ however for the price it is still really nice colour.

The other shade I picked up was ‘Pucker Up’ which is a beautiful bright red. After the disappointed of the first shade I wasn’t expecting much from this colour other than a slight red tinge, however I was very pleasantly surprised.

This colour is actually very intense and a really beautiful shade of red.

On it’s own the colour is really wearable and opaque, great for adding a quick red lip after work- it’s definitely one to keep in your handbag!

I added a red lipstick underneath even though the gloss didn’t need it at all, I just wanted to see the difference, which there wasn’t much!

I just love this colour!

For the price- just £2 this product is amazing! Even though I wasn’t so keen on the first shade, the red is so beautiful and I definitely will be trying more of the other colours. There are 8 in total and they range from light nude to bubblegum pink to deep pink and reds. 

They are available now in selected Superdrug stores and online at http://www.muastore.co.uk/index.php/

Have you tried the glosses? What do you think?

Stay creative,

I am not in anyway affiliated with MUA and all opinions are my own.

Following the success of their Heaven and Earth palette and to the delight of many MUA fans (myself included!) Make-up Academy have released their brand new Undressed Palette. This palette has caused a major buzz in the beauty blogging industry and the words ‘naked’ and ‘palette’ has been thrown around a fair amount. Well, a secret source has confirmed to me that the Undressed Palette IS an exact dupe of Urban Decay’s Naked Palette. *SQUEAL!* How exciting!  I personally don’t own a Naked Palette (I refuse to pay £36 for an eyeshadow palette!)  but from all the blogs I have looked at, it is a very good dupe. I don’t think all the colours are spot on, but for a very long time many make-up artists and bloggers have looked for dupes to no avail, until now. If you aren’t convinced yet then let me just tell you that you can pick this palette up for *wait for it* FOUR POUNDS!!!!!!! Thats a whole 9x cheaper than the Urban Decay version! 

Left side of the Palette                             Right side of the Palette

SWATCHES

TOP ROW- Shades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 
A lot of these shades were fairly similar to my skin tone so the swatches aren’t that clear (sorry!)

 

BOTTOM ROW- Shades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

As always the eyeshadows are very highly pigmented and have a great colour pay out as well as a beautiful soft consistency. 

The great thing about this palette is that you can create loads of different looks. 

A soft natural look I created using the palette

A smoky look I created with the palette

OVERALL
I am loving this palette! For the price and the shade selection it is beautiful! For anyone that doesn’t have the Urban Decay Naked palette, you don’t need it! Save you money and opt for the MUA Undressed instead (even the name is nicer). Another source has also confirmed for me that the UD Naked palette is being discontinued! What more of a reason do you need to pick up the MUA palette?

Hope you are as excited as me!!
One last thing- please please can you make a Naked2 dupe pleeeaaassee MUA.

Stay creative

We all seem to be going Olympic crazy at the moment to celebrate London hosting this years Olympics and make-up is no exception! MUA have created a brand NEW limited edition palette called ‘Going for Gold’ with an array of rich metallics. Sporting a new square design pan, this 10 shade palette will definitely create some dazzling looks!

As always the MUA shades don’t have names, but instead are numbered 1-10 from left to right. The colours are a mixture of golds, bronzes and blues.

Close up of left side                         Close up of right side

SWATCHES

Top row- Shades 1-5

Bottom row- shades 6-10

SHADE 1- Pale metallic beige
SHADE 2- Gun metal grey
SHADE 3- Metallic bronze
SHADE 4- Glittering silver
SHADE 5- Bright yellow gold
SHADE 6- Pale metallic blue
SHADE 7- Pale green gold
SHADE 8- Gold
SHADE 9- Rich copper
SHADE 10- Metallic ice blue

The eyeshadows have really good colour pay out, especially the brighter tones like shades 4,5 and 9. The consistency is beautiful as always with a really soft texture almost like cream when applied. There is a good range of shades however I do feel as though it is lacking in any deep tones, when creating a make-up look I struggled to find a colour to shade my socket. 

On the new MUA Palettes there is a small tutorial on the back which they call a ‘Mini Master-Class’ helping you create a look with the shades. I love this idea! I followed the steps on the back and this is the look that was created. It says:

• Load Shade 7 onto your brush and sweep across your entire lid.
• Pat Shade 9 across outer 1/3 of lid for a two-tone shimmery effect.
• Blend Shade 5 into the eye socket and along lower lash line for added definition. Gorgeous!!

OVERALL
I think this palette has some beautiful colours (Shade 5 and 9 are my faves!) and is perfect for summer to create a sizzling shimmery look!

Palette retails at £4 and is available from http://www.muastore.co.uk and Superdrug stores nationwide from July 4th 2012.



Stay Creative,

Grace <3 

Pastels are always a summer must-have and you can the trend with MUA Cosmetics. They have a great range of products for you to get the perfect summer look!

MUA-Mosaic Blush in English Rose- £2.50

MUA Lip Boom in Cheeky- £3

MUA Pretty Pastels Pallette- £4

MUA Professional Eye Primer- £2.50

MUA Eyeshadow Trios- £2.50 Green- Eden
                                   Blue- Blue babe
                                   Purple- Passion
                                   Pink- Pink Sorbet  

MUA Love Hearts Nail Polish-£2.00 I WANT U
                                            U ROK
                                            U&I
                                            LOVE U 24/7
                                            I <3 U 

Check out their whole range on their website http://www.muastore.co.uk

Stay creative,

Grace <3

Had fun doing this eye look!

Products used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again 

MUA Glamour Nights Pallette

Sleek Original Pallette

MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 2

HOW TO CREATE THIS LOOK:

• Prime your eye using MUA Professional Eye Primer
• Cover your lid with Urban Decay’s Midnight Cowboy Rides Again
• Using a small angled brush and the deep teal from the Sleek pallette, draw along your socket line and wing outwards.
• Now using the same colour blend upwards
• When your happy with this, take the teal from the MUA pallette and draw along the socket line to create more definition
• Blend this upwards
• With the small angled brush draw along the bottom lashline with the Sleek Teal and wing outwards
• Sweep Midnight Cowboy Rides Again in between the gap
• Using MUA Pearl eyeshadow apply under the brow bone and blend into the teal
• Taking the same colour, apply in the inner corner of the eye to brighten
• Add eyeliner, mascara and false lashes!

Stay Creative!

Grace <3

So at the weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of MUA’s latest range in collaboration with Alexandra Burke called Lip Booms.

They are a range of Lipsticks with a gloss on the other end to highlight the lips.

THE SHADES:

From left to right-

LMK- A beautiful deep wine

Bring it- A bright crimson red

OMG- A bright summery coral

Cheeky- A pastel baby pink

It’s A Situation- A luscious deep pink/red 

Doin’ Good- A natural pale pink/coral

OK.COM- A nude

Vibe- A natural pale orange/coral

I love the quirky names in this collection and the range of shades is divine!

My favourite has to be ‘Bring it’, it is an amazing red and it is so versatile, it looks different on everyone!

Alexandra looked beautiful at the launch she also sported ‘Bring it’

Me and Alexandra both wearing shade ‘Bring it’

Me and MUA Head Make-up artist Karla Powell applying our Lip Booms!

Keep an eye out as I will be posting a full review and swatches in the next week!

Stay creative,

Grace <3

This is a green smoky eye look that I created yesterday. It is very wearable and looks great with both blue and brown eye colours! This look can also be adopted using different colours, purple is great because it also looks fab on all eye colours!

THE PRODUCTS I USED:

Sleek Pallette in Storm- £6.49

MUA Eye Trio in Eden- £2.50

MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder- £14

MUA Professional Eye Primer- £2.50

(I got my MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack out but I didn’t end up using it!) 

HOW I CREATED THIS LOOK:

• Apply MUA Professional Eye Primer all over the lid, up to the brow bone making sure you get the lashline.
• Using the lightest colour in the MUA Eyeshadow Trio and an oval brush, dab the colour on the inner corner of the eye outwards stopping in the centre of the eyelid. 
• Next, take your oval brush and the middle colour in the MUA Trio and dab this on the centre of the lid, blending into the lighter colour you have already applied. Also sweep this under the lower lashline.
• With the darkest colour in the MUA Trio and again, an oval brush, dab on the outer corner of your eyelid and blend into the other green. Sweep this under the lower lashline stopping in the middle so it blends into the lighter colour.
• Taking a round fluffy brush and the deep green from the Sleek Storm Pallette, start from the outer corner of your eye and place the brush in the crease. Blend this gently along the crease to the centre of your eyelid. You also want to blend it outwards slightly to create a winged effect.
• Blend until you are happy.
• Using the same brush and the matte black from the Sleek Pallette, lightly pat this in the outer corner crease. Take a clean brush and blend this in. 
• With an angled brush and the black from the Sleek Pallette, dab along the lash line to create a soft liner.
• Apply your mascara of false lashes, I used Eyelure Naturalites in 020 available at Boots and online.
• Line your waterline with black, I used MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder.
• Finally, to get a neat winged effect use a face wipe and sweep along the bottom line and outwards. This will create a lovely sharp edge!

Fill in your brows and highlight your brow bone using the lightest colour from the MUA Trio.

The colours in the MUA Trio all have a really beautiful golden undertone to them, it doesn’t pick up much on the camera but is stunning face to face!

Hope you like this look! 

Stay creative,

Grace <3