MUA – Lily Pebbles

MUA ‘Going for Gold’

lily — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:30:00 +0000

MUA Limited Edition ‘Going for Gold’ Eyeshadow Palette £4*

MUA have brought out a 10 shadow palette to celebrate…. can you guess? You know, those games that everyone’s going on about.

The gold themed palette has a mix of shimmer shadows in the new square pans. As you can see, there’s golds, yellows, a bronze and a few shades of grey.

I definitely prefer the square pans to their usual circular one as it’s easier to cover the brush with product. There are a few shades in this palette that I would never wear, but there are definitely some nice ones too. Sorry the photo is a bit messy, unfortunately 2 of the pans came loose and it was a little smashed up when it got to me. It’s all a bit of fun to support the Olympics and for £4 you can’t really go wrong! The palette is now available on their online store.

What do you think of the new square pans? Do you prefer them now or how they were before?

Lily xx

MUA & Alexandra Burke: Lip Boom

lily — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000

MUA Lip Booms £3*

Well who would have thought… Alexandra Burke making lipsticks!

Last week I went along to the launch of the new Lip Booms, created by MUA and Alexandra Burke. (For anyone who’s reading this outside of the UK, Alexandra Burke won the X-Factor in 2008).

The Lip Booms are a duo lip product with a matte lipstick on one end and a highlighting lip gloss on the other. You can either use the separate products on their own or use the lip gloss on top of the lipstick, in the centre of the lips for a 3d, fuller lip look. The 8 shades are named after Alexandra’s ‘famous’ catchphrases, including one all you X-Factor watchers will remember… ‘Ok.com’. The bottom of the lipstick twists off so you have yourself a little pot of lipstick… I can’t for the life of me figure out the point of this. If I ever find out, I’ll let you know!

So what do I think? Well let’s start by saying, they’re £3, so my expectations weren’t that high and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed if they weren’t amazing. The lipsticks are matte, so can be quite drying. I found 3 of them really nice; ‘OMG’, ‘Bring It’ and ‘Doin It’, but didn’t get on well with the others. The lip gloss really does create a 3D effect, but the texture is far too gritty. I wouldn’t recommend using it on it’s own and also, BEWARE… you won’t be able to get glitter off your face for at least 24 hours after using it. BIG mistake testing these out on a Sunday morning…

I’d recommend using these on a night out, when you can pile on the lip product, look great, but not necessarily care how your lips feel. They do look good and I think they achieve what they’re supposed to.

The Lip Booms will be available from Superdrug from 9th May for £3.

What do you think of these duo lip products? Is this something you’d be interested in trying?

Lily xx

MUA & Love Hearts

lily — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:17:00 +0000

Don’t you just love a cute collaboration?

MUA and Love Hearts have come together for a very sweet collection that includes some gorgeous nail polishes and lip balms. I went to the launch event and got some products to test out at home. All the products have love heart themed messages on the lid which I think is a really nice touch. I was actually really impressed with the packaging! The lip balms come in really nice, good quality pots which are perfect to keep in your handbag. It’s a bit annoying having to use your finger as the lip balm is quite thick, so I find myself looking for a tissue after applying it. They are really nice though and look lovely on – really glossy! My favourite polish colour is ‘U ROK’, which is a really nice blue/purple.

The nail polishes are £2 and the lip balms at £2 – for such a reasonable price you can’t go wrong really! They are available from Superdrug and the MUA website.

Have you tried anything from this collection? Are you also obsessed with Love Hearts??

Lily xx

Disclaimer: These were given to me as PR samples. My opinions are honest as always.

The best of 2011

lily — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:49:00 +0000

Blusher: SMASHBOX Fusion Soft Lights is the perfect blusher for me and looks really natural on. I wear this pretty much everyday for work.

Foundation: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua has been my favourite foundation this year as it’s appropriate for so many different occasions. I wear the shade B20 Beige Tendre. It makes your skin look flawless whilst still looking natural. It’s also really easy to apply with your hands.

Face Primer: The Laura Mercier fondation primer is by far the best primer I have tried. I use it every single day and without it my makeup disappears after an hour. It’s light and fragrance free – without this primer there’s no point in applying any of my other makeup.

Eye Shadow: This year I was introduced to the new LOOK makeup range and have loved using the Triple Hit in La Luxe. The shadows are really pigmented and are the perfect everyday shades.

Concealer: The Bobbi Brown corrector wins hands down. Creamy, perfect colour match, long-wearing and easy to apply. This completely covers my dark circles and I couldn’t live without it.

Lips: This year I bought my first matte lipstick – MAC’s Chili. It’s a gorgeous deep, rust red which I’ve worn lots throughout the Winter. I also discovered Revlon’s Lip Butters and my favourite shade at the moment is 001 Pink Truffle.

Mascara: I recently bought the Makeup For Ever Smoky Lash mascara from Sephora and it beats any mascara I’ve used before. It makes my lashes look thick and long in only a few strokes.

Eye Primer: Far better than any of it’s competitors, the MUA eye primer makes my eye shadows apply much better and last much longer – and it’s so cheap!!

Eye Liner: Soap & Glory released their new makeup range this year and my favourite thing from the collection is the Super Cat liquid felt tip eye liner. It’s really easy to use and creates a thick black line that doesn’t budge all day.

Brushes: My 3 favourite brushes from this year are the Japonesque 324, MAC 214 and the Sephora airbrush concealer brush. The Japonesque brush is incredibly soft and picks up so much product, the MAC brush applies eye shadow perfectly under the bottom lash line and the Sephora brush is bigger than the average concealer brush making it really easy to blend in product under the eye.

Happy New year everyone! Hope you like my product round up – are any of these your favourite too?

Lily xx

November Favourites

lily — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:48:00 +0000

I’ve never done monthly favourites before, but I think one of my new years resolutions is going to be to do them every month (although I’m not sure if I can do December as I’ll be away – good start!). I’ll start them properly from January, but thought I’d do a mini one now as there are some products I have been using and loving everyday.

– Bourjois Volumizer Mascara: This is probably the first ‘cheap’ mascara that I’ve actually liked. It’s got 2 steps; one brush to separate and lengthen the lashes, and then a second brush to add volume. It works really well and makes my lashes look really thick. It’s £10.49, so it’s not cheap, but compared to YSL it’s a bargain!

– Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights Blush : I got this blusher at the QVC press day, although I can’t find it now on their website which is a bit annoying. It’s one of the best blushers I’ve used. It suits my skin tone perfectly and gives me a lovely healthy look without looking like I’m wearing too much makeup. I actually think this blusher would suit everyone because there are so many different shades in it.

– MUA Professional Eye Primer: This primer is only £2.50 and hands down beats any MAC or Urban Decay primer that I’ve tried. The applicator is really easy to use and the primer is a creamy texture. My eyeshadow doesn’t budge at all when I use this and I now use it everyday, even when I’m not wearing shadow! I will never ever buy an expensive eye primer again.

– Look Beauty Triple Hit: The perfect 3 eye shadow shades! This is the ‘LA LUXE Shade 1’. I use the lightest one all over the lid, then I sometimes add a bit of the gold, and then use the taupe in the outer crease. They are really pigmented and remind me of the shadows from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I am definitely going to take this away with me when I travel. They retail for £7.50 and are available from Superdrug.

I’m getting really excited now for all the things I have coming up. My birthday is next week and I’m going to be turning 24. It’s such a nothing age, but I am really looking forward to going out with all my friends. One of my best friends is coming over from Germany and I’ll also be doing lots of birthday shenanigans all weekend. I’m then going away for 2 weeks to Miami and New York – my list of things to buy there is ridiculously long! Please tell me if there’s anything that you think I have to get.
I’ve also decided (god knows why) to take my laptop with me and do a daily photo diary whilst I’m out there. So you lot can see what I’m up to and I also won’t have to overload you with photos when I’m back.

Like that idea?

Lily xx

Disclaimer: The MUA primer, Smashbox blush and Look eye shadow were given to me as PR samples. The mascara was purchased by me. All opinions are honest.

MUA: The Immaculate Collection

lily — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:07:00 +0000

In the past few months I have really enjoyed exploring ‘drugstore’ makeup. I have always been quite skeptical of cheaper makeup but I’m being more open-minded now and have found some great products. I’m in love with a new foundation that I will tell you all about soon…

I recently got given this MUA palette to have a little play with. The Immaculate Collection palette is to celebrate MUA’s success in Superdrug over the last 6 months. It has 24 amazing colours; a mix of highly pigmented mattes and shimmers.

What’s so incredible about this pallette is not only the quality, but the price. I really can’t believe it, but it’s only £8! It’s such an incredible deal. MUA launched their online store today too – what perfect timing! So if your local Superdrug doesn’t stock MUA, you can now get everything on their website.

Have you tried this palette? What do you think? I can’t wait to experiment with it.

Lily xx

Disclaimer: This was given to me as a gift.