Review: Superdrug MUA Range

Hi all.

As promised, here is my little take on the new Superdrug MakeUp Academy range which is priced at a recession-friendly £1. Each item you see in the photo below is priced at £1 and is available from Superdrug.com or at most Superdrug stores.
All products are reviewed seperately and are given an overall rating out of 5, 5 being great and 1 being rubbish.

So here goes:

Mascara:
Now you all know that I have a thing for mascaras and the smell of them. It's not something that I like to do but some mascaras have a funky smell so now it's something that I examine like I do with all other aspects of the product.
The smell of this one isn't as bad as other mascaras I've come across so there's a good side. It stops there. The brush looks like a YSL Singular knock off and the formula is more sticky that smooth. It did nothing spectacular for my lashes. No length and no volume.
Overall rating: 1/5


Bronzer in Shade 01:
First impression on this product, I like the shimmer. Shimmer in a bronzer can be a bit hit or miss because it's either too much or too chunky so when I saw the shimmer in this bronzer I was surprisingly pleased. Well, that smile got wiped off the minute I swatched the product. The shimmer just disappeared and everything became really flat.
I wanted to give the product a try so tested it out for work today. Was I still impressed? Not quite. The colour pay off was pretty decent but I felt like the shade was a touch too orange on my skin tone. I dread to think what it would look like on paler skin!
Overall rating: 3/5


Blusher in Shade 04:
I really liked the feeling of this product. It didn't feel as chalky as the bronzer and goes on a lot smoother. In terms of pigmentation, it isn't as vibrant as I would have liked but it does mean that it can be layered on. It's easy to blend and has a slight sheen which looks pretty in the daylight. I applied this today very lightly on the apples of my cheeks and found that it stuck around much longer than the bronzer.
The packaging feels a lot cheaper compared to the packaging of the bronzer. The hinge feels weak and that if it's dropped, the whole thing will break so its probably not handbag safe. It's the downside to a somewhat decent product.
Overall rating: 3/5


Lipstick in Shade 05:
When ordering products off the internet, there's always a likely chance that the product will never look like what it did online which was exactly the case with this product. As the Superdrug website didn't have actual swatches of the products I had to take a wild guess with what to expect. For this lipstick, I wasn't really expecting a shimmery lipstick but that's what I get for purchasing online without swatching first. However, I'm loving this colour and the shimmer adds a little bit of dimension to the lips without having to add a lipgloss on top.
The packaging feels cheap and flimsy so is the only problem that I have with the product.
Overall rating: 4/5


Lipstick in Shade 01:
I much prefer the consistency of this lipstick to Shade 05 but I'm not too keen on the actual colour. I was expecting a similar shade to Rimmel's 'Red Fever' but once again, I was wrong. Although the consistency is creamy and it definetly is a buildable shade, the dark red tone does absolutely nothing for my skin tone and instead ends up making me look more old (No offence to those who like darker toned lipsticks). The packaging is exactly the same as the other lipstick and feels cheap and flimsy.
Overall rating: 3/5 - Purely based on texture


Eyeshadows in Shade 06, 05, 16 (L-R):
Shades 06 and 05 are pearl finished eyeshadows and 16 is a matte.




The pearl shadows seem to have a much better colour pay off than the matte shadow which came off looking more chalky and flat. As a fan of pearl/satin shadows, I liked the texture of the pearl shadows as after one swatch the colour pay off was quite nice. On the other hand, they would need to be blended out with a brush as they seem to gather and look clumpy. I didn't swatch them with a primer underneath but I'm sure when used with one they would look a lot more vibrant.
The matte shadow was a disappointment as it looked more like actual chalk than an eyeshadow. It felt drying and flaky which would mean that there would be a fair amount of fallout when using it on the lid. As there is no hint of shimmer it wouldn't work well as a highlight but maybe just to add some light on the inner corner of the eye. I'll let you know how I get on with it.
Overall rating: Pearl - 4/5 Matte - 1/5


Lipgloss in Shade 03:

This is probably my favourite product out of all the range. The colour is gorgeous and it's not sticky at all. There's no funky smell and the applicator is soft on the lips. It looks like it's a hot pink in the container but you can see from the swatch that it's not as vibrant so is ideal to wear during the day without looking too washed out.

Overall rating: 5/5


Nailpolish in Shade 15:

A smaller bottle than what I was expecting (I know, I really need to stop expecting great things for £1!) The colour looks a lot darker than what was shown on the website so I probably would have given this a miss if I had know this is what it looks like in the flesh. I've got plenty of red/pink shades so this is just another to add to the pile. The packaging looks cheap as the labels haven't even been stuck on properly. They're crooked and looks like it was done in a rush. I know that's a minor detail but it's the minor details that can make or break a product!

The consistency isn't too runny but it may go on a little thick. I have yet to test it so like the matte eyeshadow, I'll let you know what happens!

Overall rating: 2/3 - This might go up or down depending on how I like the product after I've used it.

Wow! That was one long review!

I just took a minute to skim over it all and make sure I covered all the points, which I think I did. Overall, I feel like you're getting what you paid for.

Is it a great make up range? No.

Is it worth the £1 you pay for? Probably.

Would I buy more? Perhaps.

I know there are some people that were thinking they would find the next wonder product out of the range but in all seriousness, what were you expecting for a quid? Although I expected the colours to look differently in the flesh, I was prepared for the pay off of the products to be a bit *meh*. I think it's a good place to start if you're just getting into make up as you can play 'til your hearts content and if something breaks, you know it won't break the bank to replace it.

Good effort Superdrug! Maybe other drugstores/high street companies will take note and add their 2 cents to it.

So what do you think? Will you be swayed into picking up products from the MUA range at Superdrug?? Have you purchased something from the line that you think deserves the light of day? Let me know in the box at the bottom. I really want to know your thoughts!!

It's bedtime for me (Well, atleast I'm going to try. This jetlag is killing me!)

Take care and remember to

Walk tall with a swivel in your hips whenever you're wearing your

-6inchstilettos-

SMALL PRINT: All products mentioned and featured in this review were bought by me with my hard earned moola. I am not being paid by Superdrug in any way for this. As always, these are my personal opinions and are as honest and brutal as always.