MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Moxie

Morning everyone!

Hope you're having a great bank holiday weekend! The weather has been hit and miss as usual but I'm hoping the final day isn't going to be too rainy!

Today's review is of an MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer this time in Moxie, I've previously written about Reckless (the perfect Taylor Swift style red!) and Firecracker (the perfect deep wine red for the winter months) so now I thought it was time to share this one too.

MUA Luxe Enchanted Palette

Morning all!

I've been testing out some new palettes recently and the first one I've decided to share is the MUA Luxe Enchanted palette.

I'm sure you have seen these palettes before over on Instagram and Pinterest, or the original ombre type palette that was released by Hourglass. However with the Hourglass Modernist eyeshadow palette costing £56, this isn't affordable for most people and MUA Luxe have released their own version, which is always exciting when an affordable dupe comes along!

The Enchanted palette contains 5 silk eyeshadow shades in a variety of soft pink shades.

On a first glance the palette is so pretty - everyone loves a marble effect and this is beautiful. You can see way there is such a hype surrounding them, and not even starting on the dupe factor!

The outer packaging is quite simple and obviously a lot cheaper than the Hourglass counterpart. Sometimes I think that the cheaper brands could put a bit more into their packaging than making everything black and basic, but I am certainly not complaining about the range of products on the market now that are much more affordable than before.

Looking at the shades, they look very similar and I wasn't sure how wearable they would be nor how pigmented and therefore whether they would even show up properly. My first thought was that the palettes will at least be great for pretty pictures!

You can see the colours swatched below, without and with flash:

How pigmented are they???!!!

I was so impressed! They are very pretty and the colour is so intense, they are perfect rose gold colours ideal for day wear especially weddings.

The only downside I can see to this palette is the colours are very similar and I do wish there was one less lighter shade and one more darker shade to help with creating an entire look. It means I need to use another palette for a dark shade to line my eyes - I look really weird if I don't do this!

I've been really impressed with this palette and how pigmented the colours are.

Unfortunately the pictures I took of me wearing these shades were too blurry to share, not sure what happened to my camera that day but I don't have any more to share right now. I will put some on our Instagram though, you can see them by looking for @thecsigirls

Have you tried the MUA Luxe palettes? Which one do you prefer?

Check back for my thoughts on the other palette, called Enrapture

L xxx

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Reckless

Good morning!

Today I have a quick review of a new lip product from MUA Luxe, this is a Velvet Lip Lacquer

I purchased this in three different colours because of those really handy 3 for 2 deals we all love. This particular one is called Reckless and is a perfect Taylor Swift kind of red, I love it.

I've seen quite a few lip products like these with a semi matte finish but I haven't yet found one that I like. I just can't seem to get on with nude colours that give you a 90s look, they seem to look good on everyone apart from me so instead I'm going to stick with reds, pinks and berry tones that I know suit me best!

The red is beautifully bright and flattering on my pasty skin - it's exactly what I was looking for! See a swatch below.

The finish is indeed semi matte and this I also prefer. Some of them seem to be so dry in both finish and on the lips over time, this dried but didn't seem to dry my skin either.

As for wear, it does dry and crack a little over time but this is easily solved by applying more. It doesn't seem to flake off, but rather cracks begin to appear in the dried product.

And above shows the lip product on, I really like it!

It was perfect for a night out and the best part was the price itself.....a bargain £3! And at Superdrug they are currently on 3 for 2 so an even better bargain. I also picked up a pink and a berry colour so expect posts of those soon!

What do you think of the semi-matte finish? Do you love the lip lacquer finish?
Have you tried any other of the MUA Luxe range?


L xxx

Festival Must Have Products

Hey All

We thought we'd share the top beauty and skincare products we'll be taking to Glastonbury with us. We've both never been before but have been doing a lot of research and these are the bits we won't be leaving home without*.

First things for me is sun cream! Glastonbury has little shelter so even if it's not the sunniest I'll be slapping on the sunscreen to be on the safe side. For me I love Piz Buin. I used to be sensitive to sunscreens and this is one I know I'll be ok.

Factor 50 for the face. (£6.79 from click fragrance) and 15 for the body. The lazy person in me loves a spray! (£9.00 from click fragrance).

I don't think any girl would go to a festival without dry shampoo. I'm lucky and my hair doesn't get too dirty but I won't be going without my batiste. (£2.99 from Superdrug)

We decided no matter how much we like our Naked palettes we aren't risking them going to glastonbury! We have the MUA versions so in case we decide to wear eyeshadow we'll be sharing these! (£4 from superdrug)

Along with the few bits of make up we will be slapping on some fake tan before we leave. Milk bottle legs is not the look to go for even if it's raining! Fake Bake have a great range of tanning products and the Airbrush Instant Self Tan is perfect for a layer of colour the night before we leave. 

It costs just £14.30 from here which is a massive saving of almost £14 off the RRP, magic! Even better that it has two tanning agents for a better colour, is easy to apply with the spray and fast drying.

What are your festival essentials?

M xxx

Hello there!

I've been scouring the shops and internet for products and kits to take to Glastonbury to keep my bag as light as possible but not miss out on fun make up products and essential skincare items.

First up was this amazing Make Up Removal Travel Kit (priced at £13.70 here) from Clarins.

It contains Eye Make up Remover to melt away your eye make up, Cleansing Milk to soften skin and remove grime, and Toning Lotion to refresh the skin. It's great for normal or dry skin and the travel sizes (30-50ml) will save so much space in your bag for either more stuff or to be compact and concise, either way is a winner!

Another festival essential....body spray. There is nothing worse than being a smelly individual although it can be hard to find a body spray in a plastic bottle (no glass at Glastonbury! poor cows wouldn't appreciate that) that smells decent. We've been smelling bottles for weeks and can only find super synthetic scents in the plastic bottles but Victoria's Secret have been life saving! 

The Amber Romance spray can be found here priced at £9.84 for 250ml. The notes can be seen below, it sounds perfect for daytime wear!

Top Notes: Cherry, milk and sugar.

Middle Notes: Aloe vera, chamomile and sweet notes.

Base Notes: Vanilla, sandalwood, amber and musk.

Lastly, after ensuring I can remove the grime from the day and that I smell like a dream even after a few days without showering, it's time to consider make up. I'm a big fan of eye make up and for me, I don't EVER leave the house without mascara, and if I've got time some eyeliner for definition event better. Eyes are the window to the soul and all that yes?

I've heard a LOT about Model Co and their Fibre LashXtend mascara has definitely hit my radar for the amazing looks it has given people with fibres in the mascara. This set found here comes in at £8.95 for the mascara AND an eye pencil which is such a bargain!

Model Co ensures you will get voluptuous clump-free lashes which are smudge and tear proof whilst providing the ultimate in false lash effects. The eye liner defines eyes too for the ultimate party look in two easy products! Festival glamour in two easy steps!

On top of this we've stocked up on some serious packets of baby wipes, beroccas and a few bottles of vodka and cans of cider! If anyone has any additional tips let us know. We'll be packing all of today and hoping we don't have any last minute panics!!

L  xxx

*This was a sponsored post, our first ever actually! Click Fragrance have some great products at awesome prices, we've already made a list for after festival fever. Although this was sponsored our opinions are genuine because let's face it, who doesn't love a bargain?! You can check them out in all their wonder here

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Kooky

When I dyed my hair purple a few weeks back I decided I needed some new lipsticks to match it as probably half of my lipsticks would no longer go with it. I picked up one of the new Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks which I'm absolutely loving (review here). I'd been eyeing up the Topshop velvet lips as it was the perfect purple but after spotting the MUA one for a lot cheaper I thought I'd give it a go.

The MUA luxe velvet lip lacquers are a liquid lipstick that dries super matte with full pigmentation that lasts. They are similar I imagine to the Lime Crime Velvetines. I'm still eyeing up red velvet to try.

I personally love a matte lip. I think matte looks great with bold colour but to get a perfect matte lip is a challenge. I hate it when it feels tight or dry on the lips or when cracks.

The first thing I love about these are the packaging. The frosted glass and simple and sleek packaging look much more high end than their £3 price tag. I also love that they are boxed! A waste of packaging yes but it always makes me feel like I'm getting something better.

Kooky is a very true purple. It has a very impressive pigmentation and comes out true to colour on the lips. With these less really is more. I find it best to wipe some of the product of before applying and go for a thin layer. The coverage looks better, it's less messy and it lasts better.

I find if I applied too much product it almost crumbled off my lips. I also wondered about applying a lip gloss over the top for if I wanted the great pigmentation but with a glossy finish. This didn't mix well. It just peeled off the velvet lip lacquer underneath and looked really messy.

I also find apply less feels more comfortable on the lips. When I apply it more thickly it makes my lips feel tight and almost more like I need to pout.

They do wear well with a strong pigmentation but wear time is dependant on whether you eat and drink as they do start to wear off from the inside and you are left with the outer parts of the lips being coloured.

These are great for strong pigmentation and matte finish without leaving lips cakey and dry when applied right. Overall I like them and will probably pick up the other colours. Kooky really is a great colour and a purple like this isn't something I'd have thought of picking up before but it has surprised me how many compliments I've got especially from people I wouldn't have expected?

Have you tried these yet?

Love M

xxx

MUA Pro Base Conceal and Brighten Kit

Hello!

Today I'm writing about a super cheap concealer palette from bargain cosmetics brand MUA.

I was in Superdrug picking up a 3 for 2 deal and couldn't resist picking this up to try as my final item. It was a bargainous £4 at the time and I'm sure you'll agree, a palette for £4 is always worth a try!

It has three different colours and consistencies to cover a wide range of blemishes that I was quite impressed with.

I assume there must be other colours as this kit comes in Porcelain-Beige, but I'm not sure as I would have automatically picked up the lightest colour!

I like that there are the three different shades and effects.
The first is a pinker shade and more illuminating, great for under the eyes.
The second is a thicker, creamier shade that's great for covering redness from spots and other blemishes.
The last is a thicker and more duskier pink coloured concealer that would be great for scars and birthmarks.

These concealers are actually, dare I say it, really good for the £4 price tag.
I'd expect this to cost around £12 if I'd been shown it without any brand names.
All of the concealers are different and apply really easily with your fingers or a brush.

You can see the concealers when applied to my arm below:

In the photos below (taken at 6am in the morning rush...apologies for expressions and quality!) you can see where I've applied the first concealer (pink toned and highlighting) to my undereye.

It has worked really well at concealing dark circles and feels really soft and blendable.
I have only got foundation and concealer on in these pictures so you can see how much of a difference it makes!

I also then applied the middle concealer around my nose area where the skin is slightly redder for some reason. It sometimes looks like I have a cold...when I don't!
As you can see below it has easily covered this up:

I was pretty impressed with the coverage of this concealer. As for longevity, it lasted pretty well throughout the day. I work in warm labs which is a bit of a test for my make up, my under eye concealer did crease but I would say most concealers do this to an extent. The concealer around my nose also needed to be reblended at some point in the day but it was easily done with my fingers which others you couldn't do.

I'd say this was well worth the price tag and I'd recommend to anyone looking for a great multifunctional concealer palette!

Have you tried a palette like this? What do you think of MUA's cheap as chips range??

L xxx

NOTD MUA Constellations Libra and Ciate Cupcake Queen

I was lucky enough to talk my boyfriend into getting me the Ciate Advent calender and boy was I excited for the 1st of the month to come. I love Ciate polishes. They have such cute bottles with the ribbons on. 

On the First day it was a gorgeous pink with a blue shimmer in that I couldn't wait to get on my nails. I'm really annoyed at myself as since getting acrylics on for my holiday all I've done is bite my nails. I'd stopped the habit and they were starting to look nice so in the new year I have to really work hard to stop again.

I have to say the first day left me a little disapointed as Cupcake Queen looks very very very very similar to Jelly Bean that came free in a magazine a few months ago. You can see the post on Jelly Bean here.

Here is the Jelly Bean polish from Marie Claire a few months back.

Look how long my nails are :-( well long for me. Below is the Cupcake Queen with MUA Libra Nail Constellations. L picked them up for us a while ago and I have been meaning to try them for ages. Strangley enough the night L and I started this blog I was round hers and a wheel of mixed beads I got from eBay split in my bag and I did a DIY Cavier manicure before it was even named a Cavier Manicure!!

Apologises for my unfiled false nails. I did file them before I went out. As you can see the colour is very similar. Cupcake Queen may be a fraction lighter but they both have the blue shimmer. I will probably give my mum or L one of these as if L doesn't want it my mum loves bright pinks as there isn't any point having two.

After the first day I have loved almost all the colours in my calender and it's fun opening each day and having a nail polish, I just with I hadn't bit my nails so I could play with them more.

Now onto the MUA Constellations. I'm loving these. For me it will always be a feature nail manicure and not all over. The MUA version stuck on well. I just added top coat to the tip of my nail as I've heard it's good to do this.

I really like that Libra is black beads with a few blue ones. I think this makes it easy to wear with most colours. My only problem with it is I hate the lid. I find the rubber funnel like top a pain to be honest. It's stiff to get off so the first time I flung a load of beads everywhere and when trying to get the beads back in I found it was easier to use a piece of folded paper. Maybe that's just me.

These lasted a good two days but I don't know if it helped that they were on false nails. They'd have probably lasted longer but they annoyed me and I picked them off.

I really like these nails for nights out as they are a bit special and I can't wait to try the Cavier polishes from my Calender as I've got a gorgeous colour in there.

Have you tried Constellations or Cavier? What's your thoughts?

Love M

xxx

Everyday Eye Make using MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

I'm not lucky enough to have the naked palette, I love it and regularly admire it from afar. I think I will purchase the original one soon but for me at the moment my MUA palette is brilliant. I saw this in Superdrug and wanted a neutral palette and thought for the price I might as well try it not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It's £4 for 12 shades which is an amazing price. The eyeshadows have a brilliant pigment and a really nice texture to them with barely any fallout. Sounds almost perfect right?

My favourite shade is number and since taking this photo I have hit pan on it. Does any one know if you can get these shades individually?

I tend to use 4 and 9 for most looks as a base coat and use 2 and 8 in the crease of my eye. Depending on how strong a look I'm doing I'll use 5, 10 or 12 for definition. 

I decided not to do swatches as I'm sure most of you have seen them though I will add them if people would like to see them. I want to try and use 3 and 6 more, I'm not really much of a gold person so these haven't really been touched.

1 is a brilliant highlighter for the inner corner of your eye or under the brow bone. All the colours blend seamlessly into each other.

Onto the looks

My go to look

This is how I do my make up most days when I want something simple. I use 4 as a base coat, then blend a mixture of 2 and 8 into my crease and add 12 to the outer corner of my eye to give my eye shape. I like this as it gives my eyes a bit of emphasis but looks pretty natural still.

The black eyeliner look

I like using a slick of black eyeliner, my personal favourite is the Maybelline gel eyeliner. I like how it shapes the eye and think the little flick gives make up a more 'done up' appearance. For this I used 9 as my base shade and blended in some of 8 to my crease, even if it's only a little I always apply a bit of shadow to my crease as I think it really shapes my eyes.

A darker smokey eye

This look is a little darker but I still think it's not too much for day. For this I applied 10 all over the lid and used 12 in the outer corner and into the crease to add shape and definition to the eye. For this look I also applied eyeshadow under my lower lash line.

I love having a nude go to palette and this one is amazing, I'd definitely pay more for this I think it's really good quality and a good selection of colours that can be used for day and night.

Do you have this palette? What do you think of these looks? What's your go to palette?

Love M 

xxx