MUA Makeup Academy – Haul & first impressions

*Sorry to those who noticed that I missed out posting last weekend! It was a hectic few days and I thought I had scheduled this post but alas I hadn’t and I didn’t realise until about Tuesday that nothing had gone up!*

Oooh my first online purchase haul, how exciting! This weekend I was watching ‘Sophie Louise’ who I am newly subscribed to on youtube and she had done a video ‘Full face of under £10 makeup’ ( https://youtu.be/bO7o5LUXEQI ). It was from the brand ‘MUA Makeup Academy’, I had watched literally a few minutes of the video and was absolutely sold on their products. I had a little look on their website ( muastore.co.uk ) although, i believe Superdrug sell this brand too, and when I saw that they were having a sale I had to buy some stuff! If you’d like to know what I bought and what my first impressions were then keep reading!!

First of all the delivery was great! I ordered Saturday afternoon and by 12pm Tuesday it had been delivered. They use DX in the UK so it’s a pretty secure delivery method. They do promise ‘next day delivery’ but as I had ordered quite late on a Saturday I was classed as ordering on Monday meaning it arrived Tuesday. Still super quick if you as me!

The best thing about this whole haul is that I paid just over £30 for it all! Nothing I purchased was over a fiver (baring in mind there was a sale on when I snapped these products up)!

It arrived in a little (smaller than I expected) cardboard box. Everything was individually wrapped in bubble wrap and fitted perfectly in the box! Obviously a great way to package and deliver makeup products to ensure that nothing was to break! Now for the contents! Again a little smaller in size than I was expecting BUT for the value for money the sizing is pretty perfect so I don’t know why I was expecting anything more!

MUA Ultra Sparkle Palette – Cotton Candy & Sugarplum (RVP £6.00 each)

I saw Sophie Louise show these palettes and I was in love! Especially for Christmassy looks. I am always on the hunt for a promising glitter. For the price I had to get them both.

First impression when I opened them was WOW. They look incredible! So sparkly and I adore the colours! I like that the packaging is clear so you can admire them with the top closed. As they are a gel I was a little sceptical about how they would work. I am used to lose glitters and glues etc. I dipped my finger in a few I loved and gave them a swatch. They came out incredible on my finger but when I went to swatch it kind of clung to my finger and didn’t give much payout on my arm. But there was still quite a little pay off, and I’m not mad at it. It’s enough to be glittery but not too much to be overpowering. It’ll give a super nice subtle effect. I wonder how this product will work if a flat brush is used to apply it, maybe it would work a little better, I am keen to try it out! All in all I love this product, it’s exactly what I was looking for! But if you’re hoping for an intense glitter look then maybe this isn’t for you! I’m really excited to give this a go and hope it works over some eyeshadow to give a glitter effect!

MUA Pro/Base Banana Blur Primer (RVP £4.00)

I am always on the hunt for a holy grail primer and I saw this and just got it to give it a go and wondered if it was going to smell of banana??

Yes, it smells of banana! More of a banana milkshake scent but nevertheless, banana! I gave this a little squeeze out on my hand and it was a lot more liquidy than I expected. I haven’t owned such a liquidy primer BUT I may love it. I smoothed it out on my hand and I really did like the feel of it so I am excited to see how this feels under some makeup!

I tried this under my usual every day routine and it worked as well as any other primer I have. It’s definitely a more hydrating primer than it is a matte, pore filling one. But I like having a softer primer for everyday looks. My makeup applied perfectly over this and I liked the over all texture.

MUA Luxe Aurora Shine Lipgloss & MUA Luxe Plumping Lipgloss (RVP £4.00 each)

As much  as I LOVE a matte lip, I have discovered a new-found love for a glossy look. I thought I’d give this one a go! I have the Soap & Glory plumping lipgloss that has nearly finished so I thought I’d pick this plumping one up and see if it works.

First of all, these smell incredible! Like a minty, fresh lovely smell. I feel like I’ve had something that smells similar before.  I love the square packaging for these lipglosses! I swatched them both and they were both pretty sheer. I was expecting a little more colour in the pink one but I’m not mad that there isn’t. The clear one also has some gorgeous specks of glitter in it so I feel like it’ll look gorgeous on the lips.

So I tried the plumping one, and was it was disappointing. No plumping, no tingle, nothing. It did look super nice on but for what it’s sold as it just didn’t work.

Pout Prime Lip Primer (RVP £3.00)

Lip primers, are they a thing? Are they going to make a difference to a whole lip look? Thought I’d find out!

This is what it is, I am really curious to see if a lip primer makes any difference to the whole effect of a lip. It says it’s smoothing so we’ll see!

MUA Pro/Base Full Coverage Matte Pressed Powder in shade #100 (RVP £2.50)

I have never had a pressed powder. Sophie Louise again used this in her video and as she is a fellow pale girl and seemed to enjoy it I thought I’d give it a go too.

I ran my finger over this and it is a super sheer powder but it felt so lovely, really smooth and silky. I am really looking forward to how this looks on the skin!

I tried it and it looked looooovely. It gave a lovely finish, a lot softer than the loose powders I usually use. It has a slight shimmer in it so it really makes you glow. Yeah I really liked this one!

MUA Professional Eye Primer – Nude Base (RVP £2.50)

Again eye primer, are they going to make a difference to a whole eye look? I usually just use concealer. We’ll give it a go and see!

It’s a little more liquidy than concealer but basically the same nude shade as the ones I have. It dries slightly tacky which could be good colourful looks.

Blusher & Contouring Brush – F6 (RVP £3.00)

They had a range of brushes on their site and I had been looking for a blusher brush so I thought why not see what these brushes are like.

Again this is what it is, a brush. We’ll see how it works when I put it to the test!

Shimmer Highlight Powder MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder – Pink Shimmer (RVP £3.00)

I have a highlighter problem, an addiction maybe? But I wanted to give one of the highlighters they had a go.  I went for the pinky colour because I don’t have anything like it in my collection currently.

This highlighter is gorgeous! When I opened it I was absolutely terrified as it is SO pink in the pan! I was worried it would just be a really shimmery blush. But when I gave it a little swatch on my arm it was stunning. It’s really subtle and light. I’m usually one for a ‘bam’ kind of highlight but this is so pretty maybe I can be turned to the subtle highlight side? I feel like this colour will just give you a healthy glow!

I LOVED this highlighter. It is the first understated highlight I have used and I adored it. The colour gives you that healthy, glowy look and it was just stunning! I might sway to the less powerful highlight look thanks to this one!

Free Gift – Fan Brush – F8 (RVP £3.00)

I even got a free gift! I’ve never been one interested in a Fan Brush but now I have one so we’ll see if I like it!

So there we have my first online shopping makeup haul. Overall I am super happy with what I got! I will definitely be going back to MUA for another shop when I need some new bits! I think you’re getting what you’re paying for with this brand and maybe a you’ll find a few hidden gems like I did too!

Do you have anything from MUA, let me know your opinions!

Beth x