MUA The Artiste Collection Palette

Lately I've found myself reaching for my MUA palettes even more, in particular the Heaven & Earth and Undressed palettes. Both contain gorgeous everyday neutral shadows which is definitely my eye look of choice on a regular basis. The new Artiste Collection palette* is something different to their previous palettes. Inside not only do you get six marbled eyeshadows, there is also two blushers, a bronzer and a nice little highlighter too.

The MUA Artiste palette is the same size as their previous palettes, just a little bit thicker. When I first seen this online I was intrigued to see what it was like. After your foundation, powder, liner and mascara, you'd get everything in this multi-use palette to achieve an everyday makeup look. The eyeshadow pans are huge so it will be easy to get a brush in there, while the blushes/bronzer/highlighter are smaller so it will be hard to get a standard brush in there. I found the Real Techniques Contour brush the perfect size to get into the bronzer and highlighter, it's picks up the colour really well too. All the shades (bar the shadow on the far left) are really well pigmented which MUA are well known for with their range of palette. My favourite shadows in the palette are Mocha, Chocolate and Cookie as they make up a really nice everyday natural eye look. I don't think I'll ever steer clear of neutral shades as they work really well for me. The blue shadow is the only one I can't see myself using from the palette too much. I may pull it out over the Summer, I think it would be real under my lower lash line to add something different to my makeup look. Everything in the palette (excluding the bronzer) has shimmer in it. I love shimmery eyeshadows so this doesn't bother me at all. After buying the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette at the end of last year, I've been using that alot too. I'd love to see MUA come out with a matte palette, I think it's something alot of their fans (including me!) would be interested in.

For £6 you can't go wrong with this palette. MUA have definitely done it again and brought out a lovely product for such amazing value. The Heaven & Earth and Undressed palettes still remain my favourites from the brand but the Artiste palette has some lovely shadows in it too. I can see myself  getting alot of use out of it. If your not familiar with the brand they also have regular offers running on their website, some of them are really good so there worth watching out for. After they reach a certain number of "likes" on their Facebook page they unveil a new one. There next big milestone is 50,000 likes which is huge and when that's reached they'll be giving 50% off everything on their website plus free shipping. That's definitely not an offer I'd want to miss. If you haven't tried their Heaven & Earth or Undressed palette yet, there wouldn't be a better time to treat yourself to them. If you don't own any neutral palettes yourself, both these palettes would be ideal for you. I use mine pretty much everyday, I've hit pan on a couple of the shadows so I may have to buy replacements the next time I'm in Manchester.

Are you a fan of MUA? What's your favourite product?

Laura<3

MUA Bronzed Perfection Bronzer

MUA has been hitting the nail on the head lately with all their recent releases. Not only our their products brilliant but there inexpensive which is great for a student (get to that in a upcoming post). A great way to find out what there coming out with next is to "like" them on Facebook as they update that regularly with new and exciting products. I already have my eyes on their new Artiste Collection palette, I need it in my life. One of their new launches that I have been particularly liking at the moment is Bronzed Perfection* as you probably already guessed it's a bronzer and it's huge.

I had one similar from Gosh that I had for literally a year, before it came to a sudden end after I dropped it. I remember that being €20, this on the other hand is £3, do the maths people this one is a complete bargain. Even in the Autumn months (feels like Winter now) I think everyone likes looking that little bit bronzed, this stuff is just for that. It does look dark in the pan, but once on the skin it blends beautifully into a nice subtle glow, it is fast becoming my most reached for bronzer. For shimmer haters out there, this does contain a light shimmer but it's almost unnoticeable on the skin. If it's something that really bothers you I'd recommend swatching it in Superdrug beforehand. The only thing missing from this is a mirror which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I've just seen that MUA are bringing out new cream blushers, Blush Perfection. If there in anyway as good as their bronzer, I can see myself pick up a few as the shade range looks great and right down my street.

What MUA products have you been loving?

Laura

MUA Going For Gold Palette

Like alot of people my eyes have been glued to the telly watching the games for the past few weeks. My favourite sports to watch were the Athletics, Boxing and Swimming. I think this is the only year I've actually watched the Games as much as I have. I was lucky enough to attend a Team GB football match while I was in Manchester last month and the atmosphere was intense. It's something I'll remember for a long time. With the closing ceremony of the Olympics on tonight, I thought it was about time I did a post featuring this gorgeous palette. Inspired by the London Olympics, MUA's Going For Gold palette* contains twelve eyeshadows in a range of gold, silvers and bronze shades. Different to other MUA palettes, the shadow pans are square and not circular which makes the amount of product you get a bit bigger.

At first I wasn't too sure if this palette was for me. It contains some eyeshadows that I wouldn't usually wear on my eyes but surprise surprise some of them actually worked. All the eyeshadows are well pigmented bar the top and bottom two on the far left. I had to heavily swatch them both so you could even see them in the photos above. Don't let these two eyeshadow put you off as it's actually a gorgeous palette that I myself have been more than impressed with. At first I was scared that the two vibrant gold shades would look a right mess on me but they blend beautifully on the eye lid, so I couldn't be happier with them both. My two favourite eyeshadows from the palette are on the bottom row, second shades to the left and right. I have been using them both alot, the light shimmery gold on the lid with the bronze in the crease, they make a gorgeous everyday look. I wouldn't choose this over Heaven & Earth or Undressed, but it's still a lovely addition to their range. I do think this was another wonderful idea from MUA and like the other palettes at £4 you can't go wrong at all. As far as I know Going For Gold is Limited Edition so snatch it up while you still can.

Will you be trying the Going For Gold palette?

Laura<3

MUA Undressed Palette

When I was packing for Manchester I knew I didn't want to bring too much makeup with me. I still went a bit overboard as per usual but I only ended up bring two eyeshadow palettes. Instead of bringing my much loved Naked 2 palette I decided on one of MUA's newest offerings Undressed*. This palette has been compared to the Naked palette and I can see why as it's full of gorgeous neutral shades. For a drug store product I wasn't expecting too much at first but this has quickly become my most reached for palette throughout the month of July. It contains 12 round eyeshadows a mixture of extremely pigmented light and dark shades perfect for daytime and night time looks. I'm been using the second shadow from the left as a base and one of the darker shades as a crease colour. It's great to have all these amazing shadows in the one place, this would of probably done me for my whole trip but I couldn't leave my Too Faced Neutral Eye palette behind. I haven't used the latter once since I got here so maybe I should of left it at home.

At £4 this is an absolute steal, I loved it so much I picked up the Heaven & Earth palette in Manchester yesterday. It's similar to Undressed in the fact that it's full of neutral shades but probably more for daytime looks. I shall let you know in due course how I get on with this one.

Have you tried the Undressed palette? What's you thoughts?

Laura<3

New Favourite Lip Combinations

 When I was rummaging through my lip products during the week, I came across Revlon's Sugar Frosting lip butter and Topshop's Nevada lipstick. I haven't used either in a while for no reason other than I didn't think they worked to well on their own.

Sugar Frosting would be the lightest shade out of all the lip butters, resulting in it not being as pigmented. When I first got this I used it quite a bit, but then it found it's way back into my makeup drawer. I preferred the shades of the other lip butter I own like Macaroon and Candy Apple. While cleaning I spotted a Barry M limited edition lipgloss I got free with a Impulse body spray. As I got it as a gift, their doesn't seem to be a shade number, I looked on their website and it looks alot like Strawberry Milkshake. Together they both look gorgeous. A perfect pale pink combination for the Summer, it's like both these products were made for each other. I can see myself using both products alot as they will go with any look.  Another lip combination I've been loving is Topshop's Nevada and MUA's Out There plumping lipgloss in Nude. I loved Nevada lipstick when I first bought it but after a while I grew tired of it. It's a peachy nude shade that blanked out my lips and makes them look flat. I don't know about you but that's not the look I usually go for. I swept a bit of MUA's nude lipgloss on over it and it looks beautiful. For me it just lifts the colour a little, making it look more wearable. Being a plumping lipgloss I wasn't too sure about it at first. I've had quite bad experiences with these sort of products (Urban Decay's offering I'm looking at you), they've just really irritated my lips. This problem hasn't happened with MUA's lipgloss it slightly tingles but that's it.

Topshop's Nevada and MUA's Nude lipgloss

Revlon's Sugar Frosting & Barry M lipgloss

It just shows a little bit of gloss can make all the difference. I don't think I would of used Sugar Frosting  or Nevada if I hadn't discovered these gorgeous products to go with them. I don't particularly like using gloss as it's a given that your hair can get stuck in it, but I really like these looks so I'll let that slide.

What's your favourite lipstick/lipgloss combination?

Laura<3

MUA Lip Booms

Lip Booms are the result of a collaboration with MUA and X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. When I first heard about these I was really intrigued to see what they were like. Sometimes these sort of products can be hyped up so I wanted to test them out for a while before I reviewed them. I'm hear to tell you these impressed me a great deal. As you can see from the pictures coming up these are double ended products, lipstick on one side and gloss on the other. They are great to have in my handbag or for travelling as they create such a nice look. I got pretty excited when I seen these in the post and started opening them like a mad woman, when the coloured top came off. I thought I was after breaking the tube but surprisingly it was actually another mini solid lipstick. The range consists of eight lovely shades which I think is great as it means there'll be something to suit everyone. I love how the packaging shows how the lipsticks look on Alexandra Burke, it's a nice touch. I got the chance to try Cheeky! (pale pink), Doin Good (coral) and It's A Situation (plum). I've been using all three for a while now and my favourite has to Doin Good. It's such a gorgeous everyday shade which I could see myself rocking alot over the Summer. I do have quite dry lips generally and as this is a matte lipstick so I do find the need to use lip balm before I apply it. When applied they have such good staying power and I wouldn't feel the need to reapply more product regularly.

The highlighting gloss can be worn on it's own but personally I prefer to wear it over the lipsticks. The reason being is that it contains large chunks of glitter and alone without the lippy underneath doesn't look to well on me. The highlighting gloss has a gorgeous sweet scent which reminds me of honeycomb ice cream (yum!). I could happily sit here and smell it as I write this post. I only have one fault to mention about this product, I used it on a recent night out and I got so many compliments. When I got home I was taking it off, and I ended up with glitter around my lips and on my chin which isn't a look I usually go for. For me, this is only a small issue with the product, it wouldn't stop me buying more of these in the future. For the price (£3), I think these are amazing and worth every penny. I think if you were going on holidays over the Summer and wanted some alternative lipsticks to the ones you already own, I'd definitely recommend them.

Here's two photos of me wearing my favourite shade Doin Good. The top picture is of the lipstick alone and the bottom is with the gloss. I think they do make a lovely combination if I do say so myself. The bottom picture turned out a tad blurry on my computer and I have no idea why.

Have you tried MUA's Lip Booms? What's your favourite shade??

Laura<3

What's in my Bag? - Updated

I haven't done a What's in my Bag post since May last year, when I started blogging. Obviously the contents of my bag have changed so I thought it was about time to do another. Like all girls, I tend to carry way too much in my bag. I like to think everything I carry is a necessity but I may be fooling myself a little.

Messy I know but isn't everyones bag?  If they say it isn't you know their lying.

I love this scarf, I bought it along with some matching gloves in Accessorize before Christmas. Unfortunately I lost the gloves, I was so disappointed as they were so pretty. I've worn this scarf probably everyday since I bought it. We never get nice weather in Ireland so it's needed.

 I always have a deoderant and a Impulse body spray in my bag. I'm still not too keen on the Lynx Attract For Her packaging, but seeing as I bought it I might as well use it up. A new purchase of mine is the Avene's Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water. I've been using this to set my makeup lately, so refreshing.

Nothing too interesting in this picture. Basically there's my keys, battered old purse, glasses, umbrella (it's Ireland), Ipod and Muppet's Cardholder for my Age and Travel card.

A mixture of beauty products I found throughout my bag. I'm surprised at how many were in there. I had a lot of "so that's where you went to" moments. My mom bought me the Nivea Pouting Princess tin, it contains two lipbalms. I really like it. The Chocomania Body Butter (travel size) and Soap & Glory's A Great Kisser lip balm are recent purchases. I'm going to do a review on both of them soon.

Here we have my 2012 diary, a empty tin of Glee mints (courtesy of my Mom), a pocket mirror, Travalo (Burberry Body smells like heaven) and my makeup bag. Let me know if you would like to see a What's in my makeup bag post. I don't think I've done one before.

Last but not least is the book I'm reading at the minute. Yes I got a Kindle for my birthday, but I still have a mountain of books to read. I've finished all the other books in this series, Vengeance is the last as you can see. I just started it so I can't wait to see how everything pans out in the end.

So that's everything that's in my bag. I sure do carry alot more around with me than I did in May last year.

What's a must in your bag?

Laura <3

MUA Love Hearts Collection

At the beginning of February, I received an invitation to the launch of MUA's Love Hearts Collection. The event was being held in London which unfortunately meant that I couldn't go as I live in Ireland. The MUA PR Team were ever so nice and offered to send me some stuff from the Love Hearts Collection, aswell as some of their newer products (review coming soon). I haven't tried many MUA products, there are only two Superdrug stores in Dublin and both are ages away from where I live, so I don't get the chance to go that often. I'm in love with their eyeshadow palettes, so of course I couldn't wait to try more products from this brand.

Isn't the packaging gorgeous?

I am obsessed with lip balms, I always have lots in my bag. The minute I seen the Love Heart lip balms online I couldn't wait to try them. The two shades I was sent were Kiss Me and Sugar Lips. Both lip balms have a gorgeous vanilla scent which is quite similar to MAC's Tinted Lip Conditioner. I do find them quite moisturising which I need as I do get dry lips. The balm can wear off so it's always best to reapply it regularly. For £2 each you can't get any better than these two products. Both balms give a sheer pop of colour to the lips. Sugar Lips is my favourite out of the two, I have my eye on a few other Love Hearts lip balms so hopefully I can get my hands on them.

I love both of these nail polishes. I <3 U is a gorgeous nude shade which is so wearable, perfect for work. Love U 24/7 is my favourite of the two, I'm a fan of purple polishes so that's probably why. The result above was acheived after only two coats. For £2/ these nail polishes are such a bargain. There are six gorgeous bright shades to choose from, I can definitely see myself getting more!

MUA Love Hearts collection is available to buy from selected Superdrug stores and online.

What have you tried from the Love Hearts Collection?

Laura<3

Beauty Swap with Lauren A.K.A Budget Beauty Queen

A while back Lauren and I did a beauty swap. Recently my room has been done up so I didn't get a chance to do a post on our swap. Thankfully it got finished this week. Now there is nothing stopping me from showing you the goodies Lauren sent me.The swap itself came about when Lauren asked me to do a guest post on her blog. We got chatting about doing a swap, which of course I was totally excited about. If you haven't checked out Lauren's blog "Budget Beauty Queen", I shall leave the link here. I love her blog especially her reviews and monthly favourite posts they are very informative. At the moment Lauren is running a blog series which shows bloggers writing posts on there holy grail product. Definitely worth having a look at!

About 2 weeks ago I received my goodies from Lauren. Here are the lovely products she sent me.....

Beauty UK Nail Polish in Electric Blue & Turquoise Shim

2 True Cheek 'n' Lip Tint & Pink Light Up Pocket Mirror       

 MUA Lipstick in 11, MUA Eye Dust in 2 & 6, MUA Blusher in 4

Rimmel Eyeshadow in Stir It Up

MUA Eyeshadow Palette in Dusk Til Dawn

 Sleek Sunset Palette

Wow I love all the gorgeous products Lauren sent me. Thank you so much! I really can't wait to try out everything. With work and everything I haven't had a chance to use much yet. The MUA and Sleek palette are fabulous and I'm sure I'll create so many great looks with them. I actually haven't used any MUA or Sleek products before. Of course I'm really looking forward to trying them out. I've heard such good things from other beauty bloggers.

If you want to have a look at what I got Lauren, you can check it out here!!


Laura<3