Drugstore Hit or Miss? MUA Matte Lipstick

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the makeup line MUA, it is a range of really affordable cosmetics (prices ranging from £1 to around £8) launched fairly recently, I'd say in the last 8 months or so, and available in the majority of Superdrug stores across the UK.

I have been trying out quite a few of the MUA products, and have come to love many of their £4 eyeshadow palettes, some of which provide excellent dupes for the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes (what's not to love?!)

I love a matte lip, and am equally partial to a classic nude lipstick, so I have been meaning to give their lipstick line a go, and with a price tag of only £1 how could I possibly refuse?

The variety of colours is very limited, with only 5 shades available at this time, ranging from nudes and peachy pinks, to one darker berry shade. There was only one lipstick left at my local Superdrug, and that was Totally Nude. To be honest, I probably would have opted for this shade anyway, as I have been on the hunt for a good nude lipstick for a while now.

MUA Matte lipstick in Totally Nude

Given the tiny price tag, I didn't set my hopes very high, but was still rather disappointed with the lipstick. Whilst the colour is nice and pigmented on the stick, once applied or swatched to the skin, it comes off very sheer and does not last long at all. I found the application to be difficult, as the formulation is very stiff and thick, making it pull on the skin of your lips, and it emphasized the smallest of dry patches or cracks making your lips seem dry and unappealing (as you can tell by the pictures). The same effect was found even with a very moisturizing lip balm applied before hand (I use lanolips banana balm). The only redeeming feature is that it works reasonably well as a base for a light pink or nude gloss, however this somewhat undermines the idea of a matte or nude lipstick. I would probably use the lipstick if it had a larger price tag, but at only £1 it is not a huge loss if it doesn't get used at all.

The Lipstick with gloss applied

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this particular lipstick, and given that the majority of problems lie with the formulation and not the colour, I won't be rushing out to purchase any others from the same line.

However, I would still encourage people to check out some of the other MUA products, particularly the eyeshadows, which have been a favourite of mine for some time now.

Value for money: Tiny price tag at only £1, but still not worth the money.

Pros: very affordable, good amount of product

Cons: Hard to apply, extremely drying and lack of pigmentation.

Drugstore Hit or Miss: unfortunately this one's going to have to be a MISS. 

Elspeth xxx