All Nude & Kiko 336 Stamping

I have more stamping to show you today, this is Kiko 336 over yesterday's All Nude, which as predicted is a fantastic base to stamp over.

 

 

It's definitely not my best stamping attempt ever, for some reason the top coat seems to have dragged and smudged the stamp pretty badly.  I'm not sure if that's because of the Kiko polish not being ideal for stamping or just bad luck.

 

 

I'm quite happy with how this turned out although I was hoping the blue would be much brighter, instead it's a pale sort of muted blue which reminds me a lot of china patterns.  Next time I might try and find a more china pattern-y sort of design as that could look really cute, tiny tea cup nails.

 

 

MUA All Nude

I am hunting high and low for a cream polish, which one would think would be relatively easy to find, but it seems not.  Today I have probably the closest contender to what I am looking for so far and for the bargain price of £1 from Superdrug's MUA range.

 

The bottles have been redesigned recently and look a bit like mini Essie bottles which is quite cute, and they're still just £1 each so very easy on the pocket.

 

Here's All Nude

 

As you can see it's an off white cream colour.  I really like the crisp bright look it gives and it looks like it will be an ideal base for stamping over, it's also lacking in the pink colour that seems to feature in most pale nude shades I've found, which is a good thing, in my view.

 

Unfortunately, it has one of the worse formulas I have used in some time, this is 4 coats, the first one split and streaked and barely covered at all, it was like I had oil on my nails!  After 4 coats it does even out and look pretty lovely but it's definitely not one for a quick manicure!

Bruised Roses

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I did try and stamp with the MUA 'one coat' polish but it wasn't very successful, here are the results:

 

 

Again sorry for the horrid mess my nails are in, apparently cleaning up leaks gives you BAD tip wear. :(

 

Although the stamping is quite pretty, it was very subtle in real life and not how I was hoping it would turn out, I wanted to stamp in bold glitter!

 

It's a look I may try again if I was going somewhere that obvious stamping wouldn't be appropriate as it adds another dimension to the plain polish without being too obvious, however as stamping polishes go the MUA one coat polish won't be going on my list!

MUA One Coat Fairy Dust Nails

 

I saw this little beauty on offer in Superdrug the other day and couldn't resist trying it out for just £1.50, the range is normally £3 each.  Unfortunately it couldn't do a worse job of living up to it's 'one coat' name!

 

 

Fairy Dust is a shimmery, silvery pink shade which is almost foil in appearance, it's pretty but the photos below show 3 coats, so not only is it not a one coat polish it takes an additional third coat on top of what most of my preferred polishes require!

 

Excuse the messy picture, we've had a leak in the flat and I have been quickly trying to grab a few photos right after painting my nails before I go and chip them and cause horrendous tip wear mopping up the kitchen which means that my clean up of the top coat has not been good, normal service will be resumed shortly, I hope!

 

In conclusion, this polish is pretty but definitely not a one coater, no way.  The bottle is fairly small and for £1.50 it is definitely not a bargain when you need to use so much each application.  I'm most disappointed becasue I was hoping to stamp with it and as you'll see in the next post it is most definitely NOT a polish for stamping with.

MUA Blush Perfection - Bittersweet

Today I have a blusher review for you, another scheduled post I've set up while I'm off spending Christmas with my nearest and dearest.  

Fairly recently MUA (available at Superdrug) started doing cream blush, as with all their products it's available at a truly bargain price, just £2!  I have quite a few cream blushes and I like wearing them so I couldn't pass up on the chance to try out another shade at such a low price. 

I chose Shade 1 Bittersweet which is a soft pink shade.

The blush is a nice soft texture and applies well, it's easy to blend; either with your finger or with a buffing brush and lasts pretty well for a high street product at such a low price.

I did find initially that there seemed to be a bit of a clear film on the top of the blusher when I bought it, I'm not sure what it was, maybe something added in production to protect it, but I had previously read about it on another blog so I was half expecting it.  After a quick sweep over with a tissue the film disappear and you are left with the pigmented blusher underneath.

The colour is great, a soft subtle pink which can be built up to give a brighter more vivid look or lightly swept on the give a natural flush.

Overall, I am really pleased with this blush, it's a great bargain every day blusher and having used it quite a few times now I am definitely tempted to try out the others in the collection.

MUA (make up academy) @ Superdrug

The new £1 range of make up at Superdrug, MUA (make up academy) looks, on first inspection, like it could have some potential. The packaging is basic but alright looking, it feels sturdy enough and the products are a good size. None of it looks really cheap, which it is, so a good start.

What immediately drew my attention were the eye shadows, they’re bright, bold colours available in 20 shades, 16 pearl and 4 matt. Over two trips I have managed to collect almost the whole set and I was super impressed with them they are phenomenal! All lovely colours and they go on so well, they are bright, last all day and they blend amazingly well. Also, several of the colours are exactly the same as other, more expensive shades from the bigger brands. So far there is an exact dupe of MAC’s blue brown (shade 12) and Kitschmas (the light lilac pearl )pigment and one which is very similar to a Barry M dazzle dust too (dark bluey purple shot through with pink).



I’m really taken aback by the quality of the eye shadows, they feel fantastic to use and look as good, if not better, than a lot of far more expensive products I own. I’m forever picking up cheapy make up bargains and regretting it later when they just don’t give value for money but the MUA range is definitely not like that at all. The matt colours aren’t quite so bright and vivid as the pearl shades but they still look good and apply well.



I also bought one of the blushes, very highly pigmented, goes on nicely and last really well, so another recommendation there.

However, I tried both the lip gloss products too, the squeezy tube and the wand applicator one and they are both rubbish, they taste weird and are thin and greasy and seem to slip off your lips into your mouth and they make me gag they taste so foul, I threw them both in the bin the day I bought them. So no rave review for them unfortunately.



Overall, I’m amazed at the quality of the eyeshadow, especially given the price and look forward to seeing if Superdrug decide to extend the range of colours, judging by the empty display when I went back in to have another look they won’t have any problem with excess stock in the near future. Go try some!