This is my first ever venture into matte eyeshadow by MUA,
truth be told I rarely by matte formula eyeshadows I tend to favour metallic finishes.
If you are familiar with the MUA brand then you'll recognize their trademark
black and transparent packaging, which makes light work of spotting the shade housed inside.
Okay it is not the most daring nor is it the most pretty but it is far from ugly.
When evaluating the packaging I do think it is only fair to mention that the product cost £1
and considering the price point it could be so much worse.
MUA Shade 20 is a matte black that is flat and has no signs of glitter nor shimmer.
I feel it has an evident green tone in pan form that doesn't articulate when swatched.
As mentioned this is the first MUA matte eyeshadow I have bought/reviewed
and I have to admit that I am a little disappointed with the swatches.
The matte formula is just as soft but the colour pay off and finish is a little off.
It swatched patchy and chalky which pales in comparrison to the pearl finishes in the same line,
the pigment was also off point and looked weak and grey not a true black.
I tried this shade today without any primer and managed around 4 hours before the shade melted
and succumbed to my oily lids, I do feel this would survive 8hours + with the use of a base
but you will have to battle with the patchy and chalky finish.
A negative point I do have to mention is that I have noticed that the individual shades shatter very easily
this is a combination and fault of the packaging and the formula.
The formula of the individual eyeshadows are softer than those I have encountered in the MUA palettes.
The super soft formula makes light work for blending and application
but it does not fair well if you have a heavy hand or drop the pan.
Again yes the eyeshadow only costs a £1 but if you continuously break them it is still money wasted!
I did find this shade had a substitutional level of fall out, which I find annoying!
Product Summary
Round Up - A chalky green based black.
Best For - Those who have patience to make a chalky shade work.
Pigmentation -(5/10) Not the best shade from MUA
Availability - Most Superdrug stores, Superdrug website - link,
MUA website - link, £1 for 2g of product
I'm always on the hunt for bargains and sometimes I do get lucky, but at the end of the day, I never bother with this type of eyeshadow. Therefore no matter how cheap, it's a waste of money for me! Fallout and patchiness is just too annoying...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your honest opinion :)
DeleteI agree the price doesn't make it any better at all
Great review! It's funny that it never occured to me these are made in China, they look very well made! Ok, maybe the matte shades are not the best MUA has to offer but still, it's amazing that you have the option of £1 eyeshadow ;)
ReplyDeletehaha I didn't noticed that either, great spot :)
DeleteYes I agree it is wonderful that we have the choice of £1 cosmetics that generally speacking are rather good for the tiny price point, even if a few naught matte shades are a little disappointing haha :)
I often shy away from matte shades too because I find them a bit trickier to work with. For £1 though it's quite tempting to experiment!
ReplyDeleteI agree they are much more troublesome than other formulas!
DeleteYes for a £1 it is a little more tempting :)
I love these shadows. When a friend was in London brought me 4 shades and if I had caught some more.
ReplyDeleteA kiss and I'm from Spain
That is great :) so glad you got to try a few out :)
DeleteI much prefer the pearl shades to the matte shades, I have a brown version and it's very flat and dull, nice as a base though but not nearly as pigmented as pearls!
ReplyDeleteI very much agree, the mattes are no where near as good as the pearls!
DeleteAww the pigmentation looks a bit disappointing :( xx
ReplyDeleteclayandbeauty.blogspot.com
It is isn't it :(
DeleteI've never tried any of the matte eyeshadows from MUA, I couldn't imagine them being that pigmented considering most of the more higher brands struggle with pigmentation of matte eyeshadows too. I do love a matte finish for an every day look though, so it would be nice to find some matte eyeshadows that are good quality.
ReplyDeleteFrances x
http://francescassandra.blogspot.com (Giveaway now on)
Twitter: @Francesss__
I agree matte shadows on the whole are very much the troublesome formula, I like matte shadows for my brows but really do steer clear when it comes to my eyes haha :)
DeleteThank god you reviewed this! I was going to buy some eyeshadows from MUA because ive never tried the brand but ill definitely be avoiding these particular shadows after seeing the swatch!
ReplyDeleteAre the metallic finish ones better yes?
http://www.TheBeautyIndex.blogspot.com
Wow...bummer D: That is one of the most disappointing matte blacks i've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the consistency is chalky but try some of the shimmery ones, they tend to be a bit more pigmented and much easier to work with than the matte ones. Gotta love them for a quid though right?
ReplyDeletexoxox
www.es-jaymakeup.blogspot.com