I like to think that I am not a beauty snob, I will try most brands and yet I have purposely avoided Poundland's beauty venture - Make Up Gallery. Why? Well at £1 an item let's just say that my expectations were far from high, which is ridiculous as budget brands such as MUA and Make Up Revolution offer high quality products for a similar price point. I guess the Poundshop is not the most glamorous of locations and sometimes part of the fun of purchasing make up, is the shopping experience. To cut a long story short, I purchased a few key items from Make Up Gallery to see how it faired, unexpectedly it is a mixed bag of a results...
The Packaging
Okay, okay it is plastic and may feel a little cheap but ascetically it ain't half bad, in fact I would say it is prettier than other rival budget brands. I rather like the sleek, monochrome colour scheme and chic square pans that the majority of the items come presented within.
The Hits
The powder products within the Make Up Gallery are as good as MUA and other discount brands, if not better. All three powder based products are finely milled, pigmented (where necessary) and generally a joy to wear and apply. For instance the Make Up Gallery Eyeshadow in Bronze 7, is very similar in both texture and finish to Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eyeshadows. Yes it is a metallic shade but it is not overly shimmery, sheer nor soft in texture. It really is a steal for £1. The Pressed Powder although a little high in fragrance, is beautifully soft - it feels silken on the skin and does a great job of controlling excess oil as well as setting make up, all with a satin finish and medium coverage. The blush (I have the shade Coral Rose 4) is very similar in texture to the aforementioned Pressed Powder, the main difference is that the pigment is more intense and it is a little more prone to product fall out.
The Middle Ground Product
I neither love nor loathe the Make Up Gallery lipsticks, the truth is they are nothing special. Make Up Gallery Lipstick in Outrageously Orange is a beautiful shade, packs a punch in terms of colour pay off but the texture is a little drying. The other problem is that due to the lack of moisture the lipstick tugs and pulls a little on the lips, however it is long wearing and not the worst £1 I have spent in my time.
The Misses
At all costs I would recommend you avoid any of the pencil liners within the Make Up Gallery collection, they are beyond firm and dry - rendering them all but useless. I have not used either the brow nor the lip pencil on my face as it was painful to apply to my arm, let alone more delicate areas such as the eye. It really is unfortunate as both shades are something I could get on board with - the eyebrow especially, do you know how tricky it is to find a mid toned, cool toned blonde brow pencil? If the brand improve one area it really needs to be the pencil formulation, a softer, glide on texture would be greatly appreciated.
The Swatches
Left to right in the collective swatches are:
- Make Up Gallery Eyeshadow in Bronze 7
- Make Up Gallery Pressed Powder in Sand 4
- Make Up Gallery Blusher in Coral Rose 4
- Make Up Gallery Lipstick in Outrageously Orange 15
- Make Up Gallery Lip Liner in Nude 1
- Make Up Gallery Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde 3
Yes the products vary vastly in quality but I don't find that to be too unusual for the majority of high street brands. If you are tempted by Make Up Gallery skip the pencils, only purchase a lipstick if it is a shade you don't already have something similar to and stock up on the powder based products.
What are your thoughts on brands like Make Up Gallery?
I occasionally look in Poundland as they sell Maybelline, Barry M, and Rimmel, but I never buy anything as they're odd colours. I've steered clear of their own products, but maybe I'll test out an eyeshadow or two next time I'm there. Interesting find though :)
ReplyDeleteSophie x | Essential Twenty
Ooh, the pencils swatches just LOOK painful! Good thing you didn't put them on your face!
ReplyDeleteThe blush shades look surprisingly pigmented! x
ReplyDeleteEmma | Emmys Beauty Cave
I've never seen these in Poundland before, the eyeshadow is a very pretty shade!
ReplyDeletealice x | beautybyalicee | bloglovin'
i love the poundland eye shadows! i think they're so pretty and they're really easy to work with too. the only other thing i've tried is the mascaras - not a fan! intrigued by the blushes now though!
ReplyDeleteThat eye shadow swatches really well, very pretty! Good to hear the powders are nice too, will have to try these!
ReplyDeleteKat | www.kathorrocks.com
Never heard of this brand. I've heard MUR and MUA but not this. Now I'm interested in these :D
ReplyDeleteThe eyeshadow and blusher look great for something as cheap as £1. Are they available online though?
Lenny C | Initial L
I don't think they're avaliable online :(
Deletehttp://angellec-makeup.tumblr.com/
Shame about the pencil liners. I think that I often forget how lucky I am that I do have £15 to spend on a lipstick. These brands are amazing when money is tight and you can't afford to splurge out a whole 2 hours wage on one product and for £1 the quality of some of these items is really good.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abigailalicex.com/2015/08/places-you-need-to-see-in-your-20s.html
I didn't know they had a makeup range! x
ReplyDeleteHeather | Of Beauty & Nothingness x
That eyeshadow looks surprisingly nice I'm impressed! Will have to pick up a couple of bits to try out now x
ReplyDeletehttp://angellec-makeup.tumblr.com/
I feel exactly the same way about Poundland makeup. I've looked at it but I never bought it.
ReplyDeletewomanouk.com
great post! Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteThe Poundland near me never seem to stock any of this! I seriously need to try some out, I'm so intrigued!
ReplyDeleteNicole | nicolelaurenblake.co.uk
Wow I had no idea Poundland started doing this! I confess I am a really bad makeup snob, ever since I was 10 and realised no.17 wasn't an extension of Chanel (cringe) I do stray away from any very cheap makeup products, with the exception of nail varnish on occasion!
ReplyDeleteI was going to say i thought eyeliner would likely be the miss one - i've come across so many dry and sharp eye pencils that are awful! The blusher and eyeshadow actually look surprisingly good though - might have to check it out!
Writing Possibility
I really love the packaging! I think it makes the make-up look a bit more up market! I'm definitely going to try a few of these on the next time I go to Poundland!
ReplyDeleteNatalie Ann xo // Petal Poppet Blogs ♥
Interesting! I live in Cardiff where we have two massive Poundland's... I think I will go have a look (and steer clear of the pencils!)
ReplyDeleteLyd x electricSUEDE
Ooo what an interesting post. It's lovely to hear that you would recommend a few of the products. Thank you for sharing I may try to drop my snobbery for pound land make up and give it a try myself haha.
ReplyDeletewww.sixthskyline.com x
These products look far better than anything we have at Dollar Stores here in the U.S.! The packaging is actually really sleek from what I would have expected, any time I look for products at the dollar store they're either really unflattering shades or all crumbled and broken :( That blush looks like such a beautiful every day color.
ReplyDeleteeightbitbeauty.blogspot.com
I never really considered even buying the make-up from pound land but their powder formulas really seem like its worth a try! Great post :)
ReplyDeleteAliya x | thecatandthegirl.blogspot.co.uk | https://www.bloglovin.com/people/thegirl09-10150959
This is so interesting! I've always been intrigued, definitely will have to try some out - for only a pound it's not really much to lose! x
ReplyDeleteellie etc | a personal style & lifestyle blog
I've just tried some of pound worlds make up which is called miss beauty and had the exact same feelings. For a £1 you can't complain, some products better than others! Xx
ReplyDeleteThe eyeshadow shade is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteAlisha xx
http://glamulence.blogspot.co.uk
Loved this review! The gold shade looks amazing :)
ReplyDeleteI tried a few of their products a while back and the one big hit for me was their liquid eyeliner. I find myself reaching for it more than my trusty Illamasqua liner now and the few people I recommended it to at the time also seel to love it.
ReplyDeleteThe shadows you chose look great. I think I'll have to try the pressed powder just out of curiosity.
Gillian xx EyelinerFlicks
I have the nude lip liner and it is lovely - a really perfect nude pink. I didn't experience an issue with it being too hard to use at all but maybe I was just lucky. I have salvaged too tough pencils by heating them up a little with a hairdryer but of course do not put near your face whilst hot! I nearly picked up a liquid lipstick today but just wasn't sure.
ReplyDeleteI have the nude lip liner and it is lovely - a really perfect nude pink. I didn't experience an issue with it being too hard to use at all but maybe I was just lucky. I have salvaged too tough pencils by heating them up a little with a hairdryer but of course do not put near your face whilst hot! I nearly picked up a liquid lipstick today but just wasn't sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reviewing, it's a shame about the pencils as I'd love some good budget lip pencils. xx
ReplyDeleteI actually really like the packaging of these, I'd be happy to pay a couple of pound or slightly more based on the packaging. I do really like the look of that eye shadow too, such a pretty colour. I was recently sent some products from Poundworlds new beauty line (no idea who sent them to me!) and they're not too bad to be honest. Apart from the nail varnishes that is, I really wasn't impressed with them x
ReplyDeleteBecky @ The Little Blog of Beauty
The eye shadow looks really pretty!
ReplyDeleteJacynta xx
www.jacyntawalsh.com
I love it when I found high-street brands in Poundland, but never really tried their own makeup range. At 1£ they`re inexpensive, but so are MUA`s and Makeup Revolution products and those are amazing. After your review I will get some of the eye shadows to try.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beautynerd.co.uk
Thanks for this super useful review! Everytime I went to Poundland I wondered what the makeup was like in terms of quality, but I was afraid to try it. Now if the powders are good, I might pink up a blusher - or that beautiful eyeshadow!
ReplyDeleteJulia xx
Check out my last beauty post here: http://juliaspeaksbeauty.blogspot.fr/2015/08/disappointing-makeup-products.html
I actually find the lipliners really good! x
ReplyDeletewww.missamyguest.blogspot.co.uk
I work at poundland in cardiff and the make up gallery make up is a top seller especaily the nail vanishes they come in so many shades the lip sticks have got such a nice texture once you apply them onto your lips and the colour stays on for a while the face powder is brilliant to and the eye liner is Better than the expensive eyeliners you should all check out our make up aisle we got a big selection
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