MUA Cosmetics Amazing Velvetine Dupe

I have always been a believer that you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap product, and the chances are that it’s not going to be able to compete with the same product with a higher price tag. MUA Cosmetics are continuously proving me wrong, seriously, I have never found a fault with any of their products.

If you’ve never heard of MUA Cosmetics, then let me introduce you! You can find them online HERE, or if you’re in the UK then you can find them in Superdrug. They believe that great make up doesn’t have to cost the earth, so you will find most of their (amazing) products for £4 and under! I think they most expensive product I’ve seen is an eye shadow palette for £8, which is nothing really!

If you’ve never tried them because you’re a bit dubious and think the price is too good to be true, then I fully understand because I was just like you! You don’t really have anything to lose by trying, apart from maybe £1 for a lipstick.

Still not sold? Let’s try this, MUA ingredients and products are not tested on animals.

We all know that I adore my Lime Crime Velvetines, and I’m always on the look out for a decent dupe. Topshop really failed to match Lime Crime’s product (see HERE) so I was definitely curious when my cousin told me about MUA Cosmetics take on the velvetines.

And there they are! However, I am missing one, called ‘Kooky’ which is a purple colour because they didn’t have any left when I went in (devastated). These babies can be yours for just £3 each! So for £15 you can have 5 Velvet lip lacquers, compared to just one Lime Crime Velvetine for £14.50.

Look at how beautiful that Kooky purple lip lacquer is! Gutted they didn’t have it!

First up, Reckless. This colour is basically the Red Velvet Velvetine. The MUA velvet lacquer looks a bit darker, but they are just so similar, I was completely amazed!

Funk is your Pink Velvet dupe. I really didn’t expect such a close match, there’s such little difference between the two.

Atomic would be a dupe for Suedeberry, but as I don’t have that one to compare to, I can’t show you. However, judging by the previous two colours, I fully believe Atomic would be just as close!

Criminal is a lovely bright pink, but because of the matte formula, you can wear it any time and it just works. I’ve been wearing this everyday, I can’t get enough of it, definitely my favourite!

I am so so happy with these, the application is exactly the same as the Velvetines, these take very slightly longer to dry, but it’s no problem. These don’t make my lips feel dry at all, they feel like velvet (duh). Obviously just remember to moisturise your lips, or use a sugar scrub before you put these on. As they’re matte, imperfections will show up, so if your lips were dry and cracked before, then they will only end up looking worse!

I’m very happy with the wear of these too, all of you who are regular users of the Velvetines will know that they just don’t budge! I wouldn’t say that these velvet lacquers will last all night, but I’ve been wearing them everyday and I have found that they’ve last hours and hours without me having to reapply! Today, I wore Criminal from 12-5 and only after my 3rd coffee did I notice that it was starting to rub away.

For £3, I am over the bloody moon! I’ve had more expensive lipsticks that have come away completely after one cup of tea!

Now, as a true lover of the Lime Crime Velvetines, I would never say not to buy one, I would actually encourage you to buy one. However, I would also encourage you to try these MUA Cosmetics dupes, like seriously encourage! I find that I don’t always wear my Velvetine because I don’t want it to run out, and at £14.50, I can’t always replace it at the drop of a hat. Whereas if I only have to pay £3 to replace one of these velvet lacquers, well happy days!

I simply can’t praise these products enough, they are the cat’s pyjamas, the bees knees, the dogs bollocks.

Update Your January Make Up Bag With Just Two Products!

You will undoubtedly have heard so many people going gaga over these products, and I’m not surprised! They’re inexpensive and they actually work!

I am a huge fan of benefit and lime crime, and my make up bag is full of expensive products. In 2013, I really made an effort to try and replace the more costly items with cheaper ones, but making sure I was still getting a quality product.

It’s January, there’s not a huge amount of spare money flying around, so these are perfect little products to instantly update your make up bag.

Firstly, it is of course, the Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser Primer (£7.99)

This is the same idea as Benefit’s POREfessional, only at a fraction of the price (Benefit £24.50). Baby Skin is also clear(as above), where Benefit’s is more of a skin tone.
I like this, I’m always concerned when putting something new on my face because I have annoying oily skin and I’m always concious about making it worse. This made my skin feel ‘baby’ soft, maybe slightly oily around my nose, but nothing a powder couldn’t fix. As for my pores, it does hide them and make an improvement. I don’t put on much, and the results are just so similar to Benefit.

If you are curious to try it, then for £7.99, I say go for it! If you have oily skin, and like me, are very cautious about making it any worse, then don’t worry. This isn’t something you have to be wearing everyday, but when I go out, it just gives me that bit of confidence that my blackheads aren’t as visible.

Just make sure you have a good facial scrub, and use it on a night. Even though you’ve taken your make up off, it’s important to exfoliate, just in case any dirt is left in your pores.

Now onto this little gem, L’Oreal Miss Manga Mascara (£5.99 currently, will go up to £8.99)

Everyone knows that I love and have been faithful to my Benefit ‘They’re Real’ mascara since it’s launch. I’ve been trying out cheaper mascaras in the hope that I will find one that gives the same incredible results.
I’ve tried some great mascaras, but none have really given the definition that you get with Benefit…Until now!
The hype is really around the brush, as it can bend 360 degrees, and is meant to really magnify your lashes.
I’ll be honest, the brush was hard to get used to, but once you get a technique, the results are amazing. Don’t give up with this mascara if you aren’t completely sold on it, just keep trying it, you won’t be sorry!

I’m definitely used to the brush now, and it makes my eyelashes look so good! It definitely makes me re think my current £18.00 mascara.

So if you need a new mascara, take advantage of it being £5.99. You can always buy a new one at another time, but if like me, you’re spending 20 quid a time on mascara, that could do a weeks mini shop. January is all about getting finances on track, seeing where you can save money but still keeping the high quality products that you’re used to.

 

 

Lime Crime Velvetines V Topshop Velvet Lip

In the post on my Christmas wish list, I included this Topshop Velvet lips (£10), in Plush, a wonderful purple.

I was super excited to see if Topshop could rival the incredible Lime Crime Velvetines (11.50), a very tough job, but Topshop could well put up a good fight.

Here they are on the lip, side by side. Both looking pretty good, and both giving a nice velvet feel.

1st up: Lime crime Velvetines in Red Velvet

I won’t say too much on this, you can find my review of it HERE . Really, this product just speaks for itself, the colour is incredible, it stays on forever, the coverage is great, a little goes a long way. I always receive compliments when I wear this and although it really sticks to your lips, it’s not drying, and gives a nice smooth feel. Plus, its vegan and cruelty free, so that’s always good.

The contender: Topshop Velvet Lips in Plush

Right, I have a lot more to say on this one. Firstly, the colour, I love it, it’s so in right now and it’s a really flattering purple for how dark it is. It also has a velvet feel on the lips. That’s where my good points for this product end. Seriously.

One reason I don’t like this, is because it sticks to itself. With my Velvetine, I put some on my bottom lip, then do a lip smack, and the product is evenly transferred to the top lip. What happens when you smack your lips together wearing the Velvet Lip?

This. The product doesn’t stay on your lip, it sticks onto the product. It’s horrible because it means you need to apply much more.

Which brings me onto the next thing, because you have to apply more to really get the velvet effect, it gets super thick and clumpy. Now, I’ve gone out wearing my Velvetine, and re-applied it a couple of times, just due to eating and drinking, and it’s never felt too thick or gone clumpy.

You can kind of see it in the pictures above of the darker patches where there’s more product because I have to patch up bits where the product has stuck to something. I hope you can see it a bit better in the below picture. Also, my lips look horrible and dry, no one will want to kiss those!

Finally, anyone who has tried Velvetines will know that it’s a bit of a bitch to get off, simply because it really sticks to your lips. I can put up with having to take a little more time to get my Red Velvet off, because that is literally the only thing that’s annoying about it.

This Topshop disaster, actually comes off in like pieces, it almost crumbles off. Some it will smear like any lipstick when you take it off, but those darker patches will just crumble. It feels horrible, the whole experience of the velvet lip is horrible.

I love the Velvetines because it’s super simple to apply, any one can wear it, and it looks incredible, the perfect red lip. The Topshop equivalent does nothing to make the person wearing it feel good or sexy.

It’s such a shame because I really wanted to love this product. The only Topshop Velvet Lip you can buy now, is one that comes in a Raven black. Maybe if they tried some lighter shades, like a nice ballerina pink, then it would work better. However, the colour of this one is what makes the product, so you want to get the full effect, but that’s hard because you need to apply a silly amount.

I honestly couldn’t dislike it anymore and Topshop are going to need to try a hell of a lot harder if they want to be a true contender in the world of velvet lips.

I feel awful bad mouthing something, so to leave it on a (kinda) high, the Topshop Velvet Lip does look in photos, when you’re standing kinda far from the camera.

 So guys, it’s obviously Lime Crime’s Velvetines all the way for me. Anyone else tried the Topshop Velvet Lip and had a similar experience? Or did you absolutely love it?

Mini beauty haul

Days off work are allllll about buying beauty products and make up!

I love the deals Superdrug put on, I just can’t resist them!

So here’s a quick post about what I got, and I’ll put up another post or two, with a more detailed post about a particular item.

As I recently cut my fringe back in, a vent brush is essential!!! I can blow dry my fringe and will rarely have to straighten it, because these brushes give such a gorgeous shape.

Nivea is probably my favourite deodorant, I love the pearl one, but they’ve recently brought out this stress protect zinc complex deodorant. I can honestly say that I am stressed 68% of the time, so let’s hope this works!

I finally got my hands on the new Vaseline!!!! Ahhhh I nearly pushed an old woman over to get it, but it was worth it. I’ll pop an individual review of this up actually, it’s just so good that it deserves a desperate post!

I picked up some rimmel London stay blushed cheek tint. This is actually wonderful, and may even be my new permanent blusher!

Doesn’t it look nice?!

Kate moss’ matte lipstick is my absolute favourite, and I picked up the 101 light pink colour today.

As I spent £10 on Rimmel, I got a free mascara! I don’t normally venture away from my benefit one, but I’ll definitely give the scandal eyes flex mascara a go!

These are the nail polishes are I picked up, a Kate moss Lycra in jazz funk, maybelline leather effect in winter baby and tanned and ready, and maybelline superstay gel colour, in moss forever and berry stain.

I’ll pop up a post including these polishes very soon!

Anyone tried these products?! I’m so excited for the winter baby nail polish!

Beauty must haves!

Mascara
They’re real by Benefit (£19.00)

I have tried many many mascaras, but none have come close to this. I actually went to the launch of this mascara, I was so so excited and just had to try it. Yes, it is probably the most expensive one I’ve tried, but as I work most of the time (and nap the rest), I hardly ever wear mascara, like once a week, if I’m not feeling lazy. So actually, I end up buying a new one every 2 months, so that 20 quid doesn’t seem too bad.

I can’t praise it enough, everyone thinks I’m wearing false eyelashes too, and I’m just like, nah, they’re real! (See what I did there…)

Powder
Emotional Brilliance by Lush (12.00)

As I have super oily skin, I rarely ever wear foundation, I just think it makes it worsen. However, I always have powder at the ready, I have to make some kind of effort. Emotional brilliance is fantastic, I’ve tried a couple of others, but I keep going back to this. £12 is quite expensive, but I’ll always pay more for lush products. They put a lot of effort into their ethics and environmental issues, and really do a lot to encourage people to try and live happier, healthier and less cruel lives. This powder can be used with their colour supplements or on its own. If you haven’t tried this, or want to try something new, then I highly recommend this.

brush
Ecotools powder brush (£9.99)

To put on my powder, I use this Ecotools brush, it’s the best I’ve used, and it’s Eco friendly- result!

Blusher
Bourjois creme blush in 03 (£7.99)

This is the products that always changed, I love trying different blusters. This was my first cream blush, and I love it! The colour is adorable and it feels so light and soft when it’s on. I definitely go for darling pinks when I pick blush, and this 03 colour is perfect.
I’ve tried powders, tints, lipsticks and now creams, I love them all, and they all give the desired effect, but I just can’t keep to one!

Eyebrows
Brow Zings by Benefit (23.50)

A few years ago, my brother got me the smokey eyeshadow set from Benefit and it came with the eyebrow wax. That small but of wax lasted me a whole year, so it was a no brained that I would splash out on the actual product. Over a year later, I’m still not even half way through it! I am never without this! (I’m sure there’s a saying about not trusting people with bad eyebrows)
Honestly, the money really is worth it. If you’re not sure, then ask one of the girls at the counter to show you, I promise, you’ll never look back!

Lipstick
Soap & glory super-colour fabu lipstick, in blush pink (£9.00)

After putting a review of this up ages ago, I haven’t left it alone! Its without a doubt, my favourite everyday lipstick. I love matte lipsticks, and this blush pink is just divine. It’s hydrating in my lips, and I hardly ever have to reapply!

rosy lips Vaseline (£1.99)

Is there a better beauty essential than Vaseline?! Especially this rosy one, I’ve had a few of these now, and every girl should keep one near! It has all the regular, wonderful effects of Vaseline, but with an added lip tint, what’s not to love!

Charity pot from Lush (£1)

I always make sure I have this little tin in bag at all times. I use it everywhere, and gives off a wonderful smell, nothing too over powering. As much as I love coating myself in sweet perfume, it’s always nice to smell of natural ingredients. I put it over my hands, arms, legs, anywhere that’s exposed, I do this at work, so it’s gives me some alone time and a calming smell.
Also, it’s only £1! I shop at Lush constantly, and they always ask at the counter if you would like one, it’s always a yes from me! All the money (excl VAT) goes to charity, and I’ve got myself a little tin of heaven.

Let me know what your beauty essentials are, and if anyone can recommend a good blusher, then if love to try it! (Mines running out FAST)