Bargain of the Week: MUA £1 Lipsticks in Bare, Juicy and Nectar + reviews, swatches and FOTD

Hey loves!

I hope you're having a great Jubilee Sunday, whatever you're doing! We're putting up bunting here :-)

So, as you ladies know - I LOVE a bargain! I saw the MUA lipsticks on a couple of beauty blogs and I couldn't help but have a look myself - You can't really go wrong for just £1 each, can you?

I picked up three MUA lipsticks; Bare, Juicy and Nectar, seen below:

 The packaging is simple glossy black with the silver MUA logo emblazoned on the side. The lids of the lipstick feature the shade of the colour within, such as the nude shade on the left lid for Bare.

From L-R: MUA Lipstick in Nude, Juicy and Nectar

I couldn't wait to give these lipsticks a try! These aren't colours I would normally buy, but I thought for £1 each I'd give them a go anyway. I'd previously bought 2 of their normal lipsticks and was quite impressed! You can read that blog here. I actually SWEAR by their lipstick in Shade 11, I keep it in my handbag at all times and it's the perfect 'my lips but better' shade.

So here's my thoughts on Bare, Juicy and Nectar :-)

MUA Lipstick in Bare (Shade 14):

First up is Bare, which looks like a mauvey brown nude shade in the tube, seen above.

Bare swatches:

(left without flash; right with flash)

The lipstick appears quite different in both swatches - on the left it looks quite matte whilst the right shade (with flash) looks quite glossy. IRL it's not that glossy!

 Bare comparison swatches:

 From top to bottom:

Top - GOSH Lipstick in Darling 

Middle - MUA Lipstick in Bare

Bottom - Revlon Colourburst Lipstick in Soft Nude 

I'm not a massive fan of nude lipsticks, so I don't have that many in my collection. GOSH Darling (top in the pic) looks like your standard nude shade, leaning towards baby pink. I have to say Darling doesn't look great on me! Revlon Soft Nude (bottom one) has much more of a pinky tint, and the MUA lipstick (in the middle) looks much more nude-brown.

Bare lip shots:

As you can see, on the lips, Bare does tend to sink into any creases on your lips. It does apply nicely (it's very smooth) and is quite pigmented as well. It looks nice on the lips - it doesn't drain my face like Darling does - but at the same time it doesn't accentuate any of my features, either! If you're looking to venture into nude shades, I would definitely try this shade as it's only £1!

FOTD ft MUA Lipstick in Bare:

I think it looks quite lovely IRL, it's just not very 'out there'!

MUA Lipstick in Juicy (Shade 15):

Next up is the lipstick in the shade Juicy, which I wasn't actually going to buy in the first place! In the tube it looks very orange, but it's actually like a pastel pink shade (very hard to describe!)

 Juicy swatches:

(left without flash; right with flash)

Again the swatches look very different, I would say the right side pic (with flash) is more accurate. It's much lighter than I was expecting and it's not glossy really.

Juicy comparison swatches:

From top to bottom:

Top - MUA Lipstick in Shade 7

Middle - MUA Lipstick in Juicy

Bottom - Revlon Colourburst Lipstick in Peach

So it looks like I don't own anything similar to Juicy in my collection! The MUA lipstick in shade 7 looks much more pigmented, whereas the Revlon lipstick has a much more obvious peach tint to it. 

Juicy lip shots (before and after):

I don't think the colour of Juicy translates v well in these pics, but it's interesting to see how they look close up!

FOTD ft MUA Lipstick in Juicy:

This is definitely the most accurate pic of Juicy. If any of you have TOPSHOP's lipstick in Brighton Rock then I've heard this is quite similar. This isn't actually a shade I'd normally opt for, but I actually felt really confident wearing it. I think it's really flattering :-) 

 MUA Lipstick in Nectar (Shade 16):

Last but not least, it's the shade Nectar. I don't know why but my perception of all these shades is so different to what they actually were! I was expecting a peach sort of shade, but it's actually very coral/orange.

Nectar swatches:

(left without flash; right with flash)

This is a much more glossier formulation, compared to Bare and Juicy which are more matte. It's lovely and smooth to apply and feels like a lipbalm.

 Nectar comparison swatches:

From top to bottom:

Top - Topshop Gloss Stick in Ablaze

Middle - MUA Lipstick in Nectar

Bottom - MAC LE Surf Baby Lipstick in Hibiscus

I really don't own many orange lipsticks so these were the best dupes I could find. As you can see, Nectar looks much more orange compared to the other 2 which are much more red/blood orange.

 Nectar lip shots (before and after):

The formulation of this is surprisingly pigmented and translates very well on the lips. It's a striking coral/orange that would look fab with a tan!

FOTD ft MUA Lipstick in Nectar:

This is definitely the brightest lipstick of the bunch and is a really flattering shade. It's totally different from Juicy which is a muted coral/pinky peach. I actually LOVE Nectar and can see myself getting a lot of wear in the summer! :-)

FOTD (also wearing in all 3 pics):

FACE: Aldi Lacura Shimmering Day Cream (applied with MAC 190 Brush), Estee Lauder Doublewear Concealer (dark circles), MAC Studio Finish Concealer (blemishes), YSL Touche Eclat (#1), Estee Lauder Doublewear Light Foundation (applied with MAC 190 Brush, blended in using ELF Stippling Brush), Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzer (#51, applied using Cosmopolitan Blush Brush), finished with MAC Fix+

EYES: Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original), Sleek Storm Palette (taupe and matte brown shades - applied using Cosmopolitan Smokey Eyes Base Brush), Soap and Glory SUPERCAT Carbon Gloss liner on top lid, Avon Color Trend Kajal Stick on lower waterline, 2 coats of CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara (Black). MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Dirty Blonde on brows.

LIPS: LUSH Bubblegum lip scrub and Carmex Original lip balm to prime.

Overall, I am REALLY impressed with these 3 lipsticks! For £1 each they are amazing quality - comparable to Rimmel I'd say. I can't wait to get some proper wear out of them over the summer months! MUA is available for £1 at Superdrug or online here.

Have you tried any of MUA's lipsticks? Or are there some other bargain lipsticks I should try?

Let me know!

Love,

Sophia

xo