Review: MUA Pearl Shadows

Make Up Academy (MUA) products have been available in Superdrug for a while now. Everything in the core line is only £1! The line has proved to be a hit with the UK bloggers, a quick look on Google shows loads of posts!

I've got three of the eye shadows here in the Pearl finish. There are also eye shadows available in a matte finish which I have not tried yet. None of the shadows have names, only numbers. Ingredients are listed on the back. You get 2g of shadow which is quite a generous amount (most MAC shadows weigh in at 1.5g).


The packaging is quite cheap, I feel the domed plastic lids could break quite easily if I had these in my travel bag. But when you're only paying £1 for an eye shadow, the packaging isn't as much of a deal breaker as if I'd paid £10 for it!

The texture of these is quite interesting. They're very smooth and almost creamy in texture. A look at the ingredients reveals the presence of mineral oil (Paraffinium liquidum) and Dimethicone which can account for the smooth and creamy texture. However, this has an effect on the lasting power when I wear these shadows. I find that even with a primer, such as Urban Decay Primer Potion, these do start creasing on my lids in around 6 hours. A powder shadow without the mineral oil usually begins slight creasing at around the 8-10 hour mark on me.


These are pretty pigmented, with the purple being a little less pigmented. Most purples that I come across do tend to be less pigmented (and even MAC haven't done a decent purple in ages). They generally apply smoothly to my lids but the purple can apply a little on the patchy side. They blend well together but they don't work quite as well when paired with a more powdery shadow but with some careful application, they can blend just fine.

-Shade 3 - Metallic gunmetal silver with a lighter silver overlay shimmer.
-Shade 9 - Bright blue toned purple, requires a couple of layers to show true to pan.
-Shade 11 - Metallic brown with a little golden shimmer.

For £1, these are pretty decent. Though, given the almost "greasy" texture and the short time before creasing, I probably wouldn't be so impressed if I'd paid much more for them! I do plan on looking at a few more shades, they're a cheap way of adding some new colour to your make up collection.