Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Singles~ Review & Swatches

If you haven't heard of Make Up Academy (short-form MUA) then you're probably not from Britian, lol. MUA is a small new (and by new I mean less than 3 years old) drugstore cosmetics brand that sells their items for a pound (1 GBP) a piece. The only reason I got my hands on these two shadows was because of raves about them on a cosmetics chat I'm on often, a couple rave reviews on youtube and my dad happened to be traveling over to Scotland. I specifically asked him to pick up these two pearl finish eyeshadows and boy are they totally worth more than the one pound price tag!

The two colours are Shade 12 (left in above photo) and Shade 9 (right in above photo). Both are classified as pearl finish and are each 2 grams in size. 

Shade 12 is the Mac Club/ Too Faced Label Whore/ Urban Decay Lounge eyeshadows dupe. It is a reddened brown with heavy green flash to it.

Shade 9 is the Urban Decay Ecstasy dupe. It is a bright red-based purple with intense blue duochrome. 

Here are some swatches!

Sunlight- L: Shade 9, dry, no base R: Shade 9, over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (FPE)

Natural indirect light- L: Shade 9, dry, no base; R: Shade 9, over FPE

Natural Indirect light: L-R: Shade 12 wet, no base; Shade 12 dry, no base; Shade 12 over FPE

Sunlight: L-R: Shade 12 wet, no base; Shade 12 dry, no base; Shade 12 over FPE

Shade 12

Shade 9

Both work better over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy (FPE) but Shade 9 is noticeably more pigmented over FPE. I love how pigmented both shades are (even Shade 9 the purple one which is less pigmented than Shade 12). THey both have strong duochrome to them, with a high shimmer finish and good blend-ability. Shade 9 is a favourite of mine for doing a really intense eye-popping cool-toned eye. Both shades make excellent crease shades too.

I do find these a little difficult to get on the brushes sometimes as they are rather hard. Also make sure you don't get them wet! You can see where I accidently wet my Shade 9 and that section hasn't worked very well since. I have to go around it to get colour.

The packaging is nice sturdy plastic and the see-through front makes it easy to identify colours. Not very stackable though.

The back of one of the shades, ingredients list

Overall, for a pound a piece these are fantastic little drugstore gems! However, quite difficult to get ahold of unless you've got a friend in the United Kingdom. Or a willing father who happens to be visiting the country.

Sprite Rating: 7/10- my only issue is availability and the fact that they could be slightly softer/more pigmented.

Would I buy them again? Yes, for the cheap price and excellent colours I'd buy these again. Much better price option than the high-end versions of these colours in my opinion. I'd love to get my hands on more shades from the range to see how they compare.