Beauty | The £1 Lipstick (MUA vs. Makeup Revolution)


Hello Lovelies! Fans of high end beauty, will recoil at the very idea of a £1 lipstick but personally it's a concept that has completely captured my curiosity. With the rise of Makeup Revolution, the budget friendly favourite with surprisingly high quality, I was intrigued to see if their cheapest lipstick really had anything to offer and if it could plausibly find a place in my beauty routine. And then of course, I picked up a £1 lipstick from MUA, the other budget friendly favourite - because who doesn't love a beauty showdown? And besides I was intrigued to see if MUA, a brand that seems to have been completely outshone by Makeup Revolution, could really conquer them. Let's be over the top and declare this the battle of the £1 lipstick, because hey, I'm melodramatic like that.



Let's start with Makeup Revolution's offering, a red lipstick in pretty standard black packaging. Their £1 liptick collection comes in a range of super bold colours like purple and black, which I think is great as it allows you to try out bold and quirky colours (perfect for Halloween or costume parties) without having to spend very much at all. Slightly tempted to try their black lipstick - because why not? When I first swatched this, I was super impressed by how pigmented it is. It slides on easily, and has a lovely shiny finish too. But what lets this lipstick down massively is how slippery it is which is totally not ideal for a red lipstick. I'm pretty sure we all know the pain of applying red lipstick badly, and then having to go back over it with foundation - it's a nightmare! As my fellow beauty blogger and friend Shireen, would say, this migrates to the teeth like there's no tomorrow. And honestly, it's not going to last very long because it transfers so easily - but then in all fairness few lipsticks ever survive the food/drink test. 

On the other hand we have MUA's matte offering, which I will try to be nice about, try. I picked it up in this lovely nude shade, because I just couldn't face buying yet another red lipstick (I have about 20, it's not even funny). When I swatched this... hmm... I was unimpressed to say the least. You know when you use a lip product and it suddenly brings up issues with your lips that you didn't realise were there? Yup, this one does that and then some and the worst part is the pigmentation is awful too. If that wasn't bad enough, it leaves this lingering plastic drying feel on your lips that doesn't seem to go away, so you find yourself just wanting to take it off about five seconds after application. As far as lasting power goes, this is also pretty poor. Honestly it's hardly pigmented as it is, but I found that it disappeared without even drinking or eating within an hour or so. And yeah I know what you're thinking, it is only a £1 lipstick but honestly compared to Makeup Revolution, it's a very weak offering to say the least. 

I feel like I've been a bit harsh on poor old MUA, but they do have a lot of decent offerings and one of their eyeshadow palettes is actually my most used! But as expected, Makeup Revolution has taken this one. Ever since they've started in the UK, I've been so impressed and surprised by the quality of their products considering just how cheap they are, so if you are yet to give them a go, I'd strongly recommend you do!

Thanks for reading lovelies! It's been a while since I've really done a beauty review, but God I've missed it. So look out for more beauty reviews on VVNightingale in the future because I've finally fallen back in love with writing them again!

9 comments

  1. Makeup Revolution is one of my favourite beauty brands.

    Jess
    justthatgirlonline.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. This is a brilliant comparison post, Vicky and thank you for the shoutout! I can't stand red lipstick that migrates to the teeth, can you imagine smiling to a cute guy not knowing you're wearing lipstick on your teeth?! Horror!

    Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

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  3. ive not tried either brands in terms of lipsticks, and i really dont know why! I should, makeup revolution looks great for a £1!
    Pam xo/ Pam Scalfi♥

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  4. I love MUA eyeshadows too! I totally admit that Makeup Revolution has my heart though!

    Lauren x
    http://whatlaurendidtoday.blogspot.co.uk/

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  5. I kind of want to pull a Marina and the Diamonds and rock a black lip because I've been looking for one for ages omg

    franalibi.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. The matte lipstick from MUA aren't great as the colour payoff isn't great, but I would recommend the others in their collection! I love shade 11 which comes in very similar packaging to the MUR range.

    Sophie x | Essential Twenty

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  7. I don't think I'll try either of these! I'm not snobby about lipsticks, and I don't own any high end ones, but I do have my trusty favourites so I'll stick with them! x

    Martha Jane | www.marthajanemusic.com

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  8. great post, I'd love to read more of these beauty show downs!! I actually have a couple lipsticks from Makeup Revolution but they literally have no pigmentation whatsoever, I thought the first swatch in the photo was going to be from that brand at first, so I was very surprised to read that the pigmented red was from MR. I might have to look into other lipsticks in their range!! xxx
    Becky Shannon xx - Life-by-Becky

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  9. I own 3 MUA matte lipsticks, including the nude you mentioned, and I was really surprised by this post. I have had a completely different experience with them: I find them to be very pigmented, and not drying at all (even with my very dry lips). For £1, I find them to be perfect. Obviously everyone has their own opinions, but I think you went a little too hard on MUA. x

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Thanks for your comments, I love reading them and will be sure to visit your blog soon :) have a lovely day!