The holidays are over and everyone I know is swearing that they are on a ‘no-spend January’ when it comes to cosmetics. I thought it was time to put some budget buys to the test.

Several pieces have already been written by others about these brands however for those of you that know me you will understand that this is me venturing into uncharted territory!

I was what many would call a make-up snob and having worked in premium cosmetics for so long I didn’t need to try anything else. However the chatter about some of these budget launches was so loud I felt I was missing out.

Make Up Gallery from Poundland

I actually stumbled across this launch before I had read anything about it. I ventured into Poundland to stock up on Jiffy bags and came across their new launch of Make Up Gallery. The range is developed in the UK but manufactured in China.

My initial impression of this brand was that some of the colour tones were a bit ‘off ‘ – I admit that I am slightly obsessed by the tone of products.

Surprisingly all products on the stand were still sealed something I really struggle to find when purchasing self-select from Boots or Superdrug. This may be to do with the launch being so recent but it was nevertheless welcome.

With everything being priced at £1 I selected a few pieces to try. Not every product had testers available so I bought blind but for £1 apiece it was not a drama.

My first purchase was the Long Lasting foundation which comes in a tube. Packaging was reasonably substantial. The formula at first felt a little thin however it gave coverage somewhere between a tinted moisturiser and a foundation. This finish lasted a few hours with no separation or colour change. It claims to have UVA and UVB filters but it is obviously not tested for an SPF as this is not listed. Although a reasonable product it doesn’t stand up to the long wear finish of other foundations I have tried. My shade I chose was Nude 3.

Next was the pressed powder – my biggest issue with this was the compact didn’t contain a mirror – I know I still expect a lot for £1 – but it just made touch-ups slightly more challenging.
Texture was slightly powdery but shade was good. No puff came in the compact but I had a thin one which fitted. I would not recommend using this powder with a brush as I feel it would be too ‘dusty’ giving off clouds of powder. The shade I chose was Natural Beige 3.

I then selected two eye shadows and the shades were great. A nude bone shade (Nude 2) as a base and a dusty nude pink soft shimmer (Dusky Rose 5) for the lid. The pay-off was ok as the shades were soft but I’m not sure how much pigment pay-off there would be in the darker tones.
Then the eyebrow pencil in black – not my fave at all – this pencil was too soft and far too waxy and a guaranteed smudger I’m sure.

Finally lipstick – again hard to choose with no tester but I went for the shade Deep Red and it was a good shade – texture was of a regular lipstick with a medium pigment. However I didn’t like the smell which was slightly waxy.

Next time I pop in I will pick up the mascara – poor reports so far from reviews though and also the liquid liner with good reviews generally.