I thought I’d take the time to do some swatches and a mini first impressions/review of the Glitter Ball palette from MUA that I recently received in my August GlossyBox – this is the second MUA palette I’ve gotten from GB, and I think my…fifth overall MUA palette that I own, since I also buy them myself. I think MUA is a great brand overall for affordable makeup, and I like that it’s one of the brands you can go and see for yourself in person if you live near a SuperDrug.

First off, the packaging from MUA palette’s is very straight forward and fuss free. It is a fully plastic palette, with a clear front window so you can quickly see the eyeshadows inside, and the back shows the eyeshadow names, ingredients, and other basic information, with clear and easy to read white text on a dark background. The plastic seems sturdy enough for the money, and the plastic clasp that holds it shut, while a little stiff at first does soften after a few uses. You do get a little double ended eyeshadow sponge applicator inside, which I don’t think many people use these days, so to be honest MUA could probably not include that at all. There is no mirror, but that is part of what makes this palette so affordable at just £4.

Inside there are twelve eyeshadows, with a combined weight of 9.6g – which comes to 0.8g per pan, and about 2.4 grams of shadow per £1.

The first shade is Vinyl, which is a matte black eyeshadow with small pieces of white/silver glitter through out. It’s not the most fantastic quality matte shadow, but it’s not bad for the price point.

Next up is Jive, which is the second matte shadow in this palette and it is a very peach colour, with even smaller white/silver glitter. Like with Vinyl, you need a few more passes to get a good colour swatch, but it’s not bad for the money, and I think it’s a really cute colour.

Odyssey is a really beautiful metallic shimmer shadow, and is a lovely green colour that will pair well with Freak, Vibe and Equinox. MUA’s shimmer shadows are actually really lovely for the money.

Next is Freak, which is another pretty metallic shimmer shadow, this time in a light blue.

Vibe is a more blue toned green (cyan I guess?) metallic shimmer eye shadow, and like Equinox, seems to have a more pronounced metallic shimmer than Freak and Odyssey.

Finally on this row, Equinox is a bright, warm, silver metallic shadow, and can totally be used as a highlighter as well. And like all the other shimmer shadows on this row, they’re very nice quality and colour for the money spent.

The second row down starts with Fever, a nice bold pink shimmer shadow. I think I’d be most likely to use this with Jive or Boogie.

Inferno has a very different texture to all the other eyeshadows in this palette, and is kind of thicker or chunkier feeling – but for this you get a really beautiful golden bronze colour with a great pay off.

Next up is Remix, which is definitely one of the less bold shadows in the whole pan. It’s still a shimmer finish, but it’s a very neutral pinkish grey that on it’s own would look really nice and low key.

Hustle is also one of the more understated tones in the palette – a warm metallic brown, and I expect could be paired up nicely with Remix and Vinyl for a nice shimmery, smokey eye.

Next is Disco, which is a greyer, cooler toned silver – closer to a pencil lead colour, which can look very cool on it’s own, or mixed with Remix or Vinyl.

And Finally Boogie, which is a lighter more pinkinsh lavender shade to Fever’s bright pink, and would pair well with a lot of other shadows in the palette.

I already know I really like MUA’s eyeshadow palettes. They’re really great value for money for the quality of shadow you get in them, they’re not the best, but as long as you go in knowing that, I think you’ll like them. In particular this palette highlights that MUA’s matte shades aren’t amazing – I think they’re shimmer shades are much better quality.

I like the Glitter Ball palette in particular because it seems a lot more adventurous that a lot of MUA’s other dupe palettes, which are mostly selections of browns and neutrals – and once you’ve seen one, you’ve kind of seen ’em all. With this palette, you probably could do some more understated looks with just Remix, or Remix and Hustle. Or you could go bold and colourful with Fever or Freak. I also want to use Odyssey and Vibe wet as a thick upper lid liner, one blending into the other, as I think they’re such pretty colours.

Overall, I think this palette really stands out as being a bit different for MUA, and a good one to grab if you want to try a few more adventurous looks, or add some colour to your eyeshadow selection.

Here is the back close up, so you can see the ingredients etc to be able to check over. There’s nothing surprising really, the top ingredient is talc, and there are preservatives. More expensive palettes may have nicer ingredients lists, but £4 is a great price to get some nice eyeshadows to try out and have some fun with.

Until Next Time!