If you’ve ever read any of my past reviews of MUA products you’ll know that I love their wide range of low-priced, high quality products, so it pains me to admit that I have found a MUA product that really isn’t up to scratch – their Hide and Conceal Cover Up Stick.  I received this concealer stick in a MUA haul that I ordered back in April, but I’ve been so unimpressed by it it’s taken me until now to put the effort in to review it.

On first impressions, I have no issue with the concealer.  It sports MUA’s slick black and silver packaging, and I like being able to see the concealer through the clear section in the plastic.  However, the design is very impractical.  The lid is far too small (it’s the plain black bit on the right) and doesn’t click firmly into place, so it constantly falls off in my make up bag.  The concealer stick itself twists out of the tube, but the twist mechanism is very weak so it twists back in slightly when any amount of pressure is applied to it, which isn’t ideal when you’re pressing it onto your face!  Furthermore, the concealer isn’t held firmly in place and has broken clean off at the bottom on several occasions – not good.  All of these factors have led to the product being damaged, which has left a big mess on the plastic which you can see below…

I wouldn’t say the damage is every day wear and tear either, because I’ve used similar concealer sticks by different brands which have remained in good condition until they were fully used up.

The only thing I really like about MUA’s Hide and Conceal Cover Up Stick is its smell, which is slightly nutty and sweet.  Other than that, it’s pretty useless.  The formula is very greasy, which even when used with my favourite MUA Matte Foundation leaves my skin oily and shiny.  It doesn’t blend well either and rubs off easily, and it doesn’t ‘Hide and Conceal’ blemishes or spots as its name would have you believe!

When I first received the concealer I was slightly dubious about the shade as it looked very orange, so much so that I took it into my local Superdrug store to compare it with the shop’s stock.  I thought maybe it’d been labelled incorrectly and I’d been sent the wrong one, but no, the orangey swatch you see above is in fact their ‘Light’ shade.  This shade is supposedly suited to light skin, but believe me when I say it isn’t – I have a light skin tone and it doesn’t suit me at all as it’s far too orange!  I know MUA’s products are cheap, and this only cost £1, but usually the quality of their products is extremely high, but this one looks as cheap as it costs.

I’m really disappointed with MUA’s Hide and Conceal Cover Up Stick as I’ve always been so impressed by MUA that I didn’t think they could let me down.  I don’t recommend it at all, and will be investing in a better quality concealer in the future!

Naomi x