Stealing Beauty | Makeup Gallery | Review

How low do you go when it comes to makeup?

Some people love their luxury brands, while others are all about getting a bargain. For me, I like quality products that perform well, regardless of the price point. I get just as excited at either end of the spectrum when I find something I love.

But despite that, I suppose there was a part of me that thought there had to be a limit. After all, if something is literally cheaper than a bag of chips, can it really be any good?

Yet I kept hearing buzz about a brand called Makeup Gallery. And everything in the range is just £1. Really? REALLY really? I had to find out if lived up to the hype. After all, at those prices, I wouldn’t be crying if something didn’t work out.


Now, I buy most of my household cleaning products at the pound shop. I just don’t see the logic in paying more for toilet cleaner or scouring pads. But when it comes to what I put on my face, I generally like a name I can trust.

Approaching the makeup aisle, everything is laid out on a proper stand just as it would be in Boots. There aren’t testers of anything, so shade matching is pure guesswork.

For this reason, and the fact that I believe that with foundations you generally get what you pay for, I just selected some powder shadows, a liquid liner, and some lipgloss colours to ease myself in...

Colour Story Eyeshadow 

First up, the shadow colours. I have to admit I wasn’t really expecting much, especially with the matte shade I chose, but I was pleasantly surprised by how nice these were.

The packaging is a little square of clear plastic with black writing, but its actually quite chic looking and really doesn’t look out of place sitting with all your Mac and Nars stuff. I really like that they’ve kept it restrained here.

These perform so much better than I would hope for the price. They are well pigmented, go on smoothly and blend very nicely indeed. The shimmer shades have a beautiful, pearlised sheen thats not too glittery.

First, I tried Pink Champagne, a soft neutral shell pink shimmer. Its a gorgeous colour that makes tired eyes look super wide awake and fresh and would also make a beautiful highlighter as well.

Next, I picked up Khaki Green, a stunning green-gold shade that makes amber eyes really pop. Its a shade I might not have gone for before, but at this price you can totally afford to experiment. This colour is so flattering and pretty.

Lastly, I picked up Cappuccino, a matte taupe brown. I didn’t expect the colour payoff to be any good with this as even high-end brands often produce mattes that are chalky and lacklustre.

But wow, this is lovely. Its the perfect crease colour as its matte without being one dimensional and would work well as a transition shade for many different colours.

But I love this most as a contour colour. It works amazingly well to chisel out cheekbones, define jawlines and slim noses as the shade is such a realistic, balanced shadow colour. I’ve now abandoned bronzers in favour of this little beauty as it works much better.

These eyeshadows are a real find and I will definitely be returning for more shades.

Pro Liquid Liner 

This is perhaps the item I had the lowest hopes for, but again, it really proved me wrong.

Two things are brilliant about this – firstly, the colour. Never mind all these eyeliners that harp on about how they are more black, ten times as black and blacker than a raven in a coal mine in outer space – this cheapie liner is the blackest liner I have ever used.

Second, it lasts. All day. It doesn’t smudge or fade. And third, the brush is awesome! It has a short, thin nib that’s like a little sponge (as opposed to a brush with bristles) and this gives a very precise, tidy finish and loads of control, so getting your wings level is easier.

The brush is honestly much better than a lot of high end liners I’ve tried. Its incredible this is only a pound because its so good!

Shine On Intense Colour & Shine Lipgloss 

There are lipsticks and tubes of gloss in the range, but these glosses lured me in with the promise of bold colour and shine all in one. Its a challenge that even high end brands have struggled to master, but after the shadow and the liner, I was hoping for great things.

I picked up the shades ‘Nice and Nude’ and ‘Coral Kiss’. The first is a beautiful pinkish beige that is exactly the sort of colour I love to wear. It’s easy, flattering and goes with anything.

The second shade is I think, a little misnamed. It’s definitely more of a hot pink, watermelon shade and very pretty with it- a perfect colour for summer.

Again, I was very pleasantly surprised by how these performed. The formula is buttery and smooth going on and the pigment is dense and opaque. These glosses are also high shine but not too sticky.

They perform as well as a basic gloss from Mac or Nars, and I would challenge anyone to tell the difference when these are on. They’re so easy to wear and at this price,  you can keep one in every coat pocket, bag, bedside drawer and car glove box you like.

So, is make up for just a pound any good? I would definitely say yes.

While these aren’t quite the best products you’ll ever have tried, they blew me away for the price. The quality is so much higher than you might expect. These products certainly perform as well as any drugstore brand. The restrained packaging helps keep things appealing too.

I would certainly repurchase any of the items here, although I’m not sure I’d go as far as using the foundation and bronzer – I guess you never know though! The shade range is quite small especially when it comes to base products, so I think it would be hard to get a match anyway.

For great colour cosmetics though, this offering is great and I can’t believe I’ve found such a great contour product in one of the shadows. A great find for any beauty junkie.