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This is very informative, Christine, as I’m new to MUFE and unsure where to start – the nude palette or a customized palette. I would find it helpful to understand how to wear the colors suggested (1 or 2 looks using tne recommended colors).
Thanks, Tracey! For some of the shades listed above, there are full reviews + looks associated with them 🙂
I’d recommend hiding the wallet and cutting the cards. Seriously, it IS all that. Thanks for yet another installment for the winnowing list. Love this new feature. Hope I can keep my resolutions, if I keep reading T. I forbade the site, when I was out of work in 2010-2011. One suggestion, unrelated to this. Let me tell you that MUFE a/s swatches and Little Paws Dachshund Rescue are my most googled places of all time. Suggestion(this is more relevant for CP swatches). Have a sorting button for ‘show permanent’ or some such. W/ CP, it’s forever: love it, gone! Nice, limited. Beautiful, bye. It would be great to see the only perms under a formula search.
Hey KJH,
I’m not sure where you’re searching/how you’re bringing up the shades, but in places like the Dupe List and Swatch Gallery, you can refine to only show permanent shades. You’ll usually find this under the black button that says “REFINE RESULTS” – you just click to toggle on whether you want LE/P/DC (or a combination thereof).
Must have missed it on the cp. sorry.
Full Cover Concealer. I’ve used this for ages on my sensitive combo skin.
Nice! What do you use to apply it?
For application, I work section-by-section of my face (nose, left cheek, right cheek, chin, etc.), dot on a TINY dot or two of concealer in trouble areas and blend out.
1. If I need it done quickly, I blend with fingers.
2. For blending out larger areas, (like the cheek or forehead), then I’d use a wet beauty blender (a sponge wedge would do too). I personally don’t use foundation brushes (flat or buffing) bc my cheeks are super sensitive to anything poking at it, no matter how soft, but I know others do.
3. For heavier coverage (like on acne, broken capillaries, discoloration), I pinpoint conceal with Real Techniques eye brushes (the purple brush set).
I would caution against using this in areas where there are fine lines or dry patches bc this will emphasize lines and dry skin like most matte formulas tend to do. I personally prefer IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye for the undereye area.
This is great for acne, redness, discoloration, broken capillaries or even for “baking” your concealer.
If I use primer, I reach for Hourglass Mineral Veil or Revlon Photoready.
I’m about MAC NC20-25 and I use #5 when I’m lighter and mix with #6 when I’m darker.
Thanks for all the tips, Maggie! 😀
Thanks for this info Maggie: I’ve been torn between shade 5 and shade 6. I’m also NC20-25 as well, but with yellow and olive undertones.. a bit tricky. Can you elaborate on the difference between the two shades as far as undertones. The swatches I have seen are misleading and puts #6 ‘lighter’ than #5.
Hmmm…I only found one photo with #5 and #6 swatched together and if they weren’t labeled I would have thought one was the other. Perhaps #5 and #6 might have simply been switched around by accident. If not, it makes me wonder if there is oxidation going on BC MUAlley members complain about that. Also, I have an older #6 (prior to the updated packaging and slightly changed formula that has only seemed to slightly speed up the dry-down) and it is definitely darker and more yellow than both my tubes of older and newer #5. I don’t have the newer #6. I would be surprised if MUFE is inconsistent to this degree. My older #6 is a better match for NC 25-30. I also have some pale olive undertones along with beige and yellow, and I get more yellow when I get darker and mixing these two have been the answer for me. Hope this helps.
Our skin sounds similar. .. my body tends more towards yellow in the summer which I have to pick up in my face to create a match. Sounds like having both shades would be useful. Thank you Maggie!
Hi, I can help 🙂
I’m an EXACT match for #5. When I was testing the product in Sephora, I put #5 on one side of my face and #6 on the other. I would say that the shades are almost identical (#6 is a hair darker), with #6 being noticeably yellower/warmer. #5 has pink/cool undertones. I asked a Sephora employee to be sure – she gave me a split-second glance and told me that #6 was yellow. Soooooo if you have warmer undertones, I’d go for #6!
Full Cover Concealer! It dries down nicely and doesn’t crease. It lasts longer under the eyes than more emollient formulas do. I know a lot of women (myself included) who forgo foundation completely and instead sheer out this concealer over primer.
What do you use to help sheer it out? Or what tools/application method would you suggest, Ray?
I apply it in little dots by placing the tip of the tube directly to my skin. This concealer sets pretty quickly, so putting it on your finger first wastes a lot of product (it all ends up stuck to your finger), plus it’s pretty easy to control the amount that you’re getting from the tube. I blend it out by tapping, not rubbing. If you’re using it under your eyes, you need to set it pretty quickly, though you can get away with using a much thinner layer than if you used Bye Bye Undereye or Radiant Creamy Concealer, so I find that this extra step is worth it. It’s the only concealer I’ve ever used that matched and stayed put on my jawline and upper neck areas. Have you tried it?
Thanks, Ray! I have tried it before 🙂
I use mine with the Amazing Cosmetics concealer brush, and then just pat it out gently with a finger. You don’t need much as its so pigmented. I have oily skin and this concealer stays on the best of any I’ve tried.
I’d probably start with the Nudes You Need eyeshadow palette (a value-packed way to get an assortment of shadows; their regular shadows are quite large – too large for lots of us – so the smaller pans AND smaller price of the palettes is a great introductory option). I’ve not been impressed with their foundations so I’d skip those and the same goes for their concealers (though I am really eager to try their newly released one). I do like their lipsticks, though. I got my first one as a birthday gift from Sephora (I think, anyway) in the shade Copper Pink. It’s not a colour I’d have purchased on my own but when I lost my little tube (GRRR!), I did purchase a full size. I also like their foundation primers, especially the Smoothing one and the Hydrating one.
It totally slipped my mind that I could have recommended the whole Nudes You Need palette since that one IS permanent. Great idea, Mariella!
Didn’t it come with a little card with their suggestions on how to use the shadows, or am I mixing it up with one of my other palettes? I think The Nudes You Need is a really good palettte.
I really love their shadows but the array is SO huge (“overwhelming” to someone just shopping for their own use as opposed to a makeup artist) and to be honest, so many of their shadows are really similar AND, let’s face it, they are a bit on the steep side. You do get a lot of shadow for your buck but most of us (again, talking about people who buy for their personal use rather than makeup artists) don’t really need that much of most shadows, so those smaller palettes are just such a better purchase on several counts. I honestly wish they would scale down the side of their single shadows (and lower the price). The first 2 I ever purchased were Reptile and Taupe Grey and despite the fact that I use them fairly often and I’ve had them for over a year, they look almost untouched because there is so much product.
I totally agree! MUFE has become quite the consumer range, so their eyeshadows are quite large (though as a blush, they are quite small, so there’s that!). I wish they’d keep up with the palettes… but repeat less – and then maybe make them easily removed.
I haven’t tried a lot of their stuff, so I still feel like a bit of a newbie. I don’t think most people can go wrong with any of he Artist eyeshadow/blushes. I think the HD Cream Blushes are incredible, with 410 (coral) being my favorite. I like the Plexi-Gloss formula and applicator a lot, but I only own Beetle right now. I’d recommend it.
I think I’d recommend that most people start off with the Nudes You Need palette. It’s beautiful, neutral, easy to blend, and is a good value. Some people might miss matte transition and crease shades, though. I personally think it’s the best neutrals palette I’ve ever used.
I definitely didn’t feel like I’m the “expert” on this brand (not in the same respect that I feel pretty confident about say MAC or UD), though when I went through my body of reviews on MUFE, I realized I did cover quite a bit of their range! (I was originally thinking, “Maybe I’ll just make it about Artist Shadows…”
I’m glad you included a few other products. I wouldn’t know where to start with lipsticks, though I keep hearing good things about their black. The #43 lipstick looks stunning.
Rachel, if you like purple lipsticks, I really like MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #15 despite its flaws. It’s dry and has a strong perfume, but the color is so dang gorgeous ( violet purple with pink/purple micro-shimmers), I put up with it. I apply, then put carmex lipbalm on top to make it glossy/moist and help tone down the fragrance.
The color swatches I found online look gorgeous. I don’t know about a strong perfume, though. Is it a heavy powder or floral scent?
It more like a modern floral perfume. It can be toned down with lip balm, but still there. Their Lab Shine Lip Glosses have pretty shimmer and lots of shine, but same problem, strong perfume, like a fruity floral.
Thanks, Katherine. I don’t do well with heavy floral lip scents, and my hubby is very allergic to them. I’d have to sniff one in person for sure.
Currently MUFE is my favorite all around brand. I love the HD foundation (old and new), full coverage concealer, lipsticks, primer, Pro Finish foundation powder, lip pencils and the piece de resistance, those eyeshadows (moment of silence). I agree with many other commenters, start with the Nude palette. If feeling indulgent, I’d suggest a trio with shades you know you’re going to use. I “curated” a trio with all transition shades that compliment my skin tone and I’m in love.
A trio is a great way to start!
The Face and Body Foundation is my HG. I love it.
Nice! I also like their Lift foundation.
I would recommend they check out Aqua Eyes eyeliner, I’m a black pencil eyeliner most days kind of girl and this is the best one I’ve ever tried. It goes on easily, but not too easily, some other pencils seem greasy and slide too much for my liking, but this one isn’t stiff either, its just creamy enough to glide on while maintaining control. It doesn’t budge, even through swimming, and its not hard to remove either. (It can be rubbed off however) Comes in a bunch of great colours too, after the black (0L) I really like the dark brown pencil (25L) ,its creamy and pigmented, looks almost black on but with the extra warmth of the brown. My HG eyeliner pencil 🙂
The Aqua Eyes range is nice! I also like their Kohl range. #4k!
I guess I would start with someone who needs to look at their stash, cull old or poor quality items and then see what suits them or what they need – a neutral palette or a colourful one. MUFE is such a great brand, you can’t go wrong with their eye shadows. The Artist’s palettes are fantastic buys.
That is a great tip, Genevieve!
my first encounter with MUFE is their HD foundation. Haven’t tried the ultra HD but planning to buy it this weekend. I’d better check the concealer and primer too while I’m on it.
Sounds like a good plan, Cheerie!
I can’t believe you didn’t include Teak. 🙂
Lots of shades were excluded – a range of 210 and I only picked 28 in total.
I’m gonna jump aboard the hype train and say it: MUFE HD/ultra HD is one of my all time favourite foundations. It gives an almost undetectable medium coverage on my skin and it wears really nicely. I’m also really enjoying their waterproof products. They’re very, very waterproof in case I’d ever want to go to the pool with full glam makeup or whatever.
Happy to hear you’re enjoying the new Ultra HD!
Wow, this is great! I’m keeping this handy for next Sephora sale. At the last couple of sales, I was so overwhelmed by the sheer size of their shadow collection, so hard to choose. I ended up with way too many khaki bronze shades. For beginners, I recommend getting one of their ready-made shadow palettes, as it’s the best deal, as making your own can be really expensive, even with sale and discount.
It is a massive range for sure!
This is so awesome! They are closing my nearest store and I am so disappointed. I am glad Sephora will still carry the line but I don’t know how much they will carry.
If any of you are close to an actual store. I would go in and purchase, play while you still can. I heard the company is reavaluating.
Christine, how are their brushes?
I like some of their brushes, but I had issues with them turning oily/greasy after washing. Some didn’t, and those I liked!
Just about everything?!? LoL!
I would say, start with an eyeshadow palette to experiment with the formula. At least that’s how I got my feet wet with MUFE. So far, I really love everything that I’ve tried in both the Nudes You Need and Holiday 15 palettes. Now I’m ready to begin making trios, which btw, is a great $$$ saver!
I am dying to try their lip gloss formula next, like Pearly Plum. Some real beautes there!
Haha! A palette is certainly a nice way to try the Artist Shadow formula without spending too much $!
I haven’t tried much from this brand, but do enjoy their primers. Thanks for the list! I’ll have to check out those blushes. 🙂
No problem, Lupe!
In addition to what you’ve recommended, I like S-502 white sand (warm) and S-522 pinky nude (cooler) for base shades, and S-114 pearl gray as a transition/light crease shade for cooler looks. For those who love to wear more unusual colors, I can recommend I-318 Linen Khaki with D-320 Golden Khaki for a very subtle green eye, I-330 Linden Green with I-324 Bronze Khaki for a slightly bolder green eye, and D-334 Apple Green with D-306 Bottle Green in the outer corner for a bright green eye. And, while I haven’t tried it myself (yet), I know that some people really like M-540 Gray Beige and M-558 Dark Taupe for contouring.
I also love the HD blush in 210 cool pink, and like the formula enough that I want to try more shades. I also love the Rouge Artist Natural lipstick in 27 Iridescent Blue Pink (cool) and Iridescent Orange Pink (warm). They’re great, easy-to-apply-and-wear lip colors for those of us who don’t care for the feel of a lip gloss when we don’t want to fuss with opaque coverage.
The full cover concealer will cover some serious stuff — I used it on a 96-year old client who wanted to cover a bad bruise on his face that he sustained in a fall, and, once set with powder, you couldn’t see either the bruise or the concealer. If you need seriously waterproof makeup, the “Aqua” eyes, lips, etc. really are waterproof. Aqua Brow is wonderful and comes in some great shades, although I find brow gels that come with mascara-type wands easier to use for my own brows — but if you need to fill in your brows (rather than just color and tame them), Aqua Brow will not run, fade, or budge, and you only need to use the tiniest bit.
And I absolutely adore MUFE brushes. I’ve been trying to switch to all synthetic brushes because of concerns about my furry friends (and because I like to clean my eye brushes with alcohol after each use), and I find myself using my MUFE brushes more often than most of my Hourglass and IT Cosmetics/IT for ULTA brushes, even though those are also excellent.
Great Artist Shadow picks, Fran! There are SO many great shades in the range – so hard to narrow them down!
What are your must-have brushes?
There are so many good ones, and so many I still haven’t tried… but:
For packing on eyeshadow intensely or densely, 210, 230, 240, and 244 are excellent. For more ordinary eyeshadow application, I especially like 220 and 226. 208 is great for highlighting the tear duct area.
For buffing in cream shadow, or blending powder shadow that needs a lot of blending, 216 and 236 are excellent. For blending eyeshadow that needs a really gentle touch or it becomes “muddy”, 242 is my choice.
I really like blush brush 160 — it’s kind of like a longer, more flexible version of the Wayne Goss 00 brush, and it’s incredibly versatile, but it takes a bit of experimenting before you figure out how to use it (I use it for contour, highlight, blush, and blending the above — you can use the tip, the narrow side, and the broader side differently — just wipe with a microfiber cloth between products). The 150 precision blush brush is *much* smaller than similarly shaped angled blush brushes (it’s maybe half the size of my IT for ULTA and Sephora brushes of the same shape). It’s great if you have small cheeks, need precision blush placement, or for highlighting. I haven’t tried the large, flat, or buffer blush brushes yet, or the powder or fan brushes — I’ve been mostly concentrating on eyes first.
I *love* #300, the square lip brush. So perfect for really crisp edges with bright/dark lipsticks!
I have a short, travel-sized version of #172 from last year’s Christmas brush set. It’s a “precision corrector brush” that looks like an angled eyeliner brush, and it’s perfect for tightlining with gel/creme eyeshadows — it’s the exactly right combination of firmness with softness.
I am thinking about trying their brushes, glad to hear from someone who has tried them and likes them!
Can you believe I still haven’t gotten any Artist Shadows for myself?? I keep getting put off by the high initial price and the inability to swatch all of them in person (no nearby MUFE boutique and what is at the closest Sephora is pretty disorganized), but what I have searched is sooo nice. For the price, though, I want something not just got, but undupable! What do you think are MUFE’s most unique shades, regardless of finish/undertone, Christine?
And by “searched” and “got,” I mean “swatched” and “good,” lol.
I don’t know about uniqueness off-hand – they definitely have a few, though. Shades like Petrol Blue, Black Diamond, etc. are shades you don’t see often done really well. I feel like you SEE a lot of “black with silver sparkle” shadows, but almost all of them show up as just matte on the lid – Black Diamond actually has the density so the sparkle sticks.
I’m perplexed as to whether I should foray into MUFE eyeshadows and create my own palette or do another INGLOT palette ….
If you love your Inglots, then that would be cheaper 🙂
The Full Cover concealer is the best concealer I’ve ever used. It covers anything I wish to conceal on my face but I don’t use it as an under-eye concealer. I apply it under my foundation using a concealer brush, then use my finger to gently tap.
Also, the Liquid Lift foundation is the best finish when it comes to the PERFECT match for my skin tone. It looks just as flawless when I remove it as it did when I first applied it. (I do need to blot/powder my t-zone — which is something I don’t need to do when I wear Guerlain’s Lingerie De Peau.) Unlike foundations I used before discovering MUFE, it doesn’t settle into fine lines or start looking cakey.
Seems like that concealer is a fave for many! I might have to give it another try!
I also like Liquid Lift a lot 🙂
It didn’t work well for you? It didn’t for me at first, either. In my case, I was moving through my routine too quickly. Then I read or heard that you need to let each stage of your routine set, from moisturizer to foundation, before applying other products on top of it. I wasn’t giving my moisturizer time to really sink it — or I had excess on my face that needed to be blotted off — before using a primer. I wasn’t allowing that enough time (30 seconds) before using the concealer. Then I was applying my foundation immediately over the concealer so the concealer wasn’t doing anything for me. Now I know I need to let everything set before applying a product on top of it. The only exception being the under-eye concealer! That $h!t needs to be set right away! LOL
I hope you can make it work for you because it’s really amazing when it does work!
Thanks, Christine. Will check it out! Sometimes I’m secretly wanting a paint by numbers. 🙂
No problem, Tracey!
I got Rouge Artist Natural N9 from Sephora in a birthday gift thing, and it’s really quite beautiful.
It would look good on a lot of people. It’s understated but pretty. I’ve worn it as a cream blush, too.
I like the brand a lot. It’s got a wide variety of stuff and the price is not outrageous. If one is tired of say, MAC, MUFE is about the same price.
I love their cream blush!
For sure for sure Matte Liquid Foundation and their lipsticks. They are must haves to any makeup collection
Awesome! What are your favorite lipsticks from MUFE?
The HD blushes are indeed incredible. They just meld into skin, lovely colours, lovely wear. And the Artist Shadows would be by far what I would choose if I had to choose only one kind of eyeshadow for the rest of my life, and I would’t be that sad to have to limit myself. I’ve also become very fond of the new Ultra HD stick foundation. The finish on my ski is just beautiful, and I’m super difficult to satisfy when it comes to foundation. I’ve weirdly never tried their lipstick. Do they have a perfume in them? I’ve also yet to try bronzers or other face products. I live near a Sephora that has Make Up For Ever Boutique attached. They carry several sizes of flat magnetized metal boxes for eyeshadow pans and HD Blush pans (that are easily removed from their case, just using a pin through a hole in the back to put them loose from the magnet). I find the metal boxes super useful to organize it all.
Artist Shadows are amazing. Definitely a game-changer!
I don’t recall HD having a scent, though I know Liquid Lift has a scent I’m not fond of. I can’t remember if it’s the formula scent (like the ingredients) or added scent.
I have only tried MUFE base products and I’d say go for those — they make theirs in impressive shade ranges. A lot of brands make good eyeshadows, blushes and lippies but a good range of base products is a lot harder to nail.
I love that their HD range has SO many shades!
Awesome recommendations, thanks! I have yet to try their lipsticks, and this is a great place to start. I love their eyeshadows, powder blushes, and liquid eyeliner.
No problem, Trish! 🙂
DEFINITELY the Artist Shadow formula! 🙂
Agreed!
Definitely, definitely the eyeshadows for this label. They seem to have a bit of a tougher exterior on the first number of uses and the pans are so freaking large my initial impression had me thinking they were on the stiff side. I’ve grown to love these shadows, but do wish they came the smaller MAC like format for more compact storage and less surface stiffness. That being said, they are my favourite product from the label.
And.. Oh crap, I’ve just put an additional 12 eyeshadows on my bloody wishlist as a result of this post. I made the mistake of pulling up the swatches gallery and revisiting what I have in stash so double 😛 😛
I love your choices for eyeshadows. Many are my favs as well: Pink Ash, Dark Purple Taupe, Pink Chrome, Black Purple, Petrol Blue, Taupe grey..
It would be amazing if they did smaller pans, because the majority are SO pigmented that one doesn’t need a lot by any means… and they have so many, so individual purchases add up!
Wow, well I’ve only used their mascara, foundation, concealer and setting powders. Would recommend HD foundation in a heartbeat but haven’t used the new HD version yet. I wasn’t too impressed by the concealer (in the tube) – it didn’t seem to “stick” very long to my blemishes and tended to blend out/away quickly, but perhaps a primer would prevent that.
Smoky Extravagant Mascara is beautiful, I find it lengthens like crazy and holds a curl extremely well. The wand shape is great for lower lashes too. No crumbles, clumps or smudges with this baby and washes off like a dream. It’s in my top 2 (Rollerlash the other winner)
Looks like their eye shadows score very highly with Christine! Was just looking at them in Sephora yesterday but can’t get over the cheap looking cases you need to buy for them, and Z-pallettes are just too clunky for me. I wish they came in high-end looking singles like MAC and Stila. Yes I’m a shallow makeup packaging snob.
It’s funny how packaging works, because it’s so subjective! I actually like their compacts (they seem better to me than MAC – something about MAC’s packaging looks really outdated to me now), but I totally understand your feeling of price tag paired with packaging that seems too cheap (been there before with other products!).
I recommend ALL THE SHADOWS!!! LOL but really, I have my xl palette filled with 28 of their shadows and they are all fantastic. Actually, my palette looks like it includes almost all the warm tones you mentioned! They are the bomb.com, seriously the best eyeshadows ever. I don’t buy any other brand of eyeshadows now!
I switched to the HD, and then the Ultra HD, foundation, and love them both. They go on smoothly, with good coverage, and have great staying power. MUFE has gradually increased their foundation color selections, so getting a perfect match is now much easier. Their eyeliners, both pencil and creme, are great – I’ve tried other brands and always find myself going back to MUFE. Also, don’t pass up the Sens’Eyes WaterProof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. A little bit goes a long way, and it COMPLETELY dissolves waterproof eye makeup, without leaving your eyes greasy or filmy. I have used Sens’Eyes for years, and have never found anything better. Cheers!
This is timely because after seeing your swatches of D552 Crystalline Gray Beige, I’ve developed a small obsession with MUFE. I want to put together a trio in time for the next Sephora sale. Luckily, I work near a Sephora with a MUFE boutique in it so I can swatch to my heart’s content. I also found the MUFE 50 Shades of Grey set on sale today for half off and there’s a great quad in there!
I think one day I’ll just have to break down and make a giant palette with their shades.