To all my readers here at Musings of a Muse the Muse wishes you a Creepy, Spooky, Happy, and Safe Halloween!
Posts From October 2007
In continuing with my Bath on a Budget hot topic of the moment today I present to you some nice goodies from Skindazzles!
Two bath products that I adore from Skindazzles are the Bath Bombs and the Shea Boom Candy!
The Bath Bombs and Shea Boom Candy are rotated in scent as seasons and holidays change so check back often for new scents on both! At the moment my little eye spies scents like Candy Cane Cake and Gingerbread in celebration of Christmas, which will soon be upon us!
Bath Bombs are your standard bath fizzies that fizz, pop and swirl around in your tub making your bath water soft and beautifully scented! I find the scents in the bombs quite strong and lasting! I have many places I buy bath bombs from and Skindazzles makes some of my favorites!
Skindazzles Bath Bomb
Shea Boom Candy is a treat for your body! If you like your bath water moisturizing and soft these wonderful candies are what you seek! They are soft and squishy and melt away happily in your tub as you bath scenting the water and making your skin soft and sweet! I normally crumble this under running water but you can float it in your bath water and laze while it melts away! Upon exiting your bath you’ll see how gorgeously smooth your skin will feel!
Skindazzles Shea Boom Candies
Bath Bombs and Shea Boom Candy at Skindazzles are most definately fitting for bathers on a budget, bombs are $3.70 and candies are $3.
Please keep in mind prior to ordering from Skindazzles that airmail shipping applies as it’s a business located within Canada however shipping prices are fairly reasonable if you get a few items!
You’re Muse happens to love unique perfumes that she can’t get in regular shops that sell fragrance! My tastes in fragrance run to the unusual I guess and when I’m seeking something sweet, foody, or unique I visit with the gorgeous Ashley Peldon at Starring Fragrances to get my fix!
I have many, many, a bottle of cocktails that Ashley, herself, has created! The scents at Starring Fragrances are mostly in the foody range so if you’re a grave lover of scents that smell of cookies, cakes, or gorgeous decadent foody items this would be the spot you want to grab some very interesting blends!
Ashley has recently extended her popular perfume line and is now doing custom blended hair and body care items such as lotions and shampoos! I haven’t personal tried any of the new products but I can give my Muse approval to the wonderful perfume blends that are created at Starring Fragrances!
The thing that totally sells me on these perfumes is the incredible staying power and special notes within each perfume! One or two sprays is all you need to smell completely edible and delicious all day long! Upon spraying one of these you can distinctively pick out the notes with the perfume which is so amazing. If I spray myself with my favorite blend, The Scream Queen, I don’t get one particular scent from the perfume I can smell all sorts of notes through the blend all day long! As the day progresses and the perfume dries down and heats up with my body temperature I can smell the tart sweetness of the berries, the luscious vanilla ice cream, and the yummie bubble gum!
If you’re looking for a unique experience in your perfume world Starring would be a great place to start!
Some of the Muse’s favorite blends:
The Scream Queen
Yummie Berries, Vanilla Ice Cream and Bubble Gum!
Yellow Marshmallow
Yellow Cake with fluffy marshmallow!
Red Licorice
Strawberry and Cherry Licorice! Mmmm!
Who Spiked the Cupcakes?
Yummie cotton candy, vanilla cupcakes, and frosting! Oh my how decadent!
With a Cherry on Top
White Cake, Marshmallow, and of course Cherries!
Starring also does a line of tarts which are fantastic as well! If having your house scented with yummie baked treats sounds tempting do check out the tart line up!
Starring Fragrances is Muse approved and I can’t say enough good things about this great little e-shop!
The customer service is fantastic and packages are shipped in a very timely manner with little to no wait time! Ashley is extremely sweet and accommodating with requests if you should have any! Starring does ship via parcel post which makes the Muse impatient as her goodies normally end up taking from 7-10 days to arrive. This can’t be helped as all liquid must be shipped via US parcel post by law! Starring even has a Frequent Buyer Reward System that offers various discounts with each order you make!
The Muse always tries to get nice goodies for you and Ashley has been kind enough to offer readers of Musings of a Muse a special treat and as it’s Halloween it’s always nice to get a treat or two!
You can try out a 1oz perfume for 1/2 Price from Starring Fragrances by entering code MUSE during checkout! This is a great deal as perfume’s run $26 at the normal price!
Go get yourself a sweet treat for Halloween and tell the Muse all about it!
Bit early for Steals and Deals but HSN has been featuring many Sephora brands at some great deals 
The Muse has knocked up the best deals she noticed and slapped them into a nice little blog just for you! You can thank me and tell me how great I am later!
Make Up For Ever Star Powder Trio for $45 with Free Shipping
These normally run $18 each and that’d be $54 for three with the HSN option you’ll be getting three at a discount of $9 plus you have an option to pay for these with their flex pay plan. Flex pay basically cuts the cost in half and charges the payment to you this month and the following month! Kinda cool if you’re wanting to space your payments apart!
The Cargo Travel Collection Portable Makeup Box Set may be exclusive to HSN as I’ve never seen these items bundled together prior to this! This set is $29 with Free Shipping and includes 30 Pack a Day Lipgloss, 28 Color Cards, and Liquid Powder Foundation in a cute tin! These are great for traveling, quick makeup looks, and heck they’d make a great gift! Color Cards are $24 on Sephora and 30 Pack a Day Lipgloss is $12 so that’s a total of $36 for those two items if you purchase them separately. For an extra $4 you can get the HSN kit that includes the cute tin and Liquid Powder Foundation! I personally have the gloss packs and love these! I’ve never tried the color cards but this is a perfect excuse to do so at the price!
These are just some of the great deals I came across on HSN. I’m really liking that Sephora has teamed up with HSN for one main reason, that would be the freaking awesome Free Shipping option! I think it’s so great I can just log onto HSN and get Free Shipping on say a Dior Mascara or a Cargo Blush as compared to Sephora where I have to spend $75 before getting Free Shipping!
Do check out HSN for more interesting goodies!
Hello Pretties!
My very first review is up and available for your viewing pleasure at Specktra Blog!
Yay!
Have a look and tell me whatcha think! Click!
Benefit is giving you some nice treats without the tricks!
You can nab Free Shipping today only with promo code TREATS07
Stuff the Muse’s stocking full of Bath Fizzies that smell like Twisted Peppermint and she’ll be quite happy this Holiday Season!
$3.50 nabs you a cute little Bath Fizzy scented in Twisted Peppermint from Bath and Body Works!
I want a few of these to make my bathing experience festive and minty!
Does Iris EVER fail us?
The first high quality images that I’ve seen for Majorca Majolica’s Holiday Collection have been graciously shared with us by my most lovely mate Iris on Rouge Deluxe!
Head on over and have a tissue ready to catch the drool (or in my case I’m actually foaming at the mouth after seeing this collection!) that will dribble from your mouth!
The new Majolook palette looks amazing as does the Lash Freeze!
I’m thinking I need two Lash Freeze, one eye palette, and powders!
Start making your list and checking it twice as this collection will be out on November 21st (and it can’t come soon enough for eager Muses everywhere!)!
I’m loving that MJ is keeping with the diamond sparkle theme/trend of the season!
What do you want?
Tell the Muse!
I took Family Silver out for a whirl today!
Whatta ya think?
What I Used:
Cheeks:
Lancome Blush Subtil Shimmer in Shimmer Coral Heal
Excel Shimmer Blush in G5
Eyes:
MAC Mineralized Eyeshadow in Family Silver
MAC Technakohl in Black
MAC Pigment in Vanilla
MAC Eyeshadow in Filament
MAC Eyeshadow in Mineralism
MAC Shadestick in Beige-ing
KATE Super Sharp Liner in Black
KATE Mascara Primer
MAC Plushlash in Black
Lips:
Majorca Majolica Rouge Majex Lipgloss in OR317
I’ve been meaning to get to this for ages and never had a chance!
If you’re by chance looking for a review on older or new Japanese Cosmetics I’ll tell you my #1 resource to find out if I should or shouldn’t purchase an item!
You’re thinking I’m going to recommend you visit Rouge Deluxe but actually I’m not. Now I visit my lovely, sweet, gorgeous friend Iris at Rouge Deluxe obsessively 5 times or more a day ( Hey I’m her biggest fan!)!
But when I’m seeking out a review on Japanese products I must deem Kathi the Queen of reviews. You probably know her from Cozy or you probably know her from MUA. She’s an absolute walking encyclopedia for all good things Japanese!
With that said I recommend you have a visit with her and go through her archives of over 200 cosmetics that she’s used, taken photos of, and reviewed (I find myself drooling whenever I go back to some of her older reviews)!
If you’re an MUA member you can check here out by clicking here.
If you’re not an MUA member you’ll have to become a member to read the reviews Being an MUA member has it’s benefits and it’s well worth your time as it’s a good source of cosmetic information!
Kathi’s a sweetie and a wonderful girl and takes time out of her busy schedule to do some incredible reviews! I dunno what I’d do without her!
So an Ode to Kathi and her great reviews on MUA!
Thanks for making the world of Japanese Cosmetics all the more brighter my friend!
Oh my!
After telling you all about the virtues of Philosophy’s Sugar Plum Fairy in a previous post I’m excited to tell you that the line has been extended to a salt scrub!
Philosophy Sugar Plum Fairy Body Scrub
Wahoo!
This scurb is a Nordstrom Exclusive and available for purchase now! The scrub is $25 which is a good deal as they are heavy duty jars full of yummie scrub to make your rough bits nice and soft!
I just purchased Senorita Margarita scrub for a dear friend as a gift and this I believe would make a very nice Christmas pressie if she ends up loving the scrub!
You can purchase your Sugar Plum Fairy by clicking your way over to Nordies! It’s in the Muse’s cart already!
I’m doodling around making my wish list for the Sephora Friends and Family Event and I think I’m kinda sorta wanting the new Sephora Enchanted Eye Palettes.
Sephora Purple Enchanted Eye Palette as seen on Sephora.com 
Sephora Gold Enchanted Eye Palette as seen on Sephora.com
These are $26 each and include eight different textured shades of shadow (most shimmer! Yay the Muse loves her shimmery shadows!) in a slick compact. Two color options are available for these and they are Gold and Purple.
After discount they’ll be about $21 so not a bad deal eh?
I had mentioned these in my previous post and they hadn’t been listed on site yet but they are up and now available for sale 
Count the Muse curious about these little palettes!
Want ‘em? Need ‘em? Waste of Money?
Tell the Muse all about it!
One of favorite companies, Kose, has some great brand branch offs that I adore. Kose, like Kanebo, is made up of several companies that make some wonderful high end cosmetics.
Some of these companies you may be familiar with they consist of Visee, Fasio, Beaute de Kose and one that I’ll be discussing today, Esprique Precious.
Esprique Precious has a great line up of various cosmetic items and the one I’ll be reviewing today is the Esprique Precious Illuminate Nuancer Pearls.
These pearls quite remind me of Guerlain’s Meteorites at a fraction of the cost. These come in two color variations 01 and 02. 01 is the color I have and I’m currently wanting 02. 01 is a sheer, shimmering, iridescent powder while 02 appears to have a bit of color to it and almost a bronze look!
The brush the pearls come with is very soft and full and it offers a nice area of coverage on your cheekbones and face when applying plus no shedding which is a pet peeve of mine
I give these quite a good, solid review and recommendation they work fantastic at lightening up your face and giving a soft, dewy glow after blush application or you can always use these on a fresh bare face for a bit of a soft, light to your cheeks!
When you run the brush across these you don’t pick up a ton of powder which pleases me as I hate the messy application I sometimes run into when using Meteorites and the loads of powder one stroke of my brush comes up with! With the Illuminate Nuancer pearls I end up with a very fine layer of powder that I can stroke on gently and not end up with tons of fall out!
If you’re fair skinned these will work wonderfully at making your cheeks glow, if you’re medium skin they will give your skin a dewy look, and I assume if you’re a bit of a dark skin tone you’d notice a bit of a shine to your face (a nice shine).
The shimmer isn’t insane in this powder so no worries about looking like you have a ton of glitter on your face. It’s just a very fine shimmer that all mixes well with the iridescence of the powder to create a glowing look!
I personally use mine as a sort of finishing powder to complete a look. After blush application I apply a quick stroke or two of this and I’m looking pretty and bright! It does a good job of waking my face up and I like to stroke some under my eyes which makes me look like I had quite a few hours of sleep when in reality I haven’t!
For the life of me I can’t remember where I purchased these. It could be JpMon! But I will give you a rundown where you can purchase them!
Adam Beauty has these in both colors for $29 plus reasonable shippings costs.
JPmon has these for $36 plus shipping costs.
These have become a must have in my morning makeup routine! I recommend grabbing some for yourself and giving them a whirl! They are most definitely Muse approved!
Hello Pretties.
Just a little update on the Friends and Family front.
From what I am seeing the sale may begin November 3rd and the discount code might be FF2007.
These are all rumors of course so we’ll have to see!
I’ll keep you posted with details as I see/hear them!
It’s official. The Sephora Holiday Catalog 2007 is Live and Ready for your viewing pleasure on Sephora.com!
I collect the Holiday catalogs from year to year and I’m happy to say that the cover model is gorgeous this year! I’m liking the “fairy tale”, “enchanted” theme! Last year’s Carnival didn’t thrill me so I’m quite happy to say that this year’s cover is fabulous and the entire theme sounds great!
Sephora Holiday Catalog 2007
Inside is just as good with bold, vibrant eye looks in a wonderful array of ultra awesome color!
A few items that caught my eye:
Urban Decay Flavored Body Powders….wow how retro! I loved these when they first came out but I think they may past their sell by date! Don’t get me wrong I adore these and use them in looks all the time but the general idea of repromoting them in the Sephora Holiday Catalog makes me scratch my head slightly!
Check out page 18-19
Flipping through I’m seeing a trend of repromoting older items such as Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadow on pages 2-3…hmm how boring.
Sephora’s new bath line mmm…..you’d think by now that they’d have gotten this right! Aren’t these the same exact bottles we had ages ago? Again another vintage tale of woe! I remember these going for like 99% off after the Holiday one year! Oh Sephora please just stop with the Bath items!
Check out page 24-25
The White Croc Pop Up Brush Set at $45 looks quite interesting as does the Sephora Prestige Brush Set at $150 (Looks like quite a haul of brushes for the price).
Check out page 36-37
I see a Sephora Holiday palette in purple on page 14-15 this could make the wish list! Hmmm….
Sephora’s Color Eye Palette $26 (Purple Compact)
The Muse thinks they did a great job with the catalog. The looks are gorgeous, the theme sounds fantastic, and the layout looks very nice! However, the products and gifts inside fail to wow me which is good and bad. Good as it saves me money for more Japanese Holiday Collections. Bad because it’s been so very long since a Sephora Catalog has had me jumping around in circles! Keep in mind some of the items in the catalog are not yet live on the website so if you’re planning on ordering wait for at least 24-48 hours while they update! I’ve noticed a few items such as the Prestige Brush Collection and the Sephora Holiday Palette are not yet available for purchase!
Oh well! Money saved!
What do you think?
Want any of this?
Love it?
Hate it?
Snore?
Tell me!
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