Musings of a Muse

Sometimes it’s really difficult to firgure out what to get a special friend in your life or family member and during those hard times I normally reach for a gift card for them!

I think gift cards are brilliant gifts especially when you’re finding it really hard to pick something out that you’ll think they’ll love!

This year Bath and Body Works offers a Twisted Peppermint Scented Gift Card for purchase!

How cool is this?

Bath and Body Works Twisted Peppermint Scented Gift Card

Head into the shop (or online) grab one of these sweet smelling cards and you’ll be all set to make your friend’s (or family member’s) Bath and Body wishes come true!

The Muse is loving the idea of a scented gift card Especially one that smells like gorgeous Twisted Peppermint!

Kanebo’s site has been updated and they added the newest gloss to the Lavshuca lineup which is entitled Liquid Rouge.

Let’s hope this is a bit better than the Color Conc Rouge you can see my review on the Color Conc Rouge by clicking here.

I think we have a very good chance of this being a very good gloss! The applicator has a sponge which is an improvement over pass glosses released by Lavshuca and the colors look very wearable.

The glosses are 1050yen (about $9 USD) each and are available sometime in November.

Click here to visit Rouge Deluxe for further information and all the color choices for these glosses!

Wish list anyone?

Time for the beauty blog round up girls!

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic tries an AMAZING 2 Minute Mask from Become!

PJ from A Touch of Blusher gives us first impressions of all the latest and greatest holiday collections!

Beauty Blabber recreates Tang Wei’s Look!

Beauty and Fashion Tech looks at Tropez, a great value cosmetics line!

Beauty and Personality Grooming shows us how to correct a gummy smile

Etailers Mall wants to know what etailer products do you use?

Face Candy peeks at the Dior’s Holiday Romantic Collection 2007

Makeup Moxie reviews Too Faced Lash Injection Mascara

Makeup and Beauty Blog brings us Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Boyfriends That Secretly Wear Your Eyeliner!

Mytical Beauty’s Musings tells us more about the lipstick lead scare in recent news!

Savvy Skin recaps Savvy Skin’s Best of Summer 2007

Temptalia has all the pictures, reviews, swatches and more about the latest MAC collection from Alexander Mcqueen!

That’s all for this week’s Weekly Beauty Read! Happy reading

This weekend’s Steals and Deals will be postponed and back with you next weekend

I have to say that it’s been a long while in between collections that have wow’ed me.

As much as I adore cosmetics I can’t honestly say any collections from the past few Holiday seasons have really knocked me back. Last year Givenchy’s Christmas collection was gorgeous but nothing that I got insanely excited over. MAC’s collection last year was lovely as well (and this year) but again nothing to make me bounce off the walls! Of course I always look forward to the Holiday season to see what will be released and this year there is no exception.

Two collections have not failed to wow me this year and I’m pleased with both and can highly recommend them to you.

If you’re on a tight budget this year or just not looking to spend a whole lot on cosmetics my personal picks of the season would have to be from Guerlain and Givenchy’s line up. They have truly out done themselves. You can see the Givenchy Holiday Collection by clicking here.

Now…

On to the good stuff

Givenchy brings us Diamonds but Guerlain went for a completely opposite effect. Guerlain brought us the gold.

My collection arrived in the mail today and to say I’m excited would be an understatement. The collection is beautiful and this is truly something you’re going to want to add to your cosmetic stash if you’re serious (and have a passion) about owning some seriously posh makeup items.

The star of the show is Forever Gold of course. A radiant shimmering gold powder for your face and body housed in a gorgeous vintage style perfume bottle. The powder is amazingly soft, silky and just pure perfection. I was slightly discouraged after hearing there was only .35oz in the bottle but it didn’t prevent me from wanting this. Of course seeing pictures that look larger than life probably have you skeptical about its size or at least I was worried about it. I purchased this quite blindfolded without seeing it in person but really its a spray bottle full of gold shimmering powder how much more do I need to know before saying I WANT THAT! I expected to be disappointed and even set myself up for disappointment. I had convinced myself that it would arrive and be the size of a nail polish bottle or smaller! I was shockingly delighted to see that it’s much larger. It’s about 1.7oz in size (50ML) which is fantastic because you can sit it on your vanity and convince yourself that 1.7oz’s of the most gorgeous shimmering powder awaits you (when in reality you’re only getting about .35oz or less of powder).

Would I recommend this?

Of course. No question about it. If you have the money to spend on it I’d highly recommend nabbing it. I haven’t even sprayed the bottle yet and I know how gorgeous it is. I can only review this from the stand point of ripping off the protective label on the sprayer. The label had a quite a large bit of powder on it. I’m, of course, on protective mode so the general idea of spraying this and wasting any is a big no no right now. However, I took the label and rubbed it on my arm and the shimmer is outstanding on this. I’m not entirely sure I can get away with actually spraying it on my face but it’s going to make my eyes pop and my cleavage will thankfully be shimmering gold in color this Holiday Season!

I’m worried that the sprayer will clog up but aside from that the entire package is just beautiful and if you want to spoil yourself this holiday season do consider grabbing this!

The second item I got is the Ombre Eclat Duo and Liner. The compact is a heavy gold with pretty white snowflakes on the cover. It comes encased in a velvet bag and of course is a magnet for fingerprints. The two shadows you’ll receive are a light shimmering white gold color and a deeper gold color. Both appear very pigmented but I can’t say for sure yet. The liner seems slightly out of place as it’s a bronze brownish color but I believe it could work well with the two eyeshadows. If you’re a serious collector you’re going to want to add this to your stash for sure. It’s very pretty. The compact is just gorgeous and of course the makeup that lays within is equally outstanding!

What would a Guerlain collection be without Meteorites? For the Holiday Collection and keeping with the gold theme, Guerlain gives us Gold Temptation Meteorites. The box is gold with an identical snowflake image as the Ombre Exclat Duo and Liner compact. For some odd reasons the meteorites appear just a bit smaller in this box than the normal size ones but that’s ok it makes for easier application in my opinion. They are highly shimmering beads of a beige gold color. Again, perfection.

Lastly I ended up with the Gold Lash Top Coat Mascara which is a golden coat to apply over your mascara. Again, fitting with the theme, the casing matches perfectly with all of the pieces in the collection and is gold in color with the snowflake emblem. The applicator is brushless so you’ll be slipping this across your lashes after mascara application to add a shimmering shade of gold to your lashes! Very, Very nice!

Some items I didn’t get were the lipsticks and gold gloss all of which were lovely but not something I absolutely had to HAVE. One item I also couldn’t even begin to think about affording was the pressed meteorites powder. At $155 the price tag screamed at me to say absolutely NOT! However, my lovely friend and reader, Betsy, pointed out that it is refillable so it’s not entirely a bad deal but still sometimes the Muse has to know her limits and a $155 palette is a limit she can’t reach even if she wants it badly!

Overall, it’s very difficult for the Muse to pick out one or two must haves from this collection because they are all simply stunning. As much as I adore the Givenchy Collection I’m loving (and possibly favoring) the Guerlain Collection.

If you’re on a budget I’d highly recommend removing yourself from any department stores that may contain a Guerlain counter. Because you’ll see all of this in person and most definately have a hard time saying NO!

The Muse strongly recommends selling off a kidney, a child, or a soul on E-bay (you know I’m kidding of course!) to nab yourself this glamorous collection!

From year to year as collections come and go and change and rearrange I like to look over what I’ve stashed away over the years and compare price increases, quality, quantity, etc…

Some of my most favorite cosmetic possessions are from Holiday Collections and every year I am always excited to see what new items will be introduced.

Allow me to take you back on a journey into Christmas Past Collections! Maybe some of these are in your own personal stash, maybe you remember when they were released, and maybe you are still lemming them and hoping to find them on MUA or E-bay or some out of the way place that may still carry that particular item that has been on your wish list since it’s release from a Christmas that’s since past.

I’ve only taken on a few select pieces from my Holiday Collections! Hell if I did them all it’d make a bible of an entry Do enjoy the ones I’ve included in this post!

This year Smashbox hasn’t a single item that I’ve been tempted by but I remember being quite excited about last year’s Holiday Collection that was entitled Winter Nights.

The collection consisted of two parts, single cosmetic items plus kits and palettes named after legendary nightclubs.

Smashbox The Winter Lights Series

Avalon
Consisted of two double-ended mini eyeshadow and shimmer duos. The picture of Avalon can be seen above on the far right hand side of the group photo!

Spider Club

Consisted of a white leather carrying case which included a double ended palette (one side lips and one side shadow) plus three brushes

Troubadour

Consisted of a similar white leather carrying case as the Spider Club and included a lipgloss trio and lip pencil

The Derby

Consisted of a cream eyeliner trio and a flat end liner brush

The single cosmetics collection included a soft lights powder in Smashing Halo which was a soft shimmering white that showed up pink on your cheeks! It’s gorgeous and remains one of my favorite items from Christmas Past Collections! Also released was a shadow duo in shimmering shades of white and brown, a duo cream liner which included a shimmering gray liner and a shimmering white liner, and finally another of my favorite items, the Lux Shimmer Overlay which is a shimmering gold gel that can be apply to lips, eyes, and face.

Smashing Halo, Dual Liner, Dual Shadow and Lux Shimmer Overlay

Smashbox, in my opinion, has not released a nicer collection than this in a long time.

I can’t recall a time that Stila has introduced a Holiday collection that I have actually wanted. It’s been too long a time that I’ve really had any hard lemmings for a Stila holiday collection! This year is another year of snore and thankfully so because it saves me money in the long run for other more interesting collections.

I believe it was two years ago (or last year I can’t really recall which) that the Stila Star Studded Event All Over Shimmer coffret was introduced. This consisted of four shimmers in a gorgeous box with a draw that pulled out to reveal four brushes! Really a lovely set!

Stila Star Studded Event All Over Shimmer Set

Stila also did the grand collection which really needs no introduction from me. As you can see with your eyes while it was titled so!

The Stila Grand Collection

Benefit has since resorted to just throwing together gift sets that include age old favorites. They take a little dandelion, a bit of bad gal mascara, a lipgloss or two and slap it in a brightly wrapped bag, mark down the price and Happy Holidays! Not that there is anything wrong with Benefit’s version of Holiday cheer but a special product or two is always appreciated by the masses. Two years ago (again I believe it was two! I have so many collections I tend to forget when items were released) they had introduced two pretty little kits one of which the Muse happened to pick up which was entitled Dancing Darlings. The kit included 4 mini shimmering lip glosses in gold, pink, bronze, and white! Benefit I speak for all of us please do something like this again!

Tarte introduced a quad of four shimmers in a hard plastic case which was lovely! I believe this was around 2-3 years ago and I remember happily being able to purchase this at such a nice price because the shimmers are normally expensive and here was a little kit that included not 1 but 4 shades! The glistening powders you received were cute little pots that could stack into the plastic case all together!

Tarte also graced us with the Glitterati set which contained a mascara, silver glitter mascara, and silver glitter liner!

Tarte’s Glitterati Set

Tarte’s Glistening Powder Set

While in jolly old England last year around the middle of November I went to Pout and purchased three palettes from their very interesting Holiday lineup! One of which I don’t believe was introduced here in the states. Masque de Jour, Masque de La Nuit, and Spoilt Senseless each included a trio of shadows, a cream blush, a gloss, and a brush for application! I have high hopes that Pout will do a similar style palette this year!

I believe, correct me if I am wrong, the Limited Edition Gold Shimmer Brick from Bobbi Brown was introduced last holiday season! However, I purchased mine in the summer at Nordies who still had one lonely palette in stock. This year I’m actually kind of excited to see the pink limited edition Shimmer Brick they are putting out!

Ahhhh Givenchy. I remember going nuts searching out the Prismissime palette all over this bloody city. It was sold out virtually everywhere but by some chance I got it around the first week of January when it popped back in stock at the Times Square Sephora plus I happened to nab the elusive Lash Pearls to go with it!

Bare Escentuals gave us the lovely Rose Gossmaer Gift Set which the Muse uses daily and adores! This year they bring us a new set entitled Precious Diamonds which is virtually the same style kit with a new exciting powder.

Bourjois Paris gave us thee most gorgeous shimmering shades of gold and silver loose powder shadows with it’s Suivez mon Regard Eyeshadows.

Dior gave us a few backstage items that the Muse had trouble locating and finally, bless her weak heart, she was able to locate both at Nordies. The coveted Lash Pearls and the limited edition Glitter Top Coat in Gold for lips (they have since released a silver version as well).

I can remember a time when Dior was a bit of a funky, fun brand. It’s since been introducing more elegant, couture themed palettes. The Diorglam palettes were on of the few items that were released in both colors something us statesiders are not used to getting!

Prescriptives got exciting one year with it’s Startlight Shimmer Powder and Brush set! I can remember lemming this little set quite hard

Around this time last year MAC surprised us with it’s anticipated Couture collection and the masses ran to the stores to snatch up these highly coveted items! The Muse only happened to get four pieces from the set. Those were the Richmetal Highlighter and believe you me she regrets not nabbing more from the collection!

And finally MAC introduced us to it’s Formal Black Holiday collection which included gorgeous palettes in lovely black compacts with a swinging beaded tassel and the elegance of a compact that made you the envy of your friends when you whipped it out for a touch up!

I hope you enjoyed this look at Christmas Past I’ll bring you Christmas Present in a future entry. It’s only October but already the shops are filling up with an array of treats to tempt and tease your credit card and cash right out of your very wallet. Heck, you don’t even have to hand over either they will gladly walk right up to the counter for you and make their own purchases

What are your favorite Holiday Collections from Christmas Past?

Have any of these? Love them?

Tell me what you miss or want back!

My ears are always open.