Musings of a Muse

Care to treat your lips to something glossy for the Summer?

MAC is repromoting Tendertones as one of it’s many Summer Collections this year!

Want ‘em?

Tell the Muse!

Blues and Aquas are hot this season and one of the Muse’s favorite Korean brands jumps right on that bandwagon and takes blue to a smoking hot level!

Check out the Blue Collection from Banila Co! Sweet right? I’m loving the promo images for this one and I’ll definately be indulging in most of the collection!

Six colors of a cream eyeshadows are being released entitled Eye Love Aqua Shadow. W8,500 per a color which rounds out to a little over $8 USD! I’m particular in love with the colors Aqua Ice and Mint Ice!

Also released are the Lip Love Aqua Gloss which is available in 4 shades! Each color is W8,000 which converts to a little less than $8 USD! I love the nice natural glossy color on the model’s lips! Yum!

And finally two eyeshadows were also released with the collection! I’m wanting both! A pink variation and a blue! I’m picturing these will be go very well together!

Some very promising releases for Summer from Banila Co!

I’ll be reviewing these items for you shortly but for now you’ll have to drool over these images!

Do pop back soon as I post more details about HOT new collections popping out of Korea this Summer!

I’ve been having fun since last week testing out Urban Decay’s Summer Collection for 2008! Weeeeeeeeee! I love new makeup don’t you?

The good news is I’m loving it all! The bad news is the review is coming in several parts since I’m slowing testing it all out!

You might remember in my previous sneak peek of the Urban Decay Summer Collection 2008 post that I had almost all of the latest releases however in this post I am only reviewing the eyeshadows and the bronzers! Have no fear I’ll definately bring you up to date information about the other items released as soon as I’ve tested them all out fully!

You might already know by reading my blog that I hate bronzers with a serious passion! I don’t like a tan, I don’t like the sun, I don’t like bronzers, or bronzing or whatever you want to call it. I enjoy my pale skin thanks very much! I SPF myself to death in the Summer months in hopes I’ll keep a nice fresh, milky complexion!

However, Urban Decay has changed my mind about bronzers in a major way! Oh my I can’t believe I’m admitting this!

I’ve been using Urban Decay’s Baked Bronzer for about two weeks now, almost every day! I’ve been creating look after look after look using it and I sincerely cannot get enough of it! I’m really in love and I’m about to slap a hearty Muse Approval on this fantastic little compact in two seconds!

I’m shocked to say that I actually like a bronzer but this is seriously like no other bronzed powder I’ve tried before. It doesn’t give me that bad orange glow nor does it give me a dark tanned look! The looks I achieved with it are more a golden peachy glow that I think looks amazing on my skin! My skin didn’t change color when I used this. I’m not sporting a bad tan at the moment which is total plus for me as I hate looking tanned ugh (brings out my double chin yuk!).

The color of the bronzer is more of a gold shimmer that blends beautifully on the cheeks to create a glowing, healthy look that I’ve just fallen madly in love with! It’s enough color to look sun kissed but it’s not over done to the point I looked “baked”. I think my main reason for falling so deeply in love with this is it quite reminds me of a MAC MSF but without the chunky glitter.

The first few times I used this it was over a peachy blush but I proceeded to use it by itself the past few days and I noticed that the effect remains the same! I keep getting this beautiful glowing shimmer to my skin that’s gold with hints of peach.

I think I may have overdone it in some of my FOTD’s in all honesty as it looks like I stepped into the sun and stayed there a bit too long but I honestly dug the look. You’ll have to tell me what you think!

The compact is $24 USD and well worth your hard earned cash since the powder doubles up as an eyeshadow! I’ve used this both on my face and my lids to create a beautiful “touch of gold” look!

Here’s an FOTD of me using Urban Decay Baked Bronzer on both my face and my eyes! I didn’t use anything else on my face just the bronzer so you can get a general idea of the color and how it looks on!

Definitely a love for the Muse!

If you hate bronzers please for the love of god try this one! It’s amazing! The Muse Approves in a major way (and you know I don’t stick the Muse Seal of Approval on anything! Try this! Now!).

It’s been a while since Urban Decay has released any eyeshadows. They did come out with the Matte shadows in the Fall but they failed to interest me as you know I’m a shimmer girl! They also came out with the loose pigment shadows but I have most of the colors in the Deluxe eyeshadows so it seemed pointless to indulge in these! I own almost every color Urban Decay has put out! If you watched my “Stash Video” you know that I have every single color known to man and some that aren’t even around anymore! I’m a big time fan of the shadows! Of course when I heard two new eyeshadow colors were being released I was all over it like wildfire!

The two newest colors are Rush and Blaze. Honestly, you might be thinking how shimmery these are or how glittery but good news for the glitter haters they aren’t overloaded with shimmer or glitter. They blend perfectly with minimal to no fall out!

One color that could be an interesting, cheaper dupe of NARS Galapagos Eyeshadow would be Rush. Rush is described as a coppery bronze where as Galapagos is a chocolate brown with gold infusion! Both appear similar colors but I haven’t yet seen Galapagos in person so I’m unsure!

As you can see from the pictures they look quite similar but the Urban Decay version is much cheaper! I haven’t gotten my hands on Galapagos yet but as soon as I do I’ll be sure to do swatch comparisons!

I was wary of Rush at first as it just appears sorta blah in the pot but after application I was delighted at how well it went with the Baked Bronzer!

Here’s an FOTD of me using Urban Decay Baked Bronzer and Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Rush:

I might have been slightly wary of trying out Rush but I had no problems jumping in with two feet when it came to Blaze. Blaze is such a beautiful shimmery golden peach that looks so amazing on! I fell deeply in love just by swatching but once I had it on my lids it was most definately true love!

Here’s an FOTD of me using Urban Decay Baked Bronzer yet again and Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Blaze:

I’m extremely pleased so far with Urban Decay’s Summer Collection. I have to say that I wouldn’t normally purchase these particularly shades for myself so I’m very happy I had the chance to test something a little bit different! I’m delighted with both shadows and the bronzer and I definately give them a go ahead for purchase!

Here’s a few swatches to help you out with your purchasing (do ignore the fact that I labeled the Baked Bronzer wrong! It’s not “Half Baked” it’s just “Baked”):

Without Flash


With Flash

So far Urban Decay’s Summer Collection is fast turning into a favorite release for me this season!

Urban Baked Bronzer and Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Rush and Blaze get a big Muse Approval for purchase!

Do have a click over to the Urban Decay website for more information on the Summer releases plus face charts!

Love Urban Decay?

Want any of this?

My ears (and eyes) are open! Speak to the Muse!

Stop back soon to hear about the rest of the Urban Decay Summer Collection including the new colored Big Fatty Mascaras!

Eyeko is my favorite little brand in all of England (and that’s sayin’ something considering what a Lushie I am!).

It appears Eyeko has a few new items up on it’s site that I did spy with my little eye! One product in particular that caught my eye was my very favorite cream in new clothes!

Eyeko’s popular cream has been revamped and repackaged and is looking quite glam! The Muse is excited as she’s running low so a new package definately appeals!

I guess Eyeko went all out for Spring/Summer because I see quite a few new items available on the website!

How about some Eyeko Eye Beauty Eyeshadows?

£5.00 gets you a fun tin of eyeshadows to make yourself pretty! These appear similar to Pop’s Eye Cake but they have my heart for the cute design on the package! Three options to choose from too! The Muse has her eye on the Pretty Eye Palette!

If it’s sparkle and shimmer you seek I imagine Eyeko has you covered with it’s new Sparkle Powder! £5.00 gets you a cute box full of candy scented shimmer to dust where you please!

You might need something to remove all the makeup on your face at the end of the day so Eyeko has new Face Off Wipes! Grab a box of 20 for £5.00 and wipe all that makeup off your face with a pre-soaked towelette that contains only good things for your skin like Vitamin E! They claim to remove water proof mascara too! I’m on it!

I’m always looking for my holy grail concealer might Eyeko’s new Touch Up and Go Concealer be it? At £5.00 I can afford to say yes to a test drive!

Considering our good friend Kylie Minogue is such a great fan of Eyeko Cream she should be happy about the release of Eyeko’s Touch Up and Glow Highlighter! Click your way to beautiful for £5.00!

All of Eyeko’s new items are in my cart for purchase! I’ll definately bring you a review shortly!

Love Eyeko?

Want any of the new line up?

Tell the Muse!

As always, the US is slow as poke to jump on the cool wagon! Bourjois Paris has updated all of it’s sites, aside from the American one, with a new Summer Collection that includes………drum roll please………Cream Blush!

Behold:

Why oh why aren’t we getting this? When did life become so bloody unfair? Who was it that upset the Bourjois Paris Gods!? I demand to know!

At this point I think it’s safe to say we may not be seeing this as the Summer Collection for Bourjois Paris has already made an appearance at Sephora however I am keeping hope alive that maybe, somehow, some way, this wonderful cream blush will make an appearance as a late Summer release!

Pray with me?

Want ‘em?

Love ‘em as much as me?

Join me in sending some good vibrations towards Bourjois Paris and maybe just maybe they’ll hear us and grant us this one little favor!

One day only to stock up and save at Beauty.com! 20% Off your total order so go on and score some Summer Collections at a nice discounted price then come back here and tell me what you got!

20% off your entire purchase at Beauty.com is happening today only so run don’t walk to nab yourself some great deals!

Click to shop!

I have no idea who these fabulous Beauty Crunch people are but the Muse likey them alot! This site appears to be solely affiliated with Stila and offers some super discounts on Stila Cosmetics! I just got this in my inbox from Stila so I assume they are now shoving off older collections to the Beauty Crunch people to sell off!

I’m all for cheap Stila!

Some Steals and Deals I’d like to partake of (I feel a big order coming on):

IT Gloss Trio $7 USD

Stila Blanc Palette (Christmas/Holiday Release ’07) $11.20 USD

Lip Pots $5.95 USD

Travel Lip Glaze Trio $9 USD

The deals are rockin’! Click here to visit the site and maybe grab a few things for yourself before I clean up! I refuse to be held responsible if it’s all gone by the time you click!

I think I’m orderin’…someone stop me please?

Wanting anything for yourself?

Tell me!

I’ve been wanting to try out Thymes Red Cherie Cologne for a while now! I saw so many reviews about it that my head was swimming with visions of how awesome it would be!

I finally got a chance to test drive Thymes Red Cherie for myself and I’m here to say that I am disappointed but I am also pretty excited.

I believe there might be a contradiction in there somewhere!

When I first heard the description of this I nearly fell over! Pomegranate, red cherries, passion flower…OH WOW! I really needed to smell like red cherries you see! I was thinking how fruity and gorgeous this would be! Turns out that I was quickly disappointed upon first sniff! Sadly it’s not as fruity as I had hoped!

However, the good news is I’ve fell in love with it as it’s such a playful scent that morphs as my body chemistry goes up and down!

When I first spray this on I get a floral almost sweet scent of the jasmine and passion flower. This lasts throughout the day but as my body temperature rises the floral turns this into a sweeter blend and it begins to sparkle and become effervescent! Almost lemony if that makes sense!

It’s a very happy, playful blend that’s sure to please anyone who likes fun fragrances! It may turn you off that it’s a Cologne Spray considering most woman have a problem with Cologne Spray not lasting long but the good news it’s very long wearing and lingers beautifully for me and it’s constantly changes and begins to smell differently as the day goes on!

If you’re looking for a unique, light scent for the Summer this is definately something you should consider purchasing!

Visit the Thymes Website for more great goodies! They have quite an amazing selection of unique scents and products for those of you who are as addicted to Bath and Body goodies as the Muse is!

Tried Thymes before?

Tried Red Cherie?

Loving it?

Wanting it?

Tell the Muse!

Leave it to our friends at Jelly Pong Pong to get creative for Summer!

How about Egg Confetti for your bath?

Real Eggs filled with moisturizing, fruity smelling bath powder! Hmmmmm count the Muse excited!

These look simply divine! Two scent options are available for your bathing pleasure, Apple and Rhubarb and Blackcurrant and Orange. Yum! Each set contains 6 eggs and are 10.00 GBP (About $20 USD).

I’m wondering how they plan on shipping these beauties without them breaking hmmmmmm……………..

Want some more Jelly Pong Pong?

Check out the face charts below to create a gorgeous, vibrant face for Summer!

Shimmer, Glimmer, and Shine your way through Summer with Vincent Longo’s newest collection entitled Beautiful Dreamer!

It looks very promising! Since my addiction to cream eyeshadows has escalated recently I’m jumping around in excitement at the prospect of the eyeshadows being released with the Vincent Longo Summer Collection!

I heart Vincent Longo Eyeshadows in a major way so I’m all over these new liquid eyeshadows! Sadly, the color selection is pretty small with only four colors but I have hopes if they sell well maybe they’ll extend the color line up! These promise shimmer and if the promo image is anything to go by I’d say they look superb! They don’t come cheap at $24 USD but I’ve never purchased a Longo product I didn’t love so cheers to the Muse purchasing these and reviewing them for you shortly!

Also included in the line up are three colors of Gelli Gloss. Each gloss is $15 USD and provides a sheer, delicate color for your lips! They look interesting enough but I think I can safely skip.

And finally Hydro Stick Blush in 4 colors for $25 USD each. These remind me of NARS Multiplies and heck they are nearly $12 USD cheaper so you might want to head to Sephora and swatch yourself silly trying to find that perfect Orgasm dupe for the price!

I’m looking forward to this collection and I am very tempted to order it online but I think I’ll head into Sephora to have a quick peek and swatch prior to purchasing!

Loving it?

Wanting it badly?

Tell the Muse!

I remember when I was around 13 or 14 years old, a very not so long time ago, I had these really cute Bonne Bell flip-up gloss sticks. Now at the time I was the height of popularity due to these awesome glosses! I’m talking major cool here!

Turns out, after a quickie visit to Bonne Bell’s website, they still make these flip up gloss sticks! W00t! I’m all for re-living my teenage years!

Ok, ok I might be a tad bit old for cosmetics purchased from Bonne Bell however Avon is allowing me to cash in on awesome packaging with it’s new Pro-to-Go Lipstick. Hells these don’t only carry the same great style as the my old Bonne Bell flip glosses they also happen to carry about the same price tag at $5.99 USD each! Can you seriously hurt anyone by trying these out?

You know how much I heart Avon lately right? I couldn’t not test try these new Pro-to-Go Lipsticks for myself so away I went on my merry way to obtain some!

They happen to be pretty darn nice! The formula is a beautifully moisturizing, glossy lip color that has fantastic pigmentation and nice staying power!

I can’t begin to say how impressed I am with Avon lately. As a long time Avon hater I must admit that lately some of their products are pretty bloody good plus the amazingly, inexpensive price tag keeps me coming back for second and third helpings!

I’ll go ahead and admit that the awesome formula isn’t really what had turned me on to purchasing these….I liked the packaging. Don’t you dare sit there and say you never purchased cosmetics for the packaging alone! You’d be a liar if you said that!

The packaging on these is just super and I’m sweating it really hard! Sorry but it’s a fact that the packaging had my heart before the formula every did! It’s your basic slimline lipstick with a chic little click slider on the slide that slides up and down to open the cap on top and bring the lip color into view for a quick slip on the lips and go thus the name I guess…Pro…to…Go!

These are available in 15 colors which is pretty darn nice! Gives you a nice selection of color to choose from! They are on par with MAC Slimshines formula wise and are at least half the price! So if you’re kinda budgeting yourself at the moment and you’re lemming MAC Slimshines these are a nice, inexpensive substitute!

The two color selections I took for a test drive were Russet which is a beautiful maroon red and Pink Passion which is a very beige, nude pink.

Both colors looked great on even though I’m not normally a nude girl I did enjoy how nice Pink Passion appeared on my lips!

I actually used them without gloss as they were moisturizing enough to do without plus they did have a faint gleam on my lips.

All and all, for the price, you can’t really go wrong or hurt anyone by giving these a try! I’d definately give them a whirl! The price, packaging, and the good formula all work well to create a really nice, solid product!

Cheers to Avon for creating some killer items lately! The Muse likey!

Tried these?

Love ‘em?

Hate ‘em?

Tell the Muse!

Click on over here to check out the color selections available on Avon Pro-to-Go Lipsticks! Definately take a peek at the color Fruit Punch! The Muse is loving it and must have it!

Time to haul ladies!

MAC has released all three of it’s Sci-Fi themed Summer Collections on it’s website and they are ready for your purchasing pleasure!

MAC Neo Sci-Fi is the color themed collection and includes eyeshadows, blushes, lipglasses, etc…

Lipsticks $14 USD

• Sci-Fi-Delity – (Frost) Burnt red with golden pearl
• Pleasureseeker – (Glaze) Creamy pearl
• Astral – (Lustre) Mid-tone brown with red pearl
• Electro – (Lustre) Bright orange
• Sunsonic – (Frost) White gold

Lipglass $14 USD

• Supreme – (Frost) Bronze brown with white pearlized pigments
• Naked Space – (Frost) Creamy mid-tone nude peach
• Pink Grapefruit – (Frost) Pink-orange with gold pearl
• Soft and Slow – (Cream) Mid tone creamy plum

Cremestick Lip Liner $14 USD

• Beurre – Dirtied plum (Repromote)
• 80% – Deep, deep cocoa (Repromote)
• Summerfruit – Pale coral (Repromote)

Eye Shadows $14 USD

• Magnetic Fields – Black brown with silver pearlized pigments
• Femme Fi – Frosty golden cream
• Evening Aura – Frosty golden peach
• Time and Space – Frosty copper
• Expensive Pink – Pink with gold duochrome

Sheertone Shimmer Blush $17.50 USD

• Spaced Out – Shimmery peach
• X-Rocks – Shimmery mauve

Mascara $11

• PlushlashPlushblack

Nail Lacquers $10 USD

• Metalist
• Plasma Blu
• Neon 8
• Phosphor

MAC Solar Field includes mostly items for your face including new face/eye pigments!

Solar Bits

• Sunpower – Light metallic tan with gold pearlized pigments
• Bronzescape – Yellowed-brown with gold pearlized pigments
• Black Ore – Rich black with gold pearlized pigments
• Scatterays – Soft metallic peach with gold pearlized pigments

Bronzing Powder

• Refined Golden
• Solar Riche

Brushes:

• 168
• 239

And finally MAC Future Earth is a release of brand new skincare items!

• Volcanic Ash Exfoliator- $19 USD
• Prep + Prime Microfine Lip Refinisher-$14.50 USD
• Charged Water in Revitalizing Energy-$19 USD

I haven’t indulged in anything yet but I am tempted by a few items from the MAC Neo Sci-Fi Collection! The eyeshadows look particularly nice in this collection!

How about you?

Want any of this?

Loving it?

Hating it?

Tell the Muse!

Well….Blogger totally sucks!

It took all the comments and posted them ahead of time! Without any help from yours truly.

So the answers to our contest are in ahead of time!

That stinks!

But the good news is you can of course still enter to win!

Try not to cheat and look through comments!

Good Luck!

Morning girls (and guys)!

I got a ton of comments in regards to the SpinLash but I won’t be posting the comments until the contest ends. I forgot to mention that the contest ends on Friday!

I’m having an absolute blast (and a laugh) with the answers! You cheeky little monkees! How many of you googled? Go on admit it!

Whether you knew the facts or you googled I wanted to say thanks for participating! I’m really enjoying reading the guesses and replies!

If you haven’t entered to win do visit my SpinLash contest! Click!

The SpinLash!

SpinLash is a revolving brush that coats each of your lashes (both lower and upper) with mascara while avoiding clumping! If you have a problem with clumping this be the tool for you!

I don’t really have much of a problem with clumping but I must admit that this definately does a mighty fine job of grabbing each lash and coating it in mascara plus not only separating my lashes but adding nice volume at the same time.

I was a bit scared of placing a spinning brush anywhere near my eye area however it works basically the same way your regular wand would aside from the fact it rotates. The bristles revolve all the way around in a gentle, slow motion not only coating your lashes with your mascara but also curling them up and out plus separating them and adding volume.

The SpinLash is only $14.95 USD and comes with it’s own mascara however, in my humble opinion, the best part of this product is you’re able to use it with your own mascara! For me that’s a total plus!

The mascara this comes with isn’t too bad and hey it’s free so no rants from me about that however I prefer using the unit with my own mascara. I tried it with it’s own mascara plus my Majorca Majolica mascara. I was astounded with the results I got when using it with the MJ Mascara. MJ adds super volume to my lashes anyway but when used it in conjunction with the SpinLash I was impressed with the glamorous look of my lashes!

The brush on the SpinLash is soft rubber which makes for easy clean up. I used it and proceeded to dunk it in alcohol and wipe clean after use. The mascara came off fairly easy plus it prepped the brush for my next use.

The positive experience of having one product to not only curl my lashes but also apply product with the added benefits of separating my lashes and adding extra volume is definately a likey for the Muse! Whether this will completely do away with my beloved lash curler remains to be seen but it’s definately worth checking out for yourself plus you can’t really go wrong for the price!

The SpinLash in Action!

If you’re Asian and you’re plagued with short, stubby lashes this might be the tool for you as the unit does a good job of grabbing the lashes and pulling them up and out!

All in all it’s an interesting tool and worth trying out for yourself!

The SpinLash is available for purchase now at www.SpinLash.com

They have some upcoming products that caught my eye on the website so do visit! One of which was entitled SpinBlush! Whoa…the Muse likes the sound of that!

Want a SpinLash for your own?

Join the Muse’s Contest to Win a SpinLash! I have three Brand New SpinLashes with Mascara to give away to three readers at Musings!

The contest is open Worldwide so all my pretty readers from all over the world can enter to win your very own SpinLash!

All you need to do to enter is identify the girl below and enter in the comment field who she is! Now it’s not as simple as saying who she is in “real life” but more along the lines of what character she recently played!

All the names of the readers who guess correctly will be placed in a bowl and three will be randomly selected to win a SpinLash!

Hint: Mr. Saxon aka The *blank* once mentioned how her “father” (I use the term father loosely!) supposedly single handedly sealed the rift in The *blank* Cascade!

You didn’t think I was going to make it that easy did you?

Wanna play some more?

Fill in the blanks above and win an extra surprise! My lips are sealed what the surprise is but if you guess correctly I’ll be sure to include it with your SpinLash!

So let’s see…..

That’s one person you need to identify in order to be entered to win a free SpinLash and two blanks you need to fill out in order to win a second surprise!

There is one other catch to winning! Should you win you’ll have to review the SpinLash at Musings! The Muse wants to know what you think of the SpinLash!

Good Luck! May the force be with you!