Posts From September 2008
I’m super busy this morning trying to get a ton of things cleared off my desk! Yak! I have a slew of comments to get through and will do so shortly, promise!
How are you this dull Tuesday? Looks like a storm is brewing outside my office window and I wish I could just go back to bed!
I’ll leave you with a little mid-morning Beauty Byte from the Muse’s mates at FabSugarUK!
Victoria Beckham is sporting an interesting new spiky cropped hair do and FabSugarUK has the photos to prove it!
Click on over and have a peek!
I love it! It makes her look younger and contours her face quite wonderfully. Looks like she’s copying Katie this time instead of the other way around!
Whatta ya think?
Love it?
Hate it?
Tell the Muse! Curious what you think!
There was some discussion after I posted my NARS Revolt review over whether or not MAC Lipglass in Jampacked was similiar to NARS Lipgloss in Revolt.
Both shades are completely different to me. Revolt is a sheer grape where as Jampacked has more of a tinge of cherry to it!
As per your request here are images comparing the too!
I hope this helps 
NARS Lipgloss in Revolt Review
MAC Cult of the Cherry Review featuring an FOTD using MAC Lipglass in Jampacked
Holy cow it was SO humid here in the city on Saturday YAK! I was out with friends and wandering around 34th Street Saturday so I had the chance to put my new Beauty Credit Lovely Powder Pact Matt to the test!
It was pretty darn humid but as the morning turned to afternoon we got major rain fall so my Beauty Credit Lovely Powder Pact Matt was put to the test for sure! Since humidity brings out oily, shiny skin for me this was a great excuse to try out this new powder.
First off the Muse is loving the cute packaging as always Beauty Credit went out of it’s way to create a unique, cute, and pretty package. The powder comes in a silver compact with the Beauty Credit rocking horse emblem on the cover and embedded in the powder itself. Honestly, as cute as the compact is I’m most impressed with the little lid that covers the powder and allows you to place your puff on top. Little things like this always please me to no end as it shows alot of love and consideration went into the making of the product. I simply hate it when companies make an awesome powder and proceed to have no place to put your sponge BUT on top of the powder. It makes a mess doing this plus the mirror gets powder all over it…yak! Total disaster! Lucky for us Beauty Credit kept all these things in mind and proceeded to address them by having a little protective cover for the powder! Perfect!
This particular powder is available in three shade selection all of which contain a good amount of beige to tone down yellow tones. Although the formula is most flattering to Asian skin tones anyone else can easily get away with using this! I always find powders from Japan and Korea an interesting texture thats both light and offers good coverage. In this case the Lovely Powder Pact in Matt is a mattifying powder which is perfect for full coverage if you don’t have a ton to hide. It offers a transparent coverage that gives a very natural finish which is perfect for lighter coverage, touch ups, or to tame shine and oil!
Like most powders of it’s kind this needs a touch up or two after about four to five hours of wear depending on how oily your skin gets. I used my powder as an all over foundation with a bit of blush for my outing on Saturday and through humidity and rain it lasted quite a while before needing a touch up.
Completed look using Beauty Credit Lovely Powder Pact Matt as my foundation with a little bit of Bare Escentuals Blush in Fruit Cocktail
I think the price on this is a key selling point at £7 which is truly a wonderful price tag for a very nice powder.
All in all I love this powder and I’m slapping a Muse Approval on it for purchase! How cute will you be whipping this out of your purse for touch ups!?
Visit Beauty Credit Cosmetics
Loves it!
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Tried it before?
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Beauty Credit Lovely Q10 Pearl Shine Review
Beauty Credit Lovely Q10 Makeup Fitting Gel Review
Learn more about Beauty Credit Cosmetics
The vampy lip is definately in this season. Bold shades of red, purple, and even black make up an interesting lip look for the Fall however pulling off these looks isn’t as easy as it appears!
If you’re like the Muse you may love the look of the vampy lip but might be a bit wary of trying it out for yourself. This could be because you shy away from bolder looks or you might have a fuller face and you’re scared such a loud lip will look garish on, whatever your reason for not trying out this hot new trend I’ll happily recommend you one of my personal picks for an easy, quick, simple, and quite flatteringly subdued vampy lip look.
NARS Lipgloss in Revolt is a wonderful gloss for creating a perfect purple pout while keeping it sheer yet elegant without creating a loud, bold effect.
The color is a simple grape shade that’s flattering on most skin tones. The effect is a very nice dark, crushed berry look on the lips. Intensity of the shade can be built up or toned down to suit the look you prefer.
I applied several layers of NARS Lipgloss in Revolt and still the look is natural and flattering without being extreme. I think the gloss is perfection if you’re wanting to sport the vampy look but not take the plunge with a very bold color.
Vampy lips for the Fall are Muse Approved and products that make this trend easy and simple get a big Yay from the Muse!
You can purchase NARS Lipgloss from the NARS website and be sure to check out the color Metis too which looks like a create gloss for a vampy lip!
Check out some past bold lips looks below!
Giorgio Armani Beauty Lip Wax Review
MAC Queen’s Sin and Royal Romp FOTD
Urban Decay Lipstick Review
NARS Lipgloss in Revolt VS MAC Lipglass in Jampacked
I was the guest editor for the September issue of The Beauty Ideal this month. I was pretty excited to get this month’s issue together and since I’m such a big lover of autumn I happily themed my issue accordingly!
I worked with some great bloggers and friends to put together a really fun issue. This month’s issue features a ton of great ideas for Fall beauty including tutorials, a video, and tons of great cosmetics to great you ready for the upcoming cooler weather!
I hope you’ll have a look at this month’s Beauty Ideal and tell me what you think! It sure was fun putting it together!
Special thanks to all those bloggers who participated and made the issue a sincerely great one!
Exclusively from Nordstrom Bobbi Brown’s New Long Wear Eye Palette looks gorgeous!
After my review of Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer I got a few questions about how it looked on so here’s an FOTD using Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting before applying the rest of my foundation, concealer, and makeup. My original review can be found
here if you missed it!
I’m testing out the green, pink, and lilac versions of the primer this week and will review them shortly as well!
If you’ve tried Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer do shout at me in the comment field as I’m curious how you are liking or loving it!
Better later than never at all…or so they tell me!
I’m a bit late and behind with my MAC posts you have to forgive me! I am, as always, a MAC fan girl but for some odd reason I got a bit mucked up when I went on vacation. My MAC Cool Heat post never made it up and my MAC Solar Bits review never got put up either! And by the very way I still have Cult of the Cherry items to blog too! Oops!
Bad Muse, Bad!
However, I figure a review of MAC Solar Bits is definately in order so I might as well slap this up before we all get old and gray (gosh, I think I may already fit part of that description or..all..eep!).
MAC Solar Bits were hailed by the masses and I definately enjoyed grabbing three of the four shades released this Summer however I did have some minor rants and a few raves about this particular style of pigments.
Although these were extremely pigmented with a very interesting texture they were a god awful mess to use sadly. The pigments are not finely milled and are made up of chunky pieces that caused major fall out woes. With a bit of care, patience, and some serious prepping you could create some great looks!
The formula is a good deal different from the standard pigment line. Although the pigmentation and color payoff is about the same as any other MAC pigment you will notice an interesting characteristic Solar Bits possesses. Where as a normal pigment stays one color, Solar Bits had a special knack of morphing into an entirely new hue when you pressed down and began the blending process. Each small curd of pigment would burst upon contact with your brush or sponge applicator and the shade would morph slightly creating a rather interesting effect.
Scatterays paired up with some gold!
Bronzescape on it’s own.
Black Ore creating an unusual effect over some MAC Pigment in Kelly Green!
The colors I have are Bronzescape, Black Ore, and Scatterays.
Bronzescape was a brassy, bronze shade that had a faint shimmer of gold, Scatterays is a soft peachy shade with hints of gold, and Black Ore was an off black with gold. All three shades had faint traces of gold that made them extra special. I’m particularly grateful that I don’t have to tuck these away since the Summer is over, they’ll easily work well into the colder seasons for an interesting smoky eye look especially Black Ore.
Although Solar Bits LOOK bigger they actually aren’t. Each pot is 3.9g/0.14oz in size where as a standard pigment is 7.5g/0.26oz. Interesting little fact for you there.
Although interesting and unique I wasn’t too impressed with Solar Bits and as I mentioned I did find them a bit of a mess to work with.
I definately liked trying these but I’m unsure if it was the color selection or just the product itself that’s not getting a complete WOW for these!
All in all another interesting offering from MAC.
Did you get these?
Love ‘em?
Hate ‘em?
Skipped?
Tell the Muse!
MAC Neo Sci-Fi Review
MAC Cult of Cherry Review
MAC Overrich Pigments Review
MAC Color Forums Review
I really do love some of Philosophy’s offerings and the idea of having a cute little packaged box with some of their greater products really appeals to me!
Philosophy’s new “the Natural” Beauty Box contains everything you need to create a super natural, super lovely look!
The box is $75 USD and quite a good deal in my opinion. It’s also a particularly lovely deal do to the fact that you’ll also receive a Hope in a Jar and Amazing Grace Buffing Body Wash sample with your purchase at Nordstroms.
The box contains all of the following items:
Philosophy Purity Cleanser 2oz (The Muse’s favorite cleanser!)
Philosophy The Present Clear Makeup 1oz
Philosophy Supernatural Mineral Blush Duo in Pink/Bronze
Philosophy Supernatural Blush Brush
Philosophy Big Gorgeous Mascara
Philosophy Supernatural Fingerpaints in Cool (I LOVE these things!)
Philosophy Supernatural Lip Pencil in Nude
Philosophy Supernatural Lipgloss in Soft Pink
Philosophy Microdelivery Peel 0.3oz
Philosophy Vitamin C/Peptide Crystals
Although the skincare products are smaller sizes all that makeup items included are full size which makes for a rather nice lot of items at a really wonderful price.
I have many of the items in the box but I sure wish they had introduced this before as I’d have been all over it!
Love it?
Want it?
Adore Philosophy?
Favorite Philosophy items?
Tell the Muse!
Philosophy 3 in 1 Shower Gel Bubbly Review
Philosophy Purity Foaming Cleanser Review
Philosophy Green Apple 3 in 1 Shower Gel Review
Philosophy Microdelivery Wash Review
If you’re a tiny bit tired of all the metallics, vampy lips, and generally dark smoked out looks that normally come with the Fall season you might want to indulge in some of Cargo’s vibrant, bolder, and hipper Fall Collection.
I few weeks ago I told you about some of Cargo’s new Fall Collection and I was quite happy to get my hands on one of the several Cargo Color Eyeshadow Palettes released this season. Although Cargo definately has a bit of a natural, neutral look on offer for those who prefer a warmer makeup for the cooler weather, they also happen to have spiced it up a bit and added some pretty Muse friendly shades to their new palettes. Being unconventional is the spice of the Muse’s life and thankfully Cargo obviously agrees when they created the Color Eyeshadow Palette in Tahiti.
You know how much I adore teals, aquas, and greens and Cargo’s Color Eyeshadow palette in Tahiti contains all of the above and then some! One of the key things that grabbed my attention about Cargo’s new palette is the very interesting packaging. Cargo has for many years come in a unique tin casing which was quite a different presentation for makeup however in the last two years they have definately branched out and added new and interesting packaging. Cargo hasn’t forgotten it’s roots and still offers many of the same tin cases to this day that they always had.
New Packaging vs. Old Packaging
The Cargo Color Eyeshadow Palette is actually considerably different from those tins of old. This palette comes in a slick, heavy clear plastic case with a gorgeous image on the cover. Open it up and four large shadows await your hand plus a generous size mirror!
The shadows are huge and comparable to Bobbi Brown’s Metallic Eyeshadow singles. I think the thing that can be appreciated most about these shadows is the buildable color option. Each shade applies sheer and light however the color is easily buildable with a few extra swipes. Going from a lighter look to an eyepopping look with ease and simplicity definately appeals. I personally prefer a pop when I use colors like the ones in the Tahiti palette however many are a little bit scared of bolder shades. The palette makes it easy and goof proof to create a softer look without going completely bold. The shades aren’t heavily pigmented however with a heavier hand you can definately get awesome color payoff. They blend wonderfully well and are a very interesting silky texture. The entire palette contains four flattering shades that just work together which I love. My biggest pet peeve is being presented with a quad of shadows that don’t work together and leave me puzzling over how to use them, not the case with this palette. The colors simply work alone or together to create a stunning, bolder look for Fall.
The Tahiti palette contains a grassy green shade, a deeper grasshopper green shade, a true blue shade, and a greenish aqua shade. The colors are semi-matte and contain no shimmer however this does not prevent them from being great.
I created three seperate looks with my palette but you can easily get a dozen or more looks from the one palette by wearing each shade separately or combining shades to create different looks or colors. I was particularly delighted with how well each shade meshed and morphed with the next to create a new shade.
This look was created by using the lighter and darker greens in the palette.
This look was creating used three of the four shades. I used the greenish aqua on my lid and creased and deepened it by adding a bit of the blue. I finished the look by adding a bit of the deeper green shade to V of my eye.
This is my favorite look! I used the greenish aqua shade all over my lid and crease and lined my lower lash line with the blue color. I think the blue contrasts beautifully with the aqua!
With 8 shades to choose from and a $28 USD price tag I’m really liking Cargo’s Color Eyeshadow Palette for both it’s versatility and it’s stray from the Fall norm!
Tahiti is definately worth checking out! I enjoyed my adventure with this one!
Check it out at Cargo’s website or your local Sephora!
Cargo Cosmetics Fall Collection 2008
Cargo Blue_Ray Concealer Review
Although the official Autumnal Equinox is normally between the 22nd or the 23rd of September I still associate the end of Summer with the day after Labor Day.
As far as the Muse is concerned we are in full Fall force mode even though it’s still fairly warm here, the nights are cooler and I’ve pretty much had Fall cosmetic collections on my head for the last month.
Summer went awful quickly this year for some reason! It could be because I started reviewing Fall collections so early or maybe it just flew by because I was so busy with life, the universe, and everything.
Who knows.
Either way it’s definately Fall for me!
What better way to celebrate the end of Summer then with a great post rounding up all my favorites, addictions, and obsessions in the cosmetic universe for Summer 2008!
Lips
Although no lipsticks caught my eye in a major way this Summer, I know for a fact that many glosses thrilled me to pieces! I favor gloss in the Summer anyway so this suited me just fine!
I was particularly enthusiastic when it came to MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit and it quickly made it’s way onto my Summer Must Have Makeup list! The color was sheer perfection and it’s possibly one of the best colors I’ve come across by MAC or any other brand for that matter!
Summer Must Have Makeup: MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit
I had a soft spot for NARS Lipgloss in Misbehave but you won’t catch me tucking it away now that Summer is over! The color can bring me way into the Fall and straight through the Winter! That beautiful cherry red with gold shimmer is perfection for any Season!
Summer Must Have Makeup: NARS Lipgloss in Misbehave
Dior’s Ultra Gloss Reflect had three great shades but I was partial to the gorgeous hues of Beige Lurex and Corale Lame.
Dior Ultra Gloss Reflect Review
Face of the Day Featuring Dior Ultra Gloss in Beige Lurex
Aube Gloss Frutina in EX05 has quickly made it’s self at home on my favorite list! The color is virtually perfect for both the warm Summer and the cooler Fall weather!
Aube Gloss Frutina Summer 2008 Review
Eyes
I was pretty taken with MAC’s Neo Sci-Fi Collection and was pretty hyped over the great shadows released with the collection!
MAC eyes shadow in Evening Aura and Expensive Pink surely did please me and I found myself reaching for both on more than one occasion this Summer!
MAC Neo Sci-Fi Review
When it came to spicing up all my orange, bronze, and gold looks this Summer I couldn’t help but reach for my Majolca Majorca Lash Heat Metallic Mascara! I loved how this added a bit of heat and sparkle to my lashes!
Majolica Majorca Summer 2008 Review
Shu Uemura never fails to thrill and I can remember my excitement upon testing out the Shu Uemura Fleur de Source Eyeshadow Palette! This palette kept me company all month long and will last well into the Fall and Winter and right into the Spring when it arrives. A palette that offers versalitity and a slew of options is always approved by the Muse!
Shu Uemura Fleur de Source Eyeshadow Palette Review
KATE Dual Carat’s are easily my most favorite eyeshadow duos around and GD-2 made me realize how much I adore these great palettes! GD-2 lent a certain refreshing look to my eyes while adding a bit of sparkle! Since gold is always in style when the holidays come around this fun Summer palette will work it’s magic when the weather becomes cooler!
KATE Dual Carat Review
Cheeks
Having popping cheeks was quite the rage for me during the hot weather! I fell absolutely in love and lust when I got my hands on Urban Decay Half Baked Bronzer in Glided Gold! It was love at first site and it instantly changed my mind about bronzers!
Urban Decay Summer Collection Review
Lending pop, sizzling, and cracking color to my cheeks were Aromaleigh Rocks! An instant classic for the Muse and most definately a funky item to add to your beauty blush stash!
Aromaleigh Rocks! Mineral Blush Review
MAC Neo-Sci played favorites not only with it’s eye shadows but also with it’s blush! I adored Spaced Out so much that I had considered for a while that I might need a back up! Soft, Peachy, Perfection! A favorite of the Muse’s!
MAC Neo Sci-Fi Review
Two cheek stains quickly climbed the ranks and became staple items for me this Summer! Both Benefit Posietint and Bourjois Paris Rouge Hi-Tech were reached for again, and again and again for a fresh glowing look that was perfect for the warm weather!
Benefit Posietint Review
Bourjois Paris Hi-Tech Rouge Review
Summer Skincare
You recently read how much I adored Etude House Aqua Sherbet Ice Toner but it’s worth a re-mention how much I loved adding this to my Summer skincare regime!
Etude House Aqua Sherbet Skincare Review
MAC Neo Sci-Fi did it again with the release of MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator! Let’s hope MAC brings this one back!!!!!!
MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator Review
Summer Scents
I can’t forget how much I was loving Clean Perfume’s newest scent entitled Summer! It’s been my favorite scent of the season since I got it!
Victoria’s Secret’s Beauty Rush Body Double Mist Tropical Cocktails in Punchy was equally well reached for and used!
Clean Summer Eau Fraiche Review
Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush Body Double Mist Tropical Cocktails Review
I’m saddened Summer is over but boy do I love the Fall!!!! I look forward to incoporating some of my Summer favorites into my Fall looks.
What were your favorite Summer makeup releases?
Tell the Muse!
Current Beauty Addictions
Year End Review: Favorites List
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