Thanks so much to everyone who replied and loaded up Musings. First off, apologies if you had any problems with the site today.
Secondly, I really appreciate the feedback via twitter, comments, and email to let me know if you had trouble.
And thirdly, I have no new posts for today as I didn’t have time to watermark the pictures or edit my posts that are stored up for today’s edition of Musings. Sorry guys, I’ll be back with more stuff tomorrow.
Take advantage of the time to dig around the archives bet you’ll find a post or two you never read.
I’m off for some dinner now with friends to de-stress…been a heck of a weird day.
Innovative beauty? Possibly. bareMinerals Radiance Rocks are made up of three minerals in their most natural state.
Hmmm….
Interesting but what’s it for?
Jump!
This set is made up of three mineral rocks in various shades for a sheer wash of refreshing, cooling color on eyes, cheeks, or body.
Possibly one of the most interesting cosmetic assembles the Muse has seen to date these do so appear interesting. They come packaged with a Kabuki Brush for application and three shades which are bronze, champagne, and warm rose. Honestly, they look gorgeous but the question is will they be messy or way too pigmented to work with?
Remains to me scene but this Muse did so plop ‘em in her cart at Sephora and is eagerly awaiting their arrival on her doorstep…maybe they’ll be as special as they look!
What do you think?
Available for Sephora Beauty Insiders for $35.
P.S. Bare Minerals has done “rock”-like cosmetics before with a bronzer rock this past Summer.
Cult favorite, Tokyo Milk, hits the cosmetic scene with a brand new lipstick. This Muse is charmed I’m sure as she simply loves Tokyo Milk.
Love it after the jump!
The brand new Tokyo Milk Lipsticks will feature four shades with an SPF 15 and Tokyo Milk’s famous vintage packaging. Each lipstick is hand wrapped (as with their soaps) in a vintage-inspired paper and every lipstick comes packaged with mints…but of course darling who wouldn’t need lipstick and mints together right?
Pucker up, Tokyo Milk steals the lipstick scene with these.
Each Tokyo Milk Kiss Me Kit is available for $24 from Beauty Habit.
You know what the number one problem is when it comes to fine lines under your eyes? Dry skin.
The delicate area under your eyes can occasionally become very dry especially as you age this in fact causes fine lines to look worst than they actually are. At least that’s been the case for me.
Your best possible defense against dry skin and fine lines is keeping things as moist and hydrated as possible. Believe me I used just about everything and the kitchen sink to keep the delicate skin under my eyes as moisturized as possible but sometimes even that isn’t it enough.
Solution?
Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Balm…miracle in a glass jar.
Check it after the jump!
What is it?
It’s a herbal scented balm that resembles vaseline but with a harder texture.
What’s it do?
Depuffs, moisturizers, hydrates, soothes, protects, and erases signs of fatigue such as dark circles.
Does it work?
Hells to the yes!
Trust me I’m a Doctor, I think David Tennant said that at one point…but anyway….here’s the scoop. Yes, it depuffs, yes it moisturizes, yes it hydrates, yes it improves fine lines (due to dryness) under your eyes, and yes it fights the signs of fatigue but no it doesn’t erase dark circles.
So…..
I gave up everything I normally slather under my eyes aside from my AM eye cream to use this for a week and a half. Honestly, that’s too short a time to really test it out but the fact is I seen such a dramatic difference since I started might as well tell you the good word now.
It sports a consistency of a balm or a salve hence the name eye balm doh. All you need to do is gently pat it under your eyes and go to bed. Next morning you’ll be singing in praise how great you look. It gives an intense shot of good moisture to my dry skin, hydrates it, and does a slight depuff action, LOVE! It also makes me look quite refreshed. Actually when I wake up the following morning it isn’t totally absorbed into my skin, it kinda sits around and moisturizes all through the night as I sleep. It’s rather ideal if you have some serious dry skin going on. Fact of the matter is if I don’t moisture well my fine lines look incredibly bad but when I do get proper moisture you can barely see them and thus the case with this balm. It gives me so much moisture that my fine lines virtually disappear making me look younger, fresher, and flawless.
It’s not for everyone.
Thing is I love it but I know that people will likely feel it’s like slathering vaseline under your eyes. Not the case as it’s a balm and it has a harder texture with a bit of a tacky formula. It could prove to be uncomfortable for some or you may get an “ick” factor after use as it never fully absorbs. As for me I could care less since it gives me all the moisture I crave and than some. I can suffer through a little stickiness for that.
It comes housed in a heavy glass jar and yes sadly you’ll have to be dipping your fingers around in there…hello bacteria…only thing I can suggest is to be sure to always use clean hands prior to use. I find that swirling my finger in it with gentle pressure will make the product easier to use as first try it is quite hard and feels like you’re not using anything at all. A pressured swirl will get it “worked” up so to speak.
It’s $60…honestly, that could be a bit much to drop on a simple balm considering for that chunk of change you can invest in a good quality eye cream. For me it’s priceless since it simply works and hey that’s what I’m paying for right?
So far, it’s on my incredible list. After I’m through with this (which won’t be anytime soon as the jar is huge with a ton of product since a little goes a long way) I’ll be running to the store for another.
Very good stuff, Muse Approval for purchase.
Overall, if you need to tame the puff, erase the fine lines, and get a super dose of moisture under those tired, dry eyes, Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Balm does the deed and does it well.
Budget friendly mascara alert here with the new Avon SuperFULL Midnight Mascara. Don’t you dare tell Armani but this stuff works almost as good as Eyes To Kill….shhhhh our secret k?
Check it after the jump!
Avon has a brand new mascara for $4.99 that’s pretty impressive. Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot of special about it. It’s a regular inky black formula and a plastic straight line applicator. See? Not really special.
However, it performs like a super star.
I’m unsure if it’s the applicator or the formula but it’s promise of longer lashes rings true. It doesn’t offer much in the ways of volume but it creates really great lenght and curl. The applicator fits the contour of my eye nicely and grasps all the lashes in one go. It doesn’t smudge, flake, and wears all day. I find the best results are when lashes are curled prior to use.
Overall, it’s pretty impressive for a $5 buck mascara. If you’re not willing to dish out a pretty penny for the new Armani mascara I say try this. Works almost as good, for serious.
Urban Decay single handedly convinced me I need more nude pink shades of lipstick in my life with it’s newest color, Naked.
Suddenly, the Muse’s dreams are filled with visions of naked, nude pink shades for my lips. And than Too Faced Lip Luxury in Free Love stepped into my life….!
Click it for the review.
Oh my god dude this lipstick is champagne-infused….w00t! I’m going to party like it’s 1999 tonight. Ha!
But no seriously it really is inflused with champagne…interesting concept eh? I’ve been meaning to try Too Faced Lip Luxury for a fair while now so I’m happy to finally test it out.
It’s quite a nice lippie. Good formula with a smooth application. Very creamy and moisturizing, good pigmentation as well. It’s incredibly lightweight with a shimmering, sparkling finish.
Of course, the Muse is all about the packaging. It comes in metallic pink tube with a diamond colored rhinestone on the top of the cap. Loves it!
But after all this the very best part is the new shade for Fall entitled Free Love. It’s a sweet pale pink shade that’s incredible beautiful on lips. It’s not dramatic, it’s not bold, it’s simply a sweet pink that makes lips look fuller, prettier, and just girlish.
Now it’s not Naked by any means and the Muse does so think you need both Naked and Free Love in your beauty arsenal this season! Where as Naked is more of a perfect pale pink minus shimmer, Free Love is a sparkling nude shade that’s subtle and mod chic.
If you’re a lover of nude pink lips Too Faced Lip Luxury in Free Love will be your best girlfriend this season. Pair it up with a cat eye or a dramatic smoky!
The Muse told you all about the Giorgio Armani Greige Collection a week or so ago. Honestly, it wasn’t exactly something the Muse was interested in when she finally got some products to test.
I received one lipstick and one shadow both of which looked incredibly dull and boring.
But wow…after I tried both out I was so floored by how simply pretty the shade on my eyes was and the lipstick just added to it.
Laura Geller Marble Cakes Baked Eyeshadow and Liner Duo makes it so easy to shade, line, and define my eyes with a great little kit that even includes a dual ended brush. Likey!
The Muse enjoys simplicity packaged in one box don’t you?
Jump for it!
Although Laura Geller Baked Eyeshadow and Liner Duos are readily available on Sephora for $23 bucks, the Muse highly recs checking ‘em out on QVC (Item Number A86595) as they contain not only a baked shadow/liner duo but also come prepackaged with a dual ended brush for application.
After my foray into the world of Laura Geller’s Baked products with a kit I recently purchased I’m kinda lusting all things from the line. These duos are super as they are affordable and have great color payoff. The shadow comes housed in a chic black compact with mirror. They are split down the middle with the shadow on one side and the liner on the other. Honestly, if you’re wanting to you can easily use the liner side as a contrasting shade of shadow as well. The shadow side has a slightly sparkle finish where as the liner is more matte but not difficult to work with as it blends rather beautifully. Both shades are super smooth, silky, and very easy to work with. Could be the baked formula but they sport a beautiful formula. The basic idea is to use the shadow side as a color wash all over lid and crease and follow up with the liner to define eyes. Lining with the enclosed color proves a little difficult since the shadow shade is so similar in color however it does end up working very well when used wet as you’ll get a bolder more dramatic finish. Color payoff on the shades I tried were very good.
The kit also includes a dual ended brush which has a fluffy shadow shader on one side and a flat angled liner brush on the other. Both brushes are good quality with super soft bristles and no shedding.
The colors I tried were SugarSky/BlueBerry and Unearthed/Dark Chocolate. Sugarsky is a shimmering sky blue and Blueberry is a deep navy blue. Unearthed is a sparkling golden brown and Dark Chocolate as per it’s name is a velvety dark chocolate.
For my look below I used Unearthed all over my lid and followed up by lining my lower and bottom lash line with Dark Chocolate. I didn’t wet Dark Chocolate so the results aren’t as dramatic as they could be.
Overall, these are great little shadows and quite a super deal if you purchase the set for $26. Sephora has a total of four shades including a green combo that I’m wanting to indulge in where a the QVC sets are only available in the shades I have reviewed and swatched for you here. I liked these very much and deem them worthy of a Muse Approval.
Loves ‘em! Great deal, beautiful pigmentation, and superb formula to work with.
Nothing like watching Cher prance around in a see through fishnet body suit right? Makes you just want to turn back time. Obviously Cher is doing something right as she looks pretty incredible.
Maybe she’s using L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream to turn back her time. I know I seriously need to turn back the clock when it comes to my eyes. The Muse does so sport fine lines, a bit of puff, and dark circles.
Jump ahead for the deets on the new L’Oreal Revitalift Eye Cream.
I’m currently busy testing out a new eye cream so I haven’t had a chance to try out L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream for myself but I’ll give you the low down on what it is, what it does, and what I think of it so far.
First off the Muse loves the idea of the concept. It’s a dual ended eye cream with an AM and PM formula. I absolutely adore this idea and wish more brands would sport such an ideal form of packaging for eye cream. It’s so very convenient to have two formulas in one design. I don’t have to reach for another cream at night I simply flip the applicator and have my night treatment. I love the applicators on each one as well. The PM has a needle nose applicator which allows for precise application of the treatment without over doing it. The AM has a typical slant applicator which also allow for easy application and even blending if you’re wanting to touch your eye area.
Now this is for serious deep set wrinkles and contains Pro-Retinol A+ for treating such. I don’t have deep wrinkles as of yet but it’s never to early to start worrying about them. The formula supposedly reduces the appearance of deep-set wrinkles.
The AM formula contains an SPF 15 and helps repair broken skin fibers around the eye area. The PM formula contains the same fiber restoring fibers and helps to repair and rebuild broken skin fibers. Pro-Retinol A accelerates skin renewal for a smoother, revitalized skin. The treatment begins to work immediately according to the box but the best results are seen within 4 to 8 weeks.
The treatment is $19.99 so it’s quite affordable if you’re wanting to look towards a drugstore for your eye treatment. Overall, it sounds promising but I can’t take full advantage as I don’t have deep set wrinkles as of yet but anyone who’s reaching a point where they need extra treatment in this area could likely benefit.
L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream is available now at your local drugstore.
Here’s your guide on what’s happening this coming week at your local drugstores!
Check it!
Revlon Buy 1, Get 1 Free
Extra Bucks Beauty Sale Spend $15 on any Nivea Products and get $5 Back Spend $35 on Vichy or Burt’s Bees and Get $10 Back Get $5 Back when you buy any Olay ProX Products L’Oreal Colour Riche Luminous Lip Color or Line, Infalliable Plumping Gloss, or Extra Volume Collagen Mascara $7.99 and Get $2 Extra Bonus Bucks
Covergirl Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Sally Hansen Nail Care Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Milani Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Covergirl Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Covergirl Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara 2 for $8
All Revlon Lip Color $5.99
Revlon Nail Polish $2.99
Physicians Formula Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
Wet n’ Wild Cosmetics Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
St Ives Skin and Bath Products 3 for $12 (Plus Get $5 Rebate)
Almay Eye Cosmetics and Removers $4.99 (Plus Get $2 Rebate)
One of my client’s came into my office today and said he heard on the new that it was the hottest day of the year. Honestly, it’s sticky outside yes and it’s about 85 degrees or so but I wouldn’t call it the hottest day of the year.
Hmmm.
But it’s good enough weather to test out Benefit Matterial Girl Matte Finishing Powder.
Jump for it.
Let’s start by saying that Benefit always has these small little releases that simply kill it. Posietint and Coralista just to name a few. These items become instant cult classics. I love Benefit for this reason. It’s not a big collection release, it’s not 20 limited edition shadows, it’s simply one solid release ever few months or so that rocks it.
Benefit Matterial Girl slipped by me this time and I just came across it on the website recently. Of course, I couldn’t wait to test it out for myself. Did you know it’s not on counter yet or at Sephora and also that’s it’s an Asian Exclusive that was available on Asian counters for a good while before popping up here in the states.
What is it?
Nothing huge, nothing crazy. It’s simply a mattifying loose powder for setting makeup. It’s for all the oily skin chicas who feel like their face is melting off. Mine isn’t necessarily melting off but I can tell you that even my dry skin takes on oily and shiny with the best of ‘em.
As always Benefit reigns the realm of cuteness with a sweet little package. The powder comes housed in a pale pink and white topped jar with a clear base and surrounding bows around it. This alone makes it worthy of a pick up.
A few readers asked for the ingredients list and most important of all it does contain talc but no cornstarch. Talc is commonly known for causing me to itch terribly but lucky enough this hasn’t made me suffer in that direction. The secondary main ingredient is Mica.
The powder is soft, silky, and applies flawlessly. It’s transparent for the most part but manages to even out my skin tone a fair bit, sets my makeup, and most important mattifies my skin.
What better day than the hottest day (supposedly) of the year to try this out? I set my makeup with it and did a few runs today around town with it on. Post Office, Bank, drop off dry cleaning, etc……I did a fair bit of walking about as well. So far my face is remaining in tact minus oil and shine. I haven’t touched up yet and I’m going on about four hours of use so far, not bad for a loose powder.
So far so good.
Overall, I’m liking it. Cute packaging and shine free skin, what more could a girl want? If you’re a lover of Benefit you’re going to want to indulge. It’s available now from www.benefitcosmetics.com
But don’t buy it right now. It just launched. Wait a few and I’m positive Benefit will slip a free shipping coupon into your mail box shortly as they always do with new releases.
Although I’m the first one to admit that my beloved Lush does have some products that don’t work…..
Ahem….Lush Fresh Face Mask.
No worky.
I’ve tried them all and I honestly never see incredible results after use. You’d think with all those good for you bits inside that your face would be glowing after use, not so much.
But that doesn’t stop me from wanting the brand new Lush Oatifix Fresh Face Mask. It’s too tempting with it’s blend of fresh bananas, oatmeal, almonds, and vanilla..god my stomach is grumbling sounds good enough to eat to me!
Ground almonds exfoliating dead skin, bananas are a great nutritious treat for your skin as they soften and reduce redness. Although I don’t sport redness I could get on board with some extra softness.
I’ll take two thanks so much.
Available now from Lush UK and soon to follow around the rest of this world.
You read beauty blogs, you read consumer reviews on forums and beauty sites, you read magazines, and you watch TV adverts.
Question is of all those things who is it that influences your beauty purchases the most?
Is it something that you see on your fav beauty blog? Or maybe a friend told you how you have to try out this new shampoo she loves. How about TV advertisements or magazines?
Who Influences Your Beauty Purchases?
Jump ahead to hear my influences!
For the most part I’m influenced by some of my fav beauty bloggers and also websites and the like. Say I wander onto Sephora and see something that captures my interests, that will likely cause an immediate need to purchase an item. I’m one that loves pretty pictures and the likes. If I see something advertised on a model such as items from many Bobbi Brown launches, I instantly want it as the model is always so picture perfect and flawless.
I’m also a huge follower and reader of beauty blogs so those also influence my need for product.
Forums and online communities also feed my need for beauty.
Oh hello there Kryolan Satin Eyedust Powder Eye Dust you’re so incredibly affordable that the Muse feels every so inclined to share you with the rest of the world.
Jump for it.
Available in almost 50 shades and in a .12oz size Kryolan Satin Eyedust Powder Eye Dust beats many mineral company shadows in price and size. Loving the huge size and ridiculous price tag of….guess….go on guess….$6 bucks!
The size, pigmentation, shade selection, and price make these great shadows a super deal for anyone who loves a bit of sparkle and shine.
I got two of these off of E-bay but they are for sale on www.funhousetheatricalcostumes.com if you’re interested or most E-bay sellers carry ‘em at retail which is six bucks.
The formula is quite smooth and applies nicely with minimal fall out. The packaging is very friendly as it has a small spout for tapping just the right amount out without making a mess. It wears long when your eye is prepped and primed correctly and pigmentation is very, very good. I only experienced one problem which was blending shades. I noticed shades wore great alone but when blended with other colors I created a bit of a mess but chalk that up to my technique.
The colors I have are SP661 which is a mint green and SP552 which is a baby pink. I felt like both shades had a frosty finish….a bit of a sparkle yes but a bit of frost thrown in as well. Blending out you can get a soft, velvet finish minus sparkle or frost if you use a light layer and blend evenly.
Choose from a crazy variety of shades!
Overall, if you’re looking for a great deal these are sooooo affordable at $6 bucks each and come in a variety of shades suitable for any and all kinds of looks you’re wanting to create. Many mineral companies have big selections as well and inexpensive prices but I thought the size of these was very nice for it’s price tag.
Recent Comments