Musings of a Muse

Well me loves it’s that time of the year!

I’m wandering around Bath and Body Works and the Semi Annual is creeping slowly up on us!

The Temptation line, as predicted by yours truly, has made it’s way onto the sale list!

So go yee and stock up on Twisted Peppermint for a mere $6 for a 12oz bottle!

What I seen on the site so far:
Twisted Peppermint 3-1 Shower Gel $6
Twisted Peppermint Body Scrub $6
Glittery Gumdrop 3-1 Shower Gel $6
Sassy Strawberry 3-1 Shower Gel $6
Sugar and Spice 3-1 Shower Gel $6
Various Lotions from the Temptation Line $4
Twisted Peppermint Bath Fizzies $1.75

A majority of it is 50% off at this time but give it a bit of time and it’ll be down to 75% soon I’m sure!

I’d personally start loading up on the Twisted Peppermint if you’re inclined as it tends to sell out fast online once it hits the clearance bin!

Now if they’d just discount the Sweetest Softest Line I’d be a happy Muse!

Happy Shopping!

I got my order from the Lush NA Party yesterday! Click here to read details about the party!

The temptation of Snowcake solid perfume was strong so I did in fact order it and some other goodies. I normally avoid ordering from Lush NA like the plague but I couldn’t resist Snowcake!

I stupidly ordered this solid perfume without first trying the lot I had already purchased from Lush UK that I got about a month ago. I finally got around to testing these out and I have to say they aren’t as great as I had hoped.

Lush Perfumes have fantastic throw, linger, and staying power however Lush solid perfumes do not.

I used Potion so far and Fever and both are very strong smelling but they don’t do much when they are on my skin. I think these are great if you happen to already own some of the perfumes in liquid form. That way you can use these as touch ups through out the day however to use these as your perfume is a bit difficult as someone has to literally stick their nose in your neck to actually get a whiff some of what you are wearing.

If you’re purchasing these from Lush NA they come in a far better tin than the Lush UK solids. Lush UK has little screw tops that I find very annoying to unscrew. If you by chance you drop the tin or get a dent in the container it’ll basically leave you struggling to unscrew the top. Lush NA tops just pop off and on and make life much easier however they do leave a bit of a mess sometimes as when you’re popping on and off it sometimes gets a bit of the solid on the lid which causes the tin to have a waxy feel.

Speaking of waxy. That’s basically the texture of these. They are a waxy balm that’s difficult to spread around so it’s best to warm it between your fingertips prior to applying.

I can’t give these a complete bad review because these actually work for one of my best mates. It seems they really like his body chemistry because when he used one it was pretty strong but when I used one it basically got soaked up into my skin and I really had to try and even get a tiny sniff of the scent I was wearing.

I love these for touch-ups when I’m using my Lush perfumes but to use on their own it’s a no go for me!

I got a 7 of the 9 scents offered and I find the strongest smelling of the lot are Fever, Potion, and Honey I Washed the Kids. Champagne Snow Showers, Snowcake, Silky Underwear, and American Cream are the lightest with the least throw!

I will say you have to layer these on quite a bit. Take some and place it behind your ears, between your breasts, on your neck, behind your knees, and on all your pulse points. So yes with a little hard work you can have yourself smelling sweet somewhat plus if you happen to heat up during the day you’ll definately see more of a throw from these! However, I still can’t give them a raving review because I just don’t think the throw is good enough to get that excited about, believe you me it’s difficult not to run around and recommend Lush as I adore and love all things Lush but these failed me somehow.

Anyway!

The moral of the story is at $11.95 a tin I’d say skip ‘em and buy something else! Or if your body chemistry just happens to accept and like them…lucky you…grab tons! But test, test, test, test in store and don’t be a silly sausage like the Muse and just buy without first testing!

Got ‘em?
Love ‘em?
Tell me!

Not liking these?
Tell me!

I thought I’d treat you to images of my Super-Sized Lush Pud’s demise!

As tempting as it was to throw this entire thing into my tub I did my best to refrain and crack it up so I might enjoy the sweet scent of Snowcake over the course of a few baths instead of just one (plus I don’t think I have the nerve to throw in $27 worth of Bath Bomb and soak without feeling guilt)!

My Innocent Super-Sized Lush Pud Bath Bomb (It doesn’t realize what’s coming! *evil laugh*)

Awwww naked!

A brief tap from the upper part and the bottom begins cracking….Ouch! (I almost feel guilty)

A harder tape and it begins to crack! Time for my bath!

Fun fun!

I should get at least 6 (more if I’m frugal with the pieces) or more nice long soaks with the bomb pieces!

Grab one of these while they are still around at your local Lush (they are sadly sold out online)!

You’ll also receive some Snowcake and Bob soap (Ewww I hate Bob) inside and a coupon for 15% off your next order online or in store (all Lush wrapped gifts include a coupon)!

Meet my latest obsession:

I was wandering around the Sephora at Herald’s Square on Sunday trying to find some Stocking Stuffers for my sister and came across the Carol’s Daughter display. I’ve passed this display up more times than I can count on two hands but for some reason or another that day a bottle of “Almond Cookie” caught my eye!

Now the first thing to enter my mind when I seen Almond Cookie was Lush’s Snowcake! I was thinking a bit of cherry with maybe a hint of marzipan icing. Mmm…dead wrong. Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie Eau de Toilette smells heinous to say the least. I don’t get much of a “bakery scent” to this but just musk and musk and more musk! It’s quite strong and very overpowering. I guess the sandalwood overpowers the sweetness of the cookie and vanilla I’m not entirely sure but I gagged when I took a sniff!

Which leads me to say that I almost walked away but another item caught my eye and I decided to tortue myself a bit more with Carol’s Daughter.

I very cautiously opened a bottle of Jamaican Punch, took a sniff, and soon after fell deeply in love.

Mmmm now this is perfection. It’s quite fruity with a faint underlay of sandalwood and bayberry. It has all sorts of yummie fruits like peach, banana, orange, apple, and raspberry!

It’s tropical yet sweet and fruity and did I mention it lingers like crazy!

My body chemistry doesn’t work well with Eau de Toilette and normally my skin just sucks it up and the linger, throw, and scent don’t last at all. Basically within 30 minutes or less you can barely tell that I squirted myself!

However, two quick squirts with Jamaican Punch had me smelling yummie from 2 in the afternoon all the way to 11:45 that evening when I hopped into the shower!

This has amazing throw and lingering power and well worth the $25 I shelled out for the 2 oz bottle!

I’m now utterly obsessed with this gorgeous scent! I nabbed the shower gel and the Eau de Toilette and I’m lemming everything else in the line!

I highly recommend going into Sephora to sniff it for yourself! Mmmm tropics in the winter! Pure perfection!

Want a steal and a deal?

Head over to QVC and enter Item Number A74743 to nab yourself a trio of Philosophy Shower Gels that includes Bubbly!

You’ll get 16oz Shower Gels in:
Strawberries and Cream (Brand New Scent)
Bubbly
Melting Chocolate

Perfect Strawberries, Champagne, and Chocolate what more could a girl want?!

All Three for $35 bucks plus they’ll get it to you before Christmas if you order by the 19th!

I feel spoiled already!

Remember my post about Philosophy Bubbly? It wasn’t so longer ago but if you’re feeling forgettable on a Monday morning (and who can blame you in this cold) click here for a refresher!

Well Sephora’s jumped on the bandwagon and they got a new box, the same price tag, and slapped a new name on the packaging and called it their very own and only available from them too mind you (but we already know it’s available at QVC too).

Sephora’s “version” of Bubbly comes in a box that reads “Congratulations” and is the same whopping 24oz size and the cost is pretty much the same too at $20!

It’s a perfect gift really so no matter if you buy it from Sephora or QVC it all smells the same and does the same thing!

Go on..indulge…you know you want too!

CLICK!

An item that is making an appearance under my tree this year would be Philosophy’s QVC Exclusive Bubbly Three in One Shower Gel!

Philosophy Bubbly Sold Exclusively at QVC

I’ve been disenchanted with Philosophy’s Three in One’s for a while now and I find myself reaching for the Bath and Body Works Temptation shower gels more than the Philosophy ones lately!

However, about a year ago Philosophy had introduced a trio of gels in a gift pack that was labeled the Wedding Party or the Wedding or something of that nature and in it was a small bottle of a shower gel that I had fallen in love with entitled Bubbly!

My tiny little bottle of Bubbly that I’ve been cherishing for the past few months! But now I have my massive bottle to take it’s place!

QVC, and Philosophy for that matter, would have you believe that Bubbly is a BRAND NEW, never released product but that’s not the case! It had made it’s appearance for a very short, limited time and the Muse just happens to own a small bottle of it!

When I seen Bubbly pop up again on QVC’s site in a massive 24oz bottle (Normally the Three in One Shower Gel’s are 16oz) I knew I must have it! I was especially delighted by not only it’s size but it’s $15USD price tag (It’s now since gone back to being $20 on the site as the $15 was a special of the day or some such thing)!!! You may remember my posts about Philosophy changing it’s packaging and this bottle you see is in the new bigger size! Previous posts about Philosophy’s big change of clothes can seen by clicking here, here and here!

The New 24oz bottle beside the old 16oz bottle! Plus a little baby 6oz of Bubbly at the end!

I snagged five bottles (one for myself of course) and the rest I’ll be wrapping up as extra stocking stuffers for some friends this year!

This delightful shower gel lives up to it’s name! It’s bubbly and effervescent with a tiny touch of sweet citrus champagne scent and just perfect all around! It Pops, Fizzes, and just lights up your shower with such a great scent! The Muse highly recommends nabbing an ultra inexpensive bottle for yourself and maybe several more as gifts!

I don’t know how long Bubbly is going to be around for but you can purchase it now from QVC ONLY by using Item Number A74742.

Toast yourself in the shower with a bit of Bubbly!

Bubbly is most definately Muse Approved!

One brand that probably doesn’t get nearly enough love from the Muse on her blog would be L’occitane. Weirdly enough I don’t think I’ve ever done a single blog about this amazing brand!

I’m a big lover of L’occitane and it justly deserves it’s own special entry! Sadly, it’s not all about L’occitane as this blog was inspired by Lush’s new hair gel King of Mods.

I just wrote a rather delightful review about King of Mods (You can read my review of King of Mods by clicking here) and was hinting at some products that would go well with it and I can think of nothing else that would be go fantastically with it then none other then L’occitane’s Lemon Verbena collection!

I have the biggest love affair with lemons. I love the wicked combination of the scent of lemons. It’s a tart sweetness that’s the perfect contradiction. It’s fruity and it’s slightly sweet but it has a wicked tartness that’s eye opening! And what better way to wake up in the morning than with some yummie Lemon scented products?!

Nothing captures the essense of lemons like L’occitane’s Lemon Verbena collection! Four of my absolutely must have Verbena items are the Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap, The Verbena Shampoo and Conditioner, and the Verbena Shower Gel!

If you happen to pick up a jar of King of Mods I can tell you that washing your hair with L’occitane’s Verbea Shampoo and Conditioner and finishing with King of Mods will leave your hair delightfully scented in a beautiful array of fresh smelling citrus that will last all day long!

Sadly, L’occitane’s products are not cheap by any means but they are well worth the price tag in my humblest opinion!

The Shea Extra Gentle Soap is delicately scented with Verbena and is extra moisturizing. The only quirk I have with L’occitane’s soaps are they are so monstrously big and over sized! These are 8.8oz which is about triple the size of your normal soap. It’s good because it’s a large chunk of soap for $10 bucks but it’s quite bulky to use when in the shower! It most definately gets my seal of approval for the smell and skin benefits but the size is definately something that turns me off!

Lucky You! I just started a new bar this morning! Here’s a chunk all yummie and awaiting my use!

Verbena Shower Gel is probably one of my favorite in the line! It’s a bit pricy at $20 for 8.4oz but I must say it’s one of my guilty pleasures that I just adore. Nothing gets me awake in the morning like a burst of yummy tart lemons and this shower gel most definately tantalizes with the smell of lemons! It suds very nicely and the smell actually does linger sometime on the skin which is always a plus! It doesn’t dry my skin out which I do have a problem with when using shower gels so it gets an A+ for that!

Last but not least would be the perfect companion to King of Mods so as promised I bring you Verbena Shampoo and Conditioner which are equally as gorgeous and lemony smelling as the soap and shower gel! Perfect for layering all together to create a beautiful fresh scent! Both are very light so you don’t have to worry about build up!

A few items I use and haven’t mentioned would be the Verbena Eau de Toilette and Verbena Lotion. The lotion is lovely and very moisturizing and it layers well after using the Shower Gel! As for the Eau de Toilette it’s sadly something that fails to linger. The throw is a bit weak and you really have to spray yourself down for it to have any lasting quality. It’s quite disappointing as the fresh smell of lemons is beautiful in this spray but it just doesn’t last long enough to justify it’s cost. I wish they’d consider doing a strong Eau de Parfum!

Overall, the collection is beautiful and is very Muse approved and of course perfect for layering with the new love of my life King of Mods however I must say that if L’occitane can capture the essence and freshness as well as Lush they’d most definately have me throwing a ton more money at them but until that day I definately approve of the Verbena Collection they do have available!