Musings of a Muse

While browsing through the many Physicians Formula items on display I came across the Flawless Complexion Kit and decided to give it a whirl for myself!

L@@K kids a hot mess waiting to happen!

The kit includes everything you need for minimal makeup while giving a fresh, flawless look to your skin or so it says on the box! It includes a Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder, Talc-Free Mineral Blush, and Talc-Free Matte Finishing Veil.

As I said in an earlier post Physicians Formula can rarely do any wrong with items it releases and in the case of the Flawless Complexion Kit we have a dud. It’s awful.

I normally I use the Physicians Formula Powder Multi-Colored Face Powder and I felt like the Mineral Face Powder in this kit was almost an exact dupe of that powder but it turns out that this particular powder is just rubbish!

The entire kit is $19.95 USD and includes a total of three items. I really thought this was a deal as normally Physicians Formula blushes and foundations run around $9.95 USD each so this was a saving of at least $10 USD for three items. It was like buying two getting one free but honestly it was comparable to flushing my money down the toilet or burning it!

Where to start with how bad this entire kit is. It doesn’t have a single item included in it that’s good aside from MAYBE the finishing powder.

The packaging does get a minor Yay for coolness. I love packaging that includes a little hidden, under the makeup compartment to stash your brush and in this case both the mineral foundation and blush sport that design. This alone gets a Yay from me. Hey, at least it has one redeeming quality right?

The first item I’ll review is the Mineral Face Powder. I’ve no idea what they were thinking when they created this! Where as the Multi-Colored Face Powder is beautifully silky and soft this is absolutely chalky! As I buffed it into my skin I couldn’t help buy cringe. It not only made me look ashy, chalky, and made up but it also gave my appearance an absolutely disgustingly dull look. The glow and health my skin normally radiates was completely dulled as soon as I began applying! It was like someone had a light bulb on and promptly turned it off! My skin was looking fresh and dewy from my prep of toner and lotion but as soon as the powder hit..eeewwwww! What the hell?

I was counting on the blush the kit came with to lighten up the damage that the mineral powder had done! I thought for sure this would redeem my face as is but hells no it made it worst! The blush this came with is a very soft peach shade entitled Blushing Glow. It’s a mineral blush and sports the same bad effect as the mineral powder! As soon as I applied it I got the same chalky, ashy look and terribly gross appearance as if I was playing in dirt or something! You can literally see how many layers I had on at this point! One layer of mineral powder and one layer of mineral blush! At this point I imagine if I sneezed puffs of smoke would rise from my face!

Yuck!

The shade looks pretty enough in the palette but once on I thought it gave off a rather dull bronze look!

Finally, I figured I came this far I might as well finish with the Matte Finishing Veil. It can’t get any worst than this can it? Oh yes it can! The mineral veil is just another un-ending layer of chalk on my face! The brush on this is so harsh I could literally feel it scratching my skin! I’m shocked it didn’t leave some sort of mark on my face it was so hard! It does deserve a mention that the packaging on it was pretty good due to the fact that it dispersed product so well. Tip it and the powder flowed evenly into the brush! Very nice! However, the brush itself was absolute rubbish!

So now my look is complete. One layer of mineral foundation, one layer of mineral blush, and one layer of finishing veil. I imagine my face is bulletproof by this time. I’ve tried ALOT of makeup in my time but never had I felt so made up in my life. I felt like I was sporting a few pounds of powder on my face. On top of that it killed my skin! Killed it! My normally fresh, flawless skin was drowned in a see of disgusting powder that made it look dull, ashy, chalky, and just terrible!

Wow. Just wow. I can’t begin to describe to you how bad this kit truly is! I’m shocked and saddened to say as such because I truly do love Physicians Formula and believe they make some sincerely awesome products but this is awful!

I’m actually quite amazed that one little kit could do so much damage.

As you can see from my FOTD below I’m looking like hell warmed over a few times over:

Verdict: Don’t buy it! Don’t get sucked in by the cheap price and the cool array of products it includes! It’s wasted time and money! The Muse says NEVER again!

Have you tried this?

Love it?

Hate it as much as the Muse!

Tell me about it!

Click to here my ravings about Physicians Formula Cream Mineral Wear Foundation and Concealer! All for under $10 bucks!

Want more Beauty on a Budget? Get a sneak peek of upcoming reviews by clicking here!

Before I begin my review today I think it deserves a mention that I have a serious love affair with Physicians Formula cosmetics. I’ve been using the line since I was a wee teenager and have always felt they have released many products that pack a mighty fine bang for your buck! One of my favorite powders by Physicians Formula made it into my Year End Review for 2007. The line contains some seriously superior products with a really great price tag and it’s probably one of the very few drugstore brands that I trust with my money!

On to the review……

Physicians Formula has been very busy lately releasing all sorts of interesting products such as mineral wear and an organic range of cosmetics. I’ve neglected the line for a bit as I have a few staples that I normally stock up on and as I run low I always have a back up so it’s rare I need to venture into a drugstore to purchase any of the line.

Imagine my delight when I came across a big old display of Physicians Formula at the Walmart empire while shopping with my sister!

One of the first items that caught my eye was the Mineral Wear Cream Foundation. Why did that catch my eye first? It had a free gift attached. The Muse likey free gifts.

I’ve been searching for a new foundation for a while now. I use Morgen Schick Hide and Highlight palette as my main foundation but for some reason I haven’t been able to achieve the flawlessness that the palette normally gives me. My search has taken me on an endless stream of trying and ditching products rapidly as of late.

When I noticed this foundation I figured it was worth trying out for the price plus…did I mention..it came with a free gift!

This foundation is awesome. Oh my god the Muse loves it. It MAY be a tiny bit drying to some but I found it pure perfection. Silky, smooth, easy to blend, amazing coverage and takes my skin from dull to flawless in a snap! Plus did I mention it came with a free gift and it’s cheap as a day chips too? Are you in love with it yet?

One of the main things to love about this foundation is the uber awesome packaging. It comes in a squeeze style tube that has an attached sponge applicator. Squeeze a little bit of product on to the sponge and begin application by running the sponge across your face. I found that the sponge worked great at applying the product evenly and I didn’t have to touch my face a single time to blend! Coverage is amazingly good and my dull skin takes on a very nice smooth, radiant appearance in preparation for my blush. You can apply a very sheer amount if you desire or build up coverage as you see fit. The sponge applicator makes the coverage you seek easy to apply and blend.

The formula is very creamy but does feel somewhat dry once applied this could be because it dries matte but this didn’t sway my good opinion. The product is Talc-Free and claims to be fantastic for extra sensitive skin that are prone to break-outs.

Coverage lasted all day and I had no oily eruptions in the humid weather. The foundation felt weightless and breathable in the warm weather plus I looked put together and gorgeous all day!

The shade I tried was Creamy Natural which is a nice fair shade that will compliment medium fair skin tones. I stupidly didn’t pay close attention to the other colors available so I can’t say for sure if any shades are available for yellow skin tones or darker skin tones. The entire collection always appeared to cater to the fairer skin tone but maybe I haven’t paid enough attention when making my color selections.

The prepackaged foundation had a free gift as I mentioned earlier on which was a concealer click pen. I’ve tried Physicians Formula concealers prior to this and loved them but I’ve never tried this particular concealer. Turns out it’s a very good concealer. My favorite packaging for concealer is a click pen so of course I’m all on board when it comes to that style packaging! The concealer comes in a small pen, click a few times to get the product following, swipe on, pat into place and you’re dark circles are covered up and you appear awake and well rested once again! The formula is creamy and moisturizing plus it blends beautifully so minimal tugging is involved during application. All in all a very nice little concealer for the price!

The entire package cost me $9.48 USD and that’s probably the least amount I’ve ever paid for foundation and concealer in my life. I normally spend close to $30 USD for concealer alone and an additional $40-$50 for foundation. Imagine my surprise and delight that I got both a great foundation and concealer packaged together at least 80% lower to what I’m normally shelling out for product.

In all seriousness if you’re currently on a budget or you’re just looking for a cheaper solution for foundation and concealer this little package can’t be beat! I’m unsure how long they will package the two items together but even purchased separately you’re still saving yourself some serious cash!

I’ve a big supporter and believer in purchasing high end concealers and foundations. I truly support designer brands when it comes to both considering that I get better results, longer wear, and excellent coverage from counter brands! However, Physicians Formula gets a big Muse Approval for purchase as it sports all of the following bang for your buck:

• Long-Wearing
• Creamy, Moisturizing Formula
• Ridiculously Cheap Price Tag
• Excellent Packaging (Sponge Applicator, Click style pen)
• Perfect Matte Finish for Summer when skin tends to become oily

All in all I’m very happy I picked this up and I recommend trying it out for yourself! You can’t break the bank by at the very least testing it out for yourself!

The Muse is all over Mineral Wear Cream Foundation and Concealer from Physicians Formula! We have a winner here!

Use this already?

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Click here to join in on the discussion of what your Beauty on a Budget finds are!

Since the world as we know it has taken a nose dive and gas prices have risen up to $4.95 USD per a gallon and the future of the presidential election is the biggest mystery since Elvis appearing on a slice of whole wheat toast I’ve decided that we must have a Beauty on a Budget Week!

Yes kids, now is the time to take responsibility for our money and hope for the best.

And everyone from England who’s groaning about the ridiculously low cost of gas should know we yanks are spoiled and $4.95 USD is damn expensive!

The moral of the story is today my sister brought me to Walmart (I should say a few days ago as this was written a bit ago! Sorry ’bout that peeps!) as I kicked, screamed, and pleaded with her to PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ME TO WALMART FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THINGS GOOD AND HOLY!

I hate Walmart.

With a passion.

I really do.

Sorry if you love it.

I simply hate it.

It’s a giant space filled with really cheap stuff…I mean seriously cheap….I mean tacky cheap….I mean….ok I’m being a bit dramatic…you get the point. Aside from that I won’t get into what an evil empire it is!

Anyway. She’s going on holiday shortly and needed a few bits and bobs so somehow that translated into “Let’s go to Walmart!”

And it turned into a day trip with her, my best friend Jai, and myself. Praise Jebus that Jai came along for the ride! I mean seriously who else could I trade catty remarks with while browsing the aisles of really cheap crap laying around Walmart.

I’ve no idea how we got invovled in this road trip but obviously we had nothing better to do with our fabulous selves aside from following my sister around while she loaded her cart with enough stuff to cloth, feed, cleanse, and make up an entire country.

Since Jai and I drew the line at following her into the clothing department (our eyes were burning enough already imagine if we were presented with racks and racks of cheap clothes???) we wandered into the cosmetic aisles and amused ourselves with really cheap drugstore cosmetics.

And as we browsed we decided that we’d spend some bucks on really cheap drugstore finds and do an article on all the cool or maybe not so cool stuff we found!

So since inspiration struck in the middle of the cosmetic aisle at Walmart I’ve decided to bring you a week in review of really cheap, Beauty on a Budget finds!

You’ll see a new Beauty on a Budget review each day for the next week (or until I run out of crap to review).

In all seriousness, catty comments aside, I think it’s a great way for me to broaden my horizons and see what else is available that can’t be found at Neimans, Saks, Sephora, Nordies, or the inside of Japanese, Korean, and Singaporean drugstores.

It’ll be a real learning experience for me!

It’s a great essential guide for you as well since these may be a few items you might have wanted to try but like me have been burned one too many times by drugstore brands and have passed them by chalking them up as money well NOT spent.

I’ll be featuring many items I’ve passed up MANY times that I’ve wanted to try but have been highly skeptical of!

I hope you’re excited to learn more about these items and hey maybe I’ll find something in this pile that I actually really do LOVE!

What are your Beauty on a Budget favs?

Share ‘em with the Muse!

I imagine as a Beauty Blogger I’m supposed to boldly go where no man…errr…I mean woman has gone before.

Well in my case I am boldly going where I’ve never gone before! Sorry to disappoint but I’m positive a hundred other Beauty Bloggers have gone down this journey before but the good news is you now have my official take on a subject I detest with a passion.

Can you guess the subject?

Tanning.

Ugh.

The sun, bronzing, tanning….I HATE it all!

However, since I’m such a sport I decided to test out L’Oreal’s Sublime Bronze Pro Perfect Airbrush Self Tanning Mist. Bloody hell that’s a mouthful isn’t it?

I’d never, ever try out a spray bronzer unless I truly loved you right? Right. I’m awesome aren’t I? Go on tell me what an awesome blogger I am.

Lord.

Well…what’s to say….

It’s actually really difficult for me to say “OH MY GOD I HATE THIS” because I actually don’t hate it. I hate the way it made my skin look but that’s me being bias against tanning, bronzing, the sun, etc…etc…..hey you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! I don’t like tanned skin and you won’t change my mind on the subject now pass the SPF 550 and shut up!

Spray, Spray, Spray your way to a beautiful tan!

But….

I will say only good things about this because it has some serious key pro points to it. First of all it’s cheap as day old chips and actually for it’s inexpensive price tag it works. Gasp, shock, WOW!

Honestly, it really does work. $10 USD and you got yourself a killer tan minus harmful UV rays! Wahooo! I’m all over it or I would be if I liked the tanned look. I tested this on the underside of my arm and only applied once. I sprayed it on Sunday night and although the bottle says to keep spraying 1 to 2 times a week to touch up I think I’m good to go as it hasn’t faded since application. This is great news for those of you seeking a long wearing tan but not so good for me as I’m sporting an arm that’s half tanned…can you say goofy?

It’s actually really easy to use which impressed me as this is my first time using a product like this. Exfoliate and spray! That’s it. The spray is a clear liquid which turns into a brown, orangey shade over night (I read a few other reviews that said they seen a color change within 30 minutes but I seen nothing until the next day!). You won’t see the results right away but come morning you’ll be sporting some serious color.

Honestly, one fault is that the color doesn’t entirely look natural but since you’ll likely be using this on your legs mostly and maybe your arms it should be ok plus doesn’t everyone always crow about how slimming your legs appear when tanned! Liquid spray on diet? Waiter, can I has some more of this stuff? I’m not entirely sure I’d recommend it for a very fair skinned girl. I tested it in medium so I’d say take a step down from medium if you’re lighter tone however if you’re medium fair or darker this should look good!

Pros:

• Cheap as bloody hell! $9.99 USD and you should be able to do both legs and both arms as well! You might even have a bit left over for touching up!
• Applies easy! No mess, quick drying!
• Fantastic staying power so far without touch ups!

Cons:

The color is a bit iffy so do a test spot prior to spraying an entire leg and realizing that the shade is so NOT you!

All in all I’m shocked to say that this stuff isn’t as bad as I originally pegged it out to be!

Would I Muse Approve it? No! The Muse does not approve of tanning even if it’s in a spray bottle hehe! Would I use it again? Sure, why not I could afford to look slimming, gorgeous, and tanned….maybe…kinda…..sorta…..

Try it out! You can’t really go wrong for the price and if you enjoy a good tan what better and safer way to look like you just hopped off a plane from Mexico!

Love spray tans?

Hate ‘em?

Tell the Muse!

I’m packing up my bag for my holiday and shoved in some Curel Life Stages Moisturizer for my dry legs, elbows, and knees!

Not only does it indulge my dry skin in a cool drink of moisture but it also has key ingredients to protect my skin against aging and heck it only cost $6.99 USD for huge bottle! That’s an indulgence I can definately afford! This sinks in wonderfully well and leaves my skin nice and soft without being greasy. It’s scented very lightly so I’m not left with an overpowering smell afterwards.

Price wise so worth it plus anti-aging! I’m all over it!

Have a click on over to Curel’s site to learn more about their new line of anti-aging moisturizers!

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!