Musings of a Muse

Ahh Holiday Palettes. There are some monsters out this year eh? Having a hard time deciding which to haul and which to leave? I know I am and what’s equally difficult is not going all out Supermarket Sweep in the aisles of Sephora and just hauling them all!

Which should you buy?

Which is the best formula?

Which has the best options?

Which has the best pigment and formula?

Here’s a break down and a bit of a beauty battle between two popular palettes gracing the shelves of your favorite beauty stores and shops this year and which one I think is worth your buck.

Check it!

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Lord knows I’m a high end cosmetic junkie. I live by the rule, “you get what you pay for”. Dishing out $20 for an eyeshadow that easily blends, has plenty of pigment, and simply looks stunning is way better than dishing out $5 for one that blends awful, has a chalky formula, and just looks awful on my eyes.

You get what you pay for.

However, some drugstore cosmetics have convinced me that they deserve a special spot among my elite high end cosmetic brands.

Here’s a post that checks out the best of both worlds and includes the best High End Cosmetics vs. the best Drugstore Cosmetics.

Jump!

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Let me tell you a story…..hopefully you like these long stories I get into. Ok, so I’m a big Lush skin care fan but lately I’ve been cheating with Korean brand, the Skin Food. This stuff is really great for my skin and I’ve been using it’s super power human strength to make my skin glow.

One thing I’ve never been too big a fan with when it comes to Lush is their face masks. I love some of the interesting promises that the masks make but I’ve never actually experienced the benefits for myself after using them. They are nice to have items but I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing incredible, awe aspiring results from ‘em!

I discovered The Skin Food Face Masks and I swear I can’t live without this good stuff! Now we’re talking results!

I’ve pitted The Skin Food Wash Off Masks against Lush Face Masks in a Beauty Battle. It’s easy enough to see who’ll win this battle but take the jump to find out for yourself!

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The Muse normally doesn’t do battle between three different products but today is a little bit of a special day.   I’ve decided to face off MAC Lipglass against Stila Lipglaze and added in some Korres Cherry Lipgloss for the ride!

The Muse happens to love all three equally but one has to be the gloss that rules them all.  There is only one winner in this beauty battle of the glosses.

Which will it be?

Jump ahead to take on this beauty battle!

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Gather round kids time to battle some brushes! I get alot of questions about which is the best blending brush for creating good eye looks. When I first started out with MAC I was recommended two brushes from a Specktra member that changed my life (and I’m sure yours if you own them). The 217 and 224 are recommended far and wide by MAC lovers everywhere as the perfect brush for blending color to a fine finish. They are two of my very favorite brushes and I probably wouldn’t want to face the makeup world without either.

Placing them in the ring together to battle it out isn’t such a fine idea as they are both very good brushes and should both be in your arsenal but who follows rules anyway! Might as well stir thing up.

Our beauty battle will begin after the jump as I pit the MAC 224 up against the MAC 217. Who’ll be the victor? You’ll see have to read to find out more!

As I mentioned above both the MAC 224 and the MAC 217 are incredible blending brushes but of course one has to be the winner in this battle. Which will it be?

In this corner we have the MAC 224 which is a fluffy shadow brush specifically designed to blend out shadow color particularly in the crease. I wouldn’t recommend it for applying color directly to the lid but it’s a treat for blending shadow out especially if your contrasting shadow within the crease or towards the V of the eye. I reach for it often when blending and find it does a very good job of gently blending color together without creating a muddy mess. It’s $28.50 price tag is well worth it however the MAC 217 has a bit of an advantage with a cheaper price tag.

The MAC 217 is smaller compared to the 224 with fluffy bristles that are just a bit more denser. It works incredibly well at blending within the crease or all over the eye. It’s small size makes it a shoe in for fitting over the eye socket for a seamless blend. At $22.50 it’s $5.50 less than $28.50. With it’s cheaper price tag and ability to blend colors evenly while fitting nicely into the curve of the eye this could prove to be a major kick in the 224′s face.

Picking between two incredible brushes like these is a difficult task but I award the final knockdown to the MAC 217. It’s smaller size fits my crease quite well and allows me to blend easily without creating fall out which I find happens with the 224. It fits neatly all over my eye particularly my crease. It blends shadow like a dream and allows me to press as lightly or as hard as I like without having to worry about screwing up the entire eye look I am trying to accomplish. For the most part I think it’s advantage is the smaller length of the bristles when compared to the longer ones of the 224. For controlled application and blending the 217 wins this beauty battle hands down!

What do you think?

Does the MAC 217 or the MAC 224 win your beauty battle?

Tell the Muse!

Step right up for a Beauty Battle first here at Musings! This is the first time I’ve paired a posh line of cosmetic with a no name e-tailer brand of cosmetic. Is this kind of competition even fair? Probably not but let’s see who can win this Beauty Battle! It’s NARS vs FaceFront, to the death!

Let the battle begin!

Pairing up NARS Blush with FaceFront Cosmetics isn’t exactly a fair fight if we get right down to it but since discovering FaceFront Cosmetics Cheek UP Blush in I’m Faunally Yours I couldn’t help but think what a amazing dupe it was for NARS Angelika. Hmmmm I hear the call of a Beauty Battle!

It deserves to be mentioned the shades are almost identical down to the slight shimmer each contains. The color is a delightful bubblegum pink that gives cheeks a nice flush. Considering the shade is a great dupe we’ll have to compare size, blending skills, packaging, and price.

Weighing in at 42oz in a loose powder form, I’m Faunally Yours is $16 USD. The blush is pigmented, has a nice shimmery finish, and comes in a decent enough packaging but nothing too fancy. It blends beautifully and leaves behind a cool pink color on cheeks that’s quite flattering, flirty, and very girlish. Taking packaging into consideration I’d say it’s a tad on the cheap side but nothing terrible and I’ve seen far worst. Considering what a cult following NARS has it’s difficult to put a small name e-tailer against such a high street brand but we shall see who knocks out who!

Running up on the wings of I’m Faunally Yours is NARS Angelika. All NARS fans agree the packaging does have a certain chic feels but also annoys us a fair bit as well since it quickly becomes a mess. At $25 USD it’s not cheap and it’s no where near the same size as FaceFront Cheek UP with a size of 0.16oz. That small size could throw this battle as honestly we can all agree the better deal lays elsewhere.

Packaging wise neither wins the game that’s for sure! Color wise they are both a winner plus pigmentation, quality of the blush, and ease of blending they both cover that base. The real punch comes from FaceFront Cosmetics Cheek UP’s price tag. At $16 USD for a nice size it’s obviously the better bargain which brings it in for a win here. Sorry NARS, FaceFront has you here! As much of NARS fan girl I am, I do so admit the bargain lays with FaceFront plus it even has a tad more pop than NARS Angelika.

The Muse awards this Beauty Battle to FaceFront Cheek UP Blush, best bargain price and a killer blush with plenty of pop!

Loves it!