Musings of a Muse

I was visiting with the beautiful Toya from Life of a Ladybug last week and happened upon her review of Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. After reading her review I knew that this was something I absolutely had to try!

Away I went to Sephora to nab some for myself!

What is it?

Secret Brightening Powder is exactly that. It’s a translucent powder with a tiny touch of shimmer that you use under your eyes to brighten and refresh eyes!

Mmmmm…..

It brightens.

It refreshes.

But…

It kinda sorta settles into my fine lines which I’m not loving.

It’s an interesting concept but I’m not sure it works so well. The powder is pretty shimmery so the potential and danger of overdoing it is a serious reality. I overdo everything so I have to be super careful with this and just apply a tiny touch under my eyes. It does brighten up my eye area and give it a very nice light, look but it also settles into my fine lines which makes me age a few years. I don’t use powder under my eyes anymore for this reason and this, is in fact, glorified finishing powder.

Fact of the matter is this might very well be a wonderful product but lately my eye area is so very dry (Sahara desert dry!) that I can’t take full advantage of this without seeing some strange side effects such as the fact that it is brightening but it’s also making me look older, settling into my fine lines, and drying my eye area out further.

If you boast a beautifully smooth, moist eye area free of dryness this could be a product you might want to invest $22 USD in however for me it’s just a glorified finishing powder with a bit of shimmer thrown in.

It does a fine job of setting your concealer and it does brighten up the eye area as I mentioned but it’s just not doing that good a job to justify me recommending it for purchase!

The cost is quite good as the jar is huge and you could get a year if not more out of it but really this doesn’t do anything that your normal run of the mill loose powder does!

Sigh. I so wanted to love it!

You can safely skip it!

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NARS has updated it’s website with the new Summer Collection for 2008 entitled Exotica. It looks like an interesting collection! I’m loving the lipgloss in Misbehave!

Click on over to have a look at the new Summer Collection!

Dior has introduced a new edition to the family with it’s High Shine Lipstick. Dior makes a fine bit of cosmetic that the Muse both uses and collects however their lipstick line hasn’t been something I can say I’ve indulged in much.

However, upon hearing about the Addict High Shine Lipstick I thought yes indeed this was very me! Visions of T’estimo lipstick and MAC Slimshines danced through my head and I was thinking how Dior probably created a beautifully moisturizing lipstick in an array of colors! I couldn’t wait to try it!

Meh. They could have done a better job with this.

I’m relieved I didn’t get crazy and purchase one of every color because it turns out it’s not all that great. The formula needs a bit of work as it advertises a high shine and gloss but I got neither from it. There isn’t much to say really it just feels like a regular old lipstick.

I’m not going to lie and say I’m not shocked as I expect far better quality from Dior but this definately disappoints. Most of my disappointment stems from the promise of a beautiful glossy feel and lovely shine. I didn’t get either from this and I can’t help but feel ripped off. It just feels like the regular Dior lipstick.

The color selection is vast and the packaging is simple yet pretty but sadly it’s a total bust for me. The Muse suggests saving your money and buying two MAC Slimshines instead as the price of one Dior Addict High Shine Lipstick is $25 USD which isn’t bad if it actually worked but sadly it’s a no go!

Boo Dior! The Muse is saddened and disappointed!

I know some folks have been awaiting me to do a post and review on Givenchy’s Spring Collection for this year and I honestly haven’t really been up for it. It failed to excite me this year and I guess that’s why it’s sorta been laying in boxes on my vanity for about 2 months or more now. I just can’t get excited about it as it was sadly such a disappointment. Am I the only one feeling like this could have been so much better? Don’t get me started on the Summer Collection which I’m equally hating by the very way!

I apologize for failing to review it but I’ll get on it sooner or later.

The good news is today I bring you a review on Givenchy’s Perfect Again! Corrector Palette! This review is a long time coming and I should have done it ages and ages and ages ago when I originally purchased the Spring Collection as this happened to be one of the items that I purchased with it!

The was introduced this year with the Spring Collection and is a Limited Edition Palette sadly. I believe the retail cost was $38 USD? and well worth every penny might I add.

I love it.

When I want to go light for coverage this is what I reach for. If you have heavy duty dark circles or you’re concealing some major baggage this is not something you want to even bother with. However, if you skin behaves well and you like a very natural coverage without feeling heavily made up this is definately something you’ll need and want to have around.

Givenchy would have you believe that this thing can cover everything and make you look like amazing. Not the case, sorry. It also happens to advertise it as a blemish, eye, and everything concealer. Again, not the case, or at least not for me.

I happen to use this kit exclusively for my eyes and it works perfectly under that area thanks very much. I haven’t tried to remake my face over into perfection with this kit nor will I try because it seriously can’t do that in my humblest opinion however it does a super job of making my eyes happy.

The palette contains two concealers. One light concealer and one darker shade which can be mixed or used separately. It also includes a smoother and a highlighter.

The smoother is awesome. Sincerely super duper awesome. Givenchy says you can use this to cover up enlarged pores but I use it for smoothing under my eyes and filling in fine lines prior to mixing up the two concealers and applying under my eyes.

This my friends gives me a beautiful very natural concealed coverage for my eyes. Perfect for days I’m going without heavy duty eye makeup and just making the rounds around town. Simply beautiful coverage. Truly.

The smoother is awesome and if they made this in a single palette I’d buy a few to stock up because it’s just great. It’s white and has the feeling of a primer such as Clarin’s Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch but much lighter. I smooth it carefully under my eyes and it preps my eye area wonderfully for my concealer! My concealer ends up lasting longer and doesn’t cake or crease thanks to this little gem! Please Givenchy might we have a larger size of this amazing stuff?!!

The concealers in the palette aren’t anything too exciting and some people might be turned off by the hard texture. They need a bit of warming up prior to use which I’m always a hater on but I will say that they work pretty nicely for when I want a very natural, light coverage. This is equally wonderful for someone who doesn’t have much to conceal or maybe doesn’t even use concealer to begin with! They go on feel almost powdery instead of creamy.

Finally the highlighter which is a pinkish lilac color with a tiny bit of shimmer can be used for highlighting your highbrow or cheekbones. I must admit this color was used the least out of the four correctors in the palette.

The palette is the typical Givenchy affair that has a tier flip which includes the cream correctors on one level and three brushes on the second level. Mmm….the applicators are somewhat useless to me. They included two sponge applicators with this which seem perfectly silly for using with the palette in my opinion. The third brush is a black sponge with a slanted tip. Ask me what the frack (can you tell I’ve been overdosing on BattleStar lately?) it is and I couldn’t tell you. I’m taking a guess and saying it’s to be used with the smoother cream? Hmmmm mystery unsolved.

All in all the palette definately gets the Muse Seal of Approval for purchase however I strongly suggest not purchasing it you have lots to conceal. This will not help in anyway if you have terribly dark circles or baggage going on.

I love it and say it’s definately worth checking out for yourself! I haven’t been this excited about a concealer in a long time and this is HG (Holy Grail) material for me!

Have it?

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Don’t you love Shu’s Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks? Pigmented, Amazing Formula, and Beautiful Packaging.

I sincerely adore them.

Shu’s taken the original Rouge Unlimited and amped it up a bit for the Spring/Summer. We now have Shu Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine which is simply amazing!

I tested out two of these and I’m dying to get my hands on a few more colors as they are truly great!

It’s like having a lipstick and a gloss all in one stick. This is a glossy, slick, emollient formula that simply glides onto your lips leaving behind beautiful color and shine!

I’m loving the simplicity of a single stick of gloss and lipcolor in one tube. The color is pigmented enough to act as a lipstick while also offering your lips a moisturizing glossy, shimmering effect that’s absolutely stunning.

These are perfect for days you want a natural, glossy feel without feeling heavily made up with lipstick.

WN254S and BG 950S

The two colors I got are BG 950S which is a pretty shimmering beige and the second color was WN 254S which is a shimmering purple wine color but it looks very pink on!

WN 254S

BG 950S

WN 254S

BG 950S (Hey, L@@K I’m wearing Visee’s Aqua Shining Eyes! Pretty Right? Click to read my review on Aqua Shining Eyes!)

The only thing I can rant about is they only come in 17 Shades. We wants more please! And secondly can we please, please, please have names we can remember? B45644578ST is too difficult to remember!

Each Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine is $23 USD and well worth it as the quality is near perfection for me.

I have at least 5 other colors on my wish list at the moment!

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine Collection is available now at Shu Uemura’s website!

These are most definately Muse Approved! I love the texture, the shine, the glossy feel, and the beautiful color and effect of these! They are well worth purchasing at least one (although you’ll want more once you’ve tried ‘em!).

Perfection!

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Click here to travel into the past and read my Shu Uemura Summer Prism Collection Review!

Click here to read my ravings and review for Shu Uemura’s New Mini Lash Curler!

Click here to read about the exclusive Fact Chart Shu Uemura created exclusively for readers of Musings of a Muse!