Musings of a Muse

Say hello to my new little friend:

La Mer The Radiant Concealer!

Jump ahead for my review and swatches of this new concealer from La Mer.

$65 could prove too much to splurge on a concealer but honestly I’m willing to spend my life savings on anything to make me look well rested and flawless. I can’t be the only one feeling that way!

The new La Mer The Radiant Concealer doesn’t come cheap but it does what it promises and that my friends is worth it’s weight in gold.

This concealer comes housed in a super chic white case with a mirror plate proudly displaying the “La Mer” on it’s cover. Kicking up the packaging further is the fact that it comes with a faux leather carrying case and mini concealer brush and here you have yourself a super chic piece of cosmetic.

The Muse is in love with the fact that Le Mer continues to extend it’s cosmetic line further and further as of late and of course couldn’t be happier about a concealer release as hey she happens to be utterly obsessed with concealers as you may know from reading her babblings.

With a formula that sports an SPF 25 and gemstones that capture the light to mask dark circles and blemishes this concealer is ready to do battle with your worst flaws.

I have dry under eyes so I normally seek out the most moisturizing concealer I can find but I do so admit that a concealer with a harder, tackier texture actually offers me the longest wear. This is the formula this concealer sports. It’s not creamy or moisturizing and has a harder texture than my normal round of coverage but it still manages to blend seamlessly and wears incredibly long. My dry eyes don’t seem to mind the formula at all so it’s not creeping into fine lines or caking up. Once blended it wears all day without failing me. The pigmentation is very good and it manages to conceal my main worries such as fine lines, puffy eyes, and dark circles.

Overall, it’s ability to wear stay in place all day makes it a gem of a concealer for this Muse. It covers completely and allows a flawless, well rested look.

Loves it!

Quite a great concealer. The price is high but well worth every penny.

Anyone try yet?

Love it?

Tell the Muse!

Avon is keeping it cheap and cute with it’s new Avon Color Trend Lip Duo Lipstick & Lip Gloss. This dual sided lip gadget has a lipstick on end and a gloss on the other, sweet the Muse loves techy beauty finds!

Click ahead to hear my thoughts.

This little guy is available in four separate shades for a mere $3.25 each. These aren’t a big size but they have just enough product for toting around with you for quickie touch ups. The novelty is the dual-end design which lets you smooth on a nourishing lip color and top it with a shiny gloss.

The lipstick side of the product is quite sheer and subtle where as the gloss is decently pigmented. You’d think this would be reversed with the lipstick sporting the richer pigmentation but it does manage to work as the lipstick acts more as a balm and a prep for lips prior to gloss application.

The color I tried Pink Fizz Duo which has a gloss that’s lilac pink is color and a frosty baby pink shade of lipstick.

Neither product is flavored so those who aren’t a fan of scented, flavored lip products will be relieved. The texture of both the gloss and the lipstick is nicely moisturizing for it’s beauty budget price tag.

Overall, Avon Color Trend Lip Duo Lipstick & Lip Gloss is a rather cute, inexpensive beauty find for throwing into your bag for touch ups on the go or if you have a bit of an oral fixation and always find yourself applying and reapplying balms or gloss this should appeal.

Likey!

Available now from Avon.

The Muse has been fiddling about with Tarte ReCreate Foundation for a few months now. It’s chock full of interesting features one of which is very important, anti-aging. Can’t say there are a slew of anti-aging foundations on the market that I know of. The novelty of a foundation that would aid me in keeping my skin youthful and fresh sounded incredible.

Jump ahead for the deets and review.

Like many foundation, Tarte ReCreate Foundation has plenty of good points and a few bad.

It’s paraben-free, natural formula is a very good point particularly if you’re super conscious of what goes into your makeup. The fact that it contains an SPF 15 is another good point but I do think that’s a tad low in the sun protection department. And most important of all it’s interesting “wrinkle rewind” technology which holds a claim of being clinically proven to decrease fine lines and wrinkles while increasing moisture, toning, and firming the skin.

All this is very appealing however I may not be getting the full benefit of it as I don’t have fine lines or wrinkles on my face as of yet so I can’t speak for whether it’s improving any of that. I also can’t say if it’s working at keeping my skin youthful as a few short months of use would never be enough time to judge that however that doesn’t stop me from loving the idea that it could very well be protecting my skin and preventing wrinkles.

The formula is creamy, moisturizing and blends flawlessly onto my skin. It’s a tad on the runny side but not in a bad way as that allows it to easily absorb into my dry skin. It’s not incredibly pigmented but it’s rich enough to allow light to medium coverage but if you have major skin care woes you’re wanting to cover it probably won’t completely help that case (even though it says full coverage I felt it wasn’t pigmented enough for total coverage). I’ve heard it tends to sink and settle into pores but I don’t have large pores so it sits comfortable on my skin and almost feels like a glove…it’s not a silicon feel but it feels interesting during first application.

I’m also a big lover of the packaging. It comes in a pump style tube that dispenses just the right amount of product. Fantastically clean, mess-free distribution makes it a winner in the packaging department!

Now my main problem with it…

The shades.

All the colors have an incredible amount of unflattering beige to them. Even the very lightest ivory looks like a muddy beige shade. This in itself was a deal breaker for me as it made me look terribly old and uneven. The shade was just wrong. I did do a ton of swatches of other shades and all of them were just sadly wrong for my tone. MAC seems to have a similar problem when it comes to foundation as many of their shades have incredible amounts of either orange or beige and of course drugstore brands as well.

Overall, if the interesting concept of an anti-aging foundation appeals to me in a major way and I like the formula of the foundation as well as it’s light and feels nice on my face. However, the shade selection does need considerably improvement and I can’t say I’d indulge again once I’m done with this one.

Anyone try Tarte ReCreate?

Love it?

Not so much?

Tell the Muse!

Dontcha just love products with “intense” in the name. Golly, that must mean they are really special. Intense gloss..oooooo! So important!

Ilamasqua Intense Lipgloss has made it’s way to US shores recently and the Muse must say indeed it’s intense. Intensely rich, intensely pigmented, intensely thick and creamy….yup, intense for shiz.

Jump for it!

All though I’m not a lover of matte gloss I can’t help but be slightly tickled over the new Ilamasqua Intense Lipgloss.

Housed in an ultra slim line tube this gloss is unlike anything I’ve had the pleasure of trying to date. It’s more like a lip enamel as it gives lips a patent leather shine.

I’ve never had the pleasure of using anything like it in all my beauty days. It’s quite like a thick, creamy, ooey gooey lip cream. The gloss is incredibly pigmented and extremely thick in consistency. You’d think the combination of those two traits would make it a mess to deal with but so not the case. The gloss fairly glides onto lips without having to go back over it (you can if you want to get an extra, extra bold look) as it’s rich pigmentation covers lips completely in a thick layer of beautiful gloss. Although thick it feels quite comfortable on without being sticky, tacky, or overwhelmingly heavy. It’s quite lightweight for such a formula and feels natural and pleasant on my lips.

I’m actually pleased with the applicator as well which is a simple squeeze tube with a narrow, thin slant. The slant fits the curve of my lips quite well and aids in getting the gloss in place minus mess or drama. The gloss itself also has a fresh fruity taste and scent. It also manages to wear very long.

The color I tried was Indulge which is a hot neon pink. Not exactly my shade of choice but surprisingly works well with a minimal makeup look!

If you’re a lover of very thick glosses with super pigmentation Illamasqua Intense Lip Gloss is bound to please.

Likey!

Have you tried Illamasqua gloss yet?

Loving it?

Do share!

The Muse happens to be quite addicted to transparent powders for some reason especially ones that promise to make me flawless. Aromaleigh Silk Powder Primer preps your face for mineral foundation supposedly leaving behind a flawless canvas for makeup!

Does it work?

Find out after the jump!

The general idea of this powder is to use it as a prep and prime prior to minerals. Since my main foundation of choice aren’t minerals it’s somewhat useless however I did want to try it out anyway. I’m actually pretty impressed with it

I used it in three separate ways. Once to prime my face prior to using Urban Decay Surreal Skin Mineral Foundation, secondly as finishing, setting powder, and thirdly to mask minor flaws prior to using a cheek stain sans foundation. As a primer it works remarkably well. It’s difficult to explain the results but my mineral makeup looks more refined and finished when I use this prior to application. As a setting powder it doesn’t really work as the powder is a bit on the thick side and white causing a strange cast of weird on my face. It also doesn’t work very well on it’s own as again same strange white cast when used.

The powder is quite a thick texture and not as silky as many transparent powders I’ve used. It blends quite well and in regards to prepping for minerals it exceeds and does the job well. It’s actually meant for normal or combination skin types but it worked well enough on my crazy not sure what it wants to be skin at the moment. The powder acts almost like a barrier or shield between your skin and the mineral foundation of your choice. This technique allows for your minerals to last longer and look flawless.

It supposedly refines pores and fine lines but I have neither so I can’t speak for that. It also claims to be a natural moisture absorbing powder so as the temperature and humidity changes in your environment it’ll keep your oily skin under control. I’ve used it in the normal oily places on my face such as forehead and sides of noses but didn’t notice too much of a difference. This has to be explored further before I have my final say on that feature.

Overall, it’s a good product if you’re a mineral foundation user however if your dominate foundation is liquid or cream you can safely skip. I think it’s worthy of a try out for mineral users as you’ll notice your foundation will last longer while your face will have a more flawless look.