Yak! It’s almost 3 am and the Muse has to be up and awake very soon but she just couldn’t resist telling you all about Benefit’s new Powderflage!
Although I originally wasn’t loving Laura Mercier’s Secret Brightening Powder I’ve kinda made my peace with it and I find I reach for it daily which is why I got hyper and excited about Benefit Powderflage!
Now….I must say that I think a pale pink powder will work much better than the ghostly white LM Secret Brightening Powder sports!
Hey Muse, what is this stuff anyway?
If you’re unfamiliar with Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder you may be wondering what it is and what Powderflage is! Allow your Muse to explain!
Powderflage promises to brighten dark circles and fine lines by dusting on this pale pink powder and taking you from the 2 hours of sleep effect aka how the Muse will feel in a bit when it’s time to wake up and transforming it into 12 hours of fresh, well rested! Brighten your eye area, conceal your dark circles, and make a more beautiful you with a quick sweep of a brush!
Yay! Exciting!
Now Laura Mercier’s powder doesn’t quite promise that. You’re supposed to use it in conjunction with your concealer. I will definately try out Powderflage as a concealer but I doubt I can trust a mere powder to conceal my wicked bad dark circles so I’ll probably be concealing with liquid or cream and applying Powderflage ontop for extra brightening! But hey, who knows this could be the miracle product we seek! Benefit’s been known to put out a miracle product here and there that I can’t live without!
We shall see!
A review comes soon of course as the Muse needs to be the first kid on the block to own this little bad boy!
Share with me…
Want this?
Think it’ll work?
Eager for my review?
What are some of your favorite Benefit products?
Tell the Muse!
Guess what? Benefit Powderflage is already on sale at Benefit Cosmetics website! Check it out! Click! $28 USD for the powder…but I’m wondering does it come with the brush? I think it does…how awesome is that? Loves it!
Scratch that the Muse’s tired eyes have focused and she noticed the canister read “set” which means indeed it comes with the brush! Really likey that!
I’m normally not one for fiber mascaras but I couldn’t resist purchasing one of these since I’m a big lover of Majolica Majorca mascara however this is a big disappointment for me and of course the main reason is the fact it’s a fiber mascara.
Although to look at it you’d never know it was fiber based as the wand doesn’t have a ton of fibers sticking from it once it’s removed from the tube however once applied I instantly get that lash in the eye feeling that’s both irritating physically and emotionally. Damn right I said emotionally! I got emotional when I have to go through a work day feeling like I have lashes stuck in my eye and unable to do a damn thing about it! Ahhhhhh! The irritation is too much to take!
Lash Gorgeous Wing is not the first fiber mascara released from Majorca Majolica but it is the first mascara that has a brush applicator as all previous versions sport the Muse beloved comb applicator which take lashes to crazy long lengths!
The mascara does exactly what it promises in providing you with feathery light lashes that keep the curl all day long however if you’re not a big lover of fibers you might want to avoid this. I, for one, picture this making a guest starring appearance in the bottom of the makeup draw graveyard.
I like my lashes to look fat and long. Although Lash Gorgeous Wing did give me ok lenght I wasn’t loving the fact that it separated my lashes and made them look alot less full and more natural. The Muse does not like the natural look. I also felt like the mascara didn’t have the exact same inky black formula Majolica Majorca mascara is known for, it seemed much lighter.
The brush wasn’t exactly working to my satisfaction either since it didn’t give me the volume I’ve come to expect from Majorca Majolica due to the awesome comb applicator previous versions had. I’ve always loved how fat and full the regular version of Majolica Majorca made my lashes this however fails on that account terribly.
I’m glad I paid retail at 1,290 yen because I’d seriously be upset if I had paid more. This, I sadly have to say, isn’t exactly what I wanted from Majolica Majorca. I’ve come to expect better from there mascara and this is definately no where near the best.
The Muse gives it a thumb down! Definitely not loving it! Perhaps I’ll have better luck with the new palettes! Stay tuned for my review!
Anyone try it?
Love it?
Love or Hate fiber mascaras?
Love Majolica Majorca mascara?
Tell the Muse!
My good mate Iris is kinda loving Lash Gorgeous Wing! Check out her review by clicking here.
I’m having my morning tea (geeks need geeky tea! Gotta love it! I’m partial to Prager’s blend) with some obscenely bad for you crumpets (these things should be illegal! Which is why I don’t buy them often! Bad! Bad! Bad!) this morning and I’m flipping through Bath and Body Works Look Book for Fall 2008.
I can’t help but a tad bit disappointed as it appears they aren’t releasing as much as they did last year. I think this accounts for the spending habits of Americans right now in a way as last year they had a slew of items released and this year I imagine they are trying to keep it simple.
Anyway!
It’s an interesting selection however I think it’s safe to say the Temptation 3-1 Shower Gels won’t be making a reappearance anytime soon and they may very well be gone for good aside from possibly small releases such as the Hello Sugar! Collection.
Typical coupons inside!
Black Amethyst is making a guest starring appearance on a five page spread lay out in the booklet. I got a lab sample of this and it’s rather deep and dark for Bath & Body Works. I’m testing it out and will review it shortly!
A new Spa line entitled Shea Cashmere will be available shortly. It seems like a comfortable scent that sports major moisturizing benefits. I’m curious about this one!
Body Cream $17.50 USD Bubble Bath $18 USD Body Lotion $16.50 USD
Although the Sleep Collection is not new they have added quite a few items to the line up that are interesting. The items are scented with Warm Milk and Honey and are limited edition. Available as of September 3rd online and in shops. These come in heavy glass bottles and are definately vanity worth. They normally come in Lavender or Vanilla Lavender variations however I think that the Warm Milk and Honey sounds rather fitting for a “sleep” collection!
Warm Milk and Honey Aromatherapy Pillow Mist $10 USD Warm Milk and Honey Aromatherapy Body Lotion $13 USD Warm Milk and Honey Aromatherapy Massage Oil $16 USD Warm Milk and Honey Aromatherapy Luxe Bath $16.50 USD
Cancer survivor Marisa Accocella Marchetto teamed up with C.O. Bigelow to create an exclusive kit the proceeds of which go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Each Kit is $36 USD and contains an array of C.O. Bigelow goodies housed in a cute cardboard suitcase.
A very small sneak peak of this year’s Winter/Holiday Collection:
Bit disappointed that the same old flavors are back for the Holiday selections. Although I am happy to see Twisted Peppermint back. A new Bath Parfait is being introduced as well which looks quite lovely.
Holiday Traditional Items will be available as soon as October 13! And as of November 3rd the Foaming Bath Parfait will be available for $12.50 USD.
And finally a few autumn bits to keep us happy!
All in all a rather nice selection of goodies from Bath & Body Works!
Two of my favorite designers, Viktor & Rolf, have teamed up with Shu Uemura to design three amazing lash designs for the Tokyo Lash Bar this year.
The Couture Collection makes the Muse simply quiver in delight while drool drips from her mouth!
Have you seen these lashes?
Is it terrible to admit that I want to buy at least two pairs just because they are so stunning!?
Each lash set is encased in a gorgeous white box complete with a masquerade eye mask and costs $95 USD.
I can’t think of a more wicked and indulgence purchase than these.
At first I had two sets in my cart but I’ve since decided that I should show some control and just purchase one! Now it’s all about firguring out which pair to buy!
It’s a toss up between the Wing and Swirl versions….I’m thinking the Swirl is very Muse-like!
Ugh having such a hard time not buying both! Ahhhhhh!
And yes, before you say it, these are an utterly extravagant, spoiled, and self-indulged purchase! But the Muse has decided she deserves it and no one can change her mind!
Expect ridiculous amounts of pictures soon and possible…if I’m so inclined…a Face of the Day sporting these…it’ll have to be a special occasion…hmm…New Year’s? My Birthday? Just because?
I’m busy testing out a majority of the Too Faced Smoke & Mirrors Fall Collection but I did notice that Too Faced happened to extend the line to include Too Faced Lash Injection Pin Point Mascara.
I’m not too much of a fan of the regular Lash Injection however I am slightly curious about Lash Injection Pin Point as it does sound promising!
At $19.50 USD it’s a nice rounded price for mascara plus it promises precision application to lashes and looks like it might be able to come through on those promises with the tiny brush it sports.
It is a fiber mascara which does turn me off as I’m not a big lover of fiber mascaras however it does look very interesting!
Anyone try it yet?
Want to?
Tell the Muse!
If you’re lemming it it’s available now from Sephora.
I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t disappointed when I heard about Urban Decay’s Fall Collection. They are introducing some seriously ridiculously, gorgeous lippies this season which are outrageous and the Muse is busy, busy, busy testing away however I was crestfallen when I realized the eye shadow selections for Fall are all new matte colors.
Le sigh.
The Muse is sad.
I heart the general catalog eye shadows that made Urban Decay an absolute cult favorite! Shimmer, Sparkle, Shine, and Glitter! So Muse-like!
I remember when Urban Decay introduced the matte shadows and how many sighs of utter relief soon followed. I just don’t happen to be part of the population that loves mattes so no sighing here!
Sorry.
I may be an itty bitty bit brokenhearted but Urban Decay definately made it up to me by introducing a new gorgeous, vibrant, popping aqua shade! The Muse is all over aqua! Psstt….don’t worry we still have the Winter Collection to look forward too!
This Fall Urban Decay has extended the matte line of shadows with three new shades:
Shakedown Taupe Brown
Heist Mauve
And my favorite….
Electric POPPING Aqua!
Can you spell lust?
The Muse is lusting this shadow! Even though it’s matte I’m still loving the fact that I can apply some and dose myself with some heavy duty sparkle and shimmer right on top to make my eyes literally pop out of my head!
Loves it!
Since I’ve never reviewed the matte shadows prior to this I’ll give you a brief low down. They are extremely pigmented, wonderfully silky and easy to blend, and really bold and vibrant (did you expect anything else from Urban Decay?).
Urban Decay Matte Eye Shadow in Electric has “the Muse” written all over it baby! I did a rather outrageous aqua look with it this weekend and applied a ridiculously amount of MAC pigment in Mutiny right on top!
Pure perfection!
I’m loving this one and I’m slapping the Muse Approval on it for purchase!
I admit that I’m easily jaded when it comes to new collections, cosmetics, makeup, skincare, etc..lately. It’s difficult to impress me more and more. I try so many new and exciting items and many disappoint however I have come across a product that has the greatness to become an absolute cult favorite in my humblest opinion.
As part of it’s exciting Fall Collection Urban Decay has released a concealer pencil entitled 24/7 Concealer Pencil. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this product. I was a bit disappointed with the Too Faced Mineral Water pencil I recently tried so when I heard about Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil I expected much of the same outcome when testing it out. Most of these pencil style concealers are difficult to blend, feel waxy and hard, and just aren’t pigmented enough to cover up problem areas, etc….
Not the case for 24/7 Concealer Pencil.
Wow, simply wow.
Get one. Immediately. You need this product in your beauty arsenal. It’s absolutely essential you have one!
First off the name is completely fitting with the product. Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Liners are extremely popular with the masses due to their creamy consistency and effortless glide across the eye. It just so happens that the 24/7 Concealer Pencil has an identical soft, creamy formula as the eye pencils!
Urban Decay’s Potion Primer has become a staple and essential cult item with many makeup fans and I think this new concealer has the potential for that greatness! First of all the general idea of fitting a moist, creamy, blendable concealer into a pencil is absolutely awesome. Have you ever successfully used a concealer pencil that contained a formula with all those key benefits? I haven’t.
The color I got was CIA which is the lightest shade available. It might have been a bit too light but I don’t mind as I liked the way it brightened my eye area up and created a nice awake look to my eyes.
The product is richly pigmented and will cover up any and all problems in particular dark circles under your eyes. It’s advertised as a concealer for blemishes, under eye circles, redness, etc….I’ve used mine for only my eye area and I’m impressed with the results. It woke up my tired eyes and offered excellent coverage for dark circles and the extra luggage I sometimes sport around my eye area.
The texture is a soft, creamy moisturizing concealer that blends with little effort. The idea of not having to dip into a pot for my concealer or squeeze a mess of liquid out of a tube totally pleases me to no end. Just swipe and go. Easy. Simplicity like this is worth the price! The formula is not drying nor does it settle into fine lines. It smooths beautifully under the eye covering up problems while creating a matte, flawless finish.
The product sports a dose of Vitamin E and also contains a new ingredient called Microsponge which absorbs excess oil and prevents further breakouts and clogged pores. The absorbing excess oil is pretty exciting for those that sport oily lids. A bit of this will be a wonderful prep to mattify your lids in preparation for your eye makeup.
I’m also loving this for after eye makeup touch ups. I get major fall out and I find that after I apply my shadow, pigments, etc…if I swipe a bit of this under my eyes and blend it gets rid of my fall out mess and gives me a fresh under eye area minus chunks of shimmer and glitter from my shadow.
The portability of the product is a major plus. Tuck it in your purse for quick touch ups on the go! Perfection!
For some reason the finish, texture, and formula quite reminds me of YSL’s popular Touche Eclat Radiant. The only difference being Urban Decay sports a pencil design and is heaps cheaper! It’s safe to say that this can easily be used as a quick highlighter as well for quick touch ups to your face. Smooth a little down the sides of your nose and blend outwards for a fresh face.
The pencil is available in four shades and comes with it’s own sharpener for $16 USD. It’s available for sale now from both Urban Decay and Sephora.
This comes with my highest rating of Muse Approval and I recommend going out and grabbing one as quickly as you can! It’s truly an outstanding product and a must have item! Urban Decay has a winner on it’s hands here and I predict it’ll be extremely popular once the word gets out!
Jill Stuart’s website has been updated with the latest Fall Collection for 2008 entitled Illuminance. I find the name quite fitting as the new shadow palettes and cheek blushes sport beautiful golds for Fall.
I wasn’t particularly excited about the Brilliance collection but I do feel a slight tinge of interest. I think I’ll be indulging in at least one of the blushes and three of the shadow palettes. The shadow palettes have been slightly revamped as well with an interesting design on the front of the compact. It’s been a little bit of a gap between purchases for me on the Jill Stuart front simply because the shadow palettes are extremely uneventful with similiar shades being used over and over and over again.
The Muse’s stash of blush compacts hauled from last season!
However, after such a long dry spell Jill Stuart Illuminance may be getting some of the Muse’s hard earned money! Palettes are 5,000 yen each and blushes are 4,500 yen each. Expect to pay $10-$30 USD more per item online.
Items I think I’ll be indulging in:
Eye palettes in Jewel Dress, Fantastic Light, Brocade Gold, and Flash Veil.
I think I might have unintentionally found the holy grail mineral foundation. Seriously.
First off I should explain that I have a certain dislike (or hate if you prefer) for mineral makeup. When mineral makeup was first making it’s big appearance in the makeup circuit I was the idiot that promptly purchased a Bare Minerals kit. Hey, here it was a kit with everything I needed to look flawless! Awesome!
I got the kit and promptly threw it in the garbage. No joke. The Muse felt it wasn’t even good enough for swap bait!
Coverage was awful, I felt like I had a mask on, and damn was I itchy as hell! That’s not exactly my idea of flawless coverage more along the lines of uncomfortable coverage!
Since that awful experience I’ve kept far away from mineral makeup and decided it was for those with perfect yet oily skin. Those of us with flawed, dry skin were basically out in the cold. No mineral makeup for you guys! Sorry!
About a year ago I felt it was my responsible as a super star blogger (I like the way that sounded…suppppppppppper star…ok sorry..I’ll take it out later, promise, don’t be a killjoy about it! *grumble*) to venture back into the world of mineral makeup. At the moment everyone and their mum has some sort of mineral foundation out on the market. I wonder if Bare Minerals is having a cow over this. Whatta ya think?
Anyway!
The market was particularly saturated in the drugstore where many drugstore cosmetics have taken on the mineral frontier and are trying to boldly go where no cosmetic brand has gone before….I think, maybe, their might be a snark in that statement do to the Muse’s strong distaste for drugstore cosmetics.
As I was saying I’ve been sorta picking and choosing a few brands to try out and I haven’t successfully located any good mineral makeup as of yet aside from Urban Decay’s rather awesome Surreal Skin.
I know MANY of you awesome people have recommended me various e-tailer brands. Thank you! I’ll definately be making some selections soon from those brands however I may not have to since I’ve discovered thee most awesome mineral powder I’ve tried to date.
Prescriptives has introduced it’s own line of mineral foundation and I am in love.
Absolute love.
I gotta say I am a tad bit disappointed as I was reading reviews for this on MUA and it only got a rating of 3.4 or so. That’s not particularly bad but it’s not awesome either. Who are these people reviewing this? We should take a wanted dead or live warrant out on them!
My first time using this I think I made a little bit of a mess. I was comparing this to other mineral foundation I’ve used so boy was I buffing it on like nobody’s business! I ended up looking like a scary chalky mess. Turns out that the coverage is pretty amazing so a little tiny bit goes a very, very, very long way! This is rare with mineral foundation! I’ve always found I have to pile it on but not the case with Prescriptives All Minerals Makeup. A little tiny bit will give your skin the coverage it needs while remaining light and natural.
You may have read in a few of my posts this Summer how my skin was going through a rather dull phase due to the overwhelming humidity but I’m looking freaking awesome after application with this. At least I thinks so. It looks so fresh and it really lightens up my face which I love!
Ok, so it has sun protection right plus it contains good for you minerals and it sets the perfect canvas for makeup but get this……the long wearing that they promise…..true. Seriously, long wearing. As in bulletproof long wearing. As in jump in the pool and still look awesome long wearing.
We’re suffering a bit of the typical New York heat wave the past week and a half or so which means we get the normal round of blistering sun plus major waves of humidity. I tell ya…you can seriously do some major testing on your makeup in weather like this.
I walked 8 blocks yesterday in the humidity. 8 blocks isn’t a whole lot for me as I walk alot more but 8 blocks in the humidity tends to feel like 200 blocks. After reaching my destination I feared my face melted right off so I quickly stepped into the ladies to touch up.
No need.
My face was beautiful. No touch ups required. This stuff is seriously waterproof. I was looking as fresh as a daisy hmmm or a rose I can’t decide which. After a quick touch up with gloss I was ready to go! Right at that moment I was wishing I had my camera so I could have done some serious Before and After shots! Coverage pretty much lasts until you remove it. This stuff isn’t going anywhere. I’ve used it for about a week and a half now and I can’t begin to say what a great ride it’s been. I’m shocked, delighted, and amazed at how awesome it is. We have a winner people!
The Muse looking flawless and fresh wearing Prescriptives All Minerals Makeup
THIS is my first attempt with the powder! I don’t think it looks too bad but you can see that I went a little bit overboard. Remember kids less is more!
You have 18 shades to choose from so I think everyone should be able to locate at least one shade that’s flattering to your skin tone. Each jar is 0.3 oz in size and $32.50 USD.
The powder is very silky and feels weightless plus I had no itchy feeling that I normally get from mineral powders. I just felt like I had nothing on which is a plus when it comes to powder foundation of any kind. As I mentioned, please for the love of God, a little goes a long way so don’t get crazy!
Prescriptives has a brush available at a special price of $17 USD when you purchase the mineral foundation. I got it at Macy’s but I’m unsure if you can get one at all counters. It normally retails for $30 USD so that’s a considerable discount.
The buffing brush introduced with the foundation is interesting. I’m unsure if I love it or not yet. It shed a bit which was disappointing but I did like how dense it was and how it picked up a healthy amount of product to buff onto your face. I used the powder with my MAC mini kabuki and I just felt like the Presciptives brush did a much better job of buffing the product into my skin. I’m unsure if that was due to it’s larger size. The bristles are quite soft but…kinda stiff. So I do have a few minor rants about the brush but I’m in a stage where I love and hate it at the same time. I do think at $17 USD it’s kinda sorta worth picking up because it made applying easier.
I noticed that they have a good selection for darker skinned girls. I noticed that the tones went from nice light coffee shades all the way up to very darker shades so if you find it difficult to get a good match in mineral foundations I think it’s safe to say they should have your color available! Also plenty of the shades were flattering for my lovely Asian girls.
I know, I know many of my Singaporean readers are hating on me right for reviewing this since Prescriptives has pulled out of the Sinaporean market. I’m sorry guys! Definately check around MUA to see if some kind MUA’er can do a CP to grab some of this for you.
This one is Muse Approved for purchase. The Muse likey. Alot. The Muse has found her mineral makeup of choice!
Check out the shade selections for Prescriptives All Minerals Makeup by clicking here!
Majolica Majorca has updated it’s website with the newest Fall Collection entitled A Girl With Wings. Although the site is in Japanese it’s always nice to click around it and enjoy the interactivity on the site plus look at the pretty pictures of the new collection.
I admit that I’m not too thrilled with the collection but I will be indulging in all the items released. It’s not a huge release but most Fall Collections in Japan aren’t. Spring Collections are normally the season that Japanese cosmetic companies release bigger collections so we have to wait a bit before we see bigger and better things from Majolica Majorca and of course we have the special Holiday releases to look forward to!
The items released with A Girl with Wings are a new fiber mascara which is a first for Majolica Majorca and two new Trick On Eye Palettes. I’ll be getting all three items and reviewing them for you shortly. I think you can safely skip everything but I do recommend picking up the mascara. MJ Mascara is always on my hit list and I try each new version released. I’m paying retail for the items which is 1,500 yen per a palette and 1,200 yen for the mascara but expect to pay up to $6-8 more per palette and I’d say at least $8 for the mascara at online shops.
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