Mallowmars. The root of all evil which is why when my sister offered me one this morning I shook my head absolutely no! As she held the plate before me I realized this was how Adam must have felt when Eve offered him that juicy, forbidden apple! Although my willpower shows strong with the Mallowmars this morning I can’t always say the same about MAC and the evil temptation it presents daily.
I wonder to myself if you’ve been eagerly awaiting my MAC Passions of Red post. I honestly didn’t have my whole heart in MAC this year and I sadly admit that.
As much as I adore MAC I can’t help but be disappointed with this year’s palettes as it’s a bit of a rerun of the same color combinations released in a new brightly packaged compact. Although much of the MAC Red She Said Promo was absolutely awesome I wasn’t feeling the palette part of the release as much as the other items! I guess the Muse’s honeymoon with MAC is over.
This year like all year’s past MAC introduced four eye palettes with just about all the same color combos we have grown to know so well, particularly if you’re a huge MAC fan. I think it’s super fun and exciting for those who haven’t experienced MAC Holiday prior to this but I think it’s a huge let down for those who know and love MAC.
I did get three of the four palettes released because I wanted to compare and review them here on Musings and of course like the Mallowmars it’s very difficult to resist the call of MAC. I’ve had these since the official release but just didn’t feel up to posting about them however I thought it was about time to take action and see the good points and the bad points of the MAC Passions of Red palettes.
One key factor of MAC Holiday is that they always release that special little palette that does kind of excite and get me giddy! Last year it was the Royal Assets Metallic Eye Palette that really caught and captured my eye and attention. The year before that it was the Formal Black Intense Eyes Palette. And this year I did so fancy the rather lovely shades included with the Passions of Red Devoted Poppy Classic Eye Palette! Aside from these special releases a majority of the other combos are pretty much reruns and replays of the same old thing year after year. As I type this I can’t believe I’m saying as such considering what a huge MAC fan girl I am.
The moral of my short story is that although MAC evolves it’s packaging year to year the colors inside mostly remain the same. Keep your eyes on the prize and locate that one palette that’s unique from other MAC palettes you own and don’t be swayed by the lure of new packaging and the collect them all attitude! The Muse knows as she’s one for collecting them all when in fact she really doesn’t need them and can easily dupe them from MAC Holiday Palettes past!
The Muse honestly suggest nabbing all four palettes if you’re new to MAC as these are some sincerely create color combos! However, if you’re an experienced MAC collector the Muse thinks you can settle on MAC Passions of Red Devoted Poppy Eye Palette and call it a day on the other three!
Tis that special time of the year kids when Lush presents us with the Muse’s second favorite Holiday item from Lush!
We know Muse, we know!
It’s snowcake!
Shhhh! Don’t be so quick there lovies! I said SECOND favorite! It’s not Snowcake but it’s almost as good! It’s Snow Showers!
Yay!!!!!
Cure the music, strike up the band, let’s celebrate good times come on! We need Kool & The Gang to help us with this one!
What? I couldn’t embed the original Kool & The Gang video so you’ll have to settle for the Chipmunks! Sorry ’bout that! Yaaawhooooooooooooo! No matter how many times I hear that song (especially when I’m on a cruise) it never gets tiring!
Celebrationnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!! Let’s all Celebrate and have a good time!
Anyway.
As I listen to the original version of Celebration and you listen to the Chipmunks screech your ear off I’ll give you the deets on Lush Snow Showers!
Excited?
Lush Snow Showers was originally renamed Champagne Snow Showers. The Muse isn’t sure why or when but the name evovled into simply Snow Showers….she actually kinda misses the old name as it was quite fitting for what Snow Showers actually smelled like.
Snow Showers has come and gone in various bath bombs but it sticks around for most of the Holiday Season in Lush Jelly form and Lush Solid Perfume. The Muse is not particularly fond of Lush Jellies but she admits that come the Holiday she indulges in purchasing some Snow Shower Jelly to ring in the new season!
Snow Showers carries the wonderful smell of wild oranges and cognac while managing to tickle your nose with an effervescent fresh citrus scent that’s reminiscent of a cold bottle of Champs on ice!
Although I’m not the biggest fan and supporter of Lush Solid Perfumes I do admit that when I got Lush Snow Showers Solid Perfume I was quite happy to see the formula has improved slightly! I felt like this year the solid had quite a good strong, throw when applied! I like tucking this into my purse for touch ups when I’m wearing my very rare bottle of Snow Showers perfume that I got from a UK Forum Party a year or two ago.
Honestly, taking into consideration that the fabulous scent of Snow Showers is only available in Jelly and Solid form the Muse does suggest and recommend nabbing one or both as the scent is intoxicatingly addicting and well worth checking out for yourself! The Muse guarantees you won’t be able to resist it’s gorgeous allure!
Lush Solid Perfume in Snow Showers makes a guest starring appearance in this Muse’s makeup bag!
The Muse was feeling like blue was the order of day so she pulled out her Estee Lauder Eyeshadow Duo in Sapphire from the Estee Lauder Vintage Jewels Collection and proceeded to go to work!
Estee Lauder released three “gem” inspired duos with it’s new Holiday Collection and I happen to love every single one of the color combinations. I fear the Pokemon epidemic may hit the Muse soon and she’ll be collecting all three to stash away in her beauty vault for the upcoming Holidays!
The duo I tried out this morning was Sapphire which is made up of a navy blue and a lighter blue based gray. The colors bounce off each other and contrast nicely when applied together. These are actually the shades used in the promo image for Vintage Jewels which is why I got Sapphire as I wanted to dupe the look. To create the look it’s a rather simple matter of applying the grayish blue shade to the entire lid and crease. Finish your look by blending the darker blue into the lid and slightly upwards into the crease. Done! Instant sophisticated smoked out blue look!
Estee Lauder Signature Silky Eyeshadow Duo in Sapphire as seen on the model in the promo image!
This is my first time using these duos and I was pretty satisfied with the silky texture and they blend quite nicely. I’m unsure what I’d called the finish as they do not contain a shimmer but they aren’t quite matte or frosty either. The look I created was quite simple yet had a nice pop of color for a Holiday look. I do think I messed up with the lipstick I used as I think a more flattering shade of maroon would have done nicely but I went with a louder true red.
The duo contains a dual sided applicator which has a sponge tip on one side and a brush on the other so you have pretty much all you need within the compact to create a quick look on the fly. If you’re not willing to wear blue to work and have an evening planned out for after you can slip this easily into your purse to create a really simple look that’s both beautiful and elegant.
Overall, I think the entire Estee Lauder Vintage Collection is well worth checking out at your local counter as it has some fine pieces! I’m rather fond of the duo I got and I absolutely love the Shimming Jewel Powder as you probably already known from reading my previous review! Do have a peek at the Estee Lauder website for more details, face charts for application, and information about the entire Vintage Jewel Collection!
The Muse is being lured, tempted, and teased by the new Armani Crystal Collection! I honestly admit that I’m seriously considering dropping the dime on these items that are being introduced with the new Armani Holiday Collection for 2008. In a time of economic insanity I really shouldn’t be taking any of this into consideration so I’ll just chalk it up as “research” for my blog! After all I bet you are all dying to see a review, swatches, and photos right? I can’t disappoint my readers right? See how well I am at convincing myself I need to shell out cash for this amazing collection!
The Armani Crystal Palette is of course the star of the show and at $98 USD it likely contains an actual star inside of it! Honestly, the price does make me cringe but I’ve taken into consideration that it does include face and eye items…that makes it worth it right? The limited edition dual compartment palette is lined with Swarovski Crystals and contains four shimmering eyeshadows and one shimmering face and body powder!
The mascara is the second item that got the Muse’s attention! Armani Silver Sparkling Mascara Top Coat offers the option to dose lashes with sparkling silver for the Holiday!
And finally Armani Midnight Lip Shimmer is available in four shades for a sexy, shimmering pout! The shades available are all deep, darker red tones which totally appeal to the Muse for pairing up with a smoked out, sparkling eye look!
The collection is available now from Armani Beauty! The Muse is seriously trying to think of good excuses why she shouldn’t indulge!
The Muse’s heart was thumping rather loudly after she seen the new NARS Holiday Collection 2008! She was particularly thrilled with the introduction of the two newest shades of NARS Single Eye Shadow in Night Life and Silent Night. Have you seen them yet? Oh my gosh gorgeous!
Today I’ll be reviewing NARS Single Eye Shadow in Night Life and later this week I’ll bring you a second review of NARS Single Eye Shadow in Silent Night. Excited? The Muse is!
I’m unsure which I love more but I must say that both shadows are outstanding. I used Night Life this morning for simple look and you can honestly get any number of looks using the shadow alone or together with other items in your stash. Night Life is a sparkling metallic silver which is absolute shimmer overload! If you love your shadows full of sparkle, shimmer, and glitter, Night Life should appeal! The texture may be a little bit of a let down considering that this causes major fall out woes. Upon applying you’ll end up with sparkles just about everywhere which is because the formula feels much like a pressed pigment would. Once you swipe your brush across the shadow it kicks up a huge cloud of chunky pieces of sparkle and glitter which in turn cause a major ordeal for application but honestly, when have you ever not run into a problem when applying a shimmering shadow?
Aside from fall out problems I loved the finish of the shadow and highly recommend nabbing it for yourself. The shadow can be used alone to create a metallic, foiled silver eye which pairs up nicely with a black liner (this is how I used it this morning!). Or, better yet, Night Life will be an ideal shadow for creating a smoked eye sparkling eye look that should grab attention this Holiday Season! The silver would be a fantastic base or as a crease shade followed up closely with a matte black shadow to create a rather outstanding smoky eye! Honestly, the possibilities of using this shadow are endless and it’s fast becoming a favorite for the season ahead for me!
If you simply adore sparkling shadows you’ll want to grab NARS Night Life for yourself! The Muse Approves it for purchase and says it’s well worth picking up to add to your NARS Collection!
To create my look this morning I simply used NARS Night Life all over my eye and followed up with liner! Simple, sparkling, gorgeous!
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