Musings of a Muse

Sorry I really should have posted these with my original haul post from MAC SugarSweet. As requested from a few readers here are some swatches from MAC Minralize Skinfinish in Refined.

I was visiting on Cozy a few days ago and many of the girl’s were impressed with how pigmented Refined was. Just a note I thought it applied best and deepest when used with a kabuki brush. It works a treat as a blush so long as you buff the color into cheeks with a kabuki. With any other brush it acts more as a highlighter! Just thought I should add that if you were curious.

We’re all terribly spoiled aren’t we? Go on admit it! You know you’re spoiled. We all want more, more, and more. It’s simply in our nature…maybe? Who knows really but I do think we all want more for less.

Well, Urban Decay heard our cries for more!

If you’re not a lover of Urban Decay Primer Potion the Muse shuns you! This miracle primer helps shadows stay crease free the entire day. No caking, no creasing, and no fading! Shadows are virtually indestructible after a quick swipe, prep, and primer with Urban Decay Primer Potion. Urban Decay knew how much we loved it so they decided to amp it up!

Now get Urban Decay Large Primer Potion, a little big more bang for your buck. At .55 oz it’s almost but not quite double the size of the regular Urban Decay Primer Potion. $4 bucks more nabs you .55 oz where as before you could get .34 oz for $17 USD. Sweet! More primer for a mere few dollars more? Count the Muse on board this train.

The new primer comes in a chunkier bottle and sports the same sponge applicator as the original. Nothing has changed aside from the fact you’re getting a larger size for a few more dollars. Same great formula!

The upper neck of the tube is a little bit large which makes me wonder if it’ll allow use to get that very less bit of primer out without slicing off a finger. Sure hope so!

The price is quite nice so if you’re a lover of UDPP you’re going to want to super size it and go with UDLPP.

Urban Decay Large Primer Potion is Muse Approved for purchase. Personally, it’s my favorite and according to this Muse the best primer on the market!

Loves it!

Introducing, brand new for Spring, DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom.

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom is inspired by the beauty of the apple blossom. DKNY BE Delicious Fresh Blossom is a blend of fresh floral with an innocent playfulness that cocktails freshness, vibrancy, and femininity.

I’m always quite the fan of Be Delicious so I look forward to smelling this latest version of the popular fragrance. This is an Eau de Parfum so it’ll be a nice lingering fragrance with plenty of throw I’m sure.

Available now at Bloomingdales in two sizes and two prices.

1.7 Oz $55 USD
3.4 Oz $77 USD

Are you a fan?

Eager to try Fresh Blossom?

Do share.

Hey guys!

Busy Monday for the Muse today! How was your weekend? It’s a gorgeous but brisk day in New York today, supposedly it’s going down to 16 degrees tonight…umm so much for Spring weather!

Even though the weather outside is frightful I can tantalize you with news of Shu Uemura Collections releasing over the new few months.

Check it out below!

Loving these! Available now, brand new Shu Uemura Cream Eye Shadows available in nine shades for $30 USD each. The waterproof formula comes in matte and pearl finishes. The formula supposedly lasts for hours without creasing or fading for all day, long wear.

Colors available are:

• Black
• Beige
• Brown
• Light Green
• Sand Brown
• White
• Light Blue
• Pink Taupe

These looks fab but I was a little shocked at the $30 price tag….seems a little bit much? But I have complete faith in Shu and I think they might be something special! We shall see! Looking forward to having a swatch and trying ‘em out for myself.

Now this I’m all over! You know how much I adore concealer of any kind! This is $45 USD and available in March. This can be used for precise application on age spots, acne scars, and dark circles.

Likey! Anything to cure my dark circles I’m all over and I like the idea of using it everywhere on my face not only under my eyes.

Here’s some sneak peeks of what will be coming soon from Shu Uemura this upcoming Spring and Summer, check it!

Coming in April, Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Pink Collection which will include lipsticks and glosses made from Pink Hybrid Pigment, one of the purest pink pigments ever discovered. Oooooo likey pink for the Spring, this sounds interesting!

In May Shu Uemura Painting Gel Liners will be released in nine shades. I’d love to see how these measure up to my HG liner, Bobbi Brown Gel Liner!

May also brings the release of Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse Shimmer which is a light weight mousse primer to even skin tone, tighten pores, and create a flawless, even finish for makeup.

In June we can partake of a new Shu Uemura Tokyo Lash Bar themed as Lashes in Nature. I’m looking forward to seeing these. The collection is designed by Shu’s atelier team including celebrity artist and Shu Uemura artistic director Gina Brooke.

Overall, we have plenty to look forward to from Shu this Spring and Summer! I’m particularly eager to try the new cream shadows and spot brightener.

How about you?

Big Shu fan?

Tell the Muse!

Oh my gosh the Muse so wants to cozy up to Josie Maran for Earth Day! Have you seen the Josie Maran Earth Day Essentials Green-On-The-Go Kit?

Loves it!

Bonus! Jump ahead for a review of Josie Maran Plumping Lip Gloss!

The Josie Maran Earth Day Essentials Kit includes all full size products aside from the Jose Maran Argan Oil which is mini size! Cool, a steal and a deal! Pretty impressed they are bundling together so many products for a low cost of $48 USD. Economy beauty rocks doesn’t it?

The set includes:

• Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil
• Josie Maran Plumping Lip Gloss in Daring
• Josie Maran Cleam Blush in Sunrise
• Josie Maran Mascara
• Josie Mara Eye Liner

Josie’s line is eco-friendly and organic right down to the packaging! The line is free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances and dyes.

I’m simply gagging to get my hands on the kit to review but until I do I at least have the Josie Maran Plumping Lip Gloss in Daring that’s included with this kit. It deserves it’s own review as it’s mighty good!

When I was little my older sister used to make me cupcakes from cake mix like Betty Crocker to take with me to school for my birthday. I always wanted to lick the spoon after but my mum was fond of telling me if I did I’d get worms, lord….my mum is such a freak. Anyway….what brought that story on? Oh yea..Josie Maran Plumping Lip Gloss tastes like Betty Crocker Cake Mix…for serious it does. Look mum I can lick my lips and eat my gloss and not get worms! It’s deadly tasty which means it probably won’t stick around on your lips very long! Seriously, if I could I’d lick the applicator like a spoon…so sweet and yummie!

The gloss itself has a nice waterY texture minus any tack or stick. The formula does need to be layered on for intensity as one layer won’t cover much so I do suggest going over lips a few times as the effect is stunning if you do. It has a small brush applicator which is nice as it fits snug in the tube without splitting as some brush applicators are known to do. The formula does make lips look fuller and plumper. The shade I tried is Daring which is a shimmering rose that looks almost copper on my lips with hints of brown. It’s a nice warm shade that pairs beautifully with a peach or a bronze shade of blush. It’s not a long wearing gloss because of it’s thin consistency plus the fact that it tastes so good doesn’t help but it does give a high shine to lips and a certain fullness. The formula doesn’t have harmful ingredients nor does it contain parabens so you’re not going to worry whether or not you should be ingesting it.

All in all the gloss is quite nice and I see myself purchasing a few more shades. It’s a generous size, has plenty of shine, offers lips a fuller look, and tastes bloody good! What more could a girl want?

I’m Muse Approving this one for purchase as I really liked it and think it’s worthy of a look!

Tried Josie Maran Plumping Lip Gloss already?

Love it?

Wanting the new Josie Maran Earth Day Essentials Kit?

Tell the Muse!

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Oh my god I’m in such a pissy mood right now! After work today I picked up my friend Jai and whisked us away to MAC to snatch up some SugarSweet for ourselves. Normally it’s just easier for me to head to MAC Soho to haul or Macy’s on 34th but my mate Martin, who works for Apple, was working the Mall circuit today so instead of our normal haunts we hit the MAC at the mall. Martin is our shadow so we can’t go anywhere without him in tow thus we decided to become mallrats so we could kill two birds with one stone, pick Martin up for dinner and snag some MAC.

Such a big mistake. We are so killing Martin, tis his fault we couldn’t haul MAC SugarSweet today. Upon arriving at the MAC we noticed that they had the display out for SugarSweet and it only had the Shadesticks on it. So we asked after the rest and you guessed it, nothing in stock yet.

Boo, freaking, hoo! What the hell? To say we were disappointed is an understatement but we did get some yay factor in as we got all of the Shadesticks and I think that’s what Jai and I were the most excited about.

Jump ahead to have a look!

I only have my eye on a few other things from the collection so I am happy, at the very least, that they had the Shadesticks because that was honestly high on my list of things to get. I also want to snag Perfect Topping and Sugarshot. My list isn’t all that huge so I guess I’m not too devastated. I’m avoiding the glosses like the plague because as one reader mentioned they are seriously nice but with 2-3 uses they are going to be one big mess so it’s just not worth it. The lippies aren’t exactly all that fabulous so I can safely skip those and the rest of the shadows hold little appeal. I do wish MAC had release a blush or two with the collection.

For me the gems of this collection were the Shadesticks. It’s been a while since MAC released Shadesticks and these are some stunning shades. The revamped packaging is pretty slick as well which makes them even more appealing. I wasn’t always a lover of Shadesticks but after seeing how easier they make it to apply pigment I started to like them.

Four new shades are released with MAC SugarSweet and one regular catalog shade. Penny is the shade that’s already available from MAC and just released in new clothes for this collection.

Cakeshop, which you would think would be the shade of batter or cake, is a frosty green almost olive shade. Wonderful shade and a possible favorite for me but strange name! Lemon Chiffon is a creamy shimmering white gold, another favorite for me. Butternutty, really a crummy, rubbish shade when viewed but swatched it’s a gorgeous nude pink that’s stunning! Red Velvet is a deeper pink with an almost matte like finish. And finally Penny is a pretty peachy copper shade.

I absolutely love all of the shades and think they are well worth picking up. Correct me if I’m wrong but the price on these has gone up as they are $16.50 USD each but I recall them being a little less? Or maybe not.

I highly recommend grabbing some for yourself as they really do make life easier with shadow application and particularly pigment application. I find I get less fall out and a deeper color pay off when I use a Shadestick prior to applying pigment.

Overall, MAC SugarSweet is the first collection I’ve been excited about in months and I highly recommend heading over to MAC and having a swatch, you’re sure to fall in love with a few of the items available.

I also caved while I was in store and purchased Popster Tinted Lip Conditioner and Tippy Blush. I wasn’t too surprised after seeing Hello Kitty in person for the first time that still it failed to wow me.

In closing the Muse thinks the new MAC Shadesticks deserve a Muse Approval for purchase. Likey!

What did you haul from MAC SugarSweet?

Skipped it altogether?

Tell the Muse!