Musings of a Muse

Step back in time with the Muse and re-visit with some of what was happening in Summer 2008.

Bobbi Brown taught this Muse a thing or two about the benefits of combining pink with beautiful bronzes to create a killer Summer look! Check out the Muse’s review of the Bobbi Brown Bronzed Pink Collection from 2008.

Much excitement was afoot when the Muse discovered the new Stila Kitten goodies but sadly they did so disappointed. Gather round and listen to a tale of Stila Kitten Silk Shimmer Gloss and Stila Kitten Silk Eye Shadow Wash.

MAC Solar Bits were somehow easy to forget after the Muse originally purchased them and you’ll understand why after reading my review!

What was the deal with Too Faced Mineral Water? Find out by reading my review.

Bless Be! The KATE Summer Collection 2008 was absolutely a joy for this Muse! She was partial to her favorite shadows being released in three new shades. Japan never looked so good.

Urban Decay taught the Muse how to love bronzer! Check out her review of the Urban Decay Summer Collection 2008 after this jump.

Please MAC won’t your bring back Volcanic Ash this Summer?

Small but lovely was the Majorca Majolica Summer Collection 2008.

Vincent Long Liquid Shadow had a Muse crying nay! Check out her review on these shadows introduced in the Summer of ’08.

Addict? Sure definately an addiction when it comes to the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect shades that were released last year. Loves ‘em!

Cooling off with Etude House Aqua Sherbet Skincare was easy especially since it smelled so pretty and looked equally gorgeous.

Hope you had fun clicking through some of Summer 2008. Maybe you came across a few reviews you missed from last year or discovered something new.

The Muse is a wonderin’…..

What’s your favorite releases from last Summer?

Share ‘em with me!

Better later than never at all…or so they tell me!

I’m a bit late and behind with my MAC posts you have to forgive me! I am, as always, a MAC fan girl but for some odd reason I got a bit mucked up when I went on vacation. My MAC Cool Heat post never made it up and my MAC Solar Bits review never got put up either! And by the very way I still have Cult of the Cherry items to blog too! Oops!

Bad Muse, Bad!

However, I figure a review of MAC Solar Bits is definately in order so I might as well slap this up before we all get old and gray (gosh, I think I may already fit part of that description or..all..eep!).

MAC Solar Bits were hailed by the masses and I definately enjoyed grabbing three of the four shades released this Summer however I did have some minor rants and a few raves about this particular style of pigments.

Although these were extremely pigmented with a very interesting texture they were a god awful mess to use sadly. The pigments are not finely milled and are made up of chunky pieces that caused major fall out woes. With a bit of care, patience, and some serious prepping you could create some great looks!

The formula is a good deal different from the standard pigment line. Although the pigmentation and color payoff is about the same as any other MAC pigment you will notice an interesting characteristic Solar Bits possesses. Where as a normal pigment stays one color, Solar Bits had a special knack of morphing into an entirely new hue when you pressed down and began the blending process. Each small curd of pigment would burst upon contact with your brush or sponge applicator and the shade would morph slightly creating a rather interesting effect.

Scatterays paired up with some gold!

Bronzescape on it’s own.

Black Ore creating an unusual effect over some MAC Pigment in Kelly Green!

The colors I have are Bronzescape, Black Ore, and Scatterays.

Bronzescape was a brassy, bronze shade that had a faint shimmer of gold, Scatterays is a soft peachy shade with hints of gold, and Black Ore was an off black with gold. All three shades had faint traces of gold that made them extra special. I’m particularly grateful that I don’t have to tuck these away since the Summer is over, they’ll easily work well into the colder seasons for an interesting smoky eye look especially Black Ore.

Although Solar Bits LOOK bigger they actually aren’t. Each pot is 3.9g/0.14oz in size where as a standard pigment is 7.5g/0.26oz. Interesting little fact for you there.

Although interesting and unique I wasn’t too impressed with Solar Bits and as I mentioned I did find them a bit of a mess to work with.

I definately liked trying these but I’m unsure if it was the color selection or just the product itself that’s not getting a complete WOW for these!

All in all another interesting offering from MAC.

Did you get these?

Love ‘em?

Hate ‘em?

Skipped?

Tell the Muse!

MAC Neo Sci-Fi Review

MAC Cult of Cherry Review

MAC Overrich Pigments Review

MAC Color Forums Review

Hey pretty girls (and guys)!

I know you’ve been eagerly awaiting my review on Etude House’s Summer skincare collection but skincare is a tricky thing to review and it needs a ton of testing before I can sit down and give you guys the lowdown!

I’ve had the complete collection of Etude House Aqua Sherbet for over a month now and I’ve been using it daily for that entire time as part of my AM skincare regime. The collection consists of all of the following products:

Etude House Aqua Sherbet Facial Lotion
Etude House Aqua Sherbet Toner
Etude House Aqua Sherbet Serum
Etude House Aqua Sherbet Gel Cream
Etude House Aqua Sherbet Ice Toner

Please note that a brand new mist has been recently added to the collection. Sadly, when I had my friend purchase this lot of items for me the mist was not yet out and available however I did ask for it now so hopefully soon I can bring you a review for that!

As you can see the entire regime is a bit of an overkill as that’s a whole LOT of stuff to be putting on your face daily. Although, as per Etude House’s recommendation, the products should be used in a certain order as a daily skincare technique, I personally ended up breaking some of it up and using it for different purposes although I’m not stranger to using a ton of different items on my skin daily so this was not a big deal!

I think I’ll start my review with my favorite product out of the entire line which was the Aqua Sherbet Ice Toner. I. Love. This. Stuff.

It’s seriously awesome and I wish I could find something of similiar quality here in the US for such an inexpensive price. It’s literally does what it says, an icy cool, refreshing toner. It’s not a spray but a foam so you can’t spray this directly on your face unfortunately. Basically you spray a bit on a cotton pad, it’s a foam so it’s not really saturating the pad completely, you proceed to wipe it all over your face for a rather nice blast of coolness. It’s icy cool and fresh feeling and my skin seems to love it! Although I can’t read the ingredients I think it’s safe to say this contains a healthy dose of alcohol but I experienced no dryness after using it. It’s such a great little item to have around on a hot Summer morning! It makes my face feel cool, refreshed, and ready for my makeup! I love it! Etude House did a seriously good job with this one and I’ve enjoyed using this daily and will definately be purchasing some more to stock up on! The toner is 18,000 won which is pricey for Etude House as they normally range in the 9,000-12,000 won price category however it’s well worth it and if you so choose, and have access, you can actually purchase the toner and gel cream together for 21,000 won which is like getting the gel cream free!

The toner and the lotion are very good however I did sadly experience a bit of drying with both. As I mentioned earlier Etude House skincare does have a considerable amount of alcohol in it. It’s hard not to notice as they do faintly have the scent of it however with the Etude House Moistfull Skincare Collection I experience absolutely no dryness after use but with the Aqua Sherbet toner and lotion I did have a bit of a drying, sticky feeling after use. I don’t mind this so much since it’s so hot and humid and my skin can actually take advantage of the mattifying these two products provide however I probably will have to avoid use in the Winter when my skin will become much drier. Aside from that I liked both. Each is 9,500 won or both for 20,000 and the bottles are very large so this is definately a lovely price tag. The toner nor lotion does not produce the same cooling experience that the Ice Toner has. The Ice Toner definately has a cooling sensation when applied however the regular toner and lotion didn’t have the same effect. I was slightly disappointed that I failed to notice any citrusy scent with any of the products as well since I THINK they are meant to have a faint fruity smell. Turns out they actually smell quite similiar to the Moistfull Collection which is a fresh, aqua like smell for lack of a better description. The toner is a typical liquid toner that you use with a cotton pad and the lotion has a nice light consistency for Summer wear. All the bottles in Etude House’s skincare and fragrance line are extremely vanity worthy however I do have a problem with getting the lotion out of such a heavy glass bottle. Each bottle is a beautifully frosted heavy glass but a tiny bit unconventional for a clumsy person like me who might drop it. It’s also rather irritating to shake it around to get the lotion flowing as well! It kinda has that annoying Ketchup method where you sit for a while trying to shake the product out of the bottle. Aside from my minor rants I did like the toner and lotion.

One of my lovely readers, jkim, kindly translated the use of each product and they should be used in the following order:

Aqua Sherbet Ice Toner or Aqua Sherbet Toner
Aqua Sherbet Serum
Aqua Sherbet Facial Lotion
Aqua Sherbet Gel Cream

I’ve been basically using them in these stages as well but sometimes skipping the gel cream and serum and using those as night treatments.

For me both the Serum and the Gel Cream had about the same consistency which was a bit of a thicker formula than the lotion but only a tad bit more so. Neither the Serum nor the Gel Cream were drying thankfully although I did feel like the Serum was much better than the Gel Cream simply because the Gel Cream left a tiny bit of a sticky residue behind after use.

I personally don’t understand the idea of using a serum, facial lotion, plus a gel cream. Maybe if I could read Korean I’d understand the mentality behind it all. Since this seemed like a rather weird way to use the products I decided I’d use the both toners in the AM plus the regular facial lotion. I follow up by using the gel cream as a primer and I use the serum in the evening. The gel and serum can be purchased together or separately. Together they retail for 23,000 won where as seperate the gel costs 12,000 won and the serum costs 11,000 won.

In a over month’s use I didn’t experience anything wow aspiring about the collection however I am impressed with the price, the wonderful packaging, and the rather great concept of a lighter form of skincare for the Summer.

We all change and rearrange how we care for our skin during different times of the year and Etude House’s Aqua Sherbert line was a rather fun item to use as my Summer skincare. It’s light, refreshing, plus since it contains a fair bit of alcohol it successfully mattified my skin without over drying too much!

Although I had minor complaints here and there and I do prefer Etude House’s Moistfull Skincare Collection over this I still liked this little collection and felt like it was money well spent!

Cheers to Etude House for always putting a smile on my face!

Love Etude House?

Tried this collection?

Want to?

Tell the Muse!

Etude House Summer Collection 2008: Sherbert Cool Party Release Information

The Muse’s Appearance in Etude House’s Newsletter!

Etude House’s Spring Collection 2008 Reviewed

Can I tell you how strange it is for me to review a Summer collection? I’m so in Fall mode that I forgot how to enjoy Summer!

Fall comes way to early for us beauty bloggers! Sheesh!

However, I did think I should stop and smell the flowers, take in the sun, and enjoy a nice Japanese Collection this week!

I hate to think how long I’ve been hanging on to KATE’s Summer Collection without reviewing it. It’s been months I’m sure since I got it and I’m just now getting around to the review. You’ll forgive your Muse for being so lack with Summer won’t you?

KATE is a Japanese brand and one of Kanebo’s sub brands that contains a healthy amount of edge to it that I simply adore!

One of my favorite products from KATE are the Dual Carat Eye Shadows. I own every single color that KATE has put out thus far and with the Summer Collection they released three new colors.

Before I show you the new colors I think a review of KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadows is in order as I’ve never really done a detailed review on the palettes before. Each palette contains two shimmerings shades of shadow in a tiny compact with a sponge tipped applicator. A majority of Japanese eye shadows almost always have the same formula with a few in between that have a completely different consistency. KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadows have an almost identical texture and formula as most of these brands however I do feel like it has an added something that makes the shadow superior to others I’ve tried before.

Each shade contains a healthy dose of shimmer and sparkle which I love. The formula is a similar chalky, creamy texture as most major brands however I feel like these blend much better due to the silky consistency of the powder. The shimmer is equally silky and gives a certain sparkle to the eye which make these my favorite duos!

This Summer KATE extended the Dual Carat Line to include three new shades which were GD-1, WT-1, and BK-1. The shades aren’t typical Summer in my opinion but this didn’t stop me from purchasing all three and lavishing major love on them.

Before I get on to the color selections I think it deserves to be mentioned that all the looks you’ll see below are done exclusively with the palettes and using nothing else aside from mascara. I think not using extra products gives you a better review and idea of how the palette looks on without adding in extras if that makes sense. So each look I created was using the palette and nothing more!

I’m particularly thrilled with GD-1 which sports a shimmering gold and a shimmering creamy white. If you’re getting a bit older and seeing a bit of baggage under your eyes or a few lines here and there or you’re just tired and seeking something to brighten up your eye area GD-1 will sincerely do wonders with your eyes! I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror after applying this. It made me look years younger, wide awake, and gave a beautiful pop to my lids. I used the creamy white as an all over wash on my eye and the gold on my lid. This is a particular good way to use it if your eyes are extremely wide and buggy like mine. However, I think it’s flattering on Asian eyes if you apply the creamy white as a color wash and the gold in the corner of the eyes both outer and inner!

WT-1 is my least favorite of the three shadows. It’s a very nice combination of a white and creamy light taupe color however the colors are too similar so you can’t really see much of a contrast when they are applied together. I tried sporting the white as an all over color wash and applying the taupe to my lid however it appeared I was wearing only one shade. A tad disappointing but I can definately make use of both colors as a highlighter for my highbrow, as a color wash, or simply alone as a shadow instead of together. Together they don’t work so well but alone they really wake up the eye and bring out a certain delicious natural look!

Now my second favorite (or possibly first) is BK-1 which is the ideal palette for a smoky look plus heaps cheaper than shelling out for Bare Minerals Rocker Chick Kit. KATE already released a duo like this previously in the Dual Carat collection however I felt like this one was different. The other version, the number/name of which escapes me at the moment, is a bit darker where as this is a lighter grayer version. If you already have the previous color I’d still recommend indulging in this one as well. I created an uber awesome smokey eye look with this color!

I purchased these at retail which is maybe $9-$10 USD per a palette? Perhaps a bit more I can’t recall. A friend in Japan got them for me and airmailed ‘em over! However, I’ve seen them online for $15.50 USD or a bit less depending on where you shop (see my Japanese Cosmetic Buying Guide for further information about where you can purchase these!). At a cost of $15.50 USD I do believe they are worth. They are pigmented, beautifully shimmery, and are good quality eye shadows.

The Muse Approves the new KATE Dual Carat Eye Shadows for purchase! Definitely grab ‘em! They are a must have in my humblest and the colors will work well into the Fall and Winter.

Love KATE?

Love the Dual Carat shadows?

What’s your favorite KATE eye palette?

Check out the KATE website by clicking here!

Tell the Muse!

KATE Glamtrick Palette Review

KATE Gel Mascara Review

KATE Spring Collection 2008 Review

Alot of hype surrounds NYX eye shadows. I’ve read many a review, many a post, and many a discussion about how wonderful NYX eye shadows are and how close in pigmentation they are to MAC.

I personally never purchased any NYX eye shadows until recently when I came across a display at Harmons and my eyes were drawn to the NYX eye shadow color in Hot Orange.

It’s such an awesome Summer shade.

Although Hot Orange is quite a gorgeous shade it’s not without it’s flaws. As I mentioned this is my first time purchasing an NYX eye shadow and being a MAC girl myself it’s definately difficult to compare MAC to NYX in quality but you can perhaps chalk that up to your Muse being very picky about cosmetics.

This particular shade is a bit gritty as it contains a healthy dose of what appears to be non cosmetic glitter, really chunky pieces of the type a glitter you’d use for some after school crafts are something….yak!

The pigmentation is pretty good on the shadow and it blended pretty well aside from the glitter getting everywhere. I did notice that the texture was not as silky as a MAC eye shadow and I did have to swipe a few times and build the color up to get the desired vibrancy that I’d get easily with one swipe from a MAC shadow.

On the plus side the color is such a great Summer shade. The orange is wonderful by itself or combined with some golds or yellows from your collection! Plus the price can’t be beat at $4.99 USD!

For the price I’d say it’s worth checking out and it’s a very nice Summer Beauty Budget Find! Will I buy NYX again? Possibly!

If you’re trying to keep your beauty budget tight this is a great little find to add a bit of wicked color to your Summer makeup routine!

The Muse working NYX Hot Orange (or at least trying to work it!):

Want another beauty budget find? Check out the review for the mascara the Muse is wearing in this Face of the Day picture! Wondering about my blush? It’s the cheap Bobbi Brown blush I picked up in Woodbury! Clickie!

Enjoy some other Summer Must Have Cosmetic findings by reading some past posts!

NARS Lipgloss in Misbehave

Too Faced Eye Shadow in Mess in a Dress

Redpoint Airbrush Effects Whipped Blush

The Muse’s favorites for Summer Sizzling Eyes

These are worthy of a mention. Behold, Victoria’s Secret New Beauty Rush line up entitled Tropical Coolers:

I’m not going to say these are amazing because they are sadly not. However, I was drawn in when I seen the display and scent selection. I found myself heading to the till to pay for three bottles while struggling to hold them all in my arms. I made it safely there and before I knew it I had shelled out $24 USD and tax.

I’ve tried Victoria’s Beauty Rush Body Double Mist before but as I said I was tempted by these new scents. If you’re unfamiliar with these they are simply a dual layer fragrance that mixes a fragranced water base with a fragranced oil base. This basically translates as you’re getting a moisturizing scented body spray!

They work fabulous on wet skin and it’s kinda the feeling of a dry oil spray that conditions, softens, and leaves behind a gorgeous scent.

Sadly, the thing that I dislike about these is the scent doesn’t linger nearly as long as I’d like. When you spray on the first time you get a super healthy amount of fragrance that smells both fresh and fruity however the staying powder is zero and within an hour you’ll need to retouch up sadly. This could be my body chemistry that sucks the scent right in but it does happen to my sister too so I’m not the only one experiencing the problem with these!

I’m quite upset at this because I do generally love the scents they put out and I’ve tried virtually all of ‘em but they don’t linger at all!

The three that sucked me in were from a new line entitled Tropical Coolers. It’s three new scents that are called Lotta Colada, Punchy, and Mango Madness! All three are super duper sweet and fruity and true to the name.

Shown below after being shaken. Once shaken the oil and water base combine to create a beautifully, conditioning body spray!

For the price you can’t really not avoid picking up one or two up to try out. They aren’t nearly so nice to tote around in your bag for touch ups since they are so big.

They really smell sincerely heavenly….now if we can convince Victoria’s Secret to make them a touch stronger we’d have a winner here!

Tried these?

Love ‘em?

Not so much?

Tell the Muse!

While most Japanese brands are busy releasing and selling Fall Collections, Canmake’s released a late Summer Collection entitled Sunset Beauty. I recently reviewed Canmake’s Spring Collection and wasn’t too pleased with the eye quads I had purchased so I think I’ll be steering clear of this collection.

Canmake has taken a note from Lavshuca and has yet again revamped it’s eye shadow packaging. They are taking the quad business very seriously lately and have released three new multitasking eye shadow palettes with the collection entitled Color Stripe Palette. I was delighted to see that the applicator is a dual end which has a brush on one side and a sponge applicator on the other side. Hey, sue me, I get excited about the little stuff in life! The palettes do sport a bronze look to them but you can easily take these looks well into the Fall season with you. As you may have noticed I mentioned these were multitasking that’s because you can use each quad as an eyeshadow, highlighter, and blusher.

Although I won’t be indulging in these palettes since I was burned with the Spring Collection my eye did roam over to the new Pop n’ Jelly Gloss shades. I generally like Canmake’s glosses plus the price is nice as well!

I know many of you have expressed a keen disdain for Canmake but I normally like many of the items in the catalog as the price is really nice and the quality isn’t too bad. I could see myself indulging in the glosses but I think the quads are a no go!

The Color Stripe Palettes are 880 yen each and the glosses are 540 yen.

Want the collection?

Love it?

Not much of a Canmake fan?

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Check out my review of the Canmake Spring Collection by clicking here featuring the Four Shiny Eye Palettes!

I’m really late pumping out my review for MAC Neo Sci-Fi! I was on vacation when this popped into stores which ended up in a delay getting all the pieces I wanted and thus my very late review to you!

Bad Muse!

Sadly, by now you’ve read the reviews, seen the swatches, and brought the T-Shirt on MAC’s Summer trio release however you haven’t heard my thoughts on the topic and those are by far the most important of course…maybe…sorta….kinda……….

Upon Neo Sci-Fi’s original release I wasn’t doing cartwheels through the aisles as I’ve been known to do when a new MAC color story pops up! Last year’s Summer Collection wasn’t anything I was too excited about either so Neo Sci-Fi found it’s way to the bottom of my list of Must Have Summer Makeup.

However, upon getting my hands on some of the collection I quickly realized that many of the items released with it are truly gems and I’m happy that I grabbed a majority of the collection!

As you know the color story was released in three seperate parts. Neo Sci-Fi which includes all the blushes, eye shadows, and facial cosmetics, Solar Field which included the bronzers and a new pigment product called Solar Bits (review to follow on those shortly), and finally Future Earth which included some very interesting skin care items!

So I think I personally got the best of the best that was offered with this particular collection!

I ended up with four out of the five shadows released. Femme-Fi which is a frosty golden cream, Evening Aura which is golden peach, Magnetic Fields which is a black brown, and Expensive Pink which is a golden orangey shade.

Out of the four shadows Expensive Pink is most definately a must have in my humblest opinion. Although the title says pink and the MAC website says it’s pink I see it as more of a flattering golden, burnt orange. It’s sincerely a beautiful shade for Summer when you’re sporting some great golden bronzer or some beautiful peach or coral blush! Evening Aura is about three shades lighter but it compliments Expensive Pink beautifully and makes for a great lid color while using Expensive Pink in the crease of your eye! If you’re just looking to buy one shadow from this particular collection definately don’t miss out on Expensive Pink (even though it’s actually available all the time it’s still nice to have in the cool neon packaging!). Magnetic Field was a spur of the moment purchase. It’s a dark black brown and I thought it would go great with one of the Solar Bits I picked up plus it looks wonderful as an upcoming Fall Shade. Femme-Fi is a creamy golden beige that works great as a highlighter and in conjunction with Expensive Pink and Evening Aura you can do a nice eye look combining the three!

Speaking of packaging….at first I was a little dismayed at the really gaudy neon orange packaging but turns out it’s rather funky once you get used too it! I’m actually liking the unique look of these particular compacts and not minding the glow in the dark effect at all!

Now blushes I might have made a tiny mistake on. I got both but I’m a bit scared of X-Rocks. X-Rocks is a very deep dirty mauve that appears almost brown. With a light hand I may be able to work this well but I am quite frightened I’ll just look dirty with it on so I need to practice with this before stepping outside the door! The star of the blushes is definately Spaced Out which is a shimmery summer peach shade that looks stunning on! If you’re sporting a tan you’ll look simply gorgeous wearing this!

And finally I nabbed a few of the lip items. Pink Grapefruit lipglass was my number one product in this collection! It’s simply too yummie and it made it’s way onto my Summer Must Have List very quickly! I ended up purchasing a backup since it’s truly a unique shade. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend tracking this one down! It’s has shades of orange, gold, pink, and peach all combined into a unique and simply stunning shade! I originally only purchased one item from the lip stuff released but I later went back after a reader pointed out that Soft and Slow was a must have lipglass! Turns out she was right as it’s a rather beautiful shade of creamy plum that works well with all the shadows and blushes in the collection! Finally I couldn’t keep my hands off of Electro Lipstick. It’s a bright true orange that I’ll probably look ridiculously sporting but I don’t have any shades like it so I absolutely had to have it!

All in all Neo Sci-Fi has some serious winners and I’m happy I did manage to score some of it. At first I wasn’t going to bother to head into store to swatch but I’m happy I did as the collection has some terrific finds!

Must have Hits from this Collection:
Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit
Eye shadow in Expensive Pink
Blush in Spaced Out

Face of the Day I created this morning using the following from MAC Neo Sci-Fi:

Eyes
MAC Eyeshadow in Femme-Fi
MAC Eyeshadow in Expensive Pink
MAC Eyeshadow in Evening Aura

Cheeks
MAC Blush in Spaced Out

Lips
MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit

What did you haul from Neo Sci-Fi?

What was a hit for you? What was a miss?

Loved this collection?

Tell the Muse!

Read my mad ravings about MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit!

Click here to read about the trio of MAC Summer Color Stories released last month!

Click here to find out why I am loving MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator released with Future Earth!

Check back soon to see my review on MAC Solar Bits and MAC Cool Heat!

Canmake is one of my favorite inexpensive Japanese brands. They make pretty nice quality items with a cheap price tag! What more could a girl want right? Right.

I’ve tried many of their items and I’m particularly fond of their very cute eyeshadow trios. They have a series of different shadow selections that range from trios, duo shadows, and various other shimmery, glittery items for your eyes!

I own a majority of the items they sell under the eyeshadow category and I’ve always been very pleased with my collection of Canmake goodies. Imagine my delight when I heard that for the Summer they’d be releasing Four Shine Eyes! The palettes come in three shade choices which are 01 which is an off pink selection of shadows with a brown liner, 02 which is a teal blue green variation with brown liner, and 03 which is a brownish, gold, beige combo with a brown liner.

As I mentioned earlier on in my post the brand is cheap so obviously quality isn’t fantastic however it is good. The shadows in the general catalog are shimmery and sheer but color can be built up and with a little work you can create a beautiful eye look!

Sadly, as much as I adore Canmake I do have to give the Four Shiny Eyes a big thumbs down. I was shocked, surprised, and disappointed with how bad these were. I’ve had great experience with the line up till now so it was a bit of a big let down that something brand new to the line would turn out so poorly.

The design on the Four Shine Eyes is similar to Kiss palettes prior to their revamp. Canmake’s Four Shiny Eyes are made up of two contrasting shades of shadow, a base/highlighter, and a liner all housed in a cute clear crystal case! I was very excited to get my hands on these as they are different and unique to any prior eyeshadow releases I’ve seen come up from the line before!

As you can see below the Kiss palettes are similiar in style to these!

The Four Shiny Eye packaging shows how Canmake has evovled! The packaging is unique to any other palette they carry.

However, my excitement quickly died a quick death when I realized how terrible to texture of these were. Like many Japanese brands these sport a particularly chalky almost creamy texture which makes blending very difficult. Although this formula has never really bothered me in the past I felt like these were quite difficult to work with. The shadow kept balling up on me as I spread it on my lid and the end result was a messy, uneven application.

The staying powder was pretty much non existent considering that within 30 minutes of application the shadow was literally flaking off my eyes into tiny balls. I had major fall out to begin with as I applied and it got even worst as the day progressed. By the time my work day ended I was lucky to have a bit of shadow in place. They creased badly even with a nice layer of Urban Decay Primer Potion underneath!

What makes this even more heartbreaking is the fact that the Four Shine Eye palettes are an awesome and cheaper dupe of Visee Jewel Crush Eye Palettes. The color variations in each palette are almost identical to Visee’s palettes. Each Four Shiny Eye Palette is 680 yen each where as the Visee palettes are 2,300 yen each. These would have made a fantastic little dupe if you were looking for an inexpensive color selection that was comparable to Visee’s popular Jewel Crush Eye Palettes.

Pretty similar to Visee Jewel Crush Eye Palette in E-3!

Colors are a good dupe of E-4!

Almost identical with E-2!

Sadly, even though the colors are similiar the quality is not. The chalky consistency of the formula is made with oily Asian eyelids in mind however they fail dramatically in creating a good shadow and you get a cross between cream and chalk which blends into little balls of shimmer that quickly become fall out on your cheeks and face. In this case Canmake should take a note from Majolica Majorca’s Majolook palettes which sport a similar formula of eyeshadow but one that blends evenly, builds up in intensity, and stays put for hours at a time!

Although most of this was a disappointment I was delighted, as always when it comes to Japanese cosmetics, with the packaging. The cases are tiny, compact, really cute, and easy to store plus they come with a good little face chart in the back of the compact! I love how Japanese cosmetics always give the little extra instructions on use! I wish more American brands would take the time out to give us the courtesy of applying small application tips and tricks onto the packaging of products!

Nifty diagrams make for easy, breezy application!

Although the palettes are cute, inexpensive, and appear to be typical Japanese drugstore findings they fall flat in a major way and I can’t help but give them a big thumbs down! Actually they were so bad I only got around to trying 02 which is the teal blue variation. The other two remain unopened untried. If anyone is interested in them e-mail me at musings.of.a.muse@gmail.com as I’m willing to sell them off!

Count the Muse disappointed on these! Don’t waste your time! Pick up some of the older line up from Canmake or save your pennies for other palettes! Although new and exciting in design they sport nothing inside that redeems them!

Watch some MuseTV featuring a spotlight on Canmake!

Aube Gloss Frutina are an absolute staple item of mine and even though I’ve reviewed them prior to this I thought they deserved a revisit considering a new selection has been released for Summer (Visit with Carleen and check out my love of Gloss Frutina at Girl Gloss!)

The original Gloss Frutina line up from last year included a healthy dose of shades where as this year the collection was cut down to a mere four shade selections. Even though the shades were limited this season they did have their own unique difference that the prior release did not sport.

This year the collection was not only scented with exotic fruit and food flavors but included a pleasant taste as well. I’ve quite fond of mentioning and re-mentioning the fact that many Japanese gloss brands fail to flavor their glosses. I’m always shocked to hear how many people actually hate flavored glosses where as I always love them and prefer my glosses have some sort of flavor. The new glosses range from orange flavoring to apple flavoring and more so I was quite in nirvana when I heard about this!

The formula on these pretty much remains the same as the previous release with very minor differences. Although in the packaging the gloss appears to be a creamy lip color and pigmented that’s not the case. The texture is quite a good deal thicker and creamier than the prior release and I’m actually enjoying this formula much better. Pigmentation isn’t fantastic sadly although you can build sheer color up on your lips the best bet is to stain your lips prior to use to get the most out of the gloss. Each gloss contains a very faint shimmer of gold or silver but nothing overpowering just enough to give your lips a delightfully shiny, shimmery look.

The packaging has changed very slightly with the glosses sporting a brand new pinkish lilac top. This new top is quite lovely considering it matches the palettes beautifully. It still contains the same crystals embedded into it as well which is a nice, elegant touch. The prior release was identical aside from the fact that top was silver.

As I mentioned earlier these do have a gorgeous scent and flavor. EX03 is a creamy shimmering coral shade that tastes like Blood Orange and Rosemary. The idea of combining oranges and rosemary may sound unappealing but I assure you the taste and smell is very pleasant! EX04 is a gorgeous, popping true pink that tastes like Berries and Mint. EX05 shimmering, nude, natural plum beige combination that tastes like lemongrass and plum. And lastly EX06 is a nude beige that tastes like caramel apple.

My favorite of the four shades would have to be EX04. It’s such a beautiful pop of pink and with a very sheer layer of lip stain under it my lips look quite gorgeous sporting this!

Aube did a rather great job with the new line up of Gloss Frutina and I’m glad I indulged in all four colors as they were well worth adding to my beauty stash!

Aube Gloss Frutina are most definately Muse Approved for purchase!

Click here to see my original review of Aube Frutina Glosses!

Click here to visit with Janice on Specktra and see my review of Aube’s Jewelry Shower Eye Palettes!

Click here to find out why I’m loving Aube’s Jewelry Shower Eyes!

It’s hot outside but you can keep yourself cool by exploring my Winter 2007 review of Aube’s Holiday Collection!