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!
I came, I saw, I conquered Sephora’s Friend & Family Sale!
W00t!
I ended up doing all my own personal purchases and gift purchases for friends and family on the same order. I normally like keeping them seperate because I like to budget my own purchases but this year I just gobbed it all together!
Sadly, it wasn’t as thrilling as it would be if I wasn’t a blogger. I tend to end up purchasing things way early so I can get reviews up here. If I waited for Sephora FF I’d be WAY late on reviews so I just indulge early! But I did get a few items that had my eye and will review them all for you when they arrive of course!
Here’s the final list (I think that’s all of it!):
Kate Von D Rock n Roll Eyeshadow in Air Guitar and Confessional NARS Single Eyeshadow in Emmanuelle Korres Eyeshadow in 24S Gold Korres Sugar Plums Gift Set Stila Eyeshadow Duo in Terracotta Bare Escentuals Extreme Glimmers Kit NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Persepolis and Mediteranee YSL Bow Lip Palette
I won’t be posting gifts I brought as my friends and some family members read my blog! Don’t wanna ruin the surprise!
I’ve already did prior reviews on Lush’s brand new facial moisturizers Skin Nanny and Vanishing Cream and today I’ll be wrapping up my review with Lush Paradise Regained Facial Moisturizer.
The Muse remembers a few years ago when Lush Gorgeous Moisturizer was $69.95 USD. In recent years the price has steadily climbed upwards to $85 USD. The Muse swears by Gorgeous and has been using it for quite a long time but as it reached the $85 USD mark the Muse began to sweat bullets at spending so much on her facial moisturizer. However, she did decide that she must do what she must do because indeed Lush Gorgeous is nirvana for her skin.
Recently, Lush introduced Paradise Regained and of course this Muse rushed right out to purchase it and try it out for herself unknown to her that this would be the day she found a cheaper option to her beloved Gorgeous.
Although Gorgeous is facial cream nirvana for me I actually prefer Paradise Regained over it as it has some options that Gorgeous doesn’t offer. Paradise Regained is advertised as a mature skin moisturizer but I think it’s perfectly fine for any skin type. It’s light, it’s refreshing and pure perfect for combination, dry, or normal skin types in my humblest. The moisturizer contains an array of fresh fruits to brighten and revive skin. If you seen some of my Summer FOTD’s you may have spotted a certain dullness to my skin, after using Paradise Regained I feel like my skin has a new life and it been glowing once again!
The formula is very similiar to Gorgeous in that it’s very light and absorbs quite easily. It has natural ingredients to protect skin from the effects of the sun and plenty of wonderful fresh fruits to whiten and brighten the complextion. Taking into consideration what wonders Paradise Regained has done with my skin I have no question that it can easily replace my pot of Gorgeous and at half the price!
Honestly, it’s well worth trying out as it’s a fabulous day cream that isn’t too oily, keeps skin fresh and dewy, erases signs of fatigue all while brightening your skin!
The Muse absolutely loves it and it’s easily become a staple morning moisturizer for her! She recommends checking it out for yourself and gives it a big mighty Muse Approval for purchase as she blames all her good skin days on it lately! Paradise has truly been regained as my skin was lackluster before and now it simply glows!
The Muse got the new Avon Bond Girl 007 Eau de Parfum Spray yesterday and she thinks that she might be able to spray herself down with this and nab some hot Bond action! I’m pretty sure that with one quick spray of this seductive perfume I can easily bag myself Daniel Craig….he’ll never be able to resist me!
Hmmm or maybe I should go with Timothy Dalton circa 1980′s…he was always my favorite Bond….
The new Avon Bond Girl 0007 fragrance is supposedly impossible to resist and from the reviews on the Avon site I guess it’s true!
The Muse tried it out last night and it’s very interesting although not my normal style of perfume considering my tastes run to more sweeter blends. The perfume is quite a seductive, sexy blend of exotic orchid, white peach, and refreshing orange blossom. I honestly got mostly floral from the blend with a very firm dry down of patchouli. I’m normally not a big fan of patchouli but it’s honestly not as bad as you may be thinking since the other key notes in the scent take away from the harshness of the patchouli so you’re getting a rather seduction floral scent with hints of a stronger woodsy musk
The scent manages to linger quite long taking into consideration that it is an Eau de Parfum so it contains a good deal of perfume oils. It lasted at least 8 hours on me after two squirts and I actually felt like two was a bit too much! The fragrance comes housed in a slick curved bottle that displays the peach colored perfume perfectly.
Overall, it’s an interesting parfum and worth checking out considering if you purchase it from Avon for $30 USD you also get a free movie ticket to see the latest Bond film!
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