Musings of a Muse

Whether you call it a late Spring Collection or a privy to Summer, the Estee Lauder Orchid Garden Collection is about the pretty!

With a launch date set at March 2nd this brand new collection is filled with plenty of soft, light, friendly pastels for the Spring. Honestly, this collection actually looks even more appealing for the Spring than the release of the Estee Lauder Fuchsia Now Collection.

Featuring a brand new illuminating powder (to add to the Muse’s growing pile of Estee Lauder illuminating powders) with swirls of gold, pink, and creamy white, this powder looks simply stunning to say the least!

Also releasing is the brand new Estee Lauder Orchid Garden Signature Eyeshadow Quad which features soft pastel shades with a soft matte to high pearl finish that brightens and illuminates eyes with the colors of Spring.

The collection looks quite soft and feminine however the pastels are probably not for everyone. The collection is available for a limited time and can be purchased right now at Nordstrom.

Scrub away rough elbows and knees with a great beauty budget fine! liiv botanicals Revitalizing Body Scrub from Avon is a brand new scrub that’ll help get your rough bits back into silky soft form in a snap!

Before I jump full into this review I have to say I’m a little itty bitty disappointed that liiv botanicals Revitalizing Body Scrub doesn’t have the awesome smell that liiv Botanicals Moisture Body Boosting Butter did! Darn it! I’m so addicted to the smell of that body butter that I was kinda hopeful the entire line would sport the same scent!

But!

Aside from that minor rant I actually liked this body scrub plus it’s only $8.50 USD, hello scrubbie for less the Muse is your new best friend!

liiv botanicals Revitalizing Body Scrub is a thick foaming scrub that has plenty of scrubbing action to get rough body parts buffed and polished to a silky, smooth finish. The scrub smells fresh with hints of cucumber and botanicals. It cleanses while it scrubs leaving behind super soft, smooth moisturized skin.

I personally liked it alot as my skin is terribly dry right now but I don’t know if I recommend it for anyone with sensitive skin as it has a whole lot of scrubbing action going on so it could be a bit too much for some.

All in all if you’re keeping a tight budget at the moment this is a great wallet-friendly purchase for getting your dry Winter skin ready for the upcoming warmer weather!

Snag it at shop.avon.com

Did you read the news today? Obviously you have considering I think we all watch it as it’s such a train wreck we can’t keep our eyes from it now can we?

Today’s newscast is the demise of Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks….hello insanity!

Clickie!

Looks like our fav luxury retailers are barely keeping their heads above water at the moment. And finally we reach the pinnacle of no return.

What do you think?

It’ll get better……?

No way, it’s the long road home!

Tell the Muse!

One of my favorite collections from Holiday 2008 was the Cosme Decorte Magie Deco Coffret. I didn’t indulge in the Holiday 2007 version as it wasn’t nearly as gorgeous and glamorous as this year’s.

Do jump ahead for a peek!

Cosme Decorte Magie Deco Coffret was truly a glamorous collection and I instantly fell in love with it when I seen it on the site. The coffret contains three pieces for eyes, lips and face. I paid retail for the coffret which was around 6,300 yen, a true deal if I ever seen one.

The set includes:

Magie Deco Fairy Powder
Magie Deco Fairy Gloss R0660
Magie Deco Fairy Eyes GD040
Magie Deco Fairy Retractable Brush

The collection settled on gorgeous shimmering gold eyes, beautiful pouty ruby red lips, and a hint of shimmery face powder for it’s Holiday look. All these items are totally what the Muse looks for during the Holiday Season and she couldn’t be more pleased to have them bundled together in one set.

The Magie Deco Fairy Powder was the highlight of the collection. This was a striped higlighter that contains 5 separate colors ranging from soft muted beiges, to creams, and pinks. All the shades combined beautifully to create just a soft subtle shimmer on the face. The palette contains a heavy spray of golden shimmer on top but once wiped away it just leaves behind a very soft focused highlighter that can be used to brighten up the face and cheeks. The colors are way to light to use this as a blush so using blush prior to application is recommended.

The Magie Deco Fairy Eyes I’ve had the pleasure of using before and I must say I was quite happy to add the gold edition to my collection. This is a soft cream shadow that’s easy to blend and leaves behind a hint of true gold on lids. This is not a yellow gold but more of a true golden shade. It was rather a perfect color for the Holiday season in the Muse’s opinion.

Contrasting beautifully with golden eyes was the Magie Deco Fairy Gloss in R0660 which was a beautiful ruby red shade with hints of golden sparkle! The formula was nicely pigmented and left behind a beautiful finish however it wasn’t terribly glossy but more of a lip cream with a nice shimmery finish.

And finally the collection included a retractable brush for applying the highlighter!

I wish I had a chance to review this for you during the Holidays but I got a bit sidetracked and quite busy so I hope you’ll enjoy the photos and brief review of the coffret now.

Overall, this was the best coffret released from Cosme Decorte to date. I really like the simplicity of shimmering golden eyes followed up with a gentle subtly highlighted face and a nice pop of ruby on the lips.

I really quick look using the set!

I look forward to seeing what Cosme Decorte releases next year!

Anyone indulge in this coffret?

Loved it?

Tell the Muse!

The Muse simply adores Asian face peelings masks. It may come as a shock but “face peeling” does not always mean a mask that you’re peeling off. Anonsa makes a full range of peeling face masks for all sorts of skin woes. These masks are simply used by taking a small dollop, applying to slightly damp skin, and slowly rubbing….you’ll notice the masks peels as soon as you begin rubbing. Supposedly this “peeling” action takes dirt, oil, blackheads, and other woes along with it as it “peels”. It’s rather a cool little product.

Today I’ll be reviewing the Anosa Ananas Sativus Face Peeling Mask for you!

Jump ahead to get the review!

Anosa Ananas Sativus Face Peeling Mask is a rather cheap, possibly gimmicky face mask. At around $223TWD you shouldn’t expect too MUCH from this mask.

This is actually my fav of the collection as it smells rather great! It’s a tropical pineapple blend that’s really quite nice. I adore anything that’s scented so I’m all over the idea of a scented mask that smells like pineapples.

Of course, the mask comes with a huge humdrum of the amazing skincare miracles and benefits that are housed inside the tiny little black tube. Supposedly this mask is made from a strong, effective pineapple dissolution enzyme…who the hell knows what that even means…god I love Asian brands! The special pineapple enzyme has the superior skill of dissolving blackheads and cleaning pores and even allows you to experience the effects of an “ultra human spirit”. I’m not making this up…this is what it claims to do.

What it really does?

Absolutely nothing! Hehe! But I still like it anyway. The formula is a heavy jelly consistency (kinda looks like snot…what? Beauty can’t always be glam!) that feels incredibly cooling on the skin which will make a Muse happy in the Summer. Once applied all it really does is make my skin feel extra clean but aside from that I can’t say I experience anything in regards to my humanly spirit nor did it do much for the blackheads on my nose. I don’t really have clogged pores so I can’t speak for those but if you happen to have clogged pores, the Muse thinks it’s safe to say that this probably won’t rid you of those.

The mask is just a simple, budget friendly treat that I continue to use because I like the smell and it didn’t cost me a ton of money. Honestly, if you’re paying above retail (seen it on E-bay for $14.99 USD ummmm NO!) I don’t suggest buying it. However, if you can nab it at retail I suggest grabbing one as it smells pretty and it does successfully make your skin feel squeaky clean!

Here’s a basic idea of how the masks works. Take a dollop, apply to your face, and rub on. As you can see the mask begins to “pill” and peels off in layers. This peeling action supposedly whisks away dirt and the likes along with it!

Anosa Ananas Sativus Face Peeling Mask doesn’t have alot going for it but the Muse thinks it smells pretty, at the very least.

Tried Anosa products before?

Loves ‘em?

Leaves ‘em?

Tell the Muse!