Musings of a Muse

Ooo look what I got!

A Bath and Body Works Scentportable Fragrance Unit!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I’m a sucker for tarts, scented oils, room spray, etc…so the idea of having a portable little unit of scent that I can clip anywhere I want kinda gets me hyper!

This little guy is available from Bath and Body Works for $5 USD but I’m sure sooner or later you’ll see some cool deal on these!

Basically this has a scented gel disk inside a plastic housing with clip. You can either sit this on a desk, table, etc…or clip it in a closet, car, or any small space. It delivers a blast of yummy scent to whatever area you choose to put it in. It’s a rather nice and safe way to fragrance an area without a electric, batteries, or the flame of a candle.

The one I have is Coconut Vanilla which smells beautifully foody and tropical. It kinda smells like cake mixed with coconut. The throw on this is fabulous. I have it clipped in my car so you know as soon as the temperature rises and your vehicle is sitting in the sun for a good long while the scent will begin to warm up and create a beautiful fragrance. I love getting in the car after a hot day and smelling this mmmm!

It’s also suggested to throw in a gym bag or luggage! These last 4-6 weeks supposedly, I’ve only had mine a week and so far it’s going strong!

One minor problem with the unit is it isn’t refillable. After the fragrance gel insert is completely dried up you aren’t able to purchase a replacement so you’ll be throwing the entire unit out for a fresh one. Not exactly environmentally friendly unless the plastic is biodegradable but I don’t think it is. Aside from this minor rant I thought this was a rather cute way to get a little fragrance into small spaces!

Check ‘em out at Bath and Body Works! They also happen to come in five scents to choose from!
Got one?

Loving it?

How do you scent your home, car, office?

Tell the Muse!

Searching for other great ways to scent your space? Check out my tart warmer post!

One of my favorite Fall Collections this year is Too Faced Smoke & Mirrors. This ones deserves some of your time so head on over to the Too Faced website or visit your local Sephora and have a peek at the selection of goodies! They are great and come with the Muse’s highest approval and recommendation.

The collection consists of several items but two of my favorite products are the Too Faced Smoky Eye Palette and the Too Faced Mirror Mirror Gloss. I was super impressed with these and had so much fun creating three separate looks with the palette to share with you guys!

I’ll start my review with the palette. The palette is this super cute flip up box that features nine shades of shadow that are divided into three looks. Each look has an easy to follow, step by step instruction card for creating a different smoky eye look. The eye looks you can create are Day Smoke, Fashion Smoke, and Classic Smoke.

The palette has everything you need to create your look and carry it around with you if you so please. The cards slip into a pocket in the inner lid of the palette and a nifty little draw on the bottom of the palette pulls out to reveal two dual ended sponge tipped and brush tipped applicators. I actually had one minor rant concerning the applicators. I’d have liked three applicators for the three looks! That would have really made my day but aside from that everything else is cake and ice cream. The shadows are super pigmented, very silky, and easy to blend. Each look I created was simple, easy, and quite fun. You don’t have to be a makeup artist to understand how to complete each look and the cards give a brief little instruction that’s not difficult to understand. It’s as simple as highlight, lid, and crease…done…beautiful.

Day Smoke is a combination of softer brown shades that you can use to create this insanely beautiful natural, neutral look. Actually, believe it or not, I adored this look the most out of all the looks I created. You know how much your Muse loves loud, outrageous shades but in this case I was actually loving the softness of the Day Smoke look I created. It’s perfect office wear and flattering as all heck for the Fall.

Day Smoke Look:

Use the lightest cream shade as a wash of color all over your eye prepping it for the darker shades in the palette. Pay particular attention to your highbrow using the cream to highlight this area. Follow up by sweeping Fawn all over your lid and into your crease. Blend Bronze into your crease and use it to line your lower lash line!

I felt like Day Smoke was a very flattering look for both older and younger woman. I fancied how awake and fresh it made my eyes look. I think the cream shadow made my eyes look very bright.

Completed Day Smoke Look:

Fashion Smoke Look:

Fashion Smoke was a bit difficult to pull off since all the colors are so very pigmented I had a hard time creating my look. My blending was a bit off with this and I ended up with a very nice look but you couldn’t differentiate between the green and the blue do to my poor blending and how pigmented the shadows were. In the end I ended up with more of a green look. This one needs a bit more practice when applying but master it I shall!

To create Fashion Smoke you’ll be using Sugar Cookie as a wash all over your eye prepping it for the darker shades in the palette. Follow up with Wicked Green on the inner lid and blend Midnight into the crease and upper and lower lashes.

Sadly, Midnight just turned into one big blob of green! I’ll keep trying and re-post soon when I have the look down correctly.

Fashion Smoke is a bit more daring so you may or may not want to wear this to work. It’s a great combo for a night out or if you’re like the Muse you may just sport it on any day of the week and proudly display how much you adore bold and vibrant looks!

Completed Fashion Smoke Look:

Classic Smoke:

Finally, my 2nd favorite look is the Classic Smoke. Classic Smoke is the classic smoky eye look that we all love and know.

Creating it is a simple process and you can be as light or heavy as you want while applying. I choose to go crazy and create a very heavy, bold look with it. I was particularly impressed with the way the Silver shadow blended so wonderfully well with the other darker shades in the palette.

To create Classic Smoke you’ll start by blending silver into your crease and slowly pulling upwards and fading it into your brow. Follow up with Black Spark on the lid and outer v and finish with Black Suede on the outer crease and lower lashes.

This look, in my opinion, is great for day or evening.

Completed Classic Smoke Look:

All the looks are extremely Fall friendly and I like that Too Faced didn’t go metallic the way many brands did this season. The colors are pigmented and rich, the looks you can create are simply endless, and the price is very nice at $32 USD.

If you grow tired of creating three looks using the palette no one is stopping you from using the shades individually or mixing them up for some other look you want to create!

I love the packaging, I love the ease of use, the quality is excellent on the shadows, it’s just a really great palette that I’m happy to have gotten the chance to test out.

I recommend grabbing this one. Muse Approval for it! The Muse loves it!

Also released with the Too Faced Smoke and Mirrors Collection are the Too Faced Mirror Mirror glosses. I was so silly and only used the gloss in one of my Face of the Day photos above. I’m wearing the shade “I Love Myself” in my Day Smoke look. I’ll create more looks with the glosses soon so you can see the amazing quality of these.

These are excellent.

It’s been a long time since I’ve run across such a glossy, emollient, moisturizing lip gloss and again these come with my highest recommendation and seal of approval!

The gloss reminds me of Philosophy Kiss Me gloss. It glides on so beautifully and leaves behind a glassy, mirror like shine just as it’s advertised and named, Mirror Mirror.

The formula isn’t stick or tacky yet still manages to have good long wear. They happen to be delightfully fruity tasty as well! The Muse loves her gloss tasting good!

I got the chance to test drive two shades but I’m really eager to lay my hands on more. They have the potential for holy grail material because they have such a sincerely awesome finish. I love how glossy they leave my lips, very sexy plus the mirror shine goes so well with the looks I created with the Smoky Eye Palette!

L@@K at that shine!

These I absolutely love, definately a staple product for me and I’ll be indulging in more shortly.

I have a few other items to review from the Too Faced Fall Collection that will be coming along shortly. The entire Too Faced Smoke and Mirror Collection is worth some of your time to look at and definately indulge in. Both the palette and the gloss stole the show for me!

I’m sticking my highest approval on these! The Muse loves ‘em and recommends you nab both the palette and the gloss! You won’t be sorry if you do but you will if you don’t!

Check out more of the Too Faced Fall Collection by clicking here!

Tried these yet?

Love ‘em?

Want the palette?

Love smoky eyes?

Tell the Muse!

The big question on everyone’s mind since I mentioned it would be is Laura Mercier’s Flawless Face Kit worth it?

Only Four Steps? Hmmm….will it work?

And the answer:

Yes.

Yes, Yes, Yes.

You need it.

Like yesterday.

You might know from reading my past posts I’m not too fond of Tinted Moisturizers. They don’t work for me. Although I don’t have a ton to cover I still have been having rather dull skin lately and my foundation is definately my bestest friend when it comes to freshening my skin up. Tinted Moisturizers fail to offer me the coverage I need to give my skin a boost of awake-ness and freshness. I’ve tried a few here and there and none of them do much aside from sink into my skin as any normal facial moisturizer would without offering the benefits of coverage. Granted, they are not supposed to cover EVERYTHING but I was hopeful they’d give my skin a healthy glow as my foundation does.

Laura Mercier obviously gets the award for doing Tinited Moisturizer right because turns out she has a brilliant formula that’s pigmented and moisturizing while offering light coverage which of course is especially nice in the humid and hot weather and of course SPF 20 to keep our skin healthy and happy while in the rays of the harmful sun. The coverage offered is sheer but it’s also pigmented enough to liven up dull skin and offer a nice canvas for makeup.

Now the Laura Mercier Fawless Face Kit is available via Sephora only and is $65 USD but you get quite a bit of bang for your buck as the kit includes a fair number of nice items.

I’ve done the math, I’ve broken it down, and I think $65 USD is a fair, decent, and nice amount for the kit.

The kit comes in two color selections which I think is a bit disappointing. I got the nude which is good for fair to light tones. The second option is sand which is good for light to medium tones. I imagine if I went to a counter they’d stick me with sand but I think it’s an unflattering selection for my skin tone so I went with nude.

Now the disappointment stems from the fact if your skin is a deeper shade than fair, light, or medium you’re out of luck. That stinks le sigh.

The kit includes

A nice size clear makeup bag (great for stashing this entire collection in when traveling)
1 oz Foundation Primer
1 oz Tinted Moisturizer
0.21 oz Undercover Pot Duo (concealer and setting powder)
Secret Camouflage Brush
Camouflage Powder Brush
Sponge
Powder Puff

As I said I did the math and here’s the break down:

Undercover Pot Duo $34 USD for 0.2 oz size

The size since the pot I got with the Flawless Face Kit appears quite large and full size but I’m unsure of the normal size. This could likely be the full size but I’m unsure. Regardless, the pot contains a healthy amount of both concealer and setting powder.

Tinted Moisturizer 1.5 oz $42

You get a 1 oz size with the kit so the regular size is not much bigger than what you get.

Foundation Primer 1.7 oz $30

This is considerably larger than the 1 oz included with the kit but still since this is so emollient a little goes a long way!

Both brushes are full size brushes and retail for $26 USD and $28 USD

Powder Puff $12 USD

Sponges are sold in four packs at Laura Mercier’s site so that’ll be $3 USD for one.

Grand total: $163 USD or as stated by Sephora $159 USD knock off a few dollars from the total for the oz sizes and it’s still a great deal!

The Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit with all of the above included (not the same size listed) costs $65 USD.

Yup, it’s a steal.

Now the review…

I mentioned a little about the Tinted Moisturizer but I’ll go on to say that the formula is lightweight, offers good hydration and moisture without feeling greasy, and gives my face a very flawless, awake appearance.

Prior to using the Tinted Moisturizer you can prime your face using the foundation primer. I’ve used Laura Mercier’s Foundation Primer before after getting a sample with an order I placed. It’s not your typical primer as it’s not silicon based. It’s simply an extra layer of moisture that helps prep your face prior to foundation. If you’re familiar with Laura Geller Speckle the texture and formula of this primer is about the same. As far as making your foundation last longer I really have noticed much different but I do love this as prep before foundation because it makes blending so much easier.

Another first for me is the Laura Mercier Undercover Camouflage Pot. Like Bobbi Brown’s concealer palette this contains both a corrector and a concealer. Either blend the two to create a single flattering shade or brighten and correct with the lightest shade and layer the darker shade for total concealing coverage. This is moisturizing, creamy, pigmented, and wonderful for older eyes as it doesn’t settle into fine lines or crease. The setting powder, again like Bobbi Brown, sets the concealer without aging the eyes or settling into fine lines.

I don’t think I own a concealer brush and I’m quite smitten with the Secret Camouflage brush since it made applying the concealer easier and mess free. I normally don’t bother with brushes to apply concealer but this is a god sent for getting into the corner of my eye and under the lash line to cover every little nook and cranny. I seemed to successfully cover all my woes with very little tugging when I used this. I can see it becoming a holy grail item and I’ll be reaching for it daily.

The Camouflage Powder brush picks up just the right amount of powder to set the concealer. I like that it captures just a tiny bit of powder because I seriously can’t wear a ton of powder under my eyes. The days when I could conceal circles with powder are long gone and powder sinks into my fine lines aging me 10 years. This brush picks up a tiny bit and smooths it into place beautifully.

The sponge and puff are probably not something you’d totally benefit from. I prefer smoothing on foundation and TM with my fingers so the sponge is a waste for me however I did feel like the puff was quite posh. It’s a large puff with a nice loop hand on the back so you can press powder into the face with ease.

All in all I felt like the kit really did give me flawless face coverage. It’s perfect for Summer when you want to wear alot less makeup but it’s also great for those days you’re looking for minimal makeup, or you’re in a rush, or you’re just heading to the gym or store and don’t need a ton of coverage. I was very happy with the size of the products but in particular I was impressed that they included full size brushes.

The kit is well worth your money in my humblest and I’m sticking a Muse Approval on it for purchase since I was very happy to have shelled out $65 USD for it.

Below basically consists of me wearing the entire kit plus some blush and gloss. Yes, this would be the same photo from my recent Maquillage Neo Climax Neo Lip Review.

That’d be the Muse trying to kill two birds with one stone! I firgured I could get away with posting one FOTD for the gloss and use the same one for my Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit Review! Hope you don’t mind too much!

Nice one Laura Mercier. The Muse Approves!

Own this kit?

Love it?

Love Laura Mercier makeup?

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Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer Review

Bobbi Brown Moisturizing Cream Compact Foundation Review

I’m still rounding up concealers and today I’m bringing you a review of Lorac Double Feature Concealer and Highlighter. This concealer is brand new from Lorac. Tired of all these concealers yet?!

As you can see above the packaging is an interesting pull out design. Unroll and you’ll end up with directions, alternate uses for the product, and detailed photos for use. It’s like a little cardboard newsletter that unrolls with the box.

Well done Lorac on creating a very interesting concealer duo! I should start my review by saying I don’t approve of lipstick style concealers in a tube. I’ve tried a few and all are really bad simply because the formula is so very difficult to blend and ALOT of tugging is involved.

Lorac got a tiny bit inventive with this new concealer. I originally purchased this assuming that it consisted of three parts. I was thinking it was a concealer, a rollerball setting powder, and a highlighter. Turns out I was quite wrong! It’s a concealer, highlighter, and a rollerball applicator. This does not come with a powder, why I was thinking the rollerball was a powder is beyond me

.

Turns out the rollerball is what makes this such a fine product. The concealer is somewhat your typical stick concealer which I’m not too fond of. The formula is creamy however it doesn’t glide as easily as I’d like it to under my eye but the rollerball ends up making the concealer into something special. If I had to use the concealer on it’s own without the rollerball I’d be highly disappointed as it does involve some tugging to get on and of course tugging to blend.

So how does it work? Simple. Swipe the concealer gently under each eye, proceed to roll over the concealer using the rollerball applicator, continue rolling until your concealer is completely blended in. The rollerball does such a good job of blending the concealer you won’t need to pat or rub with your fingertips. The effect is an airbrushed look that erases fine lines, dark circles, and bags. However, it does deserve to be mentioned that this involves a good deal of tugging. I tried doing this gently but it doesn’t completely blend as well with a lighter touch. It disturbs me that I have to roll so hard to get it blended. Less tugging on the eye are is always good and this involves a considerable amount of tugging.

After you’ve blended your concealer you can take the opposite end of the applicator which houses the highlighter and dot under your eye. This gives a tiny bit of shimmer and light to the eye area. I mistakenly did three dots and I got a rather shiny, disco ball look going on under my eyes so use this sparely and you’ll achieve the desired effect of a hint of brightness and highlighting under the your eye. The highlighter doubles up as a cheek and brow bone highlighter as well. The color of the highlighter is a creamy light yellow gold with a hint of shimmer. This comes with a sponge tip applicator however I do not recommend using the applicator to blend as it’ll add WAY too much of the product and you will end up sporting some seriously shimmer under your eyes. The effect sometimes looks mannequin-like or sports almost a clay-like look which I really don’t like but if I use alot less I get the desired effect of a brighter eye area. I’m not sure if I’d recommend using this under the eye if you’re older I may stick to using this as a highlighter on my brow bone.

The duo is available in three color selections and although the lightest version worked well for me I can’t help but be disappointed at the lack of variety in shades. The colors range from light, medium, to dark but even the darkest selection doesn’t appear to be suited to ever all deeper skin tones.

Blended

Aside from that mild ranting I did I love this. Would I buy it if it wasn’t a duo? Absolutely not as the stick concealer isn’t that fabulous however since the rollerball actually aids in making the concealer rather wonderful plus the highlighter gives a rather lovely bright look to the eye area I definately liked it. It’s $24 USD and available from Sephora now if you’re lemming it. I did forget to mention that the wear on this is wonderfully good which is what made me like it even more.

Generally speaking I could probably just purchase a rollerball somewhere on E-bay and use it with a stick concealer however this comes all together and makes concealing your eyes an absolute breeze while offering great coverage and an airbrushed finish.

The Muse likes it with a few minor problems that could use improving! But it’s definately not bad and worth checking out for yourself!

Love it?

Want it?

Tried it already?

Tell the Muse!

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer Review

L’Oreal Visible Lift Concealer Review

Patricia Wexler, M.D. Instant Airbrush Concealer Pen Review

Lancome Effacernes Waterproof Concealer Review

Physicians Formula Circle RX Concealer Review

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Review

Lancome Maquicomplet Coverage Concealer Review

Jelly Pong Pong Nicola Roberts Dainty Doll Concealer Review

Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base

Eyeko Touch Up & Go Concealer

Cargo Blu_Ray Concealer Review

Don’t I always hook you up with the latest and greatest in the cosmetic world? Since my concealer round up began I’ve reviewed quite a few items and today I’m adding to the reviews with a brand new concealer released for Cargo’s Fall Collection.

Today I’m bringing you a review of Cargo’s latest concealer that was released with the Fall Collection. Cargo Blu_Ray Concealer is a concealer and wrinkle eraser in one slick pen. W00t! Something that erases fine lines? The Muse is on the case!

First of all it has my very favorite style applicator a click pen. Click pens are simply the best when it comes to concealers and it’s truly a hassle free way of applying your concealer minus the mess. The interesting part of this is the applicator. Unlike most click pens that sport a brush style applicator this is actually a sponge applicator which fits the contour of the eye nicely and allows ease of use when smoothing the concealer on so less blending is done by your finger tips! Speaking of blending, this blends like a dream. It smooths on amazingly well and goes from a moisturizing blend to a powdery dry down. Although powder I fear when it comes to my under eyes as it tends to age me and crease this however did neither. Just offered soft, buttery coverage.

The formula will cover slight to medium dark circles but I’m unsure how well it’ll fair on extremely dark circles. I’m enjoying the creamy yet powdery texture of this and I definately deem it a fine concealer for the Summer humidity considering how long wearing it is. It’s been under my eyes since 5 this morning and still going strong at nearly 2 pm. Nice. No creasing and no caking under the eyes and it delivers on it’s promise of flawless coverage. Products like Cargo Blu_Ray concealer were created with the idea of high-definition filming in mind. It’s a product that’s meant to appear completely invisible while giving skin a flawless, airbrushed look. It does this perfectly well in my opinion and I can easily see myself reaching for this one daily.

Now the good part….

It contains something called Vilsilox which is a cosmetic alternative to Botox to smooth fine lines and wrinkles.

So far I have to say I like the coverage, love the finish, and love the long wear! It’s definately a good one! The Muse likey Cargo Blu_Ray Concealer and recommends checking it out for yourself!

Cargo Blu_Ray Concealer is sold at Sephora and check out more of the Blu_Ray Collection at Cargo Cosmetics website. Check out my Cargo Fall Collection post to read about some of the interesting goodies released!

Tried this?

Love it?

Love Cargo?

Tell the Muse!

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer Review

L’Oreal Visible Lift Concealer Review

Patricia Wexler, M.D. Instant Airbrush Concealer Pen Review

Lancome Effacernes Waterproof Concealer Review

Physicians Formula Circle RX Concealer Review

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Review

Lancome Maquicomplet Coverage Concealer Review

Jelly Pong Pong Nicola Roberts Dainty Doll Concealer Review

Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base

Eyeko Touch Up & Go Concealer