Musings of a Muse

With all the new plastic applicators coming out all over the mascara world sometimes you might want kick it old school with a simple, mess-free, easy to apply brush applicator.

Ahhh remember the days of old when brushes were so hip and everyone was using ‘em? The mascara world is slowly being dominated by combs, plastic brushes, and other interesting gadgetry to bring tech and awesomeness to mascaras far and wide!

Now the Muse loves all the high tech mascaras currently available on the market today but if you’re wanting to keep to the basics, you might want to try out Prescriptives False Eyeslashes Mascara. Prescriptives keeps it simple with a standard, large brush applicator that’s meant to give the appearance of false lashes. Aside from the otherworldly appearance of the mascara packaging there isn’t much in the ways of bells and whistles when it comes to this particular Prescriptives mascara and sadly I wasn’t treated to the appearance of falsies after using it however it does stand up there on it’s own and delivers length and volume to lashes.

If you’re looking for a standard mascara that’s pretty much mess-free without the drama or learning curve of a brand new, high tech applicator this is for you. The Muse doesn’t prefer something with a bit more kick but she recommends this one if you’re looking for simplicity!

Prescriptives currently has this in a kit which also includes a basecoat and eye makeup remover! The entire kit is $26 USD and is tucked in a cute silver makeup pouch! So if you’re wanting to try this out you might want to snag the kit and save a few bucks plus get some other nice goodies to try out!

Click to shop for the Prescriptives Absolute Eyes Gift Set!

I’m not Muse Approving this for purchase simply because it’s a pretty basic mascara and the Muse kinda digs new and exciting applicators however I did think it was well worth a mention for those who are a tad bit scared of the new applicators out on the market today or those who aren’t so fab at mascara application. This is a nice, basic, mess-free mascara that offers good volume and length to lashes without all the who-ha that comes attached to newer mascaras.

Prescriptives Calyx Review

Prescriptives AGLOW Look

Prescriptives Winter Reflections Cool Eye Color Quad Review & Swatches

Prescriptives Fall Dimensions Eye Color Quad Review

Take your best gloss and your greatest lipstick, combine and you’ll have Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick. Shiny, glossy lips with gorgeous color makes lips gleam and sparkle for the Holiday Season!

The formula of Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick is a beautifully emollient, moisturizing lipstick that has a gorgeous shimmering finish to add the festive pop and sparkle to lips. Seeking the perfect nude pink? Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick in Nude Shine is a pinky beige tone that gives lips a hint of sparkling color that’s understated yet refined for an elegant, sparkling lip look.

This is truly one of those outstanding lipsticks that you want to stash away as it has a gorgeous formula that’s buttery soft which glides on like gloss leaving behind good, lasting color. This particular version is all decked out for the holidays sporting a purple case with the fireworks theme for the Givenchy Holiday Collection 2008 and a light purple pull on the handle. It’s both fun, practical, and quite a nice piece for cosmetic collectors and junkies alike!

Create a light, fresh, shimmering pink look for the Holidays by combing Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick in Nude Shine with Givenchy Pop Gloss in Crystal Rose and finishing your look by brushing on Givenchy Blush Quartet in Glowing Rose!

The Muse was truly impressed with the formula and loved the flattering, slightly mod look Nude Shine created on my lips! It paired up wonderfully well with other items from the Givenchy Collection to create a really fresh look for the season!

Sportin’ Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick in Nude Shine

This one is definitely Muse Approved for purchase!

Snag your own (because the Muse isn’t letting go of hers) at Sephora or visit www.givenchy.com

Likey! Alot.

Tried it?

Own it already?

Tell the Muse!

Givenchy Pop Gloss in Crystal Rose Review

Givenchy Mister Bright Review

Givenchy Blush Quartet in Glow Rose Review

Morning…errr…it’s afternoon already isn’t it? Happy Monday! Quickie post telling you that Bath and Body Works is offering 20% Off your total plus guaranteed Christmas delivery so if you’re doing any last minute shopping or just want to score a little something for yourself now would be a great time to do so at a discount!

Yay!

How’s everyone’s Monday going? I just realized that I somehow let Christmas get away from me this year! 10 days left and aside from having my tree and decorations done super, super early everything else is piling up waiting to be done!

Oh the stress! I know I’ve had an epic fail this year in regards to gift idea posts and such! Sorry about that guys! Life has a way of catching up with me and sometimes it’s not always Musings times!

I’ll be back on track soon! Just hang tight!

Love you all and hope your heart is filled with the season!

Ahh the Muse has gone so natural and neutral lately hasn’t she? But she can’t help herself when Bobbi Brown keeps introducing awesome palettes! The new Limited Edition Bobbi Brown Lip and Eye Palette contains an array of naturally beautiful shades for creating that perfect party look with a tiny bit of pop and a whole lot of elegance.

The palette contains four Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Colors and four Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyes Shadows in a slick, black compact. I loved the design of the palette as it has the lip colors on top with a pull out draw housing the shadows so everything is kept nice and tidy. The draw designed to hold the shadows pulls out easily and houses the shadows nice and tight.

The shadows are all gorgeous colors with a nice metallic almost shimmery like finish. The shades are all very use friendly and aren’t in the least bit bold or scary so you’ll be getting a soft, natural look from each shade. I wouldn’t say the shadows are necessarily the same in color but I do feel like you can’t combine them to create different looks. The shadows each have an individual color and combining them does nothing but create muddy shades so I would suggest using each shade individually. The $60 USD price tag may be a bit discouraging when faced with only four looks that can be arranged from the four included colors however I took all this into consideration and still felt like it was well worth the price since the looks you can create are truly lovely.

I was a bit put off by the lip colors as I was expecting the same soft, buttery formula that I was recently treated to when I purchased the Bobbi Brown Pink Satin Collection. However, the formula on these was a bit hard and the colors weren’t too pigmented. They weren’t particularly easy to apply and didn’t feel as soft as the ones I originally tried. I was a bit let down by this but after applying and playing around a bit I was happy with how they looked on so I decided to disregard the crummy formula.

The palette contains a lip brush and a shadow brush. Both of which are mini size and fabulous in my opinion. Be it large or small I’m always very impressed with Bobbi Brown Makeup Brushes. I’m particularly a big fan of her lip brushes! Both brushes make applying everything a snap and it doesn’t take a ton of skill or drama to achieve a soft, flattering, work friendly look using the brushes, shadows, and lip colors!

The shadows included in the palette are:

• Champagne Quartz (Shimmering beige with touches of pink)
• Gold Dust (Shimmering Gold)
• Golden Bronze (Shimmering fleshy peach)
• Galaxy (Shimmering gray with a touch of a black)

The lip colors included in the palette are:

• Berry Mauve (Berry Pink)
• Pink Sequin (Sheer Peach)
• Dusty Mauve (Mauve with a heavy dose of brown)
• Ruby (Off Red almost maroon)

I’ve reviewed the Metallic Eye Shadows prior to this and it deserves to be mentioned again how great the formula is. For one of my looks below I actually decided to apply wet and I have to say I love how it intensifies the color and gives a foil finish when the shadow is applied this way.

I honestly can’t begin to tell you about my lips. All my looks below are created using everything in the palette but I mixed, combined, and cocktailed all the colors together to create the shades hehe so I’m unsure what I’m wearing! I think that mixing them all together kinda creates some rather nice shades rather than wearing them alone.

Gold Dust applied wet

Galaxy

Golden Bronze

All in all I absolutely loved this palette! It’s not loud or bold or vibrant but it does create some very soft, flattering looks that are ideal for work or a Holiday party! If you’re scared of bolder shades this will be a perfect pick for creating natural, elegant looks for the season! This one gets a big Muse Approval for purchase! Very worth it and a truly great palette, possibly my favorite of all the Bobbi Brown palettes I’ve tried as of late!

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Palette Review

Free Bobbi Brown Holiday Makeup Lessons

Bobbi Brown Glitter Lip Gloss Review

Bobbi Brown Party Collection

You were probably privy to this contest last Friday as it got posted back then! I had a problem with the applet I was using for the contest so I had to remove it temporarily!

But…the good news……it’s back and hopefully working hehe!

What is it?

It’s a bottle of Vera Wang Look Parfum Spray which the Muse recently reviewed….exciting right? Even more exciting…..it’s signed by Vera Wang herself! Hyper yet?

Enter for your chance to win Vera Wang Look Parfum signed by Vera herself by submitting your name and e-mail address below! The contest starts today and ends next Friday at 10 pm! The contest is open to US and Worldwide readers!

Good luck!