Musings of a Muse

I know, I know. Why the bloody hell am I posting about Revlon? So unlike me. I should put a disclaimer on this post to say I do not buy Revlon.

The reason I’m posting this is because much of my target audience flows in from abroad. I love you yanks but sadly you aren’t my main reader quota.

We tend to take what we can get here in the US for granted and likewise for those of you around the world.

There in lays my inspiration for this post.

Something as simple as Revlon’s Spring Collection may not yet be available around the globe (or available at all for that matter) so it’s my responsibility as a good blogger to inform all my readers outside of the US what happening here in drgustores!

Yay me!

So I came across some of the Revlon Spring Collection at CVS when I was doing some personal shopping for Miss Rows at Mostly Makeup.

Here’s what I came across (hold your applause until the end):

Revlon does this big deal about how limited these are but this isn’t Japan which basically translates as you can get this crap for ages and ages and it never leaves the shelf. How limited is that? I think I’ll sue Revlon for false advertisement! Remember when they released those Just Bitten Lip Stains 500 years ago? Oh sorry it was last year I think! Well those are still hanging around the shelf. Yay for limited edition products!

Anyway!

Here’s the line-up, without further snarky, wise cracking commentary from me!

Floral Affair Sheer Powder Blush Available in 4 Color Selections

Make a Sheen Eyeshadow Palette Available in 4 Color Selections

Marble-ous Match Liner Available in 5 Shades

Soft on the Eye Sheer Loose Powder Eyeshadow Available in 3 Color Selections

Mix and Mingle Lip Palette Available in 6 Shade Selections

Prices range from around $6.99-$9.99 USD and most places have buy one get one 50% off type a deals depending on the sale at the tim!

I actually must say that collection is interesting! I won’t personally buy any of it but it does appear rather nice to look at!

So…that’s all folks!

Hope you enjoyed this brief foray into US Drugstore Brands (mind you Revlon is available almost everywhere in the world but unsure if this particular collection has reached shores other then our own here in the US).

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Own it?

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Bless Be! We have live instant messenging!

Finally!

I was seeking a good program and all along it’s been right under my nose!

So what does this mean…?

It means you can speak to me live whenever I am online! Yay! If you look towards my left hand column and scroll down a tiny bit you’ll come across a tiny bubble that reads “Chat with theMuse”. Click it…go on you know you wanna……just be sure your pop up blocker is off!

Click to enlarge:

A window will pop up and connect you live to me! And we can chat, discuss the weather, makeup, whatever your little heart desires!

As long as the little radio button is “green” that means I may be at my computer and around for a little chitter chatter! When the button is gray it means I’m currently offline!

I’m pretty excited to finally have this available for you guys to use because I get so many questions and emails a day I think this might make things a bit easier!

Hope you enjoy it!

Cheers!

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I’ve gotten alot of comments mentioning KATE as not being pigmented enough or not the best quality, etc…

This made me want to do a review of my own on KATE because it’s one of my favorite Japanese Brands and I think the quality is fantastic!

One of my favorite products in the KATE lineup are the Glamtrick palettes. They are sincerely some of the best quality palettes I’ve come across Japan side. The colors blend fantastically and the smoky eye looks you can create are truly fabulous.

KATE has an edge about it that other brands don’t and this reflects in the darker color selection available from KATE. In particular the Glamtrick palettes sport darker colors used to create very interesting smoky eye looks.

The Glamtrick palettes contain a total of five colors. One light shade of shadow, one dark contrasting shadow, one base, one liner, and a shimmering shade used over your completed look.

The palettes are at 1600 yen (about $16 USD) and in my personal opinion give alot of bang for your buck!

In order to create each look I used the lightest shade as a base on my entire lid, I proceeded to stroke the next medium shade from my lid to my crease, after this I packed on the darkest in my crease and on half of my top eye lid. To complete my look I lined my bottom and lower lash line with the shadow liner and dusted on a bit of the sparkling/shimmer shadow on top of the entire look and Bob’s your uncle the perfect smoky look!

Created Using BU-1

Created Using GD-1
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Created Using BR-1

Created Using GN-1

Created Using BK-1

KATE has an entire line of various palettes but I thought I’d share the Glamtrick ones with you as they are my favorite in the line! The palettes make creating what I called a “colored” smoky eye look goof proof and they take the smoky look to a new level with interesting shades instead of your standard gray/black look.

KATE’s Glamtrick palettes are most definately Muse Approved for their inexpensive cost, quality and pigmentation, and ease of use!

Love these?

Yearning to try KATE?

Hate ‘em?

Tell the Muse!

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I’m struck gold.

Literally.

I’ve come across thee most awesome product in the world of Beauty! This is seriously better then any tool I’ve come across and it’s an utter life saver for me!

I wear many shimmering shades of shadows. Gimme Sparkle! Gimme Glitter! Gimme Shine! I love it! The more the better. But please don’t give me nasty fall out

Sadly, I’ve never had an easy time of it when it comes to cleaning up fall out. I’ve tried the powder under the eye trick, doesn’t work. I’ve tried blotting it away with a makeup sponge, doesn’t work either. I’ve tried holding a piece of tissue under my eye while applying eyeshadow, no good.

I’ve sincerely tried everything to lessen or eliminate my fall out problem! If you use intensely dark shades or you love sparkle you must have the same problem as me!

I’ve never really had any success in cleaning up fall out. Normally when I try it ends up all over the place. If you’re a big lover of MAC pigments, again, you know what I am talking about!

But have no fear the Muse is here to bring you something to eliminate your fall out and keep your undereye area and cheeks free of shadow fall out!

The wonderful Michelle Villanueva gets the Muse Approved award for creating Shadow Shields. I’ve seriously been looking for a product like this for years and years and years.

So what are Shadow Shields?

Basically they are tiny little pads that have a stick on back that you place under your eye to catch fall out! w00t! I’m so excited I may spit!

The pads are half moon shaped and have adhesive all over the back however you only need to remove a little piece of the adhesive to get this on your eye. Somehow, someway the pad fits to the contour of your eye and folds upwards slightly creating a little bowl shape under your eye which catches all your shadow fall out.

The result?

Beautifully made up eyes minus nasty fall out all over your cheeks and under your eyes!

These work amazingly well however they take some getting used too! I’ve used these a few times already and I’m now Miss Master Pro at using them however my first attempt with these was a tad bit difficult. You have to sort of get used to the forget that you have something stuck under your eye as you work with your shadow. It’s also a little bit clumsy at first when tugging your eye so you can smooth shadow on (I’m a tugger. I slant my eye slightly with my pinky as I apply shadow, liner, etc….). However, after a tiny bit of struggle I finally mastered it and I can now officially say I won’t be able to live without these!

They seriously made a huge impact on my looks. I normally walk around with fall out everywhere because it’s just so hard to clean it all up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, these helped me create a beautiful look without the stress of bits of eyeshadow and pigment all over the bloody place!

You can get 50 of these for $16.95 USD! That’s a steal in my opinion! Although I will admit to being slightly a cheap-o with them! Why? Because I’ve taken to using one pad for both eyes hehe. I do one eye, peel off my Shadow Shield, and place it under my other eye! So I’m getting quite a bang for my buck with 50 pads! But honestly you don’t need to be stingy as the price is really good for a set of 50, that’s 25 uses!

If you’re a MAC lover or use other pigmented shadows or shimmers you need these. No question. I know many of you love MAC as much as I do and using such highly pigmented eyeshadows causes major fall out so here’s your solution to perfect eyeshadow application each and every time!

These come with my highest Muse Approval stamp!

Get them now! You need them! Serious.

Thanks to Michelle for creating every girl’s new best friend! Click here to visit the Shadow Shields site and see a video of how the shadow shields work!

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I’m on a freaky Pop trip lately! I can’t seem to get enough of it!

Today I wanted to review the Pop Eye Cake I got because it’s so awesome and I wants more colors! Now!

I was lucky enough to test out the Pop Eye Cake in Bright Pink this week and I created so many looks with it tis ridiculous. It only contains 5 colors but you can do so much with the colors that you end up creating 20 different looks or more with one little compact! Sweet!

First of all the packaging is uber cute. It reminds me of Cargo’s packaging as it comes in a cute little tin which is great for knocking around your purse as it won’t spill, break, or open! Each Eye Cake is $19 USD which evens out to less then $4 USD per a color in the tin. These come in 13 or so color combinations so you have plenty of variety when selecting what you want. Bright pinks, blues, golds, you name it and Pop has you covered.

The pink is perfect for me because I truly think pink is my most flattering shade. All the colors are somewhat matte aside from one shimmering shade which you can use as an undercoat or overcoat for a bit of sparkle and shimmer! The pinks range from light, dark, and deep. There happened to be a bluish gray color in with my pinks which worked well as a bottom eye liner for one of the looks I created using this but I’m still in high debate how else to incorporate it in with so much pink!

Looks you can create range from bold to natural it’s all up to how many colors you use, how heavily you pack on color, and what you’re looking to create. Colors are good quality and pigmented and they blend a nice little treat!

Honestly, I’m loving this little guy and want a few more of the colors available! As I get older I find that I lean more towards buying palettes like this to avoid the drama of packing a ton of makeup when I travel! This sincerely simplifies life because the colors just all work well together. Ease of use is sincerely a plus when you’re running around in the morning!

I’d say the Pop Eye Cake is Muse Approved for purchase!

Check out Pop’s website for other combinations available!

Click here to sneak a peek at Pop’s Day to Play palette which I’ll be reviewing very soon!

If you missed it, I happened to review Pop’s Rose Belle Blush palette last week! Click here to catch up on that review!

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When I did my original post for Heatherette swatches I was having a difficult time getting a light enough image of the beauty powders so I swatched them on white paper!

Hope this helps for those of you curious about the Beauty Powder colors!

I also forgot to do the pigment swatch so that’s here as well

Top to Bottom: Pink Pearl Pigment, Alpha Girl Beauty Powder, and Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder

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Good Morning Lovies!

Happy Monday!

You may (or may not) have noticed that Musings has undergone a few minor changes. One important change for me was having a new domain name setup. You can now find Musings of a Muse at it’s new address, www.musingsofamuse.com!

Yay! Exciting! If you by chance link me on your site if you could please as a personal favor to me update your link to reflect the change I’d be extremely grateful!

Secondly, you’ll notice my layout changed a tiny bit. I felt like my three columns were a bit cluttered so I now have a column on the left and a column on the right and finally my posts are smack in the middle!

Thirdly, I’ve added a cbox off to the right hand side of my column which you can use to comment randomly or just to say hey!

I have a few ads up as well! If you find these irritating do let me know and I’ll try to come up with something else as I never want Musings to be about “commercial” or “corporate”. That’s not my aim with Musings at all so if you feel overwhelmed by ads you should tell me and I’ll do everything I can to reduce the clutter so you can have the content you come here for!

I’ve temporarily moved my live chat room. I know it’s been ages since I held a live chat but I promise I’ll be adding it up soon and having a live chat

A few items that are upcoming as you know are the Musings forum and some podcasts as well!

That’s about it!

I hope you’re as excited as I am about the changes! Maybe they’ll make your life a bit easier too when browsing around here as I believe it’s better organized now!

Much Love and Hugs,

From your Muse.

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Here are a few releases on the shores of beautiful Japan that won’t be available stateside.

I’m debating with myself whether I need these. The price scares me slightly as it’s about $20 USD more then what I’d pay here in the US but both items are gorgeous aren’t they?

A very beautiful friend of mine is doing my shopping for me as she lives in Tokyo but it’s so difficult for me to decide if I really need these!

Ugh choices, choices!

Loving these?

Obsessed with Givenchy?

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My love for Bobbi knows no bounds lately. I’ve done a complete 180 and I’m the biggest fan Bobbi ever did have.

I can’t believe I went from bitchin’ how bad her products were (or at least some I tried) to how fantastic they are!

I guess I seriously didn’t give her stuff a chance because lately I’m an utter convert, fan, and lover.

I wanted to do a comparison review this week of Bobbi’s Cream Compact Foundation vs. MAC Moisture Blend Foundation. But since I splurged some cash on Bobbi’s Cream Compact I thought it would be a bit ridiculous and obscene of me to go buy some MAC Moisture Blend just to compare the two. I may still do so as I’m sick enough to go buy some out of the sake of curiosity but for now you’ll have to settle for my review of Bobbi’s Foundation.

First off I should mention I don’t need a face full of coverage. If I had to go around with an entire load of mineral powder on my face all day or a ton of liquid foundation on you might as well shoot me dead in the head Zombie style.

Seriously the idea of having all that on my face all day scares me. I guess there may very well be a bit of irony in that statement considering I pack on eye color like I’m going to a rave but hey eye color and tons of foundation are two very separate things people!

Secondly, it deserves to be mentioned that I have some serious dry skin going on due to the cold weather. I’m a combination skin that gets oily come Summer and dried out in the Winter so using a cream foundation is an absolute life saver during colder weather!

Bobbi Brown’s Cream Foundation promises flawless coverage, long wear, and relief for dry skin. Hey, I’m all over all three of those things!

I think this is actually made with a mature lady in mind that has drier skin, wrinkles, etc….however it’s relief for my dry skin.

I normally use a cream foundation anyway so I had no reason to adjust to this or learn how to use it etc…My normal foundation is the Morgen Schick Hide and Highlight palette which is something you have to pry out of my cold, dead hands one day but I will say that Bobbi’s Cream Foundation is slowly become a fast favorite that may very well end up topping my list soon!

The formula is extremely easy to blend and is highly moisturizing. I use Bobbi’s foundation brush to apply to the inner corner of my nose and blend slowly outwards. I apply a bit to the shadows around my chin and shadows found under my nose, above my lip line.

That’s it done.

Coverage is beautiful and as flawless as promised! It also happens to last about 7-8 hours without touch up which really makes me do cart wheels! Sweet! 8 hours of continuous wear? The Muse likey!

The compact has a sponge applicator it comes with as well which can be stored under the cream as it’s a flip top which makes for ease of touch ups during the day if you please.

It goes on wonderfully smooth and my skin is quite happy afterwards as it doesn’t flake up as a powder would. It just sinks in and creates a lovely canvas for my makeup!

I originally purchased Sand but it was way BEIGE! Holy cow! I swapped up for Porcelain and that’s perfect.

Without Flash

With Flash

All in all definately worth my $40! I’m super happy with the results and the beautiful look of my skin when using this. If you have dry skin this is something you definately, sincerely need to try!

Do you use cream foundation?

Have you tried this?

Love Bobbi Brown?

Tried MAC’s Moisture Blend? The Muse is curious tell me about this!

Tell the Muse!

Showing Bobbi more love when I tested, reviewed, and tried out the Metallics Palettes! Click here to read!

Click here to read my Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner Review!

Click here to read my entire review of the Bobbi Brown Pink Raspberry Collection!

Click here to read my review on the Bobbi Brown Concealer Palette!

Want more Bobbi Brown?

Click on “Bobbi Brown” in the categories and be whisked away to all my entires on Bobbi Brown Cosmetics!

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I’ve already done a section on Lush Cosmetics Shampoo Bars a long, long while ago but I was doing my daily Sunday night hair clarifying ritual yesterday and I thought I’d share it with you guys since it works so well for me!

As you know my hair mostly stays up and out of my face in a bun with a headband. I don’t like my hair flying around my head, my mouth, my face, etc….it irritates and annoys me since it’s so very long. I like it out of my face when I’m working so 5 days a week from 9 to 5 my hair stays firmly in it’s bun with a headband smoothing it back. After work and on the weekends I don’t mind it floating around but when I’m working it’s smoothed back!

I wash it everyday. I do not believe that washing my hair daily will strip my hair of it’s natural oils yada yada yada. If it does, it does but the fact of the matter is I don’t feel clean unless my hair is washed so every morning I take a shower and I wash and condition my hair.

During the week I use various shampoos, conditioners, and such. My hair doesn’t have a whole lot of maintenance attached to it during the week. It consists of me entering the shower washing it with my daily choice of shampoo and condition, air drying it, curling it into a bun, and going.

I don’t blow dry my hair, I don’t curl it, etc….My hair is naturally curly, a bit dry, and long.

I normally use a very small amount of gel to slick it back otherwise I do have a bit of frizz.

Since I like to switch around shampoos and conditioners so much through the week my hair becomes weighted down from all the silicons in those products plus the gel causes it’s normal wreckage with my hair.

What does that mean?

It means my hair is heavy with a bit of buildup. We all get it, it happens to everyone.

My Sunday evening routine prior to bed is to take a shower and clarify my hair. There is nothing in the world like the feeling of a lighter head of hair. It feels cleaner, my curls are softer, my hair is shiner, etc…after I’ve used a good clarifying shampoo.

My personal choice for that shampoo is Lush Cosmetics Big. Big gets my hair so clean it nearly whistles. Seriously. If your hair is oily this is a god sent!

Big is actually for people with fine hair thus the name comes into play here. Big is supposed to give volume and pouf to those of you with fine hair! I do not have fine hair but I still use Big regardless for me it’s a deep cleaning shampoo that rids my hair of buildup. If you suffer from dandruff this will surely rid you of your problem as it contains sea salt which is fantastic for massaging into your scalp to rid yourself of any nasty dandruff that’s made a home in your head!

The formula of this is a tad bit weird and probably not like any shampoo you’ve run across before. It’s clumpy and full of seat salt so it basically looks like a pot of scrub for your face or body not something you’d use in your hair. Many people are a bit wary of trying it because they are worried the sea salt will not wash out easy. Have no fear the salt washes away quickly and easily. The lather is beautiful and the smell is fresh and beautiful.

Now I had mentioned earlier on that this would be good for oily scalps. My hair is dry so do be warned that this will make your hair even drier when use it. It drys out hair big time so you need to follow up with a good conditioning. There in lays a good thing for the oily scalp folk as Big will definately dry up your scalp, remove the oil from your hair, and replace it with fluffy, soft hair!

Since Big is so drying I follow up closely with Lush’s Retread Conditioner. Retread smells just as gorgeous as Big and compliments it well in my humble opinion! Retread is one of Lush’s thickest conditioners minus any silicones. Your hair might not know what to do without the silicones you get in your normal conditioner but as it adjusts it’ll thank you for treating it to such an amazing conditioner. I normally smooth a good amount on and leave it on for 5 minutes while in the shower right after I’ve rinsed out Big. During that time frame I take a large tooth comb and start detangling with Retread in and smoothing my hair back and while working the conditioner through. Since Big leaves my hair such a mess and in such a tangle it feels good to gently work the comb through while Retread helps with the knots that Big created.

After 5 minutesI rinse with luke warm water and I’m done.

I towel dry my hair after this and go to bed with it damp. In the morning my hair is fluffy, soft, and beautiful. After this treatment my hair seems to just behave better. It accepts product better, it brushes out easier, I don’t experience frizz or tangles as much, and my hair just seems to be thankful that I took a bit of time out to treat it to a nice clarify!

So that’s about it

The Muse highly recommends trying out Big and Retread for yourself! Retread is fantastic for daily use and as for Big I only recommend using it once a week and twice if you’re hair/scalp is oily!

Already own these?

Love them?

Want to try ‘em?

Questions? Comments?

Tell the Muse!

Want to simplify your haircare? Check out my review of Lush Shampoo Bars to show you how! Click!

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The idea of a mineralized foundation from MAC doesn’t get me to excited. I don’t use mineral foundation because I simply loath it!

However, this particular one intrigues me as it has an SPF of 15!

Hmmm…interesting!

I may have to try it as a finishing powder! This is available now from Nordstrom.

Wanting this?

Loving the idea MAC is getting into minerals?

Tell the Muse!

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I went to Woodbury with my very best friends Jen, Jamie, and Jai on Saturday. That sounds like some kind of 50′s band doesn’t it? Bloody hell all those J’s! I feel left out as my name begins with the letter “I” sheesh! Note to self change your name so it begins with a “J”.

Anyway!

If you’re in the New York area (my stat reader tells me some of you are) you might want to head over and nab a few deals here and there.

The Cosmetics Company Outlet is hauling major MAC and you can score some serious bargains right now.

Here’s the lowdown of what I seen there:

Lovestone Mineralized Eyeshadow-I believe this was $10 bucks. I already have it but my friend Jai got it and I think he paid $11 USD.

Almost all of the Christmas Collection from this year are available at the moment including piggie vial sets, palettes, etc….

Prices:

Lip Bag Sets $22.50 USD
Pigment Vial Sets and Lipgloss Sets $20.75 USD
Palettes $23.75 USD

Quite a few other MAC bits and bobs as well. I was mostly into the Christmas Collection thought as it was great I could grab some of what I missed during the holidays!

Major Bobbi Brown is happening as well. They had a really uber cute 8 or 10 piece mini brush set with pouch for $60 which I really wanted but I was trying to practice some sort of willpower.

Tons of Bobbi Palettes from last season such as the bridal ones for $33 USD! They had Shimmerbricks as well and a trio of glosses for $26.75 USD!

L’occitane also had quite a few bits and bobs around. I nailed a awesome two piece kit for $42 USD which included a 3.4oz Mint Green Tea Perfume and 8.4oz Body Gel!

I also picked up a 3.4oz Verbena Eau de Toilette for $35 which came with a two free bottles of shower cream in Verbena and a Verbena soap! I was running low on this anyway so it was a nice deal!

Various clothes, accessories, and shoe steals and deals as well since most of the outlets are flooding in with Fall/Winter Collections which means big time deals to be had! The Factory Shoe Outlet had a ton of great Chinese Laundry purses which were considerably marked down from the normal $95-$145 price tag. Fendi had some killer bags as well at lovely prices. Yankee Candle has a slew of tart warmers in Spring Designs if you’re interested.

Lancome had Bi-Facil for $20 USD which was a steal as it’s normally $26. They also had some killer Flowerbomb box sets. The box set I purchased from Nordies a few months ago for $175 USD is $86.75 USD. It includes a 3.4oz Eau de Parfum, a mini Eau de Parfum (unsure of size), and a 8.4oz body lotion. That’s highway robbery! They had other various kits as well ranging from $76 USD at the lowest and $87 USD at the highest. If you adore Flowerbomb as much as I do you’ll really wanna haul ass over to the Lancome Factory Store to nab some of this before it’s gone. I actually ended up purchasing three of the $86.75 kits to use as gifts when I go to England this year for some mates. One of closest friends lives in London and she’ll absolutely freak when she finds out what I paid for this. She’s one for entitling Flowerbomb her “signature” scent. Seriously for the price you can’t go wrong. Random I know but if you’re curious what Flowerbomb smells like the best way I can describe it is cotton candy.

They had the normal range of Lancome bits plus they had some Shu shadows, blushes, and lip rouges that were pretty much free well not really but the price is almost free to my eyes and ears. The shadow selection wasn’t vast but the price was right at 3 for $15 USD. Sadly I had ever color they were offering at the price The rouge unlimited were the old packaging style so they aren’t exactly fresh however the price was right as well at $4 USD each.

Practically all the shoe/sneaker outlets have the buy one get one 50% off sale. Nike, Puma, Sketchers, Factory Brand Shoes, Etc….

Two places that deserve a mention on restock are Kate Spade and Jimmy Choo. I can normally never find much of anything in either outlet but I ALWAYS seem to get some killer deals around the beginning of Spring when the stock rotates. I hauled 1 Kate Spade Purse and 2 pairs of Jimmy Choos at some seriously discounted prices.

So…

The moral of my story is if you’re in the New Year area and want to score a bitchin’ deal or two or three hit up Woodbury soon!

Cheers!

PS I didn’t take pics of all my haul but I did include some of the cosmetics I purchased After all this is a blog about makeup so it’s worth snapping a few pics to put in here right?

Enjoy!

Note: For my beautiful readers abroad in any other countries a brief explanation for you about what exactly Woodbury is. Woodbury Commons is an outlet shopping mall which basically translates as a graveyard of such for older collections of items. The outdoor mall consists of a zillion different shops each housing one or several particular brands. As Seasons rotate and upscale shops need to rid themselves of older style selections those selections get sent to outlet shops for resell at considerably discounted prices. Woodbury happens to be one of many outlet style shopping centers.

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Remember last week when I purchased a few of the Rimmel Spring Eyeliners? At the time I also purchased something called Lip Bloomer from Rimmel which is also part of one of their two Spring Collections.

Let me start off by saying I sincerely love lipstains with a passion. I stain my lips everyday! I stain my lips before lipstick, before gloss, etc….always without fail!

I do this because it makes my glosses pop and gives a beautiful, healthy dimension to my lips so when I seen Rimmel’s Lipbloom for $6 bucks I thought this indeed might be a nice little bargain!

I use a variety of different stains most of which are excellent however Lipbloom blows. It blows right out the…anyway….

This particular stain mimics an older release from Too Faced with it’s dual side packaging. Too faced had something similar a few seasons ago and it basically consists of a gloss on one end and a stain on the other. Nifty right? That’s about all it is as the nifty is where it ends and all goes down hill!

The idea of having a gloss on one side and a stain on the other is, for me, the height of simplicity for touch ups. Swipe a bit of stain on, top with gloss, and you’re good to go! I find that combing a stain and a gloss makes my lips really look amazingly sexy, healthy, and beautiful (I’m one of the three at the very least).

Well…I can’t achieve or create any look with Lip Bloomer. The stain slides right off my lips as soon as I attempt to apply it. Swipe it on and it drips right off. Pigmentation is zero. It’s like taking the juice from a watermelon or something and swiping it on your lips. Just like water with a bit of color that doesn’t stay put at all.

Sigh.

The gloss? You’d think maybe the gloss would redeem the fact that one side of the product sucks but no such luck the gloss is just as bad which equals out to a crap product all the way around. The gloss isn’t really sticky or tacky which is a plus but it’s also not even glossy in texture? It feels like…nothing? I mean it feels like you’re not even applying anything onto your lips. No shine, no glossy feel, nada, nothing, zip, zero.

Basically I’ve wasted $6 bucks on a product that does nothing. Yay me I won the drugstore lottery and now have a useless gloss and stain duo that does nothing w00t!

This, my dear dear girls, is why I avoid US drugstore brands!

Rimmel Lip Bloom……………

Total loser.

Boo!

Tried it?

Loving or Hating it?

Tell the Muse!

Read my review on Rimmel’s Spring Eyeliners by clicking here!

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I can’t believe it’s Easter this Sunday!

Didn’t that go fast?

I don’t know if I entirely like that Daylight Savings began 2 years earlier then it did last year and Easter is here 12 months in advance.

I’m kidding.

But seriously I kinda like the Winter and I’m somewhat sad to see it go so quickly! In all seriousness does the fact that Daylight Savings coming early REALLY help you to be more “green”?

I’m still switching lights on left and right so all this extra daylight is definately not saving me money on my electric bill (or helping me conserve much energy for that matter). Bad Muse Bad!

Either way…..this post isn’t about conserving energy but more about wishing you a very Happy Easter Sunday! I hope you’re spending it with those near and dear to you be it friends or family!

I’m not a very religious person but my parents are and I try to be as “religious” as I can be for them (bloody hell I went to an all girl’s Catholic School!) but for me it’s all about the chocolate and the Easter Bunny. The tooth fairy is a gimmick, Santa was created by department stores to sell toys but the Easter Bunny is real! What’s not real about a big, fat, fluffy bunny who hops around giving chocolate and maybe a colored boiled egg or two? That’s some serious stuff right there!

Wishes for a beautiful Easter be it about the chocolate, the resurrection of Christ, or both! Enjoy, be happy and healthy, and above all be thankful you’re here, right now, to enjoy it all!

Spring is upon us! A special time for rebirth what’s not to love about that?

Happy Easter from your bunny loving Muse!

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I got something cool to show you!

Behold Pop Rose Belle Blush Palette (I’m getting pretty good with these close up shots aren’t I? I’m rockin’ the new Canon!):

I have tons of eye palettes. Like seriously alot, more then two. But I don’t have any blush palettes and in all honesty when I think about it how many companies even make blush palettes!?

Which leads me into my review on Pop’s Rose Belle Blush Palette! This thing has freaking eight shades to choose from! How excited am I? I bet you’re excited too…don’t lie…I know you are!

Pop makes some uber cute cosmetics a few of which grace my collection and I’m happy to have gotten a chance to try out this new blush kit from them! The palette comes in three shade selections, each of which holds 8 shades of blusher, highlighters, or bronzers. The one I got is Rose Belle but they also have two others which are Bronze Belle and Glow Belle. Bronze Belle comes with a selection of 8 Bronzer while Glow Belle comes with a variety of highlighting shades. In my humblest I like the idea of having eight shades of blush in one palette so I think Rose Belle is definately the nicest in the selection of kits offered.

Bronze Belle

Glow Belle

Each one is $28 USD which breaks down to about $3.50 per a blush, another words it’s a total steal. The colors are silky, smooth, pigmented, and easy to blend. Use one or use several to create different shades to suit your skin tone or use one to highlight and one to contour. You can seriously get hundreds of looks from one palette as it’s so versatile!

The shades included with Rose Belle are Pale Pink, Baby Pink, Mauve, Copper-Rose, Fresh Rose, Hot Pink, Nude-Rose Glow, and Bronze-Rose.

The colors range from light shades to darker bronzer shades. All the colors are pretty much flattering for any skin tone in my opinion and if for some odd reason you can’t find a suitable color among the eight you can get all Doctor Frankenstein and start combing colors like a mad scientist to concoct a shade that’s uniquely you! Isn’t that fun now?

The palette is pretty small and perfect for travel. Easier then toting around a few MAC blushes in my opinion! Slip this into your traincase and you have eight colors at your fingertips!

Overall, definately a sweet palette for the price and worth taking a look at!

This one gets a thumbs up and Muse Approved seal of approval for purchase!

Have this?

Want it?

Love it?

Adore Pop?

Tell the Muse!

Click here to enjoy Musings about the Pop Neon Lid Palette!

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