Musings of a Muse

Your Muse spends alot of time searching around for new and exciting make-up bits for you and she’s found something quite sweet this time!

The Duwop Pretty Mystic Palette as seen on Beauty.com:

This cute palette includes three eyeshadows, three lipcreams, a luminizer, and a blush!

DuWop makes some pretty high quality items and this little palette looks darling! I’m particularly loving the shades of eyeshadow in this compact!

The palette is only available from Beauty.com and exclusive to them!

It’s $32 a bit steep but still quite a nice array of goodies for the price!

I sure do wish it was around when the 20% Friends and Family Discount at Beauty.com was going on!

Want it?

Today I received my Bare Minerals bareGold Luxury Color Collection in the mail and I must say I’m pretty impressed! You can view my previous blog about this collection by clicking here.

The collection wow’ed me a bit more than the Bare Esentuals Pure Platinum Collection (Bare Minerals is the same company as Bare Esentuals if you were wondering). You can see my impression of the Pure Platinum Collection by clicking here.

For starters the collection comes in a far better box than the Platinum Collection. The box is highly reusable and perfect just to keep the entire collection together. Plus it has an awesome flip up mirror which is ideal for application. Don’t get me wrong the Platinum Collection had quite a nice box as well but this is just quite a deal better!

In my opinion the bareGold Collection is much more wearable for the Autumn than it will be for the winter and holiday season as the colors lean more towards browns and golds while the Pure Platinum Collection contains cooler colors that are better suited for the colder weather and the upcoming holiday season!

Like the Pure Platinum Collection the bareGold Collection comes with three brushes however the similarities end with the Full Flawless Face Brush. The other two brushes are completely different. Where as the Pure Platinum Collection comes with a crease brush and a shadow brush the bareGold Collection comes with a liner blending brush and an eye shaping brush!

I’m somewhat thankful that these came with different brushes as having duplicates is somewhat pointless!

The brushes are pretty ok quality so far that I see and no shedding as of yet! The liner blending brush is a bit pointless and I’d have prefered some sort of eyeshadow brush but I’ll find a use for it I’m sure. My favorite in the lot of three brushes would be the eye shaping brush. It’s pretty soft and it has a nice curve to it so I can fit it precisely into the crease of my eye quite nicely. It’ll serve well as a multitasking brush for my lid and crease area.

From Bottom to Top: Flawless Face Brush, Eye Shaping Brush and Heavenly Liner Blending Brush

The collection comes with a Mineral Veil in full size which was was missing from both the Classic Rock and Pure Platinum Collections. Mineral Veil is actually one product I do approve of in the BE line of foundations products so getting a full size Veil with this set is such a nice extra!

My favorite item in the set is most definately the Gold Gossamer powder. It’s shimmery and gorgeous and just perfect to use just about anywhere you want a bit of gold sparkle! Eyes, Face, Body, wherever you desire a bit of glittery gold you can apply this lovely Gossamer! This is a tiny bit more wearable than the Platinum Gossamer powder because it’s such a universal color that’ll work well with most all skin types!

Gold Gossamer

The glimmer this set comes with is called Golden Earth and is quite a gorgeous brown shade with golden sparkle! Upon viewing some of these colors you’ll see why I believe they are better suited for the Autumn than the Winter!

Golden Earth Glimmer

Gilded Taupe glimpse is is a beige color with specks of gold and quite lovely. I’ve noticed that the gold infused in all these colors is much more prominent than the crushed diamond in the Platinum Collection!

Gilded Taupe

Last but most definately not least in the shadow department is the Gold Mine Liner Shadow. This can be used a liner or an eyeshadow and it’s my favorite of the several eye products in this collection! It’s a deep mineral brown color with tons of gold! I’m so loving this and I’m envisioning several looks I can do with it!

Gold Miner Liner Shadow

The blush in this set I find much more flattering than Posh Blush which was included with the Platinum Collection! This blush is called Riches and it’s a shimmering rosy peach with quite a nice dose of gold!

Riches Blush

Finally another win for me is the lipcolor in this collection! The Platinum Collection included a muddy rose color that I’m not entirely in love with where as this collection included a brownish peach color with a bit of gold!

I’m most definately favoring this set over the Pure Platinum Collection plus it was cheaper!!!! The only thing missing from this set was a mascara and beautifully luminous lashes duo but the good news is I already have gold beautifully luminous lashes so I’m covered

As with most BE collection and eye sets this comes with great instructions for application! Anything that makes makeup easy is always a plus for me! It’s so nice to open a package and have some really helpful hints, tips, and general step by steps for applying what where and how! Sometimes colors can stump us all and it’s difficult to firgure out just where something should be on our eye area and BE always seems to simplify that stressful part of application!

This set would make an amazing gift and like I said the price is just too sweet to pass up!

I’m eager to get my Classic Rock Collection now and see how it is and make my final decision about which could be my favorite!

Do see my original post about this collection to nab it for yourself at a very nice price! Click!

Want it?
Love it?
Hate it?

Tell your Muse!

Yay! I got my Lavshuca Holiday Palettes today! These actually arrived I think Friday or Saturday but I was unable to collect them until today from the post office

They are now in my greedy, sweaty little hands and I couldn’t be more pleased!

Lavshuca Winter Make Palette in 01


Lavshuca Winter Make Palette in 02

The palettes came in the cutest little gift box and if you happen to have a Japanese cosmetic lover in your life these would be the perfect gift!

They come packaged in separate parts. One part is the empty compact and the second part is your lipgloss, eyeshadow, and applicators. I assume that they package the parts separately for beautiful display reasons, it also keeps things nice and tidy during shipping, and finally it’s just good, old plain fun to put it all together into the compact yourself!

The compact isn’t a hard shell it’s a durable cardboard which may sound worrying because you might be thinking this means it’s on the cheap and shoddy side. Fear not! The cardboard is quite sturdy and not cheap in the least. It’s covered in either a pink or gold foiling depending which color you end up purchasing with the lovely Lavshuca emblem on top.

Inside there are two separate spots for the sponge eyeshadow applicator and lipbrush on either side with the eyeshadow and gloss smack in the middle. The Lavshuca emblem again graces the inside top of the palette.

I haven’t yet tried any of the colors but from what I can see the strip of eyeshadows are quite shimmery and gorgeous and I’m hoping it isn’t a spray of glitter but a sparkle straight to the core. You’ll also receive a sparkling lipgloss and a matte lipcream.

The size of the shadow strip is a tiny bit disappointing because it’s really NOT a whole lot of product but if you generally collect tons of palettes and shadows you won’t mind too much because chances are you won’t go through this very quickly! However, if you don’t own a ton of different shadows and you’ll be using this daily chances are you’ll get through it very quickly as it’s not a whole lot of product!

I have to say that at the moment I find them both very pretty but I do favor the 02 palette better than the 01.

02 eyeshadows consist of a white shimmering gold color, a shimmering yellow gold, and a shimmering brown with gold specks. The gloss is a sparkling golden brown color while the lipcream is a orange brown. Layering the gloss and lipcream will surely make a striking combo!

01 is just as pretty and consists of a shimmering white with, it appears, to me, pink, a shimmering pink shade, and a darker purple. The gloss is a sparkling pinkish purple affair while the lipcream is rosebud pink.

Overall, I’d say they are most definately worth a pick up! The Lavshuca Winter Make Palettes are Muse Approved for purchase!

Do visit PJ to see A Touch of Blusher’s impression on these palettes you can also visit with RF at Make Up & Stuff and see some more about the Lavshuca’s Holiday Palettes!

Love ‘em?
Have ‘em?

Tell me!

MAC’s newest color story, Stylistics, is releasing November 29th. Stylistics is similar to last year’s Couture collection in quality, design, and price.

My Stylistics Invitation

The collection is a much more posh and upscale collection in comparison to what MAC normally releases and consists of several gorgeous compacts, lipshades, brushes, and quite a few other goodies!

I have to say that this collection is a bit more appealing to me than last year’s Couture collection in design. Couture was elegant and classy but Stylistics’s compact design is quite beautiful to my eye. You can see some of my Couture collection by clicking here.

The good news is it’s pretty affordable however the bad news is that this isn’t something you can tote around in your purse for touch ups. It’s a “made for vanity” in my opinion and that’s awesome for display purposes but pretty impractical for tucking into your purse. However, if you’re super careful I’m sure you’ll do just fine in carrying it along with you on special nights! Won’t you be the envy of every lady in the powder room when you’re touching up with a gorgeous pearl encrusted compact!

Yum!

Personally I think the prices are outstandingly good for high quality makeup plus the glam of a gorgeous design on the packaging!

I got my invitation to reserve the collection today and I’ll share the link with you! Click here to reserve any or all of this beautiful collection!

The collection consists of the following:

Lipsticks $22USD Each

• In Vogue
• Soft Pout
• Stylistic
• The Scene

Lipglass $20USD Each

• Conversational
• Witty
• Tastemaker
• Hyper Chic

Sheersparkle Pressed Powder Compacts $22USD Each

• Solitaire
• Warm Ice
• Pave
• Fashionette

Sheer Mystery Powder $45USD Each (Comes with Refill)

• Model Chic
• Lighthearted
• Dark Secret

Air of Style Perfume $60USD
Stylistic Clutch $75USD
129 Special Edition Powder Brush $42USD
224 Special Edition Eyeshadow Brush $32USD
316 Special Edition Lip Brush $22USD

For me a majority of the collection is appealing but some of the prices on the brushes, clutch, and perfume are a bit much!

However, the cosmetic side has some pretty nice prices and not bad overall! I’m happy to see the Sheer Mystery Powder is back as I didn’t get last year’s version during Couture’s run! I’m also highly interested in the Sparkle Powders and I’m hoping they aren’t cream like last year’s highlighters!

All in all I’d say there are some definite hits for me in this collection!

Want anything from this story?
Tell the Muse!

You may remember Basin from a previous post I did a few months ago.

The Basin website has been updated with some Christmas goodies and my little eye did spy some rather cute Christmas soaps for gift giving (and since I did Lush’s Christmas post yesterday I thought maybe Basin deserved a little mention as well!).

Candy Cane Soap

Peppermint, Spearmint, Orange, Tangerine, Lily, Jasmine, Oh MY! This is not like any Candy Cane the Muse has seen before! Could be quite an interesting blend!

Christmas Stockings

Gingerbread House

Mmmm just the warm scent of gingerbread!

Holiday

An array of Holiday Scents to tempt your sense of smell within your shower!

Rudy

Santa Duck

Snowy

Each Basin Soap is cut to order in store or available in 100g size for $4.95 each on the website! the Muse thinks they make a very cute stocking stuffer!

Tis the Season for Egg Nog

If you’re so inclined you can drink it as well as smell like it thanks to Demeter!

Korres New Cherry Full Color Gloss sure does look luscious!

The array of colors sure does tempt me!

This is most definately something I want to try!

Of Beauty, MAC’s latest Color Story, is up and available for your purchasing pleasure.

Loose Beauty Powder

• Dancing Light
• Drizzlegold
• Natural Flare
• Sunspill
• Tenderdusk
• Soft Flame

Studio Lights

• Frangipani
• Skin Lure
• Ideal Pink
• Sand
• Smoothspice

Brushes

• #183 Flat Buffer Brush
• #188 Small Duo Fiber
• #222 Tapered Blending Brush

You can see my review of the Beauty Powders by clicking here.

The Muse definately wants to pick up a few more Beauty Powders and possibly the flat buffer brush!

What do you want?

Sephora has updated it’s webpage with the Sephora Holiday Catalog Looks and How-To’s!

You can click here to see the details on each look, how it was done, and what was used!

You can see my take on the “Princess” look by clicking here.

I’m really wanting to try this look next!

Good Luck recreating some of these! And if you’re successful do e-mail them to the Muse and she’ll feature them as a Guest FOTD!

A big thanks to Ann for this!

Stila is having a Virtual Warehouse Sale with discounted cosmetics from 50%-75% Off! It appears this is a private sale but after Ann told me about it I did a little snooping around and located the link for you!

Click here to take part in the sale!

Quite a few goodies to be had but hurry things are selling out fast!

I’m really anal about brushing my teeth.

I mean super anal.

I mean so anal that I am doing it three or four times a day.

I think when I was young my mum had somehow instilled in me the virtues of clean, sparkling teeth and it’s stuck with me every since.

Thanks mum!

In all seriousness I do have a thing for brushing my teeth quite a bit and the irony of it is I hate actually smiling with my teeth! I normally keep my mouth close lipped whenever I smile!

But that doesn’t prevent me from wanting a Hollywood sparkling white smile that might have Colgate knocking on my door asking might I appear in their next TV commercial….

Sorry…I lost track of the conversation for a second there.

Onward….

Your teeth.

Allow the Muse to introduce you to a very cute set of toothpastes for quite a cute little price! $20 bucks ($25 if you nab it after the Friends and Family Discount! Wow I should get paid for pimping Sephora so much lately!) gets you 5 mini tubes of GoSMILE toothpaste and a cute little travel toothbrush!

GoSMILE 5 Senses Toothpaste Kit as seen on Sephora

I have this set, my sister stuck in my stocking last year as a bit of a joke (see even my family knows how anal I am about brushing my teeth!) and I must say it’s a darn cute set and makes a great gift for people like me in your life

The set includes toothpastes in Mango Paradise Smile, Aloha Tropical Smile, Lemonade Smile, Ginger Cookie Smile, and Peppermint Candy Smile!

The Muse got one for her dentist last year and her dentist was quite tickled over it to say the least!

The moral of the story is that you don’t have to always have minty fresh breath! Why not have Ginger Cookie scented breath or Lemonade scented breath!!!!!!!

I like a little variety and the little things really get me happy thus this kit most definately gets a smile (a sparkling one) from your Muse!