Today we celebrate the Bard and we donate and help him to thrive and be remembered (if you want that is). We also support small businesses around here which is why I’ll direct you to my favorite little place on the Interwebz. A place where fine potions are made to make you smell pretty. A place that cares about what is happening in our world. A place fondly known to me as the Lab. I am no affiliated with the Lab, I am just a fan of their fragrances, their art and I like to support their causes because they align with my own views. I realize my opinion of the organizations that Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs aren’t something everyone agrees with. A few years ago when I supported their fragrances for Transgender Rights in the Military I did lose a few readers because that view was not something that everyone agreed with but I happen to an an ally and I’m always fighting the good fight. As I said, my views do align with the ones of the lab. I’d recommend you past this post by if you aren’t a supporter of BPAL and the organizations they support because it’s not my intention to insult, hurt, or make anyone angry because I support a cause you might not. I hate having to disclose these things like this but I just though I’d add it in here!

“How Far that Little Candle Throws His Beams! So Shines a Good Deed in a Weary World”-William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice.

Remember, the smallest good deed creates the biggest ripples in our world!

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has created two fragrances to support ISCLA�s interactive, online adaptation of Macbeth which will be an experiential event that invites you into a world where nothing is but what is not, in which five mysterious maps guide your journey through a theatrical landscape.

The Lab created two blends that will enhance the viewer�s experience and forging a connection between personal memory and the moments captured on-screen during the adaptation of Macbeth tha will debut for Fall 2021.. (and of course, be worn as personal fragrances!). The details on incorporating these scents into experience will be released soon but for now both are available on Black Alchemy Phoenix Lab’s website.

The most important part of the launch is that the proceeds from these scents benefits Independent Shakespeare Co. which is company responsible for the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival located in LA. My boyfriend and I have supported ISCLA for a long time and should you wish to support them you can do so on their website or you can purchase these scents. Or not at all! It’s entirely up to you 🙂 I’m not pushing anyone to donate anything! I just happen to be a very big fan of fragrance, Shakespeare, and obviously the Lab (as I know some of you are as well).

The two fragrances are:

Tis Strange Perfume Oil

�Macbeth ruled during a time when the old gods were not yet forgotten. Almost no one could read and their memories and stories reached back into the deepest shadows.

When the imagination stretches backwards as well as forwards it creates a sort of slide, or ladder. Like the children�s game! Time is much thicker. There is a substance about it that allows beings to gain purchase.�

Scent Notes: Both bog and castle, moor and battlefield, chivalry and nightmare: scarred leather armor, moss-covered stone, shadows upon shadows, and billows of black incense.

The Last Syllable Perfume Oil

INT.- THE STUDY � NIGHT.
The artist is at work at her desk. In front of her is a wall,
pinned with papers, photos, maps, lists. To her left is a
window. It is dark.

In front of her, her desk is piled high, with an assemblage
of papers, odd pieces of string, a mirror, a doll. A singed
straw figure. A 1970�s tape recorder. A destroyed cassette
tape. And more.

The artist picks up a magnifying glass from the pile. She
leans to examine the objects in detail.

We shift to a close up that moves through the objects, and
everything feels new under such examination. It is as though
we are in the landscape of her imagination.

Scent Notes: Photos pinned to cool plaster walls, discarded papers, a web of strings, a mirror, a doll, singed straw, scattered books, and unfurled magnetic tape.

Both fragrances are available now at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Where to buy

The Lab

13 Comments

Hurry hurry hurry the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Secrets Mystery Box is back! I’ve always loved these as they are such a great deal. This one contains 7 full size items two of which have been revealed! You’ll get Walk of No Shame Eyeshadow Palette plus a full-size Magic Cream as well as five other full-size items for $164 with free shipping! They offer free returns as well from my understanding so if you hate it you can always ship it back!

If you can’t see the box log into your account or create one! Also, the Summer sale is down to 40% off now!
Enjoy!

Where to buy

Charlotte Tilbury

2 Comments

Wakey, wakey friends! It’s Friday! You’ve worked hard this week and now you can play hard this weekend. You earned it! I hope you had a productive week that wasn’t too stressful! If it was, well, there’s always retail therapy with plenty of new items at Ulta help to de-stress your beauty loving heart.

Here’s all the newest beauty you might just need from Ulta at the moment!

1. Lano Bronze Gold 101 Ointment Balm & Tint $16.95
I LIVE for anything Lano! Their new bronze gold balm will most definitely be coming home with me especially since it appears to be the most pigmented balm they’ve made to date. It’s a rich, deep and natural golden huge that can be applied on your lips or even on your face for a pretty, dewy glow!

2. Too Faced Gives Back Cruelty Free Sheer Love Lipstick $22
I purchased Too Faced’s Sheer Love Lipstick when it first launched and I regret nothing. It’s such a pretty, MLBB (my lips but better) pink that has such a natural flattering finish!

3. Benefit Pucker Up & Peace Out! Mini Moisturizing Lip Balm Set $21
YASSSS! I’m loving these California Kissin’ ColorBalms from Benefit and this set has three mini ones in Ruby, Berry, and Spiced Red!

4. Elaluz by Camila Coelho Lip and Cheek Stain $18
I totally want this pretty flushing red tint that you can use on lips and cheeks! I’m a sucker for a good cheek stain and this one looks fab with it’s injection of coconut water!

5. Ariana Grande God Is A Woman Eau de Parfum
Ariana Grande has proven to me she gives good scents which makes Good Is A Woman and insta-buy for me! I got it the day it launched but haven’t had time to try it yet but I expect nothing short of awesome!

6. Bliss Youth Got This Prevent-4 + Pure Retinol Deep Hydration Moisturizer $27
Bliss has been getting more and more serious about skincare lately and some of their launches have been pretty darn great. Their latest moisturizer contains pure retinol to help smooth skin and treat finer lines while hydrating. A mix of squalane, peptides, retinol, and amino acids will get skin looking flawless!

7. Wet n Wild Saved by the Bell Full Collection $69
Saved by the Bell fan? You must be flipping out over the new makeup collection Wet n Wild launched. If you need a nostalgic moment this set contains the entire collection!

8. Truly Unicorn Fruit Eau de Parfum $48
Sometimes you just gotta buy the unicorn perfume! This fruity scent contains notes of acai berries, matcha, and rose!

9. Pacifica Island Vanilla Body Wash $10
I’m a huge fan of the Island Vanilla hair and body mist and I’m happy to see the scent being extended to more items! It’s such a yummy tropical vanilla blend you should snag if you enjoy vanilla fragrances!

10. Ulta Toasted Fireside Scented Soy Blend Candle $10
Ulta released their Fall 2021 Candles and I’m all over Toasted Fireside with it’s yummy blend of Ebony Woods, Aged Bourbon, Vanilla Musk and Pink Peppercorn!

11. Kopari Beauty Peptide Glow Hydrating Face Moisturizer (On sale for $24)
I’m always up for a peptide enriched moisturizer and Kopari’s newest has peptides,Hyaluronic Acid and Coconut Water to smooth, hydrate, plump up, and brighten your skin!

12 Smashbox Be Legendary Anti-Hero Lipstick $24
An entire range of lipstick dedicated to our favorite female anti heros? Yes please! Give me Harley’s shade please!

13. Smashbox Always On Cream Shadow Squad $22
And shadows to?? Sign me up!

14. Urban Decay Vice Plumping Shine Lip Balm $20
Glossy lip balms? Yes, please! These new hydrating, vegan glossy balm contain hyaluronic acid to plump and smooth lips with a a beautiful shine and color!

Any new goodies you hauled from Ulta recently?

Tell me about ’em!

Where to buy

Ulta

Add a Comment

I’m a foodie! I love trying new things but ironically I’m also a picky eater. But when it comes to food I’m always brave enough to go that extra mile and eat something even if it sounds incredibly gross because like people, you don’t know what you’re going to get until you give it (them) a try.

The newest trend on Tiktok is eating bugs. Yeah, bugs. You can buy packs of edible bugs on Amazon and certain retailers even sell tarantula. You know that old saying right? Do it for the ‘gram! Well, that’s obsolete now! We do it for the views on Tiktok now I guess.

I ate tarantula once at a Cambodia restaurant and it was……I dunno what it was. I’m terrified (TERRIFIED) of spiders but yeah, I went there. It tastes like crab sort of. Weird, crispy, slightly chewy, ever so hairy crab. It’s such a damn shame that day pre-dates Tiktok otherwise I’d be famous for eating one.

Moral of the story is you should be brave enough to try new things. I’ve been pressing myself lately and trying to be more brave about things I do. Recently I made a Tiktok and lately I post a lot more selfies with my hair down but you know I love having it in a severe bun with a headband in place. I know it sounds stupid and not terribly brave because doing stuff like posting selfies or making a Tiktok aren’t major but they are for me because I HATE looking at myself. I cringe when I see photos or videos of myself or even when I hear my own voice. I’ve been posting pics for years on Musings of a Muse and every single time I do I end up feeling incredibly anxious about putting my face out there.

I also decided to jog, yes, I said jog. I do a two mile power walk every single day at stupid o’clock in the morning. My boyfriend happens to be Mr Universe and he runs like 1000000000000000000000000 miles every day including Sunday. The dog thinks this is the best thing ever because as a special treat her Daddy takes her with him once and a while. Half way into the run she wants him to carry her which results in a very cute scene of him running up our long driveway holding a little tiny dog as I watch from the window and take pictures of it! She misses him horribly at the moment and instead of waking up right away when I do in the morning she just turns over and goes back to bed because aside from her regular walk she knows I’m so not carrying her with me on a two mile power walk. Sorry girl, I love you so damn much but I can’t carry you around on a walk!.

I, however, do not run nor jog. I basic bitch Peloton like a mommy blogger without kids, get my yoga in, and I power walk. My best friend Sam told me once, you can jog, you can do it. That was months ago and to this day her words ring in my ear. She happened to be right. I can do it. This week I’ve run for about a quarter of my normal power walk. I can’t do a two mile run but who knows maybe one day I’ll be able to do it. But I’m pretty freaking proud of myself that I managed what I did. Power walking is one thing but running is an entirely different thing! I’m really proud of myself for finally being brave enough to try it. Yay freaking me.

So, yeah, to some of you reading this you may think what I’ve done isn’t so brave. That’s ok! I can totally see it as not being brave but it is brave to me and I feel some sense of pride I was able to do these things.

If you’re anything like me and the smaller things in life trouble you or make you a bit scared I urge you to be brave and do them.

Wear the red lipstick that you think might make you look like a clown, say yes to the girl or guy that asked you out but you’ve been to scared to open yourself up to, do a Tiktok, do simple things like showering, going to the grocery store, or ticking off some of the items on your to do list.

Simple things in life come easy to some of us and not as much to others. It takes a lot of bravery to do even the simplest of things. And if you’re doing them, I’m proud of you like you wouldn’t believe!

20 Comments

Michel Germain Sugarful Dream Perfume is a new formulation of the original Sugarful Fragrance with delicious fruity elements of blueberry and strawberry mixed with French Vanilla. To me it sounds like an acid trip….!

Ha! All the Sugarful fragrances do for some reason. I’m legit serious. When I mist Sugarful on I get this weird, hazy migraine! I love me some sweet perfumes but this is definitely a trippy juvenile fever dream!

Yeah, Michel Germain is over there sitting behind his screen with his mouth dropped open thinking to himself, “She did not just say that!” I’m sorry! The box with the kaleidoscope gives me John Lennon, “It’s not an acid song” vibes when talking about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. We know it’s not but we can’t help but thinking someone was on a good trip after writing about being on a boat in a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies with a girl with kaleidoscope eyes and somebody calls you but you’re answering really slowly….Groovy.

In my defense, I also think Willy Wonky’s Chocolate Factory is bogus and it was all an acid trip as well. Grandpa’s still laid up in bed and he never actually went anywhere near the Chocolate Factory. It’s all in his head. There’s something to dwell on today! I hope I didn’t ruin your childhood!

I’m obviously kidding and like all gourmand lovers like myself will go gaga over Sugarful Dream since the notes are so damn delicious. We start off with blueberry, strawberry and grapefruit here with a nice middle development of passionflower, jasmine, and lavender followed by a dry down of delicious French Vanilla, Musk and Golden Amber. It sounds a bit more complex than the previous two Sugarful launches and could be a darker gourmand thanks to the amber.

But we’ll have to wait and see what I think after I finish testing it out.

Have you smelled Michel Germain Sugarful Dream yet?

Is it yummy?

Michel Germain Sugarful Dream is available now.

Where to buy

Michel Germain

14 Comments