Visee Spring Collection 2008

As reported by the Muse's gorgeous friend Iris (Click here to visit Iris), Visee's website has been updated with it's new Spring Collection and the Muse is rolling around in fits of excitement at the offerings!

I'm especially in lust with the new mascara! It looks amazing (the Muse has a fetish for Japanese mascara).



The two new Jewel Crush Eye Palettes look similar to colors that have already been released however I'm still wanting them of course! The new colors are E-6 and E-7 however E-6 appears very similar to E-2 and E-7 looks quite the same as E-4. The only real difference is the colors in the new palette seem deeper. Again, this isn't preventing me from buying them but I was a bit disappointed the colors were a bit of a rerun!





The loose shimmer pigment looks very nice and will pair up nicely with any of the palettes or on their own!



Other bits that were released were lipglosses and nail varnish however neither are on my wish list!

At the moment I'm currently wanting all the loose powders, the two new palettes, and the mascara!

How about you?

Iris has done a break down of what Kumi Koda (don't we all wish we looked as glam as her) is wearing in the promo photos! You can click here to read it if you wanting to do your point makeup the same as hers!



Overall, it's a fantastic Spring Collection for Visee! I'm very excited to get this collection!

The Muse Heads to the MacWorld Expo!

Forget that geeky kid that dates Drew Barrymore! The new spokesperson for Apple should be Gackt!

Rawrrrr!

Anyway, your Muse is abandoning you again for a few days! Forgive me? The last time I left, one of my readers, Mandy (whom you must all know by now!) proclaimed that "the kids forgot what I looked like" while I was gone! Sadly, they may just forget again as I'm leaving you all again for a few days (you could have a case against me for divorce here! Although, I'll fight you all to the death as no way am I giving up half my cosmetic collection!).

Don't forget me too much k? *sniff*

I'm on my way to sunny California this time (well maybe not sunny!) to pay homage to Apple. This conference consists of a smaller group of people then what you'd find at CES and we all bow low to our leader Steve Jobs while salivating over any bones Apple throws our way.

Many geeks consider Macworld the poor man's (poor man is used loosely as you have to have major bucks to keep up with Apple's ever revolving technology!) CES but I rather enjoy it! Sadly, many Mac users are forced into the Winblows environment whether we want it or not. I myself run a dual boot with Winblows on one partition, FreeBSD on another, and most importantly, Leopard on my main boot.

If it was up to the Muse the world would run on a distro and we'd happily go about life! But sadly that's just not the case (I may be carrying most of my OS on a thumb drive soon after seeing MS Office released for the MAC! Someone gag me please! This be a marriage most revolting!).

Anyway!

The good news is while I am in San Fran I'll be visiting and staying with my very good friend Alyssi! She'll be joining me on my adventures! I haven't seen her in at least 9 months now so it'll be good to catch up with her!

Items I'm looking forward to:

All of the MacLabs are sold out but lucky enough I have planned ahead and gotten into a fair few!

The 15th, Jobs will be doing his yearly keynote and again, I'm very excited about what he'll be saying!

I have quite a packed schedule for the very few days I'll be there and I hope to get it all done! I'd love to stay longer but sadly work calls me back so I can't be away too long!

I'll miss you all and I'll be back shortly with updates ;)

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder Review

I have a mixed review for the Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder for you! I'm currently having a love/hate relationship with these.

The texture is lovely. They are made up of a very fine shimmering powder that glides on your face near perfectly. If you try these on the back of your hand you get a rather gorgeous shimmering effect but sadly that doesn't apply to your face. Upon applying to your face the shimmer is barely noticeable which is somewhat disappointing. It does however create a rather subtle glow on your face.



The great thing is wearing these on a clean bare face works some kind of magic. I tried it and it gave me a beautiful highlight and it really helped with the shadows and dullness my skin sometimes has.

I haven't yet tried it but these would probably make a great base for your eyeshadow as well or on their own as an eyeshadow and they are truly beautiful shades!



I'm not entirely sure why I'm not completely in love with them as of yet. I think some of it stems from the fact that they appear so much more beautiful and shimmery on the back of my hand but the same effect doesn't apply when I use it on my face! However, I have read it all depends on what brush you use when applying these so hopefully with a little patience I'll find the perfect brush to use!

Overall, they are really pretty powders! Not nearly as good as MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes but not bad either.

At $32 USD per a powder these aren't cheap sadly however they do have the potential to be great! I'm just testing the waters at the moment so I'm caught between loving and hating them!

The packaging is excellent on these in my opinion. It's a hard aluminum case with an easy pop off lid! It's quite simple yet cute!

I can't yet give these a Muse approval for purchase but I am slowly falling in love with them!

Have these?
Love them?

Tell your Muse!

John Barrowman and Bill Baily on Buzzcocks

Off the topics of cosmetics temporarily ;)

If you LOVE John Barrowman and Bill Baily as much as me you'll adore this clip!



That's my new catch phrase! "Talk to the hand because the wrist is pissed" hehe!

I'm not sure what had me laughing more Bill Baily with his "I ain't never gonna be your bitch!" (But he never had a problem being Dylan Moran's bitch now did he?! I crack myself up sometimes!) or John Barrowman completely agreeing with Simon about what a show whore he's been of late (Dancing with Stars, Buzzcocks, Torchwood, Who, The Weakest Link, Need I go on?)!

Total Beauty and Dermstore Steals and Deals

If you haven't had a chance do head over to Total Beauty and check it out! The Muse is a proud member of this fast growing, innovative website! Click!

Total Beauty and Dermstore have teamed up to give each of you 15% off your total order of $75 or more!

Pretty sweet deal ;)

I just did an order at Dermstore for a few bits and used the code!

Happy Shopping!

Visee FOTD

I love the Visee Jewel Crushed Eyes Palettes *happy sigh*! Click here to read more about these palettes!

I can't wait for the new Spring line up! In celebration of the Spring Collection that'll be popping up soon hopefully I decided to do a Visee Face of the Day!

Tada!!!!!!!







What I Used:

Eyes
Visee Jewel Crushed Eyes Palette in E2
Excel Single Eyeshadow in S2
MJ Mascara

Face
Excel Highlighting Blush in G5
Bare Minerals Gold Gossamer

Lips
Too Faced Fat Kiss Gloss in Fat Candy
MAC Lipstick in Casanova

Bath and Body Works Spring Collection 2008 Sneak Peak

I snapped a few pictures of the Bath and Body Works Spring Collection Catalog for you guys! I'm sure some of you have already seen it but my lovely readers in Europe and Asia (sadly Bath and Body Works doesn't extend to your area but you can always have a lovely mate in the US CP for you!) probably haven't so here's a little Sneak Peak at the Spring Collection!

Sadly no mention of any Temptations which really stinks as I do look forward to those (Read about prior Temptation line ups by clicking here and here). I think we might see one new one for Valentine's Day like last year and soon after we'll have a Summer Collection!

Bath and Body Works Spring Collection 2008


These look fabulous! It's Orange, Lime, And Raspberry Mentha Body Washes! Mmmm a minty fruity twist! I'm slightly, slightly wary of these as the regular Mentha Body Wash has a strange underlay scent that's somewhat medicine like so I'm scared these might have that same type of bitterness! However, I am very curious about them! This includes matching glosses as well!

Available May 12th:
Body Washes $12 USD Each
Lipglosses $7.50 USD Each



Japanese Cherry Blossom is revamped with a new scent entitled Blushing Cherry Blossom. I'm not a big fan of the Japanese Cherry Blossom as it's a bit too floral for me however they promise this will be blended with crisp citrus which sounds very intriguing!

Available April 21st:
Blushing Japanese Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette $19 USD
Blushing Japanese Cherry Blossom Lotion $10 USD



The new Far East Escape Collection sounds lovely. The description on this says the ingredients include sake, rice bran oil, and green tea extract.

Available January 28th:

For Heaven's Sake Oil to Cream Cleanser $15 USD
Rice to the Rescue Body Scrub $17.50 USD
Clean Karma Body Wash $13.50 USD
Mystic Silk Body Lotion $15 USD
Self Medicating Body Butter $15 USD



The signature collection also includes a new scent called Enchanted Orchid this too sounds lovely. I'm not big on floral but the scent of orchids is something I do like! This collection also includes a new product called Satin Veil!

Available March 3rd:

Enchanted Orchid Shower Gel $10 USD
Enchanted Orchid Body Butter $14 USD
Enchanted Orchid Satin Veil $14.50 USD
Enchanted Orchid Eau de Toilette $19 USD

Jill Stuart Spring Collection 2008: Seductive Eyes

Jill Stuart's website has been updated a few weeks ago with the Spring Collection. I just got around to looking through the site today and I must say the Seductive Eye Palettes aren't thrilling me over much. Of course my inner cosmetic demon is screaming at me to get them.



Seductive Eye Palette Colors


I was happy to see the model wearing one of the palettes as normally the models appear to be very natural in the eye area but they have really went all out with the current model and did her eyes up rather nicely using one of the palettes.

Along with the four new palettes they released a new Cheeky Blush color as well plus the perfume that I reviewed yesterday (Click here to see Jill Stuart's Cheeky Blush Line and Click here to read my review on the perfume!).

Overall, it's a very elegant, beautiful collection as always but I can't help but be a little disappointed.

How about you?

Want it?

Skipping?

Tell the Muse!

Sana Excel Spring Power 3D Curler Limited Edition Glitter Pink Version Review

I got myself a Shu curler this past Summer and every since after I haven't gone back to another curler (read about the first time I became smitten with the Shu curler by clicking here!).

I've been through many curlers and none have worked as well as my Shu! But the Excel Spring Power Curler did tempt me with it's allure of Limited Edition Pink Glitteryiness (is that even a word?).

When I seen it on the Sana website with the Excel Christmas Collection I knew I had to have it. It was cute, it was compact, and it had something important called "Spring Power". My god it sure did sound amazing! I love Excel cosmetics so anything else this great brand puts out must be fantastic right? Wrong.



Where as the Shu is long, slick, and easy to handle the Excel is more compact which actually isn't a problem at all. It fits very comfortably in my hand and my fingers slip right in, nice and snug in the handle. The size as far as I can see isn't a problem at all and I was quite excited about how very tiny it was and how great it fit into my hand. This was surely a sign of wonderful things to come, sadly not! Now the beauty of the Shu curler is it fits the contour of my eye perfectly without pinching, tugging, or just general ouch! The Excel, to my horror, pinches like a lobster (I think I lost a few eyelashes somewhere along the way!!!!). Ow! It doesn't fit well along the contour of my eye and it almost seems as if it isn't catching all my lashes plus I have to sort of sit and maneuver it around my lashes and eye, I feel like I'm doing a puzzle and the piece isn't fitting so I have to sit and jiggle it in. When I finally do have it fitted correctly to my eye and squeeze down I get a really harsh pinch! Ugh!



Now the entire idea of a spring back on the handle seemed interesting although I've figured out it's somewhat pointless! When I use my Shu curler I hold down for a few and I'm ready! With the Excel the point of having a "springing" action in the handle seems just to make life more difficult. The urge of the handle to pop right back after making contact with your lashes is instant which leads to a problem of waiting a few for the curl to set in so to speak. If you curl your lashes you must know what I mean! Squeeze once and yes of course your lashes do curl up but the handle snaps back really quickly and holding it down is a bit tricky and tiresome due to the "spring". I like to hold the curler down for a minute to let the curl set in a little bit. This is especially important if you're using a curl keeper spray for your curler like I do (if you aren't familiar with curl keeper it's an Asian product, it's not available in the US as far as I know, that you spray on your curler and it holds the curl of your lashes, almost like hairspray for your eyelashes).



My next gripe would be with the curler pad. It's not a soft foam sadly. It's more like a plastic piece and it's hard and it hurts. I think the pinching not only comes from the fact that this isn't fitting my eye correctly but also from the hardness of the pad!





Overall, if the promise of a spring powered curler and the delights of pink and glitter have blinded you and you felt the urge to purchase this I'd say you're better off skipping. This is only cost me about 800 yen I believe so it didn't break the bank too much! Take your money and buy a Shu curler you'll be happier! If you're planning on purchasing this I've seen it range from $12.50-$16 USD at Asian online shops so that indeed would be major money lost as at that price you can just buy a high end curler!

The weird thing is I believe this is a best seller for Sana but me it's just money not spent too well!

Heroine Mascara Remover Review

I love Heroine cosmetics as much as the next girl and I have to say the Mascara Remover isn't too bad a deal!



The sole purpose of purchasing this was to remove heavy duty Japanese mascara like Excel (read my review on Excel's awesome mascara by clicking here), Beaute de Kose, and other brands.

I normally use Sephora brand eye makeup remover (if you have something better do let me know as I'm always on the look out for good eye makeup remover) and it does a great job of getting off anything I put on my eyes even MAC liquidlast! However, it has a bit of a problem removing Japanese mascara especially heavier inky ones (if you use Japanese mascara you know the intense texture).

The Sephora remover does a pretty good job of getting it off but after my entire face is cleaned up I'm still noticing my eyelashes are a bit tacky feeling or shedding fibers (if I used a fiber mascara) which means it hasn't gotten everything!



In comes to play Heroine's Mascara Remover. I firgure after using the Sephora remover and rinsing up my entire face I could use the Heroine as a way of coating off any left over gunk that the other remover left behind.

It appears that it does an ok job of it. Today I used KATE Primer and KATE Gel Mascara. KATE's mascara isn't particularly difficult to remove but since I used the Primer first it thickens the mascara some and gives me a tiny bit of a problem removing it completely.

I swiped some of the Heroine Mascara Remover over my lashes after my entire face was clean (prior to moisturizing). Afterward I wiped each last with a cotton pad. Nothing was on the pad however my lashes lost that "hard" feeling I get when mascara is still on plus my lashes felt soft and conditioned.



I'm not sure how well this will work with heavier mascaras but I'm curious to find out. All in all it'll only set you back about 882 yen ($8 bucks USD) so it couldn't hurt to try it!

The general idea of using this as your primary mascara remover would be nuts and I'm not entirely sure that's what they expect (I sure hope not) but using it in conjunction with your regular remover you should see ok results!

So far I give a tentative ok rating and when I use it again, as I said before, with a heavier mascara maybe it'll be a glowing review!

Have it?
What did you think after using it or similar products like it?

Want it?

Tell the Muse!

Stila Resort Collection

Stila's Spring Collection is in the air! The collection includes one blush duo and three eyeshadow trios. All are repromotes aside from a new shade in one of the eyeshadow trios. To be honest all the trios look brand new to my eye especially gold glow.

It's a very nice collection but not prominent on my Spring Collection Wish List!

Cheek Duo in Pink Glow


Eyeshadow Trio in Gold Glow


Eyeshadow Trio in Bronze Glow


Eyeshadow Trio in Champagne Glow (Newest Shade)

Light Shimmering Gold and Pink FOTD

Slightly scary one! My lips are major chapped, my eyes are puffy because I'm bloody knackered, and I just have rather weird look on my face! But overall I do like the simplicity of the gold and pink colors!





What I Used:

Face
Lola Blush in Mistress (My absolutely fav blush of the moment!)

Eyes
Too Faced After Glow Ice Cube in Love
Bourjois Eyeshadow in Beige Rose 08
Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things Eyeshadow in Douse me with Diamonds (Read more about the Sexy Little Things Collection by clicking here)
Urban Decay FX Powder in Midnight Cowgirl
KATE Mascara Primer
KATE Gel Mascara

Lips
Tony and Tina Herbal Lipgloss in Cosmic
Urban Decay Ink Lip Stain in Bitten

A Pink Steal and Deal

I'm not particularly a big fan of Pink Sugar.

Yes, you read that right.

I hear the cries of rage right now.

SO many of my friends are addicted to Pink Sugar as if it were crack. Sadly, it does absolutely nothing for me. I love sweet, I love sugary. However, I don't love Pink Sugar. It's revolting to my nose. Sorry for those who love it. It's just not on my love list.

However, I do know it has a quite a cult following. So here's a Steal and a Deal for fans of Pink Sugar!

Head on over to QVC and enter item number A15376 to nab you a duo of Pink Sugar Hair Perfume Sprays!



I adore hair perfume sprays, too bad it's Pink Sugar scented!

These are $22.50 for two 3.38oz bottles of the spray! I've never seen this offered elsewhere so it could be exclusive to QVC!

Happy Shopping

Kiss Chocolatier Collection

I'm really lemming Kiss's Chocolatier Collection rather badly! The lipglosses aren't very me but I must say both look really yummie!

What sells me most about the entire collection is the model! She looks quite like a doll using the palette and I'm wondering if I can achieve the same wide eye, innocent look using the quad in the same way!



It's really brightened up her eyes in a simple yet elegant way!

I own quite a few Kiss cosmetics and I find that they make quite a nice high quality cosmetic so I'm thinking I might have to get the quad at least and maybe one of the glosses!



Love this?
Want it?
Tell the Muse!

PS Sorry about the ????? in the images! I don't have language packs installed at work thus the question marks floating all around!

Shu Uemura Passes On at Age 79

I was saddened to hear that Mr Shu Uemura passed away. His great skill and innovative ideas in the cosmetic world will be sorely missed. He was an artist in ever sense of the word!

Making Use of my Guerlain Eyeshadow Palette FOTD

I'm standing by my New Year's Resolution with this FOTD! If you haven't read my resolutions click here for details!

I've opened up and...gasp...used my Ombre Eclat Duo and Liner palette finally! I created a very simple yet pretty gold look using this palette! Contrary to the promo images you can't create a big fanfare look with this palette as the shadows aren't pigmented enough to do so however you can get away with creating a very lovely yet elegant gold look!

If you'd like to read more about the Guerlain Holiday Collection do click here for more product photos, reviews, and first impressions!





What I Used:

Eyes
Napoleon Perdis Private Angel (Click here for my obsession with this eyeshadow!)
Guerlain Ombre Eclat Duo and Liner Palette in Midnight Gold
Excel Mascara (Click here for my review!)

Face
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in New Vegas
NARS Blush in Taos

Lips
MAC Slimshine in Lovey-Dove

Morgen Schick's Reunion with HSN

Meet Morgen Schick:

I was sorting through e-mail and I came across an e-mail from "Morgen" at first I thought it was spam but after reading it I was astounded to learn it was from Morgen Schick, herself!

Morgen's e-mail to me:

Hello Muse. This is first time I have been on a 'blog'- guess it shows my age! My name is Morgen and I actually have never Goggled myself until today, when some one told me I had to see what was on the 'net' about me! So I scrolled down, and see that this lovely lady has picked one of my all time favorite products as one of her 'Fav of 2007' products! I decided 2 things, #1- that I wanted to thank you, and #2- that you need a new Hide N Hilight!! So, if there is an address where I can personally send you a new one (at least for photography on your blog :) I will happily do so! I'm also loving that you use my Schick Stick Cheek & Lip Stain, again, something I use daily- I'll throw one of those babies in too! I appreciate your including my little products in your very impressive list, and I hope you have an awesome 2008!! Best, Morgen :)

Even after reading this it took a sec for my brain to function and realize that this was indeed, thee Morgen Schick, and not someone playing around with me!

I almost fell off my chair soon after. I replied really quickly and in my star struck manner I asked her about HSN! It's been a long while since I've seen her featured on HSN and to my delight she told me that she'll soon be on and gave me her schedule for the dates and times!

If you're a US resident you can tune into HSN on the following dates and times to see Morgen Schick! It's been ages since Morgen has been on and I can't say how excited I am! And I really want to share this with you because I honestly couldn't achieve some of my best looks without using Morgen's Whisper Set Powder and Hide and Highlight Foundation!

Morgen Schicks Appearances on HSN:
Jan 16th @ 3pm and 11pm Jan 17th 7am, 2pm, and 8pm

You may remember a while ago I did a blog about my Flawless Face Coverage and how I achieve it, if not click here for details! One of my secret weapons to creating a flawless look is starting with the Morgen Schick Hide and Highlight Palette! This is my holy grail product! I use this as my main foundation of choice (click here to see it featured in my Year End Review). I'll be featuring a review on the palette very soon but until then I highly recommend tuning into HSN and seeing Morgen work her magic!

It may sound corny but I'm such a very big fan of her cosmetics and the idea she took the time out to write me a lovely e-mail totally made my day!

Honey I'm Home!

Honey I'm home!

Did you miss me?

I have to get caught up with e-mails and comments but I was sure to do a few posts early this AM as soon as I came in the door so you weren't too bored while awaiting my address to my court (I'm so self important aren't I?)!

Thanks for all the great comments and e-mails! I'll get right on the comments and I promise by next year you'll all have a reply to the e-mails you've sent ;)

Hehe!

Vegas was awesome. CES was outstanding. I didn't want to leave but real life was calling my number and I had to come back and get my butt back to work sadly!

I missed you all!

The Eggs are Back!

Last year Lush UK introduced five HUGE bath bombs shaped like Easter Eggs! Much to the delight of fans everywhere these massive bath bombs cost a mere ₤9.95! Not only did you get a massive egg that you could crack apart and use in the course of several baths but it was also filled with other yummie goodies such as a piece of soap, a bath bomb, or a bubble bar!

This year Lush UK, never failing to delight us all, has brought back the popular eggs!

Sadly, if you live in the US chances are these won't be released stateside (last year they weren't but cross your fingers and toes or move to England). However, the good news is the lovely people at Mailorder UK really love us Americans and allow us to order from them! Sadly, airmail isn't cheap but these eggs are only ₤9.95 so the airmail cost evens out the cost of purchasing a few of these as gifts or just as a gift from yourself (I'm putting on my card, "To the Muse, From the Easter Bunny, your biggest fan!).

As soon as these lovely little eggs hit the Lush UK I'll be purchasing all 5 for myself (because I'm a greedy little bugger) and an extra 5 to give as gifts to my little cousins (they were a huge hit with my little cousin Alexa last year!).

If you're unsure what the hell this all means try heading over to my post about the Giant Lush Pud and it might enlighten you what these here Eggs are all about! Click!

A special thanks to the UK Forum member who posted the great scans of the Lush Times Spring Catalog! If you're a member of the UK forum you can see her post by clicking here.

Hump Day Steals and Deals

Hump Day: Wednesday, or the hump of the week. The absolute BEST day of the week, the day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating hump day.

As defined in the Urban Dictionary.

What better way to celebrate Hump Day then with a few Steals and Deals?

Grab a grab bag of beauty skincare by using coupon code GREATSKIN at Sephora.com or head in store to get one (Purchase required obviously)



Get a duo of treats from Stila this week! Orders of $75 and up get Free Shipping and a Free Full Size Stila Convertible Color Duo by using coupon code LOVETHAT



Happy Shopping!