Gone Fishin'! Kinda.

The Muse is leaving on a jet plane....well...not a jet plane but a cruise ship! It's almost the same thing anyway right?

I'll be away from from June 2nd until June 14th. Umm yea totally screwed up on the dates duh...June 4th to June 14th...ahhhh that's better!

I'm not bringing any geeky gadgets while I'm away...no cell phone....no powerbook....etc...

Which sadly means no blogging for 12 days! I doubt you'll miss me as much as I'll miss you!

While I'm away you can amuse yourself with some of my past posts!

Bon Voyage!

Tarte Double Dose Lipgloss Review

Summer is here which would make me very late reviewing these! Eep!

I've had Tarte's Double Dose Berry Boost & Gloss tucked away for the better part of a month and I just broke into them this week!







I get a bit hyper when it comes to innovative, unique packaging and Tarte gets the award for coolness with these new glosses! The lipgloss tube consists of two chambers which you can press to release more color versus more shine. Press the middle and you can slick on some nicely pigmented lip color. Press the center and you get a burst of shiny gloss to wear on it's own or on top of the lip color. Cool right? The taste is a sweetly minty fresh cocktail which is definately approved by the Muse as I adore my glosses to have flavor but hey why you're ingesting your Tarte Double Dose Lipgloss don't forget that it's packed full of good stuff for your skin! Cool now I'm not so worried about the poisons of chewing off my gloss/lipstick!

I tried out Pomegranate Punch which is a beautiful sparkling red and Go Go Goji which is a cross between a pink and a coral. Pigmentation was excellent and I liked the fact that these weren't sticky or tacky plus as I mentioned they were quite tasty!









I rarely go without staining my lips prior to gloss but I easily got away with using these on their own as they are packed full of color and depending on how much you layer you can do a natural or loud look!

Sporting Pomegranate Punch for a just kissed pucker!


Sporting Go Go Goji for a natural lip look!


Without Flash


With Flash


Each tube will set you back $21 USD which does seem a tad bit high but the color payoff is excellent plus they slick on like an absolute dream so you get what you pay for quality wise!

Even though I'm a bit late reviewing these will take me safely from Spring to Summer for some gorgeous looking lips!

The Muse is loving Tarte Double Dose Lipglosses at the moment!

How about you?

Tried 'em?

Want to?

Love 'em?

Tell me!

Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen Versus Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant

You know how I'm always bitching about my eyes lately?

Well I have the solution right here, just for you! If you're a bit of a frugal person you may not want to continue reading however if you want the best of the best this may be the solution you seek to fixing your eye area up and making yourself look fresh, awake, younger, and beautiful!

This year I turned 30 and with that came a slew of problems that presented themselves to my under eye area. I've tried just about everything as you may know from my previous post on eye creams.

One of my main solutions for looking fresh and awake while concealing my under eye woes are one of two fantastic concealers!

Yves Saint Laurent Radiant Touch and Dior Radiance Booster Pen.

That's it.

That's my solution for fresher, beautiful eyes.

I've been using Dior's Radiance Booster Pen for close to a year now and it's slowing replacing my YSL Radiant Touch Pen.







Both pens are brilliant, wonderful pieces of cosmetic that, no matter your age, you should have in your beauty arsenal.

I highly recommend going out and purchasing one of each as they come with my highest rating of approval.

First of all I probably shouldn't call these concealers because technically that isn't what they are however I feel like they are pigmented enough to do a very good job of concealing tired eyes, medium dark circles, and fine lines. The general idea is to not conceal but to illuminate and highlight your skin and subdue any dullness.

You can use these all over your face not just under your eye. I normally use them under my eyes and throughout the day, as a touch up, I dab some on the corners of my nose and blend outwards for a fresh look.

Both pens are truly brilliant at making my eyes look 100% better!

What's the difference anyway?

Well.

I feel like the Dior version is a bit more moisturizing and offers a bit more coverage. It's very thick and it feels like cool lotion when you apply. Coverage is very, very good and the it lasts much longer than the YSL Radiant Touch Pen!

This is a bit of a Dior Radiance Booster Pen versus YSL Radiant Touch Pen post and the winner is.....

Dior's Radiance Booster Pen in Candle Light 02


Dior Radiance Booster Pen knocks YSL out of the water. Shocked? It's true the Dior wins hands down!

• Conceals way better than the YSL Touch Eclat Radiant.
• Blends much easier as the formula is highly moisturizing.
• Excellent packaging and presentation (comes in a gorgeous blue velvet pouch, pretty silver tube, etc...)
• Does not crease, fade, or settle into fine lines.
• Lasts for hours longer than YSL's version.
• Cheaper at $31 USD compared to YSL's $40 USD price tag!
• Larger size for the price!
  
• Lasts for ages and ages as a little goes a long way!

YSL does a mighty good job with it's Touche Eclat Radiant and I've always been a very, very big fan but the Dior pen does a much better job!

YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Pen in Luminous Ivory 02


Touche Eclat isn't nearly as moisturizing and you have to do a bit of smoothing around to blend it in correctly. It comes in a larger variety of colors than Dior's version but I actually felt like Dior's limited colors suited my skin tone much better than the YSL colors.

The price tag is $40 USD and it's considerably smaller for the cost compared the Dior at $31 USD. I've always found the gold casing slightly gaudy where as the Dior's slick silver case is quite elegant!

Sadly, Touch Eclat Radiant has a tendency to settle into my fine lines and it does fade very quickly so I am touching up through out the day where as that doesn't happen with the Dior Radiance Booster Pen as it lasts quite a good deal longer without creasing or fading!

All in all I think I've found a replacement for Yves Saint Laurent's Touch Eclat Radiant and that would definately be the Dior SkinFlash Radiance Booster Pen!

Both pens are well worth getting your hands on as they create the illusion of beautiful, flawless skin however the Dior version does a much better job of it and with a nicer price tag!

Toss your Yves Saint Laurent Touch Eclalt Radiant pens like I did and go and grab yourself a few Dior SkinFlash Radiance Booster Pens! You won't be sorry! I sincerely have at least two on hand at all times!

Needless to say I do occasionally reach back into the bin and snatch up my YSL which means both the Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant are Muse Approved for purchase!



Tried both?

Which do you like more?

Refuse to try the Dior version because you're so attached to your YSL pen?

Tell the Muse!



Read more about my great love for Dior by visiting past posts!

See my review on Dior's Summer Addict Glosses by clicking here!

Prepare to drool by reading my review and seeing my haul of Dior Spring Collection goodies!

Click here to read about how the "I Love Dior" Deluxe palette compares to the Dior D'Trick Palette!

A Game of Tag!

I've been tagged by the lovely Toya from The Life of a Ladybug!

Simple rules of the game. Tag 6 more bloggers, leave a comment asking them to participate by reading your blog for the rules, and finally list the players you've tagged after your post! Easy!

This is an interesting game of tag as it offers you more of an insight into the Muse's life!

1) What was I doing 10 year's ago?

I was attending college and testing out my first year of scary loft life with my best friend at the time. Scary as my mate was a complete disorganized mess and this couldn't be more of a nightmare for an anally organized person like myself. I was majoring in CE and a little geek to say the least. I also had done an internship around that time with a local campus as a TA for a Pascal course (I kicked it old school with the programming languages back than!). 10 years ago would be just around the time I took my first trip to the Nederlands as well and visited Amsterdam which I completely fell in love with.

2) What are 5 Things on my To-Do List today?

• Get back on top of my game with my blog posts as I've been too busy to concentrate on reviews, posts, etc....
• Pick up some books I have on order from Barnes and Noble.
• Meet my friend Jai for a late, long lunch break that I deserve big time.
• Pick up some items for my garden that I need.
• Pick up dry cleaning.

3) Snacks I Enjoy:

• Stacy's Pita Chips in Garlic and Herb
• Trader Joe Everything Crackers
• Whole Foods Organic Hemp Crunch Trail Mix
• Watermelon
• Just Tomatoes Organic Just Apples mixed up with Organic Soy Nuts (Oh my god so YUMMY!)

4) Places I've Lived:

I'm mostly a New York girl and haven't lived elsewhere although I have visited many places for long periods of time such as England, Thailand, and Japan so I guess you could consider that as sorta living away for a while as it was months at a time!

5) Things I'd do if I were a billionaire:

Buy world peace. Please.

6) People I want to know more about:

Jonathan Rhys Meyer: If you're free Jonathan my ear is open! I can sit on your lap while you tell me all about yourself......hehe!

I'm tagging Sarah from The Puff Reports, Gloria from Divashop, Jazmin from Makeup Moxie, Allysia-May from Divalcious Glamazon, The love of my life, Mandy from MandyPandy's Beauty Blog, and the gorgeous Critty from Pretty by Critty!

Feel free to add pieces of your life!

The Muse is all ears about hearing more about YOU!

The English Are Coming! The English Are Coming! Lush Party Order!

I got my Lush UK "Shower" Party order!

Here's some yummy pictures:









I specifically told them absolutely NO popcorn packing please! I don't think popcorn and shower gel goes well together when traveling from England to the US!







A FREE GLAMOUR PUSS! Yay!


Rub Rub Rub Shower Gel!


I'll be reviewing the new shower gels shortly but I thought I'd give you a quick sneak peek!

Enjoy!



Battle oily skin with my review on Lush Tea Tree Water!

Get your hair squeaky clean with my review on Lush Big Shampoo and Lush Retread Conditioner!

Click here to view my Lush Easter order!

Click here to see my last party order from the UK featuring Snowcake Shower Gel!

Click here to read my review on Lush Solid Perfumes!

Click here my raves on Lush Solid Shampoo Bars by clicking here and learn how to simplify your haircare routine!

Summer Collections 2008: Urban Decay Big Fatty "Color" Mascara Review

I love color. When I was 4 years old I told my mother I was going to be a famous artist needless to say it didn't happen.

But I can play at being an artist with every color in the rainbow in my cosmetic wardrobe so of course I was happy to add Urban Decay's New Big Fatty "Color" Mascara to my beauty arsenal!



Like all good things Urban Decay puts out these mascaras are packed full of funky shades to turn your lashes from blah to WOW! I was excited to test these out as not many brands put out such gorgeous hues of color when it comes to mascara!

These are a mini version of the original Big Fatty Mascara which I think is perfectly suited because who can seriously polish off a tube of bright aqua mascara? Not likely. A mini version is the perfect size for those days you're feeling a bit daring! At a price tag of $17 USD each you might wince slightly but no one ever said it was cheap to be gorgeous!

The formula isn't the best I've come across and I had to do quite a bit of work to get this evenly applied onto my lashes. As I find with all colored mascaras it's a chore to get it on correctly. Application consists of swiping the color on, clumping some of the color on using the tip of the applicator, brushing it through with a lash comb, and finally applying another layer.

This is no fault of the product but just the general drama of colored mascara! I've tried a few colored mascaras and aside from Majorca Majolica Splashing Blue Mascara I've never had a successful application without having to go through several steps to get the product evenly onto my lashes! The brush is a nice big chunky one which could attest to it's name "Big Fatty".

I tested out all the colors that were released and Black Cherry is by far my favorite. It's a deep maroon that goes perfectly with cranberry, pink, browns, and even bronze colors! Below I created a look using Urban Decay Big Fatty in Black Cherry.













Other colors available are Purple Haze which is a deep purple, Electric Blue which borders aqua and blue, and Indigo which is an off color blue with tiny touches of purple.



















If you're purchasing these or already own these I came up with some killer combinations to match up with Urban Decay eye shadows that I already own. You may have some of these or maybe wanting some after seeing my combos! Enjoy!

Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara in Indigo Combos


Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara in Purple Haze Combos


Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara in Electric Blue Combos


Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara in Black Cherry Combos


All in all these are a fun way to spice up your Summer eye makeup! Definitely worth checking out and swatching for yourself. I recommend checking out Black Cherry and Electric Blue as they are my fav of the four released!

Loving these?

Wanting 'em?

What colors are you thinking of pairing up with 'em?

Tell the Muse!

Check below for some other Urban Decay reviews and posts you may have missed out on!



Rediscover why Matte is where it's at with Urban Decay's Matte Eye Shadow Collection!

Click here to find out why I'm suddenly loving bronzer thanks to Urban Decay Baked Bronzer!

Click here to see what reviews are upcoming from Urban Decay's Summer 2008 Collection with my sneak peek!

Oily Summer skin blues? Click here to hear my review on on Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder!