Beauty Secrets: Sephora 360° Palette FREE!

You probably already figured this out already but if not here's a little secret! Sephora is actually giving away free makeup when you hit 500 points in your beauty bank. Cool right?

Don't get too excited.

Don't get hyped now considering that the "free" makeup has been the same for many, many months now. After your bank hits 500 they'll give you a Sephora 360° Palette. I actually said no to it for the longest time in hopes that they'd have something better pop up but I decided what the hell and included it in my latest order considering my bank is at the point where I can probably get 6 of these palettes so might as well just try it out right?



Big mistake. Totally a cheesy palette. The colors are really blah blah blah meh meh, the palette has that weird cheap makeup smell, and the lipsticks look well over their expiration date.








Props to Sephora for the cool packaging though. This houses 16 Shadows and 9 Lipsticks/Glosses plus three applicators in a cute fold out style compact that's really tiny. I love how much product is housed in such a tiny package. Aside from the cool design though I wasn't feeling too much love for it's contents, rather cheap makeup overall. I placed my Urban Decay Baked Bronzer on top of the palette so you can see how small it is


Oh well nice try Sephora!

If you want it simply rack up your points to 500 and place the palette in your cart! It'll be totaled out at checkout as 0.00!

Can we please has a new freebie soon? It's been years now!

I shudder to think about it but this palette actually cost me $500 USD....eep! 1 point=$1 USD oh lawd! I may pass out!

Anyone grab this yet?

Loves it?

Leaves it?

Tell the Muse!

Beauty Blast from the Past: Dior Girly Blossom Palette

Wanna take a trip with me into Dior's past? Let's go visit with the Dior Girly Blossom Palette release a few Summer's ago when Dior was still sporting uber sweet packaging and plenty of shimmering, fun shades.


Hopefully you all remember when Dior makeup wasn't mature, sophisticated, and elegant. Granted it's always been those things but it also used to be fun, girlish, kawaii, and sweet. I have a huge stash of old Dior palettes that I've collected over the year's one of which reminds me how fun Dior used to be is the Dior Girly Blossom Palette.

Remember this palette?




It contained a gorgeous shimmering peach blush and two fun shades of gloss all housed in a blossom palette with a garter makeup brush holder and two pink retractable brushes for face and cheeks.








Ahhh those were the days.

I haven't seen anything fun from Dior in a very long time. A majority of their current collections are very mature and sosphiscated actually so much so that they fail to capture my interest as quickly as they once did.

I miss the old days.

Blast me to Dior's beauty past any day of the week! I'd love to relive some of those great palette days!

What do you think?

Remain with the Muse in Dior's past?

Embrace Dior's present and future?

Tell the Muse!

Estee Lauder Nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup Review and Swatches

Bloody hell the cosmetic companies just want to confuse me with all this mineral makeup lately. Mineral foundation this, mineral foundation that....I can see if it's a powder as the Muse's small little brain can wrap around that concept but when it's a cream mineral product I begin to get mighty confused. The Muse associates "minerals" with powder how are they creamy?!

Estee Lauder jumps on board to confuse the Muse further with it's new Nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup! It's a plot I tell you, an evil plot to confuse me!



Jump ahead to find out about skin loving minerals from Estee Lauder...!

We'll forgive Estee Lauder for confusing a Muse since the new foundation is rather nice! Kinda reminds this Muse of tinted moisturizer but with plenty of pigment for good flawless coverage.

Estee Lauder Nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup has an SPF 10, plenty of skin loving minerals, Vitamins C and E, all packed into a creamy pigmented foundation that's sure to please. The foundation is a creamy, dreamy formula that feels much like a tinted moisturizer. The formula is extra light and feels very natural on the skin. It absorbs easily and leaves behind a nice flawless finish. Coverage is light to medium and could possibly be built up further if you apply a bit more.





Considering the foundation is quite pigmented you can use a tiny bit to do your complete face. It comes housed in a convenient squeeze bottle which should make all the germ-a-holics like myself do the happy dance. My skin is utterly dry at the moment but this supposedly controls and absorbs oil so if you're skin is oily it may be something to check out however it doesn't dry matte it's more of a dewy finish so I did find it interesting that it promises to control oil.


Taking into consideration that the foundation is so light and natural feeling I think it would make ideal coverage for Summer wear. I'm particularly delighted with how well it wears and how fresh my face looks. One tiny rant is the SPF 10 could be jacked up a bit to at least 15 or 20 but I am thankful for any SPF they throw into the mix.

If you're looking for lighter coverage, something that resembles a BB Cream or a tinted moisturizer in texture and formula, or simply a good for you foundation do check out Estee Lauder Nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup. And don't let all that mineral stuff confuse you like the Muse!

Tried it?

Want to?

Tell the Muse!

Laneige The Snow Shimmer Brighter Review

The quest for the bloody snow crystal is still on peeps! Remember how our two heroes were searching for it in my last review?



Today, finally, I'm bringing you a review of Laneige The Snow Shimmer Brighter.

Jump ahead for the deets!

No one could legally dub a palette with a name like Laneige The Snow Shimmer Brighter...that's right it's not a brightener, it's not a highlighter, it's a "brighter", only Asian cosmetics can get away with this stuff. Now the Muse hasn't a clue what a brighter is but I promise it's probably something seriously important in the cosmetic world, either that or maybe it was too much money to print brightener and they just left off a few letters, not a biggie, economy and such.

Anyway this is long overdo considering Laneige is off playing with the new Spring Collection, Art Play right now but the Muse got sidetracked around the Holidays and didn't get all her reviews in at a timely manner. So deal with it! I'm doing a Holiday Collection review today, just sit there and smile nicely.

Now I've already reviewed the eye palettes in the Laniege Holiday Collection and this is actually the final piece. All kidding aside it's a face powder obviously and a highlighter. I'll be honest I purchased the whole collection because I'm very, very shallow and I like pretty packaging and designs. Which means if the makeup is crap the design and compact more than make up for that and instantly become the awesome.



But truthfully The Snow Shimmer Brighter is both beautiful and practical, if you consider practical me never wanting to use it because it's too pretty. The powder comes in an identical black flip compact as the shadow palettes I reviewed a few weeks ago. The powder is housed on top with a compartment underneath for the brush and a nice full size mirror. The powder is a shimmering off white color with beautiful multicolored snowflakes embedded into it. Depending on how you stroke your brush across it you'll end up with a teal, pink, coral, or green iridescent white shimmering finish. In most cases the shimmering is minimal and the product simply casts a highlighted glow onto cheeks and face. Very pretty to say the least.




The powder is probably too beautiful for true makeup junkies to want to use. Yes, yes I know the feeling, tuck it away in the beauty vault, keep it safe, wrap it in cotton, and take it out on a rare occasion to pet it and stroke it.

Overall, I was quite happy to have added this palette and both of the shadow palettes to my collection that was released with the Laneige Snow Collection for Holiday 2008. I wish I can recommend it to purchase but I'm doubtful it'll be easy to find after my late review but keep your eyes peeled for it on Gmarket or Evil-bay! Maybe one will pop up or wait for next year when our heroes continue their quest for the Secret of the Snow Crystal!

Musings of the Day: MAC Site

I think this is a rather awesome Musing of the day so tell me whatcha think!

Do you love or leave the new MAC site?

Tell me all about and click below for my take!

Ok, so I've been thinking about this really, really hard (without busting a blood vessel I promise) and I remember how much I liked and enjoyed playing around with the MAC site when it was first updated. I mean it's kinda ingenious being able to search by color and having the color options in every single available product etc....

But...well...the novelty wore off and I really, really, really, really miss the old design. For example, if I'm logging on just to have a quick look at a new collection it's so difficult to navigate because the collection pages go by so quickly...or maybe I'm not clicking fast enough?

On top of that the black background drowns out the actual photos of the products. Plus one click brings another sliding frame and after that another frame appears...and I begin to feel like a n00b on the Internetz for the first time. What the hell?

I dunno it's just too many bells and whistles and I just loved the simplicity of the old site.

Please MAC bring it back?

What do you think?

Absolutely adore the new site?

Want the old site back?

Want a new site but a little more organized and a little less fanfare?

How would you improve it?

Tell the Muse!

Isadora Blooming Spring Collection 2009

It's so terribly easy to sucker the Muse into wanting a great palette. For example have you seen the Isadora Blooming Spring Eye Palette? Well hello pretty, the Muse wants you for her very self. She promises to cherish you and whisper sweet nothings in your ear!


Combing shades like soft pinks, greens, and purples in a beautiful slim line compact is always a good idea especially when their are Muse's around that will fall into lust with it. The collection looks rather big but it's actually not a ton of must have products aside from that simply stunning palette. The collection is not yet available but will release on March 26th. The palette is merely $19 USD and contains five shades of shadow. The Muse must say that's a rather budget friendly compact for Spring! Sweet! Also releasing are three new shades of Isadora Crystal Shine Lipstick, one new blush shade, a new liner, and other bits and bobs none of which hold my attention as much as that bloody palette.


(Click to Enlarge)
Overall, a rather nice budget friendly Spring Collection from Isadora!

What do you think?

Loves it?

Leaves it?

Tell the Muse!

Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer Review

Damnit all I hate to be the bearer of bad news sigh! I have to break it to you but Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer isn't going to cover up any tattoos you might have and it's kinda sorta over priced.

But!

It's really good.

Promise.




Got lots and lots to conceal? Dark circles? Puffiness? Fine lines? Full blow wrinkles? A pimple or two? Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer has you covered, literally.

If it's heavy duty you seek, heavy duty you'll get with this brand new concealer from tattoo artist Kat Von D. This creamy concealer promises to become your secret weapon at concealing it all including tattoos....ok let's not get too crazy now Kat...this is SO not going to hide tattoos. It's pigmented that's for damn sure but NOT that pigmented. Paraben-free and ready to service your problem areas this one is well worth laying down $25 USD for.






I liked it. Alot.

First of all major prepping is required as the formula is very creamy but it does dry down to a matte finish would could age eyes and cause more dryness in an already dry area. In my case, my under eye area is like the Sahara Desert so I do have to be careful with this. However, with proper prepping and priming you'll happily be able to blend away imperfections under your eyes and virtually cover everything up with fantastic results for a smooth, flawless finish. This could become HG material for me.

The coverage is comparable to nothing else I own and is on par with theatrical makeup such as items from Ben Nye or Kryolan. It's heavily pigmented so if you're suffering from heavy dark circles this will instantly become your new best friend. I don't have terrible dark circles but I do have tired eyes in the morning and puffiness which I seek to conceal for a fresher more awake look and this does that in aces and spades.



The product blends fairly well but it does feel rather dry on and has the potential to crease and cake so as I mentioned prep, prep, prep prior to use. It'll settle into fine lines so use a tiny bit as that's all you really need considering the pigmentation on the product. A little goes a long way and too much will just cake, crease, and settle into fine lines.

Price tag...hmmmmm $25 bucks...that's alot of money. I know how cheap of me right? But Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer is $22 USD....and this is $25 USD...kinda costly dontcha think? But in it's defense I will say it's worth it.

If you thought that Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer wasn't dense enough and had a watery formula you may very well adore Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer as the formula is a good deal creamier and heavier but it does have the potential to look unnatural so again I'll remind you a little goes a long way.

I'm Muse Approving this for purchase simply because it does hide major baggage. If you're looking for a seriously pigmented concealer that will cover it ALL up I highly suggest snagging one of these. I really liked it and I'll definitely pick up another when I've run through this tube.



Tried it?

Love it?

Tell the Muse!