Shout Out!

Sometimes the Muse will get sudden spurts of traffic incoming from her favorite hang out MUA. If you're a beauty junkie you likely lurk over yonder as well.

About 75% of the time that traffic starts flowing in from MUA the user responsible for it is some chica nicked chix_nuggets.

This one's for you chix!

Dear Miss Nugget.

You're obviously my biggest fan and supporter and cheerleader and....and....! The moral of the story is thank you. Readers like you are why I do what I do. When I'm tired and I'm whining about having to take pictures or write an article or I don't feel like blogging today, I remind myself that you and a million other people are here reading what I type daily and expecting something new to pop up on my little site.

Thank you, thank you for inspiring me with your excitement.

Your bubbly posts on MUA pimping out "the Muse" is truly a flattering experience.

Cheers mate!

And everyone else thank you too. You're all very special.

Remember kids, the Muse sees all, reads all, and knows all.

Beauty News: Stila is Back In Business!

Ok peeps! It's official now! Here's the official word from Stila that they are back and ready to boogie down!

(Click to Enlarge)

Patriarch Partner's aquistion of Stila is official as of today! Phew! Someone wipe the sweat off my worried brow please!

Lynn Tilton, CEO of Patriarch Partners, is now the newest Stila Girl! Click here to learn more about Lynn and Patriarch Partners.


Stila expresses their appreciation for our support during this time and gives a big thanks to all us Stila Girls (and Stila Guys!). Thanks Stila we love you and were quite worried!

Now the Muse can sleep again at night!

Lush Sugar Scrubs

The Muse hopes by now that you discovered the joys of Buffy and may God help you if you haven't. Hello, it's Summer soon you want your legs, elbows, and knees in tip top shape right? Head to Lush and snag yourself a bar of the Muse's favorite scrubby friend, Buffy and get to work!


Well don't take my word for it! Watch this lovely British Lushie tell us all about the benefits of Buffy:


Aw isn't he lovely?

See kids? Buffy is good for you. Anyway this is technically not a muse about Buffy, it's about the brand new Sugar Scrubs from Lush!


Jump ahead for the deets!

Since the new Sugar Scrubs are along the same lines as my beloved Buffy, I'm of course quite excited about their release and already placed an order (Yes, Lush UK ships to the US) eep!

Available now from Lush UK each Sugar Scrub is £2.50 each.

These are a mix of bicarb and cream of tartar plus moisturizing coconut oil which solidifies the product into a buttery bar. Two flavors are available Sugar Babe and A. Sugar Scrub. Sugar Babe is a ylang flowers and mimosa blossom blend and A. Sugar Scrub is a fennel, ginger and lavender blend.




The Muse thinks these are perfect for scrubbing away all her nasty, dry skin from the harsh Winter while making it soft, moisturized, and pretty for Summer. Likey! If you do order, please remember to order now as they will melt in the warmer weather. Sadly, Lush Sugar Scrub is not vegan friendly.

Smashbox Untamed Photos, Review, Swatches, and FOTD

Oh baby the Muse was busy visiting the jungle. Ok, so maybe that isn't true it probably wasn't the jungle but my bathroom vanity. Hey, it's a jungle in there too sometimes with products all over the place so I firgure it qualifies!






Anyway! Speaking of jungles I was visiting one with the new Smashbox Untamed Collection rawrrrrr baby!

Jump ahead for the goods!

Although Smashbox Untamed reminds me of a Fall Collection, I'm still feeling a bit of love for it. The Muse guesses that after two years of blogging beauty that she has to realize that sometimes brands will release really weird shade selections during the Summer, in this case weird for me would be smoky, exotic eyes that look more suitable for Fall than Summer. But I'm at peace with that and I can dig it. The Muse thinks she's hip enough to pull off sexy, smoky eyes in the Summer....yeah, sure, sure. I've already told you the good word of Smashbox Untamed but if you haven't familiarized yourself with the collection you can check it here. I tried out Smashbox Untamed Waterproof Shadow Liner Trio in Savage and Smashbox Untamed Lip Gloss in Raw.


Smashbox Untamed Waterproof Shadow Liner Trio multitasks as a liner and a shadow. Ok, waterproof I'm not really buying that as these are super creamy. Long wearing yes when your eye is prepped and primed well but not waterproof I don't think? They seem a bit too creamy to suffer through some swimming say. The trio contains, yes you guessed it, three shadows. The colors are a golden olive, a bronze brown, and a neutral beige. The shades go well together which is always delightful as sometimes trios or palettes contain wonky colors that don't go well together but these three just go well together. The formula is quite nice as both a shadow and a liner but they are very sheer so you do have to layer a good deal to get a good pop of color. The colors are very subtle so if you like a lighter makeup this should be quite a pleasure but if you're in it for a pigmented, bolder look this won't do. I got decent color payoff with a few layers but honestly nothing major dramatic. I did love how easily these blended and they'll make a killer base for shadows. If I'm wanting a light, no nonsense makeup they are ideal. The compact has a flip top lid to keep the shadows nice and fresh and mess free. I know everyone wasn't particularly excited about the packaging but I think it's nice. I'm digging the "jungle" theme hehe!


















I also got Smashbox Untamed Lip Gloss in Raw which is a nice sheer red brown. Quite a nice color, very sophisticated and grown up for the Muse. It matches up nicely with the Savage Trio as well. The gloss is nicely pigmented although not super duper glossy but I find that's the standard with Smashbox glosses.








If you're seeking nice work friendly makeup with a tiny bit of an edge I think you might like some of what Smashbox Untamed offers. It doesn't shout Summer to me but maybe with a hint of a tan you could rock that wild jungle look.

I created two looks using the palette. My first look I used the green on my lid and the lighter beige as a highbrow highlighter. My second look I used the brown on my lid and the lighter beige as a highbrow highlighter. I'll try and get a post up shortly of a look created using all three shades as they work rather well together. And yes that's Raw on my lips in both pictures.








What do you think?

Yay or Nay?

Tried any of the Smashbox Untamed Collection?

Tell the Muse!

Beauty Battle: Stila Convertible Color VS Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge

It's that time again kids! Time for a Beauty Battle! Taking two of my favorite cream blushes and battling them again each other should make for an awesome fight. Stila Convertible Color versus Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge to the death!


Let the game begin!

Let me tell you this is sadly not much of a battle as it's easy enough to see who will win here but let's have a go and see what you think after I've butted these two against each other!





Stila Convertible Color comes housed in a cute little palette with embedded flowers on it's lid and a nice full size mirror for on the fly application. Packaging wise Stila has it going on. When compared to Bobbi's very minimal black pot design there isn't much of a question which is the cuter of the two. Placing cuteness aside Stila Convertible Color has alot of catching up to do in the price and size department. At 0.15 oz in size with a price tag of $25 USD, Stila has alot of work to do to catch our attention aside from sweet packaging.


Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge def doesn't have the cute factor in it's ring but it has the size and the price tag to please! No mirror here and no cutesy flower compact but a $22 USD price tag and a size of a whopping 0.38 oz makes Bobbi Brown a fierce competitor for Stila Convertible Color. So that's over double the size of Stila plus $3 bucks cheaper? Uh oh Stila look out!




Both formulas are incredibly long wearing and can easily be considered almost an identical product.

Stila takes a sucker punch from Bobbi Brown in the color department. With merely 7 shades and Bobbi coming up on 10! Things are starting to tip dangerously in favor of Bobbi's side here. Stila defends itself with a quick punch to the left and snaps up about LE color releases for Stila Convertible Color but can we swayed by cute packaging, a few LE colors, and a high price tag? Probably not.

The winner?

Obvious isn't?

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge wins this beauty battle kids! Great formula, long wearing, a huge size for a nice price tag makes it the champion in this fight. Sorry Stila...it was obvious from the start you weren't going to win this one. We love you but your size and price leaves a bit to be desired.

How about you?

Is Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge your winner?

Or is Stila Convertible Color your champion?

Tell the Muse!

Etsy Musings: Bead Passion Part 2

It's not Friday but I thought I'd share some more Etsy love with you! This is a follow up post from my original Bead Passion from a few weeks ago as I wanted to share with you some of the brand new pendants that arrived in my mail box!


Jump ahead for a peep!

By now I hope that you too got your package if you ordered from Helen. I got my order yesterday and was thrilled to bits and pieces with it.






Helen has gotten way more detail orientated since my first purchase hehe! The new cuppycakes are simply gorgeous and so life like!




I love the new chains she's shipping the pendants with as well. They are so nice and long so the pendant is really displayed nicely around your neck!

My free goodies!




In my original Bead Passion post Helen offered free earrings, a free cell phone charm, and stickers to anyone who made a purchase! The above are what I got ;D I'm loving the cell phone charms! Cutes!

Curious minds did anyone order?

If so what did you get?

Feel free to share pics! musings.of.a.muse@gmail.com

Pop Lid Pastel

Pop you cheeky little monkey! You may be gone from Sephora but you're still pumping out brand new palettes like your new Lid Pastel!


In the vein of Pop Lid Neon up pops Pop Lid Pastel! A pretty array of six sorbet shades to give eyes a flirty, refreshed look.

Pop Lid Pastel contains shades of sheer almond, baby pink, glowing pistachio, lovely lilac, glistening opal, soft yellow.

If I'm honest I'll probably admit the shades may not be too flattering on me but the Muse can't resist cute little palettes!

Available now from Pop for $22 USD.

Sneak Peek: MAC Colour Craft Product Photos

Risser girl, we love you! Risser has a few photos up of MAC Colour Craft the Nordstrom Exclusive due out in stores July.




Jump ahead for the peep!








Only a tiny peek at what's to come but exciting none the less!

Loves it?

Leaves it?

Tell the Muse!

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