Skin79 Diamond Collection Star Glow Ball Powder Review and Swatches

More beauty abroad coming atcha today chicas.

I've been having a ton of fun sampling all the goodies that I got with my Skin79 Diamond Collection Set. This set is an incredible deal as it includes a slew of items for one low cost.

Although the sets aren't sold in the US you can purchase individual items from E-bay and a few select online shops if you Google a bit and search around.

Today I'm reviewing the Skin79 Diamond Collection Star Glow Ball Powder.




Tale a peep after the jump!

This is much like my Esprique Precious Illuminate Nuancer which I simply adore however not as nice, tell you why in a few.




The "powder" is made up of several shades of pastel colored balls to be used to highlight certain areas of the face. It's supposed to brighten the face up while highlighting however the formula is terribly frosty which is unflattering on my face.

The highlighter is housed in a cute, simple pink jar with a super soft puff included. Love the puff...it's truly luxurious and super soft. The balls all range in shades from pastel pink, green, purple, etc...much like you'd find in a jar of Guerlain Meteorites. Where as Guerlain and Esprique is a subtle little highlight this is a rather frosty, shimmery affair that looks like a disco ball blew up in my face. Of course I adore sparkle and the likes but this was a bit overkill.






Not much else to say about it sadly other than the fact it was a sore disappointment and will end up on my swap list directly.

No likey.

Most of the Skin79 Diamond Collection has been a joy up until now but this one is a safe skip if you're not wanting a frosty mess on your face. Pretty in the jar not on the face.

Stash Spoglight: Jill Stuart Eye Shadow Palettes

One of my most prized collections is that of my Jill Stuart cosmetics particularly my Jill Stuart Eye Shadow Palettes.


You'll see why after the jump!








Jill Stuart Cosmetics have that certain beautiful packaging that makes us forget most of the makeup world and just stare in awe (and possibly drool while doing so) and excitement at the beauty that makes up this makeup. Much of the packaging is unique to anything I've purchased before and very, very beautiful. I'm a fan particularly of the eye shadow palettes whith house soft shimmering shades of color. I started out my collection with a single palette and soon after hauled five more. Since that time I ended up with near 20 palettes but only nine now make up my collection as various ones were handed over to friends who fell as in love with them as I did.








Although expensive and at times repetitious the brand holds a very special place in my heart. Hope you enjoyed my stash spotlight of Jill Stuart Shadow Palettes!

WANT IT: SilkyGirl BB Cream

I dunno why but the Singaporean population flocks to Vox to blog. What's this mean? It basically means I'm probably lurking around Vox reading gorgeous Singaporean chick blogs. They always have such great finds on there. It's terribly addicting.

My latest find?

SilkyGirl BB Cream! 'ello awesome! Omg!

Learn more after the jump!

Although SilkyGirl isn't a Singaporean brand it is sold in 'pore. It actually originates in Malaysia and basically is this cheapy, cheesy drugstore brand with a pretty large cult following. Translated: cheap but good quality.

When I recently seen a blogger from 'pore waxing the good word about a new release from SilkyGirl I was all over it. SilkyGirl BB Cream looks dreamy! It's about $6-$8 bucks in USD so it's way cheap. It comes in two shades, has an SPF 25, and looks like it could be super nice. I'm a picky person when it comes to BB's but I'm all about the cheap factor.

Want it?

Hells yes.

My little sis, plue, is on the case to snag me one. Be on the look out for a review upcoming shortly.

Image Borrowed from Fr0nd's Makeup Madness

Beauty Babble: Weathering Makeup

Wanna Beauty Babble with me? During our last babble we were hit with survival beauty and all the essentials we'd need in dire situations.

How To Play:
The Beauty Babble section basically is a scenario of "possibilities" with questions and answers about what you'd do in situations where cosmetics would be needed!

Today's babble is about various weather conditions and makeup items or skincare you'd need in such situations!

Jump ahead to read my babblings and submit your own if you're wanting to play!

You head to work on Monday expecting it to be like any other day of the week when your boss pulls you aside with some incredible news. He relates to you that he wants to send you to London for the entire Summer to work at the UK branch. You're so excited you can't believe your good luck! As soon as you leave his office you dial up your best friend who lives in England to share the details. Your best friend informs you that it would be a terrible time to come to London right now because the predicted weather for the next three months is gloomy, cloudy weather and rain! You're kinda feel badly after you hear this especially since you're having perfect Summer weather right at home. You keep your chin up and decided you'll need a few makeup essentials to bring Summer with you to cold, dreary London. What will they be (choose five)?

I'd choose a fun Summer scent, a great bronzer, a pretty shade of blush, a shimmery, Summery palette for my eyes, and a good primer to keep my makeup from falling off my face in the rain!

My picks:

Fragrance: Harajuku Lovers G
Warm, coconut will help me think Summer during those rainy days!

Bronzer:
Urban Decay Baked Bronze in Glided
As if you haven't heard enough how much I love this bronzer! Shimmery cheeks with hint of gold and peach will bring a little sun to my cloudy day in London!

Blush:
MAC Eversun Blush
My ideal blush this Summer and plenty peachy to bring a little color into my world on dreary days!

Eyeshadow Palette:
Kate Von D Gypsy Eyeshadow Palette
A slew of Summery greens to spring up my look in the rain!

Primer:
Korres Face Primer
Love this stuff! Keeps my makeup so fresh! Hopefully it'll help keep it waterproof too!

Your best friend asks you to dinner on Friday night and explains she has amazing news to tell you! You meet up with her and as you're ordering dinner she springs on you she's getting married to an Arabian Sheikh. With your mouth hanging open you gasp in shock! After getting over your shock you gush how excited you are for her. After the waiter leaves with your order you proceed to ask her for all the details. She explains that the wedding will take place in the Sahara Desert. Trying not to gasp in shock you begin plotting skincare items you're going to need to keep your face properly moist. Pick three items to keep your skin in order!

My picks:

Lush Ocean Salt
Most people don't use Ocean Salt on their face because they feel it's too harsh but I happen to love it! It's ideal for those crazy desert days when my skin begins to flake up!

Mandom Perfect Assist 24 Double Moist Cream
This will keep my skin moist and dewy while the sun is beating down on my head!

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sun Block
Gotta have high SPF for those sunny days in the desert! 85+ on this one! w00t!

Ok! Now it's your turn. The desert and dreary, cold rain for three months! Babble it peeps and tell me what you'd need to survive these nasty weather conditions.

Best of: Jill Stuart Cosmetics

It's no secret Jill Stuart is one of my very favorite cosmetic brands. With it's elegant packaging and unique makeup items, is it any wonder why it's a makeup junkie's dream come true?

As of late I haven't indulged in Jill Stuart cosmetics due to the repetitive color releases and bad currency conversion. But regardless how repetitious it becomes or how high the cost, Jill Stuart still remains a true favorite that stands out in my makeup world.

Click ahead for the Best of Jill Stuart Cosmetics at Musings!

Click through some great posts, reviews, and babblings about Jill Stuart Cosmetics!

Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color Review

Stash Spotlight: Jill Stuart Blush

Jill Stuart Cleansing Oil Review

Jill Stuart Christmas Coffret 2007 Review

Jill Stuart Perfume Review

Fake Jill Stuart Palettes

Jill Stuart Illuminance Review

See all tagged Jill Stuart posts

I hope you enjoyed clicking through these and learning more about Jill Stuart or just drooling over the greatness of Jill Stuart Makeup!

Do share some of your favorites from the brand!

Or e-mail me some stash pictures of your collection to share with readers!

Best of Inexpensive Asian Skincare: B&C Super off Eye Make-Up Remover

As you may know I have a slew of Asian drugstore finds hiding out in my closet. I really like shopping inexpensive Asian skincare and I'm always full of glee when I can score a deal online or have a friend pick me up something from Japan or Korea. One of my fav finds from the Asian skincare world is B&C Aqua Way Super Off Eye Make-up Remover. You may recognize the B&C name if you know Japanese cosmetics as they are the company behind Love Clover. B&C also offers a slew of inexpensive drugstore skincare items such as Aqua Way Super Off Eye Make-Up Remover. This retails for around $4-$5 USD in Japanese drugstores but it's available readily online for US shoppers at around $8-$9. The price is a tad jacked up so the question to answer is it worth the price increase?


Jump ahead to hear about it!

Yes, if you have no friends or contacts in Japan to get this for you than yes it's worth the price jack. It's a quality item that I've used for two years or more now and absolutely adore.




What is it?

It's a subtly orange scented gel which removes waterproof mascara, hard to remove eye makeup, and eye shadow.




I'll start off by saying I'm not partial to gels or balms for removing my shadow. For example I think theBalm Balms Away is awesome however it's not my ideal makeup remover. I do prefer liquid to remove my eye makeup. That being said I can be convinced to love good quality items like Balms Away and Super Off Eye Make-Up Remover.

The formula is a very thick gel that doesn't foam or sud, no tricks or gimmicks, simply a gel here. Taking a little more than a pea size amount you rub it on makeup laden eyes sans water. As you rub the gel breaks up makeup and goes to work to remove it. After gently rubbing for a minute or so you can proceed to rinse with warm water. Presto! Eye makeup, even hard to remove waterproof mascara, is rinsed off.




I imagine the idea of rubbing your eyes for a minute or so isn't too appealing but I find that the gel allows your fingers to gently glide across your eyes so no severe tugging is involved. If you're terribly uncomfortable with rubbing you can simply work the gel onto lashes and ever so gently rinse them clean. Honestly, the friction of the gel makes for a ever so gentle removal.

It's possibly one of the best removers I've come across aside from Lancome Bi-Facil plus it's way cheaper. You get about a 3.7oz to 4oz tub for the price which will last well over 3 months with daily use.

If you're looking for the Best Inexpensive Asian Eye Makeup Remover, B&C Eye Make-Up Remover is it. It's Muse Approved for purchase! A tried and true favorite.



The Muse recommends purchasing from the following places:
Sasa $8.90
Imomoko $12.95

I'll be bringing you more of my favorite, best inexpensive Asian skincare picks soon!

Excel Summer 2009: Excel Shimmer Mix Shadow

My little eye spies the brand new Excel Shimmer Mix Shadows available from Sana this Summer!


Pretties!

Available in three shades for 1,260 yen each these pretty mosaic shadows look quite interesting. I have three of these LE's from a few year's ago but they are solid colors and not as pretty. The finish is a heavy duty shimmer so if you're not a big fan of such a finish I'd avoid but for those of us that are sparkle junkies these should please!


Colors available are SM01 (Pink), SM02 (Gold) and SM03 (Green).


Wants 'em!

Beauty News: Etude House Website Relaunch

Bless freaking be! The Etude House website has gotten a make over and I couldn't be more relieved (although there be a steep learning curve for those of us who can't read Korean).


I can't begin to tell you how SLOW and tedious the old Etude House website was. It's not bad enough struggling through the Korean lanuage but also having to face the horrible load time, the terrible pop up promos, and the amazing amount of ridiculous sections they had going on.

Yesterday Etude House was down all day and I thought maybe there might be some sort of new launch in the works but turned out it was EH getting ready to slip into some new clothes. The new site is a good deal faster loading, doesn't load a pop up from the get go, and seems a tad easier to navigate.

I do have to reteach myself the lay out but I'm so happy it loads fast I may just wee myself in delight (but I won't, promise!). It's pretty much a one shot site and everything you may need or want is right there on the main page. I'm just delighted that FINALLY Etude House did a revamp because the site just really needed major work.

If you're like a nosy visit http://www.etude.co.kr

Happy Drooling!

Stash Spotlight: Lavshuca Palettes

My stash of Lavshuca palettes has gotten considerably smaller over the years as they release more and more palette styles and colors that I am none too fond of. I believe the last time I indulged was last Summer. I'm hopeful this Summer we'll have more of the same great palettes from Lavshuca rather than a rehash of terrible colors.

Until Summer the Muse hauled out some of her Lavshuca to do a Stash Spotlight on!




As I said Lavshuca has failed to catch my fancy as of late. Lord knows it's an epic fail lately. I am so terribly eager for news of the Summer Collection to reach my ears (hopefully good news and not disappointing news!).

I've been collecting Lavshuca for a few years now and I embraced the brand new packaging with glee however I do miss the certain princess feel the brand used to sport however I'm still loving the new slicker clothes.

Could be the sparkle, the smallness of the palettes, or just the fact that it's Japanese but Lavshuca has a special place in my heart even when it's busy putting out crummy shades!

Here's a few pictures of my stash of palettes!




















Lavshuca lover yourself?

Longing for something better from Lavshuca?

Tell the Muse!

Shills Flawless Foundation Cream Review

DJ put a record on I wanna dance with my new Shills Flawless Foundation Cream aka shameless dupe of Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous. Oh my god it gets more and more comical as I try out Shills and notice the incredible similarities between them and Benefit.

How shameful! But still I'm loving me some Shills anyway!

Read ahead for a review on Shills Flawless Foundation Cream.


Before I begin my review I think their may be a debate of whether Shills originated in China or Taiwan. I honestly can't verify. I've only personally seen it available in Taiwan not China but I've heard from readers that it's available in various parts of China. Personally, I've only seen it available in Taiwan. I hope this clears up some of the confusion.

So Shills Flawless Foundation Cream and Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous...oh my the very my two products that are exactly alike in just about everything but price. Shills is $239TWD or so where as Some Kind of Gorgeous is $28 USD. You can obviously see the better bargain here.








What is it?

It's a cream foundation that dries down to a matte powder finish.

Where as the sole compliant with Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous was the fact that it was such a nasty oily mess you'll quickly notice that you won't have any of the same problems with Shills Flawless Foundation Cream. I personally adore cream foundations and most of my makeup "career" has been based around cream foundations. When I got my hands on Some Kind of Gorgeous it was an utter nightmare so I'm happy to report that the Shills version is way nicer and pretty ideal for Summer wear!




The formula of the foundation is quite a nice silky blend. It starts out a cream but quickly dries down to a powder finish which allows for ease of blending, good coverage, and fantastic oil control. I'm unable to take full advantage of this since my skin is dry but when the Summer sets in and I'm looking to mattify my skin, this is ideal.

The product only comes in one shade which is very flattering for anyone with yellow undertones and needs alot of beige to tame that. I thought it was a little too dark for my skin but I made it work by using a little and blending it out. It comes housed in a great little dual compact which has the foundation on top and has a stealthy little compartment on the bottom for the sponge.


As I mentioned it's a cheap dupe of Benefit with it's record packaging which I thought was kinda of funny. Much of the line has cutesy style packaging a la Benefit style, terrible I know.


It's quite pigmented and has heavy coverage so it's not completely ideal for Summer-wear but it does tame oil very well and offers a nice flawless finish to skin. I think it would be particularly good at covering up large pores as well. Overall, I liked it but wasn't in love with it simply because they color was very dark and beige. If they released a lighter shade of this I could see myself Muse Approving it for purchase.






If you're wanting it I suggest checking E-bay as there are a few E-bayer's selling Shills. I paid retail which was $239TWN I believe so try to keep that in mind prior to getting purchasing at a scary price.