Emily Johnson

If you’re goal is to smell like a creamy cup of coffee with caramel the new Brown Girl Jane Casino Eau de Parfum is a must have! I popped a travel-spray of Brown Girl Jane Casino into my cart recently but I’m headed back in for a full-size bottle purchase as I LOVE a good gourmand coffee scent and this checks off all the boxes to get me smelling like a sweet, creamy cup of coffee. That isn’t everyone’s thing I get it but for me, I’m in love.

I’m the oddball person that hates the taste of coffee, doesn’t drink it (I admit I’ll indulge in a macchiato on a rare day though!), but gets so much joy from walking into a Starbucks or smelling someone brewing a cup of joe! I absolutely love the smell of coffee particularly when it’s some sort of fancy dessert-like cup of coffee with whipped foam, caramel, etc…etc…!

When I heard about Brown Girl Jane Casino Eau de Parfum I was all hands on deck! This is a warm gourmand blend of Espresso Affogato, Golden Rum Cake, and Almond Foam. Sounded like a perfect coffee gourmand to me and perhaps a little bit of a dupe of Mancera Amore Caffe which I love. Sadly, it is not but it is creamy caramel coffee just like Amore Caffe!

I think very straight forward and won’t confuse your noise. I don’t get the golden rum cake nor the almond foam but I do get the beautiful hit of expresso but it isn’t dark nor bitter it’s creamy and even though the notes don’t say as such there’s a beautiful caramel in the background twined around the expresso giving it a warm, comforting hug of sweetness. This is going to pair so well with others scents from Brown Girl Jane like Carousel or even Lush Sticky Dates and Bianco Latte. It’s one of those scents you can easily pair up with other gourmands especially ones with vanilla or caramel notes!

As this dries down it retains the beautiful caramel coffee notes but has a little hint of soft, fluffy marshmallow as well. It’s a very warm, comforting scent but not one I’d considering wearing in the Spring or Summer. I’ll likely wait for Fall to bring this back out again as it’ll make a beautiful scent for the cooler weather. It also wears like a champion and creates a beautiful throw around the room and will have people asking what that wonderful smell is. Chances are they’ll think someone is drinking a fancy coffee drink but it’ll just be you smelling like a snack!

Brown Girl Jane Casino Eau de Parfum is well worth the haul and gets a Muse Approval for purchase. Don’t pass this one up if you’re a gourmand lover.

Brown Girl Jane Casino Eau de Parfum is available now!

Where to buy

Sephora

I did it! I grabbed up the Ouai St. Barts Detangling and Frizz Fighting Leave In Conditioner and I regret nothing. Well, technically, beauty confession, I purchased two bottles and I was tempted to do three. The temptation was there, people. But I was good and I went for two and there was some logical part of me thinking, “but what if Trader Joe’s dupes it this Summer?” I mean, it’s possible right considering the Trader Joe’s Leave In Conditioner that launched had everyone screaming, “DUPE DUPE DUPE!” But I wasn’t chancing it! So, I grabbed two. Why it’s limited-edition is beyond me but I hope they change their mind and make it permanent!

I do like the original Quai Leave In Conditioner but I think the Trader Joe’s one is oddly better. That being said, Ouai St. Barts Detangling and Frizz Fighting Leave In Conditioner is next level thanks to the fragrance. It does in fact smell like Quai’s popular St Bart’s scent with notes of dragon fruit, orange blossom, tuberose, and Baltic amber. To me it smells like a warm, tropical island scent. It’s intoxicating and having my hair smell like that all day is absolutely fine by me.

This is the same cream conditioner formulas the original. It’s pretty thick but it does spray onto your hair in a finer mist. It detangles, smooths, hydrates, and protects hair with a heal level of 450 degrees. So if you’re blasting your hair with a drier this will protect your hair as you dry it.

The scent is beautiful as I said and it does linger nicely in the air. I tend to let my hair dry and it still smells amazing wet or dry! It’s a very pretty and addicting scent. I do think it’s slightly expensive at $30. I did use my Rouge discount which made it a little bit of a better price but at 4.7 oz I do wish it was a bit bigger for the price. I’m a little disappointed they are only doing it for a limited time. I rarely pick up extras of anything in the beauty world nowadays. It seems wasteful to grab two of anything however, I wasn’t willing to see this disappear and did pick up two. Let’s hope Trader Joe’s does a dupe of it so we can save a little money haha.

Either way, I don’t regret this purchase as a St Barts’ lover. I highly recommend grabbing it if you want your hair smelling beautiful all day!

Ouai St. Barts Detangling and Frizz Fighting Leave In Conditioner is available now!

Where to buy

Sephora

About the Muse

Isabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Saie SuperSuede Talc-Free Powder Blush ($28) is a new lightweight baked blush with a long-wearing formula that launched recently in six shade selections. This blush is talc-free which is becoming the makeup industry’s norm for blush formulas lately. Primarily formulas are changing for safety reasons as talc can sometimes be contaminated with asbestos during the mining process. But also, talc is considering trying and brand’s are migrating away from it as a way of introducing a more cleaner, gentler formula for sensitive users. NARS Blush was recently reformulated and is now a completely talc-free formula and you’ll find other brands headed in the same direction.

When Saie launched these new Supersuede Blushes I was concerned they’d be doing away with the Glow Sculpt Multi-Use Cream Highlighting Blush which is one of my best loved blushes. Thankfully, those are still around and the new Supersuede formula is a permanent addition to Saie’s blush family. And a welcome one at that as they don’t have a powder blush in their catalog!

I picked up a single shade of Saie SuperSuede Talc-Free Powder Blush in Stella which is a warm, bright coral. It was $28 and holds .01 oz of blush in a simple black compact with Saie’s logo on the front in a raise, 3D design. As a lover of baked blushes this was a pretty fun purchase for me. It’s a formula I love and prefer in my blushes and I was happy to see someone embracing a new baked blush formula.

These blush has a very smooth, silky surface and the formula is just as silky. My brush easily picks up color (a little too easily) without a ton of powdery kick up. It’s VERY pigmented so when my brush picks up color it picks up A LOT of it. I did have to tap off a lot of it before I applied it on my cheeks. It applies super smoothly, blends easily, and gives my cheeks a super kick of beautiful color. I read a lot of reviews that said it was dry and patchy but I honestly can’t say I experienced that. I thought the formula was incredibly silky with a very smooth finish on my dry cheeks. I do think part of the issue is the blush is super pigmented and it comes in a variety of warmer, darker shades. They need a few more lighter shades and I think that would solve the problem of application issues as this is a really pigmented formula that’s easy to overdo which could result in patchiness or an uneven blush look. It’s a real bold selection of shades and a lighter or super fair skin tone may struggle finding a good color to purchase. The wear time is promised as a “long-wearing” and they aren’t kidding about that. Once on your skin it stays on. It doesn’t fade at all and wears throughout the day remaining bright and vibrant well into the evening. I got a solid 12 hour day out of it without it even showing a bit of wear. The blush does seem to have a little bit of a glow to it in the pan but it didn’t really translate to the finish on my cheeks. It looked more matte without any glow, shimmer, or radiance to the finish.

Saie SuperSuede Talc-Free Powder Blush Swatches (Stella)

Saie SuperSuede Talc-Free Powder Blush is a tricky little formula but if you’re into the color range and get on board with a light application you’ll be just fine.

Saie SuperSuede Talc-Free Powder Blush is available now!

Where to buy

Sephora Saie

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush Brightening Serum Blush ($25) is the brand’s first official color makeup product. Although, they’d rather you refer to it as a tinted cheek serum with a 100% skincare formula. Hmm…! Not only does it promise color but also, it’s formulated to plump, brighten, treat dark spot, and hydrate. Does it do all that? I’d say not really. It does contain Niacinamide which is superstar in the world of smoothing skin and brightening dark spots but this is essential a blush and not something you’re apply all over your face. You also, aren’t wearing a ton of it so I personally question if a few dots of this are going to treat dark spots that easily. I’m not a big fan of skincare in makeup. It just feels gimmicky. Infusing ingredients like retinoids, Vitamin C or Niacinamide into a blush or foundation seems pointless to me. I’d much rather use those products before my makeup application and not reply on my makeup for them. Of course, Glow Recipe got a ton of influencers to keep pushing and mentioning how these blushes were 100% skincare and I wasn’t buying it. But if you’re their main demographic (which is way younger than I am) I can see it being intriguing to someone who hasn’t taken a ton of time out to research skincare or who may just be starting our on their skincare journey.

I’ve used the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush Brightening Serum Blush since February and I haven’t really seen any improvement in my skin. It’s a great formula, I like it a lot, but as for skincare and treating my skin? Mmm..! Can’t say it did much in that direction. But here’s my review and swatches of the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush used as a blush not a skincare product.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush (.4 oz) is available in two shade selections and contains 3% niacinamide for brightening dark spots, watermalon extra for hydration and calming redness, jojoba oil coated pigments for natural, dewy color, and squalane for moisture. I got the shade Berry Flush and it’s pretty sheer! I did hear the more lighter of the two shades, Watermelon Flush, was VERY sheer and barely showed up when blended out. I’m glad I got the darker of the two as it gave my cheeks a nice natural hit of a pink flush without being overwhelming. You can’t overdo this formula either so apply as much as you want and you’ll never have a case of clown cheeks. The finish is natural no matter how many layers you’re applying.

The blush comes in a same style genie bottle as the original Glow Recipe Dew Drops Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops but it is a smidge smaller. It has an attached sponge applicator which made it easy to dot the blush on and blend it out. I saw a few people applying this on your lips but considering it contains ingredients not meant for lips I didn’t go there. It smells like watermelon but the scent isn’t terribly strong.

This is a gel-like consistency that has a dewy finish initially but it does settle into your skin and dries down considerably after application which gives it more of a cheek stain-like finish versus one that looks “wet’ or dewy. It feels amazing! As a drier skin girl I appreciate how it feels hydrating and does sort of feel like it makes your cheeks plumped and bouncy to the touch. I didn’t get the lifting effect they promised. I thought it would be more like the lift I got from the Kaja Jelly Charm Glazed Lip Stain & Blush. I thought those were a joke until I tried them and whoa! They really do give you a chiseled cheek look! Unfortunately, I don’t get the same effect from the Glow Recipe formula. But that’s not to say it isn’t pretty. It’s really cute, sweet, and nautral looking on me. And it wears like a champion. I had no issues with it fading for a solid several hours and didn’t come off till I took it off.

Since this is a gel it does apply super easily. I would recommend dotting it on and patting it into place or just blending it outwards. A brush isn’t required and I do think a brush would actually absorb some of the product so dotting and just blending out is the best technique. It doesn’t set super fast either so there’s plenty of time to blend it and add more if you want. As I mentioned above it’s difficult to overdo this formula. You can apply a little or a lot but never fear it’ll look overkill or garish.

All in all, the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush Brightening Serum Blush is a fun little flush of color. I’m not so sure about all the skincare claims but as a blush it’s a fun little addition to the Glow Recipe family! They’ll likely do more shades of this or even come out with a glowy version in the future is my guess and if they do I’ll absolutely look into purchasing more.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush Brightening Serum Blush is available now!

Where to buy

Sephora Kohl’s

About the Muse

Isabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

About the Muse

Isabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Obviously, we all know this week is the Sephora Spring Savings Event and if you’re Rouge you can snag 20% off! Tomorrow the sale sale starts for VIB and BI but the discount isn’t at great at 15% and 10% off. I knew the sale was coming but I’ve still snuck in a few makeup purchases that I could have waited for to score on sale. But sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. One of those items was a new eyeshadow palette that I didn’t need but I did buy. Well, technically, I used points at Ulta to grab it but if I didn’t have points I’d have totally paid full price for this.

So, yeah, the Sephora Sale could have gotten me 20% off but I brought this eyeshadow palette without it being on sale and don’t regret it.

Natasha, Natasha, Natasha. I felt sure I didn’t need your new Bloom Eyeshadow Palette but here we are. I snagged the Natasha Denona Bloom Eyeshadow Palette soon after it launched but I was on the fence about it initially. I thought perhaps it was giving Too Faced Sweet Peach vibes but after seeing someone post a photo of it in a Reddit post I knew I had to have it. This palette is actually inspired by one of my fav palettes from Natasha, the Bloom Blush and Glow Face Palette. I have to say some of the stunning shades in this palette would make a great blush or highlighter and I haven’t ruled out the idea of trying them like that.

I just love the round up of colors in this palette. Shimmering peaches, golds, corals, tangerines, and pinks make this my ideal Summer Eyeshadow Palette. Not to mention I ADORE shades like this. I actually haven’t dug into this palette yet. I’m sort of scared to use it which is insane considering the amount of eyeshadow palettes I have but I’m really looking forward to digging into. I’ll review it soon.

Natasha Denona Bloom Eyeshadow Palette is one palette I don’t regret hauling without it being on sale!

Let me know if you grabbed this palette!

Where to buy

Sephora Ulta