Getting Out Of The Rut Days 3, 4 and 5

I know I've disappeared for a bit, but it doesn't mean I wasn't keeping up with the challenge. It just means I didn't have much time to post. The past 4 days though I have been slacking a bit, so no photos of that, but I did incorporate a few products in my make up that I'd not used for a while, mainly blushes and lipsglosses/lipsticks. Anyway, here are the photos of the days I did make an effort:

Products used (other than my staples): Mac Crushed Metallic Pigments in Moss Garden, Spruced and Silk Stocking, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Covet, Laura Geller Baked Blush in Bora Bora and Mac Lipgelee in Lush & Bright.

See 2 more looks after the jump!

Want It! Dior Golden Shock Collection for Holiday 2014

First of all, hello, and sorry I've been AWOL, had a very difficult summer and now we've got a new member in our family. His name is Max and he's 4 months old. No, not a new baby, but a puppy! He's a Cavapoo (cross between a King Charles Cavallier Spaniel and a Toy Poodle) and is extremely adorable, but also quite a handful. Typical puppy, he loves stealing things and chewing them up. So as much as I love him, he has been taking up a lot of my time, it's like having a toddler again!

This is him a bit over a month ago when he arrived in our family. He is quite a bit bigger now, but is still a baby and still loves his cuddles with mama.

Anyway, moving onto beauty now, I couldn't not post images of the Dior holiday collection, the products are just so gorgeous. I have't bought anything from Dior for a while, but I am very tempted by the eyeshadow quints and those lipsticks! Oh my! Loving the powders too, but I'm not going to get them, I'm actually in the process of selling off all my pretty powders that I know I'll never use.

Here's the list of products in the collection:

5 Couleurs Eyeshadow  (Limited Edition)

• Golden Reflections (046)
• Golden Shock (756)

Diorshow Fusion Mono Eyeshadow

• Mirror (621) (New, Permanent)

Dior Addict Gloss (Limited Edition)

• Gold Rain (164)
• Pink Excess (663)

Diorific Illuminating Press Powder (Limited Edition)

• Gold Shock (001) 
• Pink Shock (002) 

Diorific Golden Shock Colour Lip Duo (Limited Edition)

• Delicate Shock (001) 
• Enchanting Shock (002) 
• Daring Shock (005)
• Ardent Shock (006)
• Passion Shock (007)
• Mysterious Shock (008)

Diorific Vernis (Limited Edition)

• Shock (762)
• Mirorr (022)
• Smoky (990)
• Gold Equinoxe (241)

Diorific Vernis Effect Top Coat (Limited Edition)

• Gold Leaf Effect (001)

Finally, here are some pictures!

See more pictures after the jump!

NOTD: Minty Green and Icy Silver

Today's mani is featuring a lovely nail polish from last year's Dior summer collection (no. 402 from the Samba mini polish duo) as well as GOSH Holographic Hero and Black Cat Lacquer Cancer, a glitter topper with matte white and grey glitter as well as small holographic glitter.

All 3 polishes were easy to apply, although the GOSH one you have to be careful with as it can pull a bit, but with 3 coats, everything was even. I used 2 coats of the glitter topper for added sparkle. The mani lasted well for 2 days, I removed it at the end of the second day. Removal was okay, I always use the foil method if I wear glitter.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Christian Dior Mystic Metallics Collection for Fall 2013

It seems that the weather in the UK has decided that it's already autumn, so it's very appropriate for me to continue showing you the upcoming fall collections. Today I have the Dior one to tell you about. It's called Mystic Metallics and it features 2 beautiful eyeshadow palettes as well as some new mono eyeshadows called Diorshow Fusion Mono which I suspect is Dior's take on Chanel's Illusion D'Ombres, cream eyeshadows with a bouncy texture.

There are also some new nail polishes including a green magnetic one (a little late to the game, but I personally do like magnetic nail polishes, they're the lazy way to create cool nail art), and 13 new shades of Diorblush. You can find the entire collection details over at Totally Blond.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Dior Birds of Paradise Collection for Summer 2013

I have to admit, I haven't been buying much make up lately, mostly been buying nail polish instead. The spring collections, except for a few, didn't really catch my eye, but having been looking at details of the upcoming summer collections, I've already got a long wishlist.

Today I want to show you the Dior summer collection called Birds of Paradise, full of very colourful, gorgeous, very summery products. The promo pictures are just beautiful, very eye catching.

I'm pretty sure I will want to get the eyeshadow quint used in the promo pictures and the Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duos look gorgeous too. I'm also eyeing up the metallic green polish (comes as a duo with the mint green one) and those Jelly Lip Pens look very promising too. There is also a waterproof liner that I don't seem to be able to find info on that looks gorgeous! What do you think?


Here are the details of the collection:

• Diorskin Nude Tan BB Cream
• Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo 
• Coral Glow 
• Pink Glow
• Dior 5 Couleur Eyeshadow Palette  
• #434 Peacock 
• #374 Blue Lagoon
• DiorShow Mono Eyeshadow in #273 Parati
• 1 Couleur Eye Gloss 
• #740 Zenith 
• #530 Golden Sand
• Lip Maximizer Collagen Activ in #001 Pink
• Jelly Lip Pen 
• #516 Copacabana 
• #476 Ilhabela
• #636 Carioca
• #656 Gaia
• Dior Addict Lipstick 
• #771 Passionnee 
• #751 Exotique 
• #471 Flamingo 
• #431 On The Beach
• Dior Vernis Duo 
• Bahia (green and fuchsia) 
• Samba (metallic green and mint)

See lots more pictures after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 3: Face

Here's another installment of my favourite products of 2012, this time it's the face products. I will start with the more exciting ones, ie. pretty highlighters. To me one of the most used highlighters of 2012 was Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. It is just so pretty both in the compact and on my skin. Just lovely.You can read my initial review by clicking on the link above.

See what other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

Dior Holiday 2012 - Grand Bal Palette

Dior really know how to make you drool over their products, don't they? When they make it this pretty, how can you possibly say no? This is their newest holiday palette, Grand Bal.

It contains 2 eyeshadows (gold and silver), 2 lipglosses and an eyeliner pencil, housed in a gold clutch type compact with a full size mirror in the lid. The pencil holds the clutch closed as it's threaded through the two circular barrels in the front.

The eyeshadows are so incredibly beautiful, not just the colours but the pattern. I carefully swatched them, but I'm really not sure i want to use them much as it would ruin the gorgeous design. However, they seem so lovely, it would be silly not to use them. They are very pigmented, smooth, and the colours are lovely. The gold is a light coppery gold and the silver is a white silver. The eyeliner is a straightforward black, quite creamy and well pigmented.

I didn't swatch the lipglosses (a shimmery sheer golden colour and a medium reddish coral colour), because I really didn't want to mess them up, but they would be good to apply on top of a lipstick or wear alone. For those who don't like their powder and cream products in one palette, you'll be pleased to know that the glosses are hiding behind a little flap.

Not only the clutch itself is gorgeous, but it also comes wrapped in white tissue paper with gold CD printed all over it. The whole thing just screams luxury. Unfortunately the pricetag is rather luxurious too at £60. You get 5.3 g product (doesn't say individually) which isn't much, but like with many other luxury products you also pay for the name, the design and it doesn't get much more luxurious than Christian Dior.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Dior 1 Couleur Eye Gloss Eyeshadow #750 Sunset Review and Swatches

I wasn't as overwhelmed by Dior's summer collection as I thought I would be, so other than a couple of bronzing powders I onyly bought one of the Eye Gloss cream eyeshadows. I picked up the shade Sunset which is a warm pink with gold shimmers.

I have only tried it over a primer and it stayed all day without creasing. It's not waterproof, but I don't need my eye make up to be waterproof anyway, other than mascara occasionally. It's easy to blend and dries quickly, and it's such a pretty colour, I really like it. I use it on days when I don't have much time to apply make up, it's quick and easy. It comes with a sponge applicator which I use to apply with onto my eyelids and then blend the edges with my finger.

You get 6 ml which is a good size, and these Eye Glosses cost £20. They come in 4 colours, but as they're limited edition, all of them might not be available anymore.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Christian Dior Nude Tan Healthy Glow Enhancing Powder 01 Aurora Review and Swatches

When I first saw pictures of the Dior summer collection, this powder was on top of my wishlist. I mean just look at it, how could it not be? I'm generally not a massive bronzer fan, but pretty, shimmery bronzers always attract me.

This one is called Healthy Glow Enhancing Powder, and I guess the glow mostly comes from the very fine shimmer. I think it's okay to be used all over the face as the shimmer isn't that obvious, but I've been using it mostly on my cheeks, nose and hairline only. I got Aurora which is the lightest shade, because I'm quite pale at the moment, but I have also bought Sunlight, the second lightest shade for the summer. The powder is made up of 4 colours effectively, there are 2 base colours and 2 colours running through the raised NUDE writing. It's a nice peachy pinky colour on me, I normally just use it instead of a blush and it looks really natural and flattering.

You get 10 g and the powder is enclosed ina gorgeous shiny silver compact. You also get a small kabuki brush with it, but I feel it picks up a bit too much product in one go, so I prefer using a fluffier brush with the powder. The brush is ever so cute though. I think the compact may be refillable because there is a small "poke" hole at the bottom, so you can push the powder up, but I haven't tried it myself. The powder costs £37 and is available now online and at counters.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Christian Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow 834 Rose Porcelaine Review and Swatches

Dior came out with some new permanent eyeshadow quints a couple of months or so ago, and they are supposed to be a new formula. To be honest I'm not sure how the formula is different, but in any case, it's very good and the Rose Porcelaine quint appealed to me most colourwise, so here it is.

Housed in the usual dark blue compact there are 5 colours ranging from light yellow highlighter with a pink sheen to a dark eggplant/aubergine shade. The two pinks are quite close to each other in colour, but otherwise there's a nice colour selection. I particularly like the egglant/aubergine colour which makes a very nice eyeliner or crease shade if you're looking to do something more dramatic. The light yellow highlighter has a lovely pink sheen to it, actually it reminds me a lot of Mac Vanilla pigment but with more pink sheen. The middle shade is a bit more peachy pink, but even that is quite close to the other pink shades. The colours are quite sheer and very frosty with the exception of the dark eggplant/aubergine, so I appreciate this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I like it.

The eyeshadows are the standard Dior quality, they stay on for hours and hours without creasing and are very soft and easy to apply and blend. You get 6 g of eyeshadows for £40, so it is now cheap, but after all, it is Dior.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Dior Croisette Collection Summer 2012

Another summer collection that's caught my eye is Dior Croisette Collection and I thought I'd show the details and some pretty pictures with you. I'm mostly excited about the eyeshadow quints and Aurora Enhancing Healthy Glow Powder, but there are some gorgeous lip and nail products included in the collection as well.

Due to be launched towards the end of April, the collection includes the following products:

5 Couleurs Croisette Eyeshadow Palette

• 224 Swimming Pool
• 654 Aurora

Dior Couleur Eye Gloss

• 020 Seashell
• 750 Sunset
• 240 Azur
• 560 Tan

Diorshow Waterproof Liner

• 258 Turquoise

Dior Addict Lipstick

• 354 Palace
• 414 Casual Gold
• 544 Jet Set

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss

• 224 Sunrise Gold
• 423 Brown Panama
• 464 Pink Croisette
• 542 Orange Pareo

Dior Addict Lip Balm

• 001 Crystal
• 002 Crystal Pink
• 003 Crystal Coral

Le Vernis

• 231 Bikini
• 401 Saint Tropez

Nude Glow Sun Powder

• 001 Honey
• 002 Amber
• 003 Cinnamon
• 004 Spicy
• 005 Toffee
• 006 Sienna

Enhancing Healthy Glow Powder

• 001 Aurora
• 002 Sunlight
• 003 Zenith
• 004 Sunset

Anything takes your fancy? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

My Dior Spring 2012 Collection Haul

A relatively modest haul for me, I only got 3 products from the Dior Spring 2012 collection. I even surprised myself with this, because when I first saw details of the collection, I was sure I also wanted the two clutches, however after swatching them I concluded that the eyeshadows were too sheer and I didn't want to fork out all that money for them. They are very pretty and if you like sheer colours, they might suit you, but they're just not for me.

I ended up buying the two eyeshadow quints, Garden Roses and Garden Pastels and one of the eyeshadow trios, Smoky Violet. Well, what can I say? The quints are just gorgeous. I just love the design and the colours, although admittedly I haven't actually been brave enough to swatch them as I love the design more, but I will eventually and in fact I have at the counter and they are gorgeous. I did swatch the trio as there's no gorgeous floral design the destroy (make sure you scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post for the swatches!).

A few words about the trio. It is quite unusual in the way that the compact doesn't open like normal compacts do, you have to slide the lid to open it and a little mirror then pops up from inside the compact. Not too sure why as I'd personally prefer a nice full size mirror int he lid, but I guess it's a bit quirkier this way. Inside you get 3 eyeshadows, they are labelled as Base, Soft Smoky and Couture Smoky. Dior recommends that you use the base colour all over the lid and then one of the darker shades for the outer corner, lid and along the lashline for a smoky eye look. One of the darker shades is matte, the other is shimmery (which is the main reason why I got this palette, it's so pretty). I personally could see myself using all 2 shades, but I guess if you're not very experienced at applying eyeshadows, this is a good tip. Dior also included a joke size double ended brush and a sponge applicator which are frankly no use if your hands are bigger than a 2-year-old's.

Funnily you actually get more product in the trio (5.5g instead of 4.8g in the quints), not sure why. The quints cost £41 each and the trio costs £32, so definitely the better deal of the two, BUT can you put a price on prettiness? Because the quints are just so pretty, they win hands down.

See more pictures after the jump!

2011's Favorite Products: Part 2 - Face

To continue from yesterday's favourites post I have the face products I loved the most this year to show you. Like I said in yesterday's post, it's hard to compose these lists because current favourites can easily make it in there even if you were using something  else for 11 months. Despite me not wanting to include products that have only recently made it into my most used and well loved products, I have gone against it and included a couple of products that are very new to me but have become firm favourites. Read on to find out what they are.

First up is my favourite face primer, Guerlain Meteorites Perles Light-Diffusing Perfecting Primer. It smells amazing and gives a smooth base, it's not slimy and slippery like some silicone based one, love it. I have reviewed it, so click on the link above.

Keep reading to find out which other face products I loved this year!

My Ever Growing Nail Polish Collection Part 3 - GOSH, Models Own, Dior, Chanel

As promised, here's the third and final part of my nail polish collection overview. If you missed part one and part two, you can check them out here and here.

So let's just get on with it shall we? Any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments!

My GOSH nail polishes

See more pictures of my collection after the jump!

FOTD: Make A Splash With Rimmel Colour Mousse!

Here's a quick and easy look I've created with Rimmel Colour Mousse in Splash. I used it as cream eyeshadow and just added a bit of highlighter, coloured eyeliner, mascara and voila! As this mousse eyeshadow is absolutely brilliant, it doesn't need a primer and still stays put, doesn't crease or fade all day. It's very easy to apply and I absolutely love this colour, it has a gorgeous gold sheen to it. Just to add, I don't think Rimmel Colour Mousses are waterproof, but I think they'd probably be okay with a bit of splashing.

To create this look I used the following products:

Eyes:
Rimmel Colour Mousse in 004 Splash
Mac White Gold pigment to highlight browbone
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero on lower lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Electric on lower waterline
Diorshow Black Out mascara in black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Cheeks:
Bobbi Brown Apricot Shimmer Brick

Lips:
Mac Thrills lipstick

Sorry, no idea what foundations and setting powder I used for this look, probably Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid and Mac MSF Natural. Anyway, let me know what you think of this look in the comments!


See more pictures after the jump!

Purple face of the day with Dior

I did this look the other day and really liked it, so I thought I'd share it with you. Sadly, my camera once again failed to pick up the pink tones, so the purple looks much coller than it actually was in real life, but it's still pretty, so here it is.

To create this look I used:

Eyes:
Barbara Daly for Tesco eyeshadow primer
Christian Dior Cristal Boreal eyeshadow 152 Purple Gem all over lid
Christian Dior Cannage Colour Collection palette mauve shade in crease
Christian Dior Cannage Colour Collection palette pink shade in inner corner and below browbone
Make Up Forever Aqua Liner in Iridescent Electric Purple on upper lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Lust on lower lashline
Clarins Wonder Mascara in purple
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium
Mac Well Dressed blush

Lips:
Dior Addict lipstick in 579 Rose Vision

See more pictures after the jump!

Model's Own Smash Up Silver crackle polish review and swatches

You might remember me reviewing 17's gold crackle polish last month (see my review here). Although I wasn't that keen at first, I did get an awful lot of compliments on my nails and when I saw that Model's Own has come out with a silver crackle top coat, I decided to get it.

It is basically the same concept, you paint it on top of your nail polish and watch it separate, leaving the colour peeping out from underneath. Formulawise it is very similar to the 17 crackle top coat, it applies well and crackles quickly. This one is slightly more expensive at £6, but you do get 14 ml instead of 10. Unlike the 17 gold top coat the Model's Own version has tiny silver glitter which I think is very pretty, albeit not very noticable. I'm still waiting for a properly glittery gold or silver topcoat, something like the British Beauty Blogger wrote about back in March which is sadly still not available. In the meantime, this will have to do.

In the pictures I'm wearing this with Dior Love (LE) nail polish underneath. I have tried it with a dark blue polish too, but sadly it had chipped off before I could take pictures. Not the fault of the nail polish, it's my stupid nails.

See more pictures and nail swatches after the jump!

Christian Dior Summer 2011 Eyeshadow Quints: Rosy Nude and Rosy Tan

Dior is one of my favourite brands, I especially love their eyeshadows, so I always check out the new limited edition ones with every new collection. (If you are interested to check out my Dior quint collection, please click here! I do need to update it though as I now have even more of them.) This summer Dior has launched two new quints: 534 Rosy Nude and 754 Rosy Tan.

Rosy Nude (left), Rosy Tan (right)

Both of them are gorgeous, they both contain browns and pinks, but if I had to choose I'd say Rosy Tan is my favourite. Rosy Nude is probably more for daytime, and Rosy Tan is more suitable for creating a more dramatic eye, but they are both light enough to work for those looking for a work-friendly eyeshadow palette. I like it that they both contain a pink shade because I love my pinks and it makes them a bit more interesting and girly. I also like it that they've included a highlighter colour in both palettes, so you can use one (or the other) for a complete look. You can even use the darker shades as eyeliner and hey presto, all you need to add is mascara!

I wore these at the weekend and they both lasted all day, didn't crease or fade and there was no fall out. The eyeshadows are smooth, buttery and very easy to blend, they are pigmented and shimmery enough to look gorgeous, but not glittery. Both palettes contain a shade that's less shimmery, but not matte, more satin really. These have not been released in the UK yet (I bought them in Florida last month), but I'm sure it's any day now, and they're most likely to cost around £40 each.

See more product pictures and swatches after the jump!

My amazing US haul

Hello! I'm back! In case you didn't guess from my post a week or so ago, I was in Orlando with my family. We did loads of fun stuff, Disney's Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Aquatica... and some shopping! There are some amazing outlets in Orlando as well as the massive Florida mall, so I ended up buying a LOT of stuff. I was also interested in checking out some drugstore brands we don't get in the UK like Physicians Formula, and finally managed to buy myself the lovely Revlon lipgloss I'd been eyeing up for weeks - for much less as well! I know I went a bit crazy. I haven't actually added up how much I've spent, but you can tell it was a lot.

My entire beauty haul

However, I did find some amazing buys, including 3 Mac Volcanic Ash Exfoliators (there were actually a lot more in one of the CCOs, but I couldn't really pick up more), the Tom Ford Black Orchid set, and there was an excellent freebie offer at Lancome with 6 free samples and a gorgeous make up bag, so I couldn't resist.

Details will follow shortly. For now, here are some more pictures of my haul. Let me know if there are any particular brands or products you'd like me to show you in details.

WOW! 100,000 hits!

Yesterday Pleasureflush had its 100,000th hit since I started the blog back in June 2009. I can hardly believe it, just amazing to think my blog has been visited 100,000 times within less than 2 years! I also have over 230 followers which is again incredible.  It's taken me a while to get into blogging properly, in fact I took 8 months off due to lack of time in 2009/2010, but since my little boy started school I've had a lot more time to myself and my blog. I still wish I had more time, but since I'm a mum of 3 young children, I've got to be realistic, I have to do housework and look after my children, so it's not going to happen yet.

Anyway, I'd just like to thank you all for taking time to read what I have to say and I hope you find my posts useful. I always welcome your comments, it makes writing a blog much more fun knowing there are people out there reading it!

Finally here are the 5 most popular posts since my blog began:

No 1. I'm excited about... Mac Quite Cute Collection

No 2. Christian Dior 5 Colour Eyeshadow Review

No 3. Christian Dior Spring 2011 Make Up Collection

No 4. Guerlain Meteorites Summer 2010 Edition

No 5. Stereo Rose Old Versus New Comparision Pictures
Have you got a favourite?