Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow/Eye Rimz in Cinnamon Swirl/Mint Chocolate Chip + FOTD

Bit of a mouthful, huh? Anyway, this is my newest Laura Geller baked eyeshadow, it cam out in the same (Vanilla Nudes) collection as the Baked Dreams Cheek Highlighter and Blush I told you about the other day.

What you have hereis basically a baked eyeshadow duo. On the left you get a mixture of autumnal shades: orange, brown and khaki swirled together. On the right you have a very shimmery blackened green eyeshadow that can also be used as a highlighter. I have found that it is best used wet because otherwise it's a bit chalky and the shimmers get lost when applied to the eyelids dry. I used it wet as an eyeliner and it is gorgeous. The left side of the eyeshadow is slightly larger and has good chunks of separate colours, so I managed to pick out the orange and khaki (but there's a nice big brown patch too) to create the look you can see at the bottom of the post. The left side is perfectly good applied dry, in fact I never even tried it wet.

I used my Barbara Daly eyeshadow primer under this and the shadows didn't crease at all and still looked the same 10+ hours later. There was minimal fallout during application, but nothing afterwards. The compact is 1.8 g, so pretty much standard baked eyeshadow size. As it was part of a set, I haven't got a price for this, I don't think it's available to puchase on its own anyway.

Make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of this post as I have a look I've created with this eyeshadow duo which I think turned out really well actually. There are also swatches after the jump.

Accessorize Bronzing Block Shade 3 Review and Swatches

I have been meaning to review this for ages, but only just got around to taking some comparison pictures. This product is well worth reviewing though because it is really good. It is described as a bronzing block, but in reality it's actually a blush, and a really lovely one as well. I don't know why it's called bronzing block, but then Bobbi Brown uses the name bronzing powder for some of her blushes.

The bronzing block/blush comes in a pretty flowery box, with Accessorize written on it. The box is slightly bigger than Benefit blushes, but similar style, although the new Bella Bamba now has a flip top, but the old ones have lids that come off. No mirror in the lid, but you do get a small brush. I don't use it, instead I use my normal blush brush. The blush itself is a gorgeous pinky coral colour, really pretty and great for summer. It has a little sheen, but it's not shimmery or glittery at all. Very pigmented, a little goes a long way. It's a decent size at 5.7g and it's really very affordable at £7 (although I think when I bought it, there was a £2 off deal at Superdrug).

I have compared it to some of my coral blushes including Nars Orgasm and Mac Stereo Rose, I think it's possibly closest to Sleek Rose Gold blush, but that one has a lot more sheen to it. You can see the comparison swatches at the end of this post.

Overall I would highly recommend this blush to everyone who likes coral cheeks and good quality blushes at affordable prices. Once again Accessorize did not disappoint.

See more pictures and swatches after the jump!

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?

Stereo Rose old versus new comparison pictures

There have been many people asking/wondering if the new version of Stereo Rose is the same as the old version (released in 2005 in the Gold Play collection). So since I own both versions, I thought I'd post some pictures and swatches in case you're interested. In my opinion the old and new versions are very similar, but not exactly the same. Although bear in mind that due to the nature of MSFs, every one of them are different. But from what I've seen on other blogs and also based on my own 2, the old version is pinker, the new version is a bit more coral-y. It's not a huge difference and if you only have the new version, don't worry about trying to track down the old one, it's close enough. But here they are anyway, so you can make your own mind up.

New (left), old (right) no flash

See more pictures including swatches after the jump.

Mac In The Groove Look #5

Today I tried out the lovely green trio called Calm, Cool & Collected. I don't often wear green eyeshadow because I tend to like matching eyeshadows with my clothes and I don't wear a lot of green clothes. I'm not actually wearing much green today, but really wanted to try out this trio anyway. This is definitely one of my favourite eyeshadows from this collection, the colours work well together and that middle green shade is just gorgeous! I also wanted to wear Stereo Rose as I haven't included it in any of my looks lately, even though it is one of my favourite blushes. For the rest of the look I used a new lipstick that I picked up from Boots last Thursday (when I went to my Mac counter for my mega haul), it's a beautiful coral shade from Prestige called Fever. I guess it is similar to Jazzed, but it is brighter and less pink. I also used GOSH eyeliner pencil in Alligator and Guerlain Le 2 mascara in black. Here are some pictures of the look I created and the products used. Sorry for the short post, but it's been a busy day, it's now very late and I'm mega tired. See more pictures after the jump.

My In The Groove and Superglass haul (updated)

I went to my local Mac counter yesterday morning to check out the new collections. I was pretty sure I wanted all the mineralize eyeshadows and blushes as I have all the other ones from past collections (yep, I am a collector, I just love mineralize make up). I also wanted to pick up a Stereo Rose although I already owned it, but wanted to see how different it was (it's pretty much the same by the way). I wasn't sure which lipsticks and superglasses I wanted to pick up, I always check out lip products in person, I find they're not as easy to pull off as eyeshadows and blushes. In the end I bought 3 lipsticks: Go For It, Jazzed and I Like It Like That (all Cremesheen) and 5 superglasses: Superflash, Cherry Electric, Totally Bang, Gift Wrap and Fab Frenzy. My initial opinion is that the eyeshadows are a lot smoother than previous releases, they are very easy to blend and have no fallout. I haven't even swatched everything, but love all the colours. I did try out Togetherness today and will post pictures of my look later. The blushes are very nice too, again haven't tried all of them, only used Hang Loose today and it's really pretty and has a good colour payoff, although it is pretty light, so would probably be more of a highlighter for darker skintones. The lipsticks are all Cremesheens, although I Like It Like That has the best colour payoff, the other two are pretty sheer. I love the superglasses, they are pigmented and very longlasting (for a gloss anyway), although quite sticky (not more so than normal Mac lipglasses though). I don't find them gritty at all and in fact they're not even that glittery on the lips. Here's a picture of my haul in all its glory. See more pictures including lipstick and superglass swatches after the jump!

Sneak peak: Mac In The Groove collection eyeshadow in Style Influencer

I don't know about you, but I've been majorly excited about the new summer collection by Mac called In The Groove. As I am really into Mac's mineralize products (you can see photos of my Mineralize Skinfinish collection from last summer here) I cannot wait to purchase pretty much everything from this new collection. It's due out on 1st July in the UK, so not long to wait now. Collection details and product pictures can be found here. I was lucky enough to find one of the new eyeshadows on eBay, and I have to say I am very pleased with it. The texture of it is really smooth and buttery, not gritty or chalky at all, which have been the complaint about past mineralize eyeshadows Mac have released. I like all mine, but i have to say these are even better. The shade I bought is Style Influencer which has 3 colours: Satin silver, Pearly deep blue, Satin deep mauve brown (according to Mac), although I'd say the lightest shade is more white than silver, but it does have a silvery sheen. See swatches after the jump (now I've figured out how to do this! yay!)...

Urban Decay Stardust eyeshadows - review and looks

After my huge Urban Decay haul yesterday I now own all 9 shades of the new Stardust eyeshadows. So I thought I'd take a few pictures and write up a quick review for those who are interested in these eyeshadows.

My first impression of these was that they look VERY shiny. Not so much glittery (Midnight Cowboy Ride Again, I'm looking at you!), but like wet shimmer. They are very smooth, not gritty at all, and as a result, there really isn't much fallout with them. I found them pretty easy to work with.

The shadows are 3.5 g (0.12 oz) each and come in a funky square black case with slightly domes clear lid. To open them you have to squeeze the sides of the black case together (it's made of some sort of rubber). They cost £13.50 each.

They come in 9 shades, some are very light and not much more than shimmer, but there are some really nice pigmented shades in there, my favourite being Atmosphere, an intense teal colour. See some photo and swatches below.

Top row: Bobby Dazzle, Space Cowboy, Diamond Dog, Griffith, Atmosphere

Bottom row: 54, Retrograde, Moon Spoon, Void

Top row: Bobby Dazzle, Space Cowboy, Diamond Dog, Griffith, Atmosphere

Bottom row: 54, Retrograde, Moon Spoon, Void

Top row: Bobby Dazzle, Space Cowboy, Diamond Dog, Griffith, Atmosphere, 54, Retrograde

Bottom row: Moon Spoon, Void

Moon Spoon, Void

I created two different looks using these shadows, for the first one I used 54 and Retrograde, for the second one I used Bobby Dazzle, Space Cowboy and Diamond Dog. Please let me know what you think.

Bottom line is, these eyeshadows are a nice addition to the Urban Decay line. If you don't like shimmery eyeshadows, however, these are not for you. But they are fun and easy to work with. To be completely honest, I wouldn't have purchased them all at £13.50 a pop, in fact I only bought 54 and Retrograde at first, because I'm not sure they're worth that much. But if you can find them cheaper or a 3 for 2 deal, then I'd pick up 2 or 3 of them because they are pretty nice.

See more photos...

PS. I'm wearing Stereo Rose on my cheeks and Ever Hip lipstick on the lips in this second look.

Mac In The Groove collection - Stereo Rose is coming back!

I have some very exciting piece of news! Mac is re-releasing Stereo Rose MSF!!! It is coming out as part of In The Groove collection due to be released in July 2010. The collection details are as follows: Cremesheen Lipstick Call my Bluff- Mid-tone creamy coffee Jazzed- Bright Coral Pink Creme d Nude (repromote) I Like it Like That- Deep Blue Pink All Styled Up- Bright yellow pink Go For It-mid tone blue purple Cremesheen Lipgloss On The Scene- light coral beige You've Got It- mid tone silver grey Going Casual- sheer lilac Fashion Whim- light beige Right Image- mid tone blue pink Chillen- light white blue Mineralize eyeshadow trio Love to Love- satin beige/pearly bronze/satin bronze In the Groove- satin green/pearly burgundy/satin coral Making it Easy- satin red brown/ pearly beige rose/satin dark beige Togetherness- satin lavender/pearly purple/satin grey Style Influencer- satin silver/ pearly deep blue/ satin deep mauve Soften the Mood- satin light brown/ pearly rose/ satin light blue Fresh & Easy- satin pink/pearly burgundy/satin grey Calm, Cool & Collected- satin deep green/pearly green/?? Blue my Mind- satin light blue/pearly deep teal/satin black Eyeliners Stubborn Brown Permaplum Navy Stain Mineralize Skinfinish By Candlelight- golden pink STEREO ROSE- coral with gold/bronze shimmering nuances Comfort- golden bronze Petticoat-pale rose with gold and amber veining Mineralize Blush Happy Together- satin caramel/pearly beige A Little Bit of Sunshine- satin light brown/pearly beige Hang Loose- satin bright pink/pearly lavender Band of Roses- satin blue pink/ pearly light plum New Vibe- satin deep rose/pearly bronze 187 Brush I am super excited about this collection because I love all things mineralize, so will definitely get the blushes, the eyeshadow trios, and might just pick up another Stereo Rose MSF. Source: Specktra.net

Stereo Rose!!!

I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous, very hard to find, limited edition Stereo Rose MSF. I got it from a lady on MUA and I am so happy I did. To be honest with you, I meainly got it because I collect MSFs and I'd heard that this one is a really lovely one, although I had seen pictures, I never really understood as it looks a bit "dirty" to me. What I mean is that it doesn't have that pretty veining some of the other MSFs like Petticoat and Glissade have, so for a while I wasn't sure I wanted it. But as this was pretty much the only one missing from my collection (as well as a few dark ones like Brunette, Metal Rock, Gold Deposit that don't suit me at all), I gave in and tracked it down. And boy am I glad I did. When I tested it on my hands I couldn't believe my eyes, it is just the most perfect pink I've ever seen! Absolutely gorgeous. So I am very happy I now own it and this brings my collection of MSFs to 22. Until Friday that is, because I was told at my local Mac counter that Colour Craft is out tomorrow (a week earlier than in the US), so I'll be going shopping on Friday and will be buying 5 new MSFs! (I already own a Porcelain Pink MSF.) I will post about my haul later this week as well as update my MSF collection photo if I get the chance. But for now, here's a picture of my lovely new Stereo Rose and a swatch that doesn't quite do it justice, but gives an idea of the colour anyway.