May's Glossybox~ The Birthday Edition

Hello my little bats today i bring you another Glossybox review, the May Glossybox to be more specific. Also it is Glossybox's 2nd birthday. It feels like beauty boxes are still a new concept so its pretty mad when i realize how long i have been a subscriber. This months box came filled with a beautiful birthday themed paper and some lovely happy orange padding.

1. Jelly Pong Pong~ Fairy Lash Mascara

I was really excited to see this product in the box, i love jelly pong pong products and they are cruelty free which I'm all about. The name is appealing to me having gone through a phase in my teen years of dressing as a fairy to explore woodlands with a friend. After using the product i have to say i wasn't too impressed (sorry jelly). A single coat of mascara looks good but nothing special and a second coat is hideous. The texture is the weirdest thing about it, it literally turns to a rubbery glue which can be stretched and pulled of the lashes.... seriously i did this for about 5 minutes whilst weirding out. This is a full sized product which retails for £15

2. Roger and Gallet~ Fleur De Figuier
 I love love love these products! I am new to Roger and Gallet but i can see them becoming a new favourite of mine. This is a really good sized and interesting sample trio of a gentle shower cream, body lotion and fragrance water. I have used up the fragrance water already because it smells divine, it has a beautiful fruity scent (mostly grapefruit and fig). The shower cream and moisturizer both feel creamy and nourishing, they leave a beautiful subtle scent on the skin as well.  I will 100% be buying the fragrance which can currently only be bought from Marks and Spencers.
The fragrance water retails at £32 for 100ml, Body Lotion at £12.50 for 200ml and the Shower Cream at £9.50 for 200ml

3. Primae~ Harmony Balm
I have to say this was the least exciting product in the box this month, however that is mostly due to the boring packaging. Put some bats and cobwebs on the container and i would probably be all over it. The product is a moisture balm with aloe vera butter, which means it is super soothing and nourishing on the skin. But still not very exciting. A fullsized 30ml jar costs £26.50 

4. Headline Colour~ Catwalk
I have used this brand before when they were trading under the name killer colours and i am again pleased with their offerings. It only took a single coat of polish to get a good solid even colour and has lasted well without chipping. The colour is a coral red which I'm not super keen on as I'm usually drawn to a darker coloured nail. This is a full sized polish which retails at £9

5. Beautiful Movements~ Prime and Create Mixing Medium
I had never heard of this brand before which is created by a former pussycat doll, i have had some pretty poor experiences with celebrity make up brands but this one i am impressed with. I've been loving multi purpose products lately and this one really does a lot well. It functions as a primer and a mixing medium to be used with mineral shadows, powder blushers, bronzers and foundations. I have used it as a primer and a mixer with mineral shadow and it is really impressive. The full sized version of this product costs £20 for 20g

Freebee~ Mini Glossybox Nail files
Some of you may not receive this in your may Glossybox as it is a free gift included for subscribers of a year or over. What's not to like about these, they are a really handy size to pop in your bag and they are a nice bright colour too.

Again i am left pleased with this months Glossybox, they seem to be getting more consistent with the quality of their products. My favourites from this box have to be the Roger and Gallet products and the Beautiful Movement Primer although um sure to pickup some Headline Colours polish in some different colours. The total worth of this moths box is £36.91

Thanks again for reading.

Rottentouch x

15% Off Primae~ HBDGlossybox
Monnier Freres: £100 off any handbag over £300~ GLOSSYBOX100UK
20% Off June's Glossybox~ GIANTBOX

Brixham Pirate Festival

Hi my little bats, i'v been away for a while again i know. But i come bearing a video of the scurvy nautical kind. This week i returned from my Brixham pirate adventure much poorer and less sober than when i left. In my weekend away i attended a fossil festival (not planned but very cool), stormed a pirate ship, took part in the worlds largest pirate conga line and drank far too much rum. Here's the video for you all, i hope it makes for some good viewing. Rottentouch x

Alternative Fashion~ Spring/ Summer 2013

Hi little bats, i have created a collection of alternative fashion and jewellery for the spring summer seasons of 2013 (coincidentally picked 13 items spooky) , i hope you love these pieces as much as i do. Rottentouch x

Items from left to right
1. Ladies Lace Floral Jeans, Mary Jane Fashion~ £21.99 Amazon.co.uk
2. Mechanical Moth Hairclip, Restyle~ £8.81 Restyle.pl
3. United Forces of Death, Crime City Clothing~ £14.37 +The Gothic Shop
4. Chanel 5171 Sunglasses~ £160 Pretavoir.co.uk
5. Intrepid Stripe Bag, Banned~ £22.99 Attitudeclothing.co.uk
6. Black Satin and Lace Widow Skirt~ £29.50 +The Gothic Shop
7. Oxford Boots in Black, Hades~ £160 Shophades.com
8. Red Heart Necklace, Robinhoodcouture~ £18.50 +Etsy
9. Red Rose Hair Clip, Kreepy Krypt~ £8.99 ebay.co.uk
10. Mandarin Lace Collar Top, Jawbreaker~ £23.99 Attitudeclothing.co.uk
11. Bat Tattoo Tights, Tattoo Socks~ £15.99 +Etsy
12. Square Neck Lace Top, +Spiral Direct ~ £18.95 +The Gothic Shop
13. Lace Front Bolero, Banned~ £23.99 Attitudeclothing.co.uk

April's Pirate Plunder!

I was a very greedy pirate this month, there's plenty of booty to show you all this month including a luxury treasure. Enjoy, Rottentouch x

Lemonliscious Cupcakes

You guys probably don't know that i am a huge fan of baking, i can make anything from teeny petit fours to big birthday cakes, but my favourite thing to make will always be cupcakes. So i press play on ever appropriate baking metal playlist and put on my  biker pinny (yes i have one of those)

Here's the recipe for my favourite Lemonliscious cupcakes

Ingredients:
11/2 cups plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup caster sugar
2oz cream cheese
2oz unsalted butter
Lemon curd
2tbsp Cointreau/ Limoncello/ fruity liquor of choice
1/2 cup buttermilk (1 tbsp lemon juice per cup of milk, left for 10 minutes)
Zest of a lemon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2oz unsalted butter
4oz cream cheese
1tbsp fruit liquor
2 cups icing sugar (sifted)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the center. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add your liquor and beat an additional minute. On low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the lemon zest and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cake cases ( i chose some nifty looking ghost ones). Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins (don't worry it should look runny). Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely. 

2.  In a bowl beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add your liquor and beat for an additional minute. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.

3. Cut a hole into each cupcake with a sharp knife. Fill each cavity with the lemon curd. Fill a pastry bag with a star tip with the cream cheese frosting and pipe onto each cupcake. Decorate with lemon and berries, if desired.

April Glossybox in Collaboration with Pearl Lowe

I was really excited about this months Glossybox especially with the collaboration of Pearl Lowe. I have always loved Pearls designs and i share her love of all things lace, her dresses have a vintage feel and the cuts and shapes are perfection. The box itself has a beautiful design of roses peonies and other flowers reflecting Pearls vintage inspiration. This months box contains 5 really good sized products each of a good quality.

1. Essie Nail Lacquer~ Nice is Nice
I have to say I've been wanting to try Essie nail lacquers for a while having heard positive things from a lot of bloggers and youtubers. This isn't the most ideal colour for me (pastels icky) but after applying it i have to say it has grown on me a little. I think this colour is so pale that its not quite a pastel, almost an off white pink colour. The formulation is quite thin which i have found makes the varnish last longer and chip far less (as with Illamasqua and Nails inc polishes). This is a full sized product which retails for £7.99

2. Sunsense~ Tinted SPF 50+
I'm really glad that this was in the Glossybox, its one of those things that i never would have thought of trying before. I use a lot of SPF lotions all year round (i actually burnt on a day it snowed) but i hate applying them on top of makeup because it makes my skin look an feel greasy. This however is a mattifying lightly tinted formula which i have to say made my skin look pretty flawless. It is very lightly fragranced compared to that icky sun cream smell and while it costs £18.50 for 75g i would say that if you are pale like me it should be your summer must have.

3. Yves Rocher~ So Elixir Purple
Its really nice to see a good sized fragrance sample, the vials are nice but if you like the fragrance it lasts about 2 applications. On first impressions this a nice fragrance, definitely for the older woman but it is wearable. The fragrance is quite floral upon application but after an hour or so i found it to have quite a woody scent which i wasn't so keen on. Nice enough fragrance but if you like fruity floral scents like me then you should give this one a miss. This fragrance costs £44 for a 50ml bottle.

4. Nip + Fab~ Coconut Latte Body Butter
I love my body butters so i knew that this would be for me, the coconut latte scent is very similar to Palmers cocoa butter but with a slightly nutty undertone. The butter feels incredibly soothing when applies to the skin, it also doesn't feel greasy like a lot of other body butters do. My skin feels soft. nourished and smells beautiful, this one is a must have. This is a 50ml product and the full sized 200ml (must last a long time) RRP's at £9.95

5. Model Co~ Cheek and Lip Tint in Rosie Red
I was terrified to try this stuff, my skin in so pale i expected to look like a pantomime dame. I applied it to my hand first and found out that it blends really well and is easy to build up for more colour. The colour looks really good on my cheeks and lasts quite a long time. I also tried it on my lips but found the colour really didn't go on well and just stuck onto my finger instead. For a cheek tint it smells really good, if it wasn't tinted red i would apply it to my pulse points =). I would recommend this if you want to try something between a blush and a cheek stain.This is the full sized 10ml product which retails for £15

The total worth of this months box is £32.33, I payed for this months box using my Glossydots so it was free which is a bonus. I like all of the products this month other than the fragrance so i am a very happy bunny. Glossybox really have been delivering great boxes lately so I'm sticking with them.

I hope this review is useful to any of you contemplating signing up to Glossybox and i will speak again soon.

Rottentouch x

April Glossybox Video

It's that time again, here's the un-boxing of the April Glossybox, in collaboration with Pearl Lowe. Also witness my camera passing out =)

                                                              Speak again soon. Rottentouch x