I adore Nip+Fab products! They are literally the best skin care brand I have discovered and I'm never disappointed when I try something new. I have five products in total, this little post will explain what each of them do, my thoughts and why I love them. This post is in no way sponsored by Nip+Fab but I urge anyone after a new affordable skincare regime to try out some of these! 

 Dragon's Blood Fix Plumping Serum

Starting with the best! This product is my absolute favourite. I like to put it on at night as it gives my skin an intense hydration over night as well as a legit plumping sensation. In the morning, my skin feels a lot tighter as well as smooth and moisturised. When applying make up in the morning, I find my make up goes on a lot nicer. Secondly, it smells so god damn nice!! I don't like to use it every night as it is so effective, I'd hate for it to become ineffective. So I usually apply it when my skin is feeling a bit rough and in need of some TLC, or if I have something going on the next day that requires my make up to sit well for a long period of time. It may also be a little pricey to be using every day so, this is another reason for using it sparingly. 

Bottom line: This little baby is a delight. 

Dragon's Blood Fix Plumping Mask

And repeat. This product is baso the same as the serum, in mask form. It is a great alternative when my skin needs extra fixing or if I'm running low on the serum. I don't use this very often at all, but it is a super good intense mask to turn to when my skin is in desperate need. Again, I don't want this product to get too used to my skin and become ineffective. 

Yoga Blend Body Lotion

Another one I'm super loving is this lotion! Definitely my favourite body lotion of all time. It smells subtly like lavender so it is very relaxing and I like to apply it just before bed. The bottle is really big so I do use this one every night and it seems to be lasting me ages! It is probably my favourite mainly because of the gorgeous scent and the fact it doesn't make my skin feel sticky, or like it has something on it. The product is extremely light wait, rubs in really easy and absorbs fast. 

Yoga Blend Body Scrub

This one is just a really nice body scrub! And has been lasting me ages because I have a lot of body scrubs that I like to alternate between depending on what my skin needs. I don't like to use a scrub on my face unless it is specifically for the face as I feel some body scrubs can be a little too rough for my face. 

Gltcolic Fix Cleanser

I know I've already said the Dragon's Blood is my fave, but this one is probably equalling it! I adore this one. The smell. Oh my. Grapefruit loooveee! So delicious. A little of this really does go a long way. It foams up nicely on my face and leaves it feeling sensationally soft and smelling absolutely delicious! Recently I haven't been taking great care of myself, my skin included, due to the volume of university work I've had, so I hadn;t used this in a while. I seemed to have got a lot of spots during this time. I could have been due to the stress, but I don't normally get that amount of spots, usually just the odd one pop up now and again, so it was kind of strange after discontinuing this product that a lot popped up at once. Since returning to my routine, my skin has got significantly better and I put that partially down to Nip+Fab. There isn't anything more to say about this product really. If you get any, get this one, it's a dream. 

Glycolic Fix Night Pads

Pointless feature alert! I haven't actually tried this one yet, hence why it is still in its packaging in the picture. Basically, I'm saving this one for my holiday to America I bought it for this specifically because I think it would minimise the amount of heavy liquid toiletries I'd have to take. It is basically my boo Fix Cleanser and an exfoliator in one easy to apply pad. So no need to bring multiple products and no need to rinse the product off my face. It is going to be a really easy, fast skin care routine for my holiday. If anyone has tried this product, please let me know your thoughts in the comments! I will also update this section as and when I have actually used the pads! 

So there is my mini review of my beloved Nip+Fab products! In addition, I am loving the packaging so it really doesn't bother me if I have to leave them out on display or anything. They all smell delicious, all do exactly what they say on the bottle and work wonders for me! I only write about things that genuinely work, sponsored or not!! 

Introducing New CID Cosmetics

I was recently introduced to New CID products by my lovely friend, Katie who is a My Showcase representative stylist. My Showcase helps up and coming beauty brands reach a wider audience through stylists who create their own business by offering select products to customers through online shopping and make-up parties. I picked up these two contour products from Katie which I fell in love with immediately after searching for the perfect combo for yonks.

i-glow mini

As you can see from the photos above this highlighter is completely gorgeous! I'd say it is very similar to Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Champagne Pop and Laura Mercier Radiance Baked Body Bronzer in Bronzed Copper, but cheaper - winning! The first swatch has been picked up by gently touching the product with my finger tips and transferring it to my skin, you can see how well pigmented the hightlight is. The second swatch shows how I have lightly blended out the product, which easily blends out harsh lines for a natural finish. I like to apply the product to my face using Eco Tools' Skin Perfecting Brush - a quick dab and a sweep across my cheek bones gives the perfect coverage. Colour wise, previous highlights I've tried have all been too dark or unnaturally white. The gold and champagne tones of the i-glow sit perfectly with my skin tone and regular foundation (Clinique Even Better in Ivory) to give a subtle radiant summer glow. 

i-bronze mini

Oh goodness, FINALLY. What does it take to get a brown, non-orangey bronzer these days?! Apparently several years of going through stages of Umpaloompa-ism and overly Essex-ified - that's what. I thought I'd found my knight in shining armour in the form of Benefit's Hoola but I feel that is even slightly orange based compared to CID. So, onto CID i-bronze! It's a swirly, chocolately, velvet lushness for carving the most naturally crafted shadowy cheek bones! As you can see from my swatches above, a small dab onto the product gets tons of pick up so a little really does go a long way which is why I opted for the mini rather than the full size version. The third swatch shows how I blended the product into my skin with just my finger tips. As you can see there are still some harsh lines which are not ideal for creating natural shadowing so a really soft fluffy brush is required to blend the product effectively. 

In the pictures, I probably over did the whole contour thang so the camera would pick it up, little did I know the camera kind of picked it up TOO well... So for every day wear I wouldn't put this much on, but it just goes to show how pigmented the pair of them are. I also like to apply a very light amount of the bronzer down the sides of my nose and temples and the highlighter on my brow bone, inner eyes and cupid's bow. Don't need no extra shine on my nose - that comes naturally...

If you'd like to get hold of some CID products and give these a whirl, get in contact with Katie or browse her online website using the links below:

Facebook page / katiesarahlea@hotmail.com / My Showcase website /

New CID i-bronze / £16 
New CID i-glow / £16

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As you probably know from the content in my blog that I love a good blogger/life hack! Here I've put together some methods I use to make my blogging life just a little bit easier.

1. Phone organisation

Nothing makes me more happy than some efficient organising! A simple tip would be to keep all your blogging apps in one basket so you're not spending ages filtering through all your games and stuff. They'll all be together, you could even rank them from most used to least used if you're super geeky like me. 

2. Blogger worthy photo apps.

Facetune

If I only had enough storage room on my phone for one app, it would certainly be Facetune. It's a really good little app that helps me keep my images looking as minimalistic as possible. It's not the kind of app that offers really stunning filters, I think it is more of an app for detailed photo editing. There are basic coloured filters and I tend to use the black and white one on all my pictures. The beauty of this app is that it lets you erase the filter where you don't want it so I scrub out the black and white from the objects in the shot, leaving the background with a lovely minimal look. To add to this I also use the teeth whitening option, whilst good for realistically whitening teeth, it's fabulous for making my backdrops extra white! You apply this like a brush too so it only goes where you want it. Finally, I like one of the lightening filters on the app, it's literally the only filter I like but it seems to give a good contast/brightness ratio unlike some apps. I did pay about a quid for this app which is well worth the money.

Phonto

One I use all the time for my business account, Magical Matilda Apparel. I like to add a watermark to the images of my bikinis, not that I've had any personal experience of intellectual property theft, I don't see why I shouldn't place my name on the images anyway - just in case, I mean my bikinis are pretty gorge! I love this app for creating quick coupons and announcements relating to my business. This app does pretty much everything you would want it to do from a text editing app. You can adjust size, colour, tilt, font, fade and curve which is perfect for going around my circle framed images. There are some other photo editing features on the app but I haven't really experimented much with those yet. 

3. Instagram effects.
Instagram's editing features have certainly come a long way since I made my first personal account several years ago. They used to be a tad unflattering, making us who were not naturally tan look as pale as a ghost or like we're stuck in the 1940's... Now, however, I've started experimenting with the new effects and filters and I'm pleased to say I am pleasantly surprised! If I didn't want the white background as I explained above, I'd be more than satisfied to just use the Instagram effects to make my photos look pretty. The filters are particularly brill because you can choose exactly how opaque you want the filter to appear. I like to apply 'Juno' and slide the dot about half way to give a less-harsh look, it's subtle and just what I'm after. I also like the basic editing effects like brightness, structure, saturation and sharpness which I tend to play with every time I upload a new photo. So it is definitely worth having a nosey at what Instagram can do for your photos if you're a little stuck with editing themes. 

4. Vinyl white backgrounds.

I said I love my images to have a minimal backdrop but it can be awfully hard to find that perfectly sized piece of card or perfectly lit bedroom to shoot. The help of Facetune, however, has made such a difference to make these awkward settings appear lighter but I found an even better way to achieve the white look. Drum roll.. WHAM, BAM, thank your mam - Vinyl! Or sticky back plastic. There are so many different designs on the web, just do a simple eBay search and you can pick a whole roll up for around a fiver. I got this marble effect one from Wilko for £4.50 with student discount. You can find other styles like just a plain white, white wood, brick etc. I think I'll get the wood one next! They're really easy to store too as they just roll up, easy to grab when you need to take a quick Instagram snap and an ideal material to have in case you feel a bit creative. 

5. Google Analytic.

I'm still learning about all the features and data displayed on Google Analytic but it's a really super way to keep track of how your blog is doing. Basically you fill out all your details to connect your blog and within no time you're getting your latest traffic scores. It can tell you all sorts of things like pageviews, sessions, % returning visitors, % new visitors, where in the world they are looking from,  length of time spent on the page etc etc. Even if you just use it to see how many page views you are getting, it's still a really beneficial program. If you come to work or apply to work with brands, you'll have lots of blog data you can impress them with, should they ask for it. It can get a little obsessive, however, I go through stages of constantly checking and refreshing my numbers to see what's going on - thank goodness for the handy app!

6. iPhone Clean for Windows.

Being stuck with an 8GB phone on contract for two years certainly takes its toll on the apparent "8GB" of memory. Whilst Apple takes a huge chunk of that already for software etc, the memory capacity of my good ol' iPhone 5C has been declining rapidly. This is not good for a blogger who is constantly downloading high quality images to edit and post, requiring multiple apps and lots of room for all those blogger work related e-mails..!!! And breath. And is it just me or can you just not seem to get rid of the 'other' memory storage?! I've searched through pages & pages of "how to delete iphone other memory storage" on Google, trying everything with very minimal luck. The option that seemed most effective is to delete apps now and again and reinstall them to get rid of all the 'stuff' they carry. But that's not very convenient... I downloaded this PC program called PhoneClean. The simple version is free and it basically scans your phone for any junk you don't need like cookies and documents and deletes it. I've never had any problems with it, it hasn't deleted by entire contacts list or anything drastic like that. It is a handy tool to use which I will continue using until I get my new phone later this month that will have more than 8GB of memory. Lets see how long that lasts... 

7. Tripod.
All bloggers will have probably started life balancing cameras on shelves, shifting tables and stacking boxes to get the perfect full length shots. However, this is not particularly convenient, not to mention the mess and hassle it creates. I think it is really worth investing in a tripod of some kind. You can get the pretty cheap online. Even just a mini one might be better than rearranging the living room. You could also try a selfie stick (I know these exist for DSLR cameras too) or one of those 'lazy arm' desk clamp thingys you can get for a few quid in Primark. Both of those are handy for taking selfies that don't look like selfies. 

I'll be doing more hacks like this in the future, so keep an eye out and I hope these tips help to make blogging life that teeny bit easier.

1. Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm.

This one shouldn't really be in the March favourites as I purchased it quite a while ago but I've not blogged about it before and I'm still loving it in March, so... I've seen you can buy this all over the place, the cheapest shop I've found it in is Wilko, where it is about £2 something and Boots is probably the most expensive, retailing at about £5. Ok, so if you're reading this and thinking why the heck has she bough that or contemplating how often I shave my beard, I should probably mention that I actually use it as a primer. There has been a big hype among the blogging and beauty world about this product being as good as top qual brands etc etc, whilst I don't think it has powers to that extent, my foundation does appear to go on smoother. I guess essentially it is acting as a moisturising layer to the skin? I still like to use another primer on my T-zone but the balm is excellent for coverage on other areas if I don't want to use more expensive primers every day. 

Boots / £5.35

Wilko / £2.45

2. Scott Cornwall Colour Restore 'Iced Platinum'.

I love this product! I previously used A Touch of Silver purple shampoo but I find the Scott Cornwall treatment gives a more instant and lasting effect. It's a bright bluey-purple which was a tad scary when I saw it for the first time, I definitely was not after a blue rinse. But this is apparently opposite to yellow on the colour wheel so therefore counteracts brassy tones in the hair. I'm not gonna pretend I know what I'm talking about, but that seems to be the idea and an appealing idea at that. 

The ombre in my hair has kind of been cut out now but what's left of it has gone a lovely ice blond, getting darker - and not yellowy, orange! - as it gets to the roots which are a dark blonde. There are several different treatment options, I tend to use the 20 minute deep treatment to get the colour I want then touch up every so often with the 5 minute treatment. It isn't permanent so you will need to maintain it. The resealable bottle is great for this, most products like to give you one sachet with far too much stuff in for one use so you will have to go buy another one next time. Meanies! I also like to use the A Touch of Silver purple shamp about once a week to help keep the pesky brassy tones at bay. 

Boots / £12.99

3. Physician's Formula Happy Booster!

Isn't the title perfect? I don't know why it is called a Happy Booster, but lets never question why something is happy! This little product boosts the happiness of your skin in the form of a bronzer. The adorable little heart shaped nuggets of happy bronzing powder are not the most pigmented little things but this is actually kind of good. Most bronzers are soo heavily pigmented, just a single swish in the wrong direction can result in patchy hell. Whereas this one you can use either of the two applicators to apply subtle amounts of summery glow and build it up. Even though I bought this without researching the product at all, I simply had to have it if only for the cute packaging! I also found this in TK Maxx which never, ever tend to stock any decent make-up, I've never even seen PF before, so I had to pick it up! 

TK Maxx / £3.99

eBay / £4-£20

Physician's Formula US / $13.95

4. Umberto Giannini Curl Friends Scrunching Jelly.

I've had this product several years ago and have become reunited with my old friend this month. I went off jelly based products as they can make the hair feel crispy or greasy if too much is used. However, I thought I'd give it another go as I'm going through one of those bad hair months(/years..) and I will desperately try anything!! This time around I feel I've mastered the perfect amount of product to put on my hair. I tend to use a pea size amount on wet hair and possibly another dollop of this or serum on the ends, where I tend to have the most trouble with frizz. I simply rake this through with my fingers and braid or scrunch it in if I'm letting it dry naturally. I quite like the smell, it's subtle and not overpowering. Once dry, I cannot feel the product in my hair so none of that crispy texture with the added benefit of taming my curls - brill! 

I bought this product as two minis as it was cheaper at the time to do this. Also handy for travel. The link for the full size product is below.

Boots / £6.50

5. Clinique Superdefense SPF20 Daily Moisturiser.

I'm such a huge fan of Clinique, probably over 80% of my beauty products are from this brand. I find them so trustworthy and everything the packaging says the product will do, the product genuinely delivers. As does this moisturiser! I always use a moisturiser with an SPF and this one having such a high factor of 20 is perfect. The consistency is really thick so it is obviously super moisturising to the skin but as soon as it is applied it is weightless and like I haven't got it on. It provides an excellent base for my make-up and prevents drying out or cracking on areas of my skin. 

Clinique / £40 50ml

Clinique / £20 30ml

6. Freedom Eyebrow Pomade.

March favourite? More like whole year favourite! I love a pomade, admittedly I was a little late to jump on the bandwagon with these delights but I was very much stuck in my ways using my trusty powdered eyebrow products. I feel a pomade allows much more freedom with application and reduces any fallout. 

I use 'Ash Brown' and I have fair skin and dark to bleach ombre blond hair.

Superdrug / £5

7. Anastasia Beverly Hills #15 Angled Brush.

A perfect accompaniment to the Freedom Pomade is this little brush. Soft bristles but firm enough for perfect control. The very thin brush is ideal for creating a highly defined arch or the illusion of more individual hairs for a more natural brow. Love this brush, it is a tool I would not be without!

Beauty Bay / £13

Anastasia Beverly Hills US / $17

8. Make-up Academy Whipped Velvet Lips.

I only discovered this product last month in search for cheaper alternatives to other liquid lip lacquers. Whilst it is not strictly matt, it dries into a beautifully smooth lip colour - hence 'velvet'. It feels really lovely on the lips. I like shade 'Spry', a subtle nude. It is a great product to keep in your handbag on nights out as it won't break the bank if it is lost or broken.

MUA / £3

9. ZOEVA Rose Golden Brush Set

I am in loooove with these babies! They are soft, firm, pick up product well, excellent for applying and blending and not to mention they look absolutely gorgeous! A pricey investment so it is definitely worth purchasing a good brush cleaner to keep them in tip-top condition!

Beauty Bay / £65

10. Primark Grey Check Jacket

I'd been after a long grey jacket/coat for ages, I think I kind of missed the boat as I should have got one in the height of winter. So I was pleased to find this one in Primark. It is just above my knee, does not fasten and has inbuilt shoulder pads for structure. I like the check but it does make it limited with what I can wear under it, so I tend to pair it with plain, patternless items. 

Primark / £20

As a break from my current final year uni work pressures, I decided to set myself a project to complete over the Easter weekend - To paint my bedside table! I just wanted to share this with you lovelies as I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

If you've seen my previous post on bedroom interior, you'll know my room has a luxury French/shabby chic theme with minimal colours in the way of creams and gold accents. All my furniture used to be solid oak, so a mix of orangey and neutral browns - hardly fitting with my room. So I've been slowly painting all the items to give a more modern, minimal look.

To start, I thoroughly sanded the whole unit to break up the varnished surface to ensure the paint would stick properly. This got really dusty, so I did this in an area where it didn't matter too much about mess. 

Secondly the unit required a base coat - just like painting nails, hey?! I used just a brilliant white emulsion paint from Dulux, and slapped it on. I had to do this quite quickly with quite a lot on the brush to avoid overly obvious bristle strokes. This particular paint took 16 hours to dry in-between two coats which covered the wood almost completely. After each coat was dry, I used the sand paper again to smooth out any paint lumps or uneven strokes. 

Finally it was time to apply two coats of my top coat, leaving 6 hours in-between each coat. For this I used a paint especially for wood products such as furniture, doors, skirting boards etc, in Jasmine White. As you can see from the photos, it is basically just white... But it seems to be a slightly warmer colour than the brilliant white undercoat. This went on beautifully, again having to work quite quickly to avoid those pesky brush lines! 

After a final, gentle sanding down - t'dah! It was done! I also changed the old wooden handles for these snazzy sparkly glass ones from The Range. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and looks so much more fitting in my bedroom! Now just to tackle my bed..... 

Dulux White Emulsion B&Q £20 / Dulux Jasmine White Satinwood Paint Homebase £19.49 / Glass & Chrome Cupboard Handles The Range £9.99 / Lamp & Shade The Range £10.99 / Disney Photo Frame Walt Disney World Florida 2015 / Black Board Primark £5