Nikki Andrews

Quick post about my latest favourite purchase this month.  I've always seen the NIP + FAB range about in boots and i've always been drawn to them by the packaging, especially the sleek typeface.  The one thing that has put me off purchasing them however is the fact that the original pricing was in my opinion a bit too much. The Dragon Blood Fix pad original cost £10 and the Glycolic Scrub and face wash cost  £9.95 and  £7.95 respectively.

However with a sale on the products in superdrug and the consistent hype surrounding the brand by celebrities who endorse them left, right and centre.  My favourite out of the three is definitely the cleansing fix face wash. The wash has a gentle hint of grapefruit scent to it which is not overpowering at all. I've used the wash to remove my make up every night and it does an extremely good job at leaving my skin feeling clean and refreshed. Often, my skin feels dried out by face washes especially as I have a habit of washing my face twice a day. However, this cleanser does not at all dry my face out and my skin feels extremely moisturised each time, which is great seeing as I have combination skin.  I usually follow up my morning time face wash up with the scrub once a day to remove the dead skin off my face and create a smooth surface for the application of my make up (alongside the help of primer though). This product also has the same refreshing grapefruit scent to it as well so that is also a bonus for those who really enjoy the citrusy scent as much as I do.  What did disappoint me however is the fact that  although the face wash moisturises my skin, the scrub feels a little bit drying and no matter how hard I scrub my face, or wash off  the scrub, there are always medium size chunks of dry skin that just cling off my face after. However, I always end my routine with the Dragon's Blood fix cleansing pads that work well in removing them. The pads contain extracts from salicylic and hyaluronic acid that works to clean your pores and add moisture. From my observation, this is exactly what it does. I wipe my face down with one pad and my pores look smaller and my face has a nice moisturised feel to it. This is especially when it has seeped into your skin-- as the skin definitely feels a lot more bouncier and noticeably plumper all around. What I didn't experience is the claim in various reviews that I've read of a fading of scars and less break outs! I still get them! But I  love this product so much that I am even tempted to use it more than twice a day on one hand, but on the other hand I also contemplate using it less to make it last longer due to the high price tag of the product when it is not on sale. Nonetheless, these are products that I really, really enjoyed and recommend to everyone. They're probably the best skin care products I have used in a long time and I would probably purchase them again in the future once they are finished ( especially the face wash).

Nikki

My friend Tiffanie visiting meant that I had no excuse not to try new places out. I've been meaning  to try out Flat Iron for awhile now but could never find the time to go out there and try it out, especially me being lazy and hearing stories of the long lines and waiting times to get a seat in restaurant.  To our surprise, when we headed down about 8pm there was no line at all but we were informed by the front of house that there was a 40 minute wait for a table for two. Fortunately, we didn't have to queue outside the restaurant as they have a text notification system that sends you a link to your phone where you can view your position in the line and get a text for when your table is ready.

Ordering in the restaurant is quite  a straightforward task as there are few items on the menu. The main attraction being the Flat Iron steak with a side of salad at an affordable £10. The restaurant also offers another option of a special that changes daily and a selection of different sides that you can order with your meal. Tiffanie and I went for the standard flat iron steak and a side of creamed spinach that was priced at £3. The steaks were served medium- rare and were not one bit dry or overcooked, as promised they were 100% medium rare and juicy. The creamed spinach was absolutely delightful, probably one of the best spinach dish I have ever sampled in my life! The single £3 portion was enough for both me and Tiffanie to split between us and was so good, I didn't need steak sauce with my steak as the spinach did the job of adding more flavour to the meal anyways.

After taking my time to eat the steak, I was super full and simply couldn't even think about ordering a dessert. I'm not quite sure if it is a permanent item on their menu, but Tiffanie ordered the Salted caramel mousse. I probably was really tired at the time, but it just surprised me when a waiter walked over and placed a mug down on the table and pulled out a can of what I thought was just whipped cream that turned out to be caramel mousse. What I found super cool though was the fact that you could adjust the amount of salt you wanted in the 'salted' caramel mousse as it was not pre-mixed. Instead they gave you a little bowl of salt for you mix it yourself. Admittedly, I did have a sample of the dessert and wow, it was fantastic. I actually wish I had not been too full to have ordered my own, so hopefully next time if it is still there.

Overall, my trip to Flat Iron for dinner was enjoyable and well worth the money. It's not common that you come across good steak for such a low price and thus this is definitely somewhere I'd recommend and will be going back to.