This time we enjoyed reading the reviews of the following bloggers:

Zarahi of LA Blush

LA Blush

Review: Perlier – 8 piece Mini Set with Bag

Clearly not spending enough time on the Home Shopping Network (HSN), Zarahi, had not been familiar with Perlier, until she tried thanks to the iFabbo SHOP.  Zahari is now a huge fan of the Italian brand, calling the products “heavenly.”

Zarahi is no stranger to the world of beauty and makeup. This LA based beauty blogger is also a professionally trained makeup artist. Working on photo shoots and alongside other well established makeup artists and photographers this woman knows her passion from the inside out! Find her blog here:  http://www.lablush.net/ 

Marlene of A Big Bit of Everything

A Big Bit Of Everything

Hydroxatone #AntiWrinkleSPF

Marlene reviewed the Hydroxatone AM/PM Anti Wrinkle Cream and loved the results!  Since using this product, her skin is smoother and less dry.  Besides a stellar review, Marlene also shares her secrets on how to look young!

The New York native, now residing in sunny Florida is a beauty lover, social butterfly and passionate blogger. Find her blog here: http://www.abigbitofeverything.com/

Amanda of Prim & Propah

Prim & Propah

 Rocksbox, A Jewelry Styling Service

Amanda describes step by step her experience so far with Rocksbox jewelry service. We’re loving her photos and we’re obsessed with her David Aubrey chandelier earrings! We hope we get them in our next Rocksbox!

Amanda has a passion for fashion, sewing and crafting. A creative girl with a fashion blog to share her ideas and thoughts! Find her blog here: http://www.primandpropah.com/

Jezz of Jezz Dallas ☵ MAKE-UP your mind

Jezz Dallas ☵  MAKE-UP your mind.

Perlier Bath & Body Travel Kit – Get The SPA Experience at Home!

Jezz loves the spa experience and it seems that she’s found the perfect kit to use at home! She likes that the Perlier products give enough hydration to her dry skin and the variety of sets can get her through several weekends.

Jezz is a blogger and passionate about her favorite topic makeup as she is also a makeup artist herself. The German native, now residing in Virginia is a world traveler and lover of “all things superficial” as the tagline of her blog advertises. Find her blog here: http://jezzdallasmakeup.blogspot.com/

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Send us your iFabbo SHOP product review, for consideration in our weekly “spotlight” series.  Every week we will feature the best reviews. To qualify, make sure to follow the instructions below:

• Email your submissions to Jessica at jessica@ifabbo.com
• You must have the iFabbo seal displayed on your website, and it must link back to our site.
• Please make sure all submitted links are reviews on a product you have received from the iFabbo SHOP.
• Make sure you use the appropriate URLs and hashtags in your review.  You should have received the inserts with all of the relevant information with your product order.
• For the “Spotlight” we would like to use a photo of you. Please submit either a photo with your review or let us know to use one from your “About” page or anywhere else from your blog.
• We love pictures so make sure you take photos of the products and include the in your review and post them on Twitter and Instagram.
• Submit only ONE post weekly for consideration.
• Post must be “work-safe” and contain nothing vulgar

Photo by West McGowen via Flickr

If you really want to take your blog to the next level, you need to know this: Google is influencing search results through two new developments, called Authorship and Author Rank. This could help you stay on top of your blogging game and maybe get a little further – at least in search results that is!

Google+ has become one of the major influencers when it comes to SEO and how your blog ranks when searched for certain items. If used correctly, this can help you optimize your ranking and is called Authorship. As a blogger, it can help you to set a connection between content anywhere on the internet and your Google+ profile. Google Author Rank describes:

“Google’s ability to generate a score for you in each of the topic areas about which you regularly build content, and then use that score to affect your search rankings for content in each of your topics.”

Basically, Author Rank means that through your Google+ profile you can get verified as content producer which ultimately has an impact on how your content ranks within Google search.

“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.” Google Chairman Eric Schmidt

What that means for you and how you can use it:

If you haven’t done it yet, sign up for Google Authorship and learn more about it here!

When creating your Google+ profile, you need to fill in the links to your website, meaning the site you are allowed to contribute to. Make this public information! That way Google knows to connect you with that site.

Google wanted to create a way to make sure that trustworthy and quality content gets discovered, which is essentially is a great idea. However, many bloggers have yet to discover this development. Even if you are not actively using your Google+ profile, make sure to fill in the URL of your site to get associated and discovered as quality content producer, so you won’t miss out!

Google Author Rank is still in the process of developing and is certain to become an even bigger influencer in the future. Including it now in your blog development activities doesn’t require much work as of now but will be of big help in the future.

Find here some more information on Google Authorship and Google Author Rank.

Have you signed up for Google Authorship yet? Let us know your thoughts on it!

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr

Becoming a freelance blogger seems to be a natural career choice, coming from having your own blog and spending time writing and blogging about the things you adore most.  However, it can also turn the idea of a dream job quickly into the hurtful truth of misconceptions.

Being a freelance writer and having to deal with pitches to editors and constantly searching for new writing gigs, can get stressful and potentially disappointing. Which is why being a freelancer requires the utmost self-motivation and discipline as a secured income and stable work environment are not on a freelancer’s schedule! We wanted to list the clear pros & cons about being a freelance blogger, so you know to be prepared!

Pros & Cons of being a freelancer writer:

• Working for clients, a company or website as a writer, you get to be the one deciding if you want the job or not. Clients however, get sometimes demanding, that can take away from your initial freedom you have as a freelancer. In the best case, you will be able to set your own work schedule, determine your own workload and have the control over your career.

• If you are still in the beginning stages of building a name for yourself in the industry you might have to step back financially. As a freelancer you won’t have a steady income to fall back on. Paid writer gigs are hard to come by for a no-name without much writing experience or references. A lot of companies and websites have set rates that pay per post. On the other hand, as a freelancer you can potentially set your own rates and fees! Keep in mind, once you go freelance you won’t always be able to bill 100% of your time. Administrative tasks, networking, commuting, etc. takes time but it’s often unpaid.
  

• Financially, blogging can lead to a rocky road. You have to make sure you know your sources and go-to places for job boards and networking (Sites like Freelance Writing,  Freelancer & Tentblogger offer job boards & writing tips). Job security, benefits or insurance – anything related to a constant safe zone, will be a struggle. It is important to make a plan beforehand and really think about financial security for at least one year ahead of time. Planning your work and knowing how to go about it is crucial!
  

• You get to decide what type of work you are interested in and want to work on, which is exciting. However, as you are on your own, you also won’t have anyone watching over you. You will have to deal with possible clients, companies completely by yourself. If problems occur, you will have to handle it by yourself. Uncertainty can be huge stress factor.

• When you first start out, you might not have much choice as to what type of work you are taking on but once you are more established, projects will come and you can choose the ones you feel are most rewarding. Work on establishing your knowledge and name within a certain niche to become a go-to source for editors in search of writers.
  

• Even though you probably went ‘freelance’ to finally be able to do what you want to do, you might end up working on projects you don’t really have an interest in. Besides the actual work, there is also bookkeeping, accounting, contract negotiations – everything to keep a business running!

• Your work space is virtually everywhere! As a blogger, you are not as bound to a specific place as other occupations. Your home, a coffee shop or the client’s closet, anything goes as long as it has Wi-Fi. Working from home can be stress free and with enough self-control manageable and free of distractions. It is more isolating than a regular day job but can be the perfect choice if you like to work independently and creatively as you get to go wherever you please.

• Self-management should be your second nature. As opposed to blogging in your free time, if you are a freelancer, you don’t have the choice of being lazy and not working at all. With freelancing comes a huge amount of responsibility and self-discipline to keep your business running. On the other hand, you have the luxury of setting your own hours and managing your own time.  You have to be motivated and self-disciplined. It’s easy to get distracted, whatever your job environment, but as a freelancer—the pressure is all on you.

Go to Be a Freelance Blogger for more information on how to get started as freelancer and more detailed information on how to make a living blogging. With a downloadable guidebook comes an interesting video series that gives you a scoop into real life pro blogger experiences.

 Are you thinking about possibly becoming a freelance blogger?  What would be your biggest challenge? If you are a freelance writer, share your experience with us!

Photo by Greg Gebhardt via Flickr Creative Commons

DOs

Leave a friendly comment – it always feels nice when someone leaves a kind compliment on your posts so pay it forward to the rest of the community. A thoughtful comment that shows you’ve read the blog post means more to the blog owner than a generic “Great outfit! x” and you come across as a sociable blogger.

Share the love – if you’ve discovered an amazing new blog, link to it, whether it be as a passing comment in a post or added onto your blogroll. We’ve all been a newbie blogger at one point, checking our page views and follower count daily to see if anyone out there is reading. A little help is always a well-received kind gesture and you never know, they might return the favour.

Help a sister out – you might come across a tweet on your feed that could be helpful/of interest for someone else who doesn’t already follow that person. RT that tweet! It’s another simple gesture for you that might put them in touch with exactly who they need.

Honesty is the best policy – be yourself and above all, be truthful. When it comes to reviews, don’t feel obliged to say you loved a product just because you were lucky enough to receive a sample. Make sure your reviews are honest and offer constructive criticism for the brand. Remember, always stay professional.  Keeping your blogging integrity is important and your readers will thank you for it.

Reply to your readers – no matter how big your blog is, it’s all thanks to the lovely people who read it, so take the time to reply back when they tweet or email you.

DON’Ts

Giveaway spamming – avoid commenting on other people’s blog posts just to advertise your giveaway. It comes across as rude and spammy. Remember, however big the blogs are, they are not billboards for your own blog! It’s fine to want to give other people a nudge in your direction, just make sure you put something else worthwhile in your comment for the blog owner.

If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all – this goes without saying but if you particularly disagree with something someone has said or something they support that you don’t, holding your tongue (or should we say typing?) is always best. Even if you don’t mean to come off as offensive, words put online always have the potential to misconstrue what you actually meant.

Content copycats – there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by your favourite blogs but completely ripping them off is a big no-no! Whether it be layout, a post idea or an outfit/nail art design, it’s courtesy to link back to the original source. After all, you wouldn’t want your content being copied elsewhere without credit!

Calling someone out on your own blog – this links to the “If you have nothing nice to say…” point. Your blog is your blog and no-one can stop you from writing what you want, but it’s unprofessional to talk bad about fellow bloggers and even brands that you’ve had a bad experience with. Play nice and if it is really bothering you, the first port of call should be to contact them directly, not as an open letter on your blog.

Begging PRs for freebies – being sent products is definitely one of the perks of blogging. Just make sure to remember it’s a perk! You started blogging for the love of writing and sharing your interests with others, (hopefully) not just to get free stuff. Asking PR people to send you products for free can not only give you a bad name among the mailing lists, but also the blogger community in general.

Do you have any dos and don’ts of blogging that we haven’t mentioned?

• Got your eye on the Essie Resort 2013 Collection? BellBelleBella has the swatches and reviews for these nail goodies.
• Vanity No Apologies lists the Top 10 Pink Blushes for Darker Skin Tones.
• The Max Factor Ageless Elixir Foundation + Serum earns a very high review by Beaut Chic!
• Beauty Rambles just can’t stop raving about the Nails Inc Bling it On Emerald.

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Do you want your blog post featured on iFabbo? We do the link love weekly, so arm yourself with your best post and follow our directions below or click here

The deadline for the weekly submissions is Friday, 6 pm EDT. No posts submitted after the deadline will be considered.

In order for your post to be considered, follow the instructions below:

• You must have the iFabbo seal displayed on your website and it must link back to our site. You probably did this already when you were first issued your seal, but be sure to double check it! Badges can be found here!
• Please make sure all submitted links are Beauty or Fashion related.
• “Like” iFabbo on Facebook.
• Submit only ONE post for consideration.
• Post must be “work-safe” and contain nothing vulgar.
• The submitted post must have been posted on your blog the week of that particular week! The specific dates will be announced on our Facebook page!
• Make sure you post the link underneath the “Submission Call” on our Facebook page. If your submission isn’t in the right spot, we might miss it.
• The Winners will be announced with name and links on our social media sites and blog every Monday!

• Wear a man’s shirt – either a classic white for an oversized monochrome look or try this crazy method to make a dress – no sewing required!
• Bored of your belts? You can use a long chunky chain necklace instead! Just make sure it has a clasp or is long enough to knot. Gold would look great to cinch in the waist of that white men’s shirt you’re wearing!

Photo by Kenza Zouiten of Kenza.se

• Shop in children’s wear – if you wear up to a UK 10/12 US 8/10 in tops, you can get away with wearing aged 15/16 girl’s, depending on the clothing type. It’s so much cheaper too! We love this cat face tee and this tiger print top would look great cut into a crop top.
• Go Edward Scissorhands on a plain tee or shirt – cut-out details, shoulder-less, fringing, cropped… the possibilities are endless. Just watch out for the tan lines! Have a look here, here and here for inspiration.
• Nail polish rings – for instant ‘jewellery’ to match any outfit, paint your nail polish directly onto your fingers! As seen at Vena Cava’s A/W ’11 show at NYFW.

Photo via AllLaqueredUp.com

• Wear a tree – delicate twig bangles are beautiful but can be more than a little expensive. Get the real deal with twigs from your garden and some gold or silver spray! Read the full DIY here.

Photo by Geneva Vanderzeil of apairandasparediy.com

• DIY embellished collar – take another man’s shirt with a stiff collar (you might want to apologize to your boyfriend/husband/brother/dad at this point) and cut it off! Tidy up the raw edge then go crazy with a glue gun or fabric glue, embellishing it however you want. Lace, gems, leather, sequins… once you’re finished, add a popper button and you have your own detachable collar to accessorize with jumpers and other shirts.
• Raid the tool shed (or your local B&Q) – thin gold wire and a pair of pliers is very versatile for makeshift jewellery. Channel the recent thin band stacked rings trend by making chevron rings like these or get really creative by adding beads and carefully bending the wire into different designs for a statement necklace.

Have you tried out any of these? Let us know which ones are your favorites!

This time we enjoyed reading the reviews of the following bloggers:

Anastasia of Glamorable!

Glamorable!

Beautisol Tea Tan Glow Wash-Off Body Bronzer Review

Admitting to be a member of the “alabaster community” and never having much luck with self-tanner, Anastasia was brave enough to give our Beautisol Wash-Off Bronzer a go!

Turns out, even pale people like to get a tan here and there and she has now found the perfect way to do it without the committment or any orange surprises. We like that attitude and salute her brave self-tanner investigations!

Anastasia, is a beauty addict and loves everything that includes an SPF! We highly support that. Enjoy your tan! Find her beauty blog here: http://glamorable.blogspot.com/

Tori’s Beauty Blog

Own Skin Health Refining Moisture Night Cream Review

Tori speaks out openly about her dark spots that have been an issue for her. Not shying away from photos to show the bare truth, she now seems to have found a solution to her problem thanks to our Own Skin Health Night Cream. Before and after comparisons make it easy to understand her point and to believe in the power of quality products.

Tori is an Edinburg (TX) based full-time beauty blogger and vlogger. We like the commitment to beauty and hope to see more in the future! Find her blog here: http://toritherebelangel.blogspot.com/ 

Meredith of Magpie´s Closet

Magpie’s closet

First Product Review! Own Lifting Eye Cream

We are honored to hear, that the  OWN Eye Cream wasMeredith’s very first product review! Having problems with dark circles due to intense learning and stress with her finals, this cream has helped her get back that fresh look around her eyes. We are glad to hear that and wish her the best of luck with graduation.

Find her blog here: http://magpiescloset.com/

Courtney of Phyrra.net

Phyrra.net

OWN Refining Moisture Night Cream Review

Although, having a dislike for jar packaging Courtney found the OWN Night Cream suitable for her sensitive skin. We appreciate her very honest review and thoughts on this product. A moisturized face without irritation is something we all are looking for and iFabbo is glad to hear that Courtney found it with the OWN skin care line.

Courtney is a cruelty-free beauty blogger! She loves Pinterest and everything hair related. On her blog you can expect to see tutorials, especially for DIY hair, topics on fashion and product reviews. Find her blog here:  http://www.phyrra.net/ 

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Send us your iFabbo SHOP product review, for consideration in our weekly “spotlight” series.  Every week we will feature the best reviews. To qualify, make sure to follow the instructions below:

• Email your submissions to Jessica at jessica@ifabbo.com
• You must have the iFabbo seal displayed on your website, and it must link back to our site.
• Please make sure all submitted links are reviews on a product you have received from the iFabbo SHOP.
• Make sure you use the appropriate URLs and hashtags in your review.  You should have received the inserts with all of the relevant information with your product order.
• For the “Spotlight” we would like to use a photo of you. Please submit either a photo with your review or let us know to use one from your “About” page or anywhere else from your blog.
• We love pictures so make sure you take photos of the products and include the in your review and post them on Twitter and Instagram.
• Submit only ONE post weekly for consideration.
• Post must be “work-safe” and contain nothing vulgar

We’ve all heard about crazy beauty habits before. Strange things people do to get that extra glow, better skin or shinier hair. But what actually works and what is a myth? We have researched deep into the world of beauty and selected a few that actually do work to help you look your best! Tested and approved by us!

Photo by fotosiamo via Flickr

• Working out regularly can combat wrinkles! The boost in blood circulation to the skin strengthens blood vessels and increases the renewal of cells.
• A hair dryer can work magic for your eyelashes! If you have straight lashes, try to heat up your eyelash curler with a hair dryer for a couple of seconds. The heat of the lash curler will bend your lashes and if set with waterproof mascara, they will look luscious all day!
• Olive oil is not just good for your salad! In small amounts applied, it can make curly hair smooth, dry skin soft and act like the fastest makeup remover!
• Toilet seat covers can fight the shine on your face! If you are in a hurry and have no other option to stop the shine on your face, use regular toilet seat covers as blotting paper! They work just as fine as regular ones from the store.
• Lemon can brighten up your face! Rubbing lemon juice on your face helps to brighten the complexion!
• Silk will smooth your problems away! Sleeping on a silk pillowcase instead of regular cotton is known to reduce tangled and damaged hair and prevent premature aging. The smooth silk won´t be as harsh to your face and hair as other materials.
• Berries can fight acne! Mash some fresh strawberries with a spoon and add a spoonful of white yogurt. It might tingle and that´s ok. Let it sit for a few minutes and wash off. Applied once a week, it is believed to control breakouts.
• Blue lipstick makes your teeth appear whiter! Blue undertones in your lipstick enhance the white in teeth. So show off your smile with bright pinks and reds or plum hues! (For example MAC Ruby Woo or Russian Red)
• Hair spray can be applied through your brush! After your blow dry, apply hair spray onto your brush and then run through your hair, it will hold volume and shine without leaving it clustered and sticky!
• Hair conditioner can be used as shaving cream! If you don´t have shaving cream around, just grab your conditioner instead. It leaves your hair silky and fine, it will do the same with your legs.

]]> http://blog.ifabbo.com/crazy-beauty-tricks-did-you-know/feed/ 2 http://blog.ifabbo.com/are-you-addicted-to-your-second-screen/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-you-addicted-to-your-second-screen http://blog.ifabbo.com/are-you-addicted-to-your-second-screen/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 16:25:08 +0000 The iFabbo Team http://blog.ifabbo.com/?p=6993

Photo by Yutaka Tsutano via Flickr Creative Commons

There are two types of people in the world: those who are addicted to their smartphone and those who lie about it. Yep, ever since those pesky, useful devices found their way into our Christmas stockings, birthday wish lists and general ‘necessities of life’ lists, we haven’t been able to put them down. So much so that the term “second screen” has been coined to describe them. Think about it: when you’re watching TV, you reach to live tweet the OMG moments; when you’re out and about and alone, your phone becomes your significant other. Admit it, even when you’re already browsing the web on your desktop computer, you’re still checking up on all your mobile notifications on various apps.

There’s no denying that smartphones are one of the greatest inventions since the wheel, especially for social media lovers like us. But are we actually being consumed by the information we choose to consume?

How much is too much?

If you think you might be addicted, the first thing to do is to step back and look at your smartphone habits. Is the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before you go to sleep to check your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram? It can be hard not to feel like you’re missing out if you don’t keep constantly checking all your social media. Particularly with close-knit blogging communities, no-one wants to be out of the loop. The thing to remember is that the community will always be there. It’s always good to focus on your real life and enjoy the things that you aren’t sharing with your hundreds of followers.

Which brings us onto sharing. Social networking is a handy tool for interacting with friends that you know in real life or have met online through blogging. You’ve probably got a good handful of people that you always chat to and a loyal following who you like to keep regularly updated. While it’s fun to let others know what you’re up to, if you can’t remember the last time you had a meal without sharing it with Instagram, you might want to hold back a bit! It’s become a bit of a meme recently to take photos of others taking photos of their food (see Pictures of Hipsters Taking Pictures of Their Food!) – a sure sign that the practice is getting out of hand?!

Having a smartphone can feel like it comes with an obligation to be available 24/7. Are you one of those who has to reply to a text, notification or email as soon as possible to avoid seeming rude? While a quick reply is convenient for the sender, it might not be convenient for you. You shouldn’t have to pause lunch to email the PR person who contacted you or reply to your Twitter mentions during a real life conversation with a friend.

These might all seem like social norms but that doesn’t mean society isn’t addicted!

What is a healthy amount?

This really depends on your usage. If you feel completely lost whenever you leave your phone at home, it might be time to wean off the second screen! Try and restrain yourself from reaching it when you’re around others, choose set times in your day to check and reply to your notifications, perhaps every couple of hours, rather than minutes and hey, maybe for once our batteries might last for a whole day!

Could you last a day without your smartphone?

Photo by Zahid Ahsan via Flickr Creative Commons

What kind of a blogger would you consider yourself as? Beauty, fashion, tech, lifestyle? Or perhaps you cover all of these and everything in between? Have you ever thought that giving your blog a niche can help you to bring in the readers? Having various interests is great – it keeps your content diverse and helps to avoid that ‘repetitive posts syndrome’ rut that bloggers can often fall into. However, the diversity can also alienate your readers. Some posts may catch their attention but others may turn them off and too many ‘off’ posts might make them leave your blog in favor of another with more narrowed content.

As if you weren’t already feeling like a small fish in a big blogosphere pond, there’s the prospect of losing readers?! Unfortunately, yes. You may stick with just beauty or just fashion but when readers are following 20 other blogs with the similar content as you, what sets you apart? A review of Chanel’s latest limited edition nail polish? Add it to the long list of others with similar swatches. Photos of your delicious restaurant burger from yesterday? That looks nice. And as Meryl Streep put it in The Devil Wears Prada, “Florals in Spring? How original.”

Of course, iFabbo is always here to point you in the right direction and get your blog the recognition it deserves.

The most obvious niche to go after is the topic niche. If you’re into the art of gift wrapping but you haven’t seen that much content on it around, then by all means write away. It might seem like the most obscure subject or way too specific to generate interest but you’d be surprised at how many other people out there feel as passionately as yourself. After all, who would have thought that photos of makeup rubbed on the back of a hand would grow into the huge beauty blogging community that we know and love today? If you can think it, people will read it and you’re more likely to be come up higher on search engine results – always a plus for gaining more traffic! Being knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what you’re writing about always helps too. Readers will see you as the go-to blogger for your field of interest; you’re the influencer.

Niches can also come in other methods of blogging. Your writing voice might be particularly engaging, for example. If you’re a natural comedian, go with it! Readers will find it more refreshing to read your thoughts on the latest trends than the next generic opinion. Camilla from Into The Fold, is a great demonstration of this. Or if you have a real knack for taking the perfect photos, make it a huge element of your blog so that readers associate you with great quality images of all the things they love. Rosie from The Londoner, for example, can turn the sloppiest burger into the most delicious, gourmet looking meal with a click of her camera.

At the end of the day, the best way to find your own niche is to be your own blogger. Look at what interests YOU and ultimately, be yourself! We’re not promising an overnight explosion of followers once you’ve honed in on your blog niche. It will always take work and continuity to build a loyal following, but having a niche is one of those useful things to make you and your blog stand out from the rest.

Do you think your blog has a niche? How did you find it?