The Zen Lifestyle Beauty Event

Recently I received an invite to attend the Zen Lifestyle re-vamp event which took place at their Teviot Place salon in Edinburgh. It was an exclusive event for Bloggers, Press and other Business Owners with the opportunity to try out some of their signature treatments such as HD Brows, Blink & Go lashes and express Shellac.

I jumped at the chance to go. So armed with my trusty sidekick and bosom buddy Cat from the "Cat's Pyjamas" we rocked up to see what all the fuss was about. We were greeted at the door by a lovely hostess with a fabulous necklace and given a glass of Prosecco (good Prosecco at that which was frequently topped up!). The salon is gorgeous. Sleek, shiny with accents of signature purple. The salon appears deceptively small at first but there are two separate treatment rooms as well as a nail bar upstairs and treatment rooms and a brow bar downstairs.

This was the first Scottish Blogger Network event both Cat and I had attended. I've been blogging for a year and Cat's new to the blogging world (well the writing side anyway). It was nice to be able to meet some people face to face and of course to meet lots of new bloggers and share the love. We were too late to experience any of the treatments which had to be pre booked but the politeness of the staff and the atmosphere of the salon made up for this. We witnessed several treatments and their results such as India from India Alexandra's very neat HD brows and Ashleigh from All Out Gorgeous' pretty in pink Shellac manicure. We also saw a Fraxel Laser treatment take place; a medical procedure which uses a laser to improve texture and smoothness by treating minute sections of the skin but if you're interested in this it'll cost you £895 per session and 3-6 are recommended!

It's easy to see why the salon won UK salon of the year at the Professional Beauty awards last year. They offer a vast array of treatments from beauty to spa to advanced skin treatments and their staff are extremely welcoming. You can visit their website at www.zen-lifestyle.com or follow them on Facebook at ZenLifestyle or Twitter @Zen_Lifestyle. And they blog too at zen-lifestyle.com/blog.

Oh! We also got a fab goody bag with a full size Murad cleanser and a mini version of their candles which are on sale in the salon. You can see me swinging mine in front of the famous Greyfriar's Bobby monument which is minutes from the salon. After the event Cat and I enjoyed some Tex-Mex at Illegal Jack's which was a first for me and was damn tasty!

Pictured above are:
Claire of J'adore. and Demi of Demi Beverley/ Cat of The Cat's Pyjamas and myself!

India of India Alexandra World/ Hayley of Water Painted Dreams and Charlotte of Colours and Carousels.

I will add captions and links to this post at a later date. I'm am currently sans wifi and sans laptop as I am off to the caravan for a few days and am blogging from my phone... Where there's a will there's a way!

Tickled Pink

Jacket - Warehouse // Jumper - H&M // Dress - Primark //
Necklace - Primark // Boots - Topshop

I have a rather smug look on my face in these photos and it's probably because I'm on holiday for a whole two wonderful weeks! I wore this outfit to Glasgow on Saturday for a day/ night out with the girls. I bought the boots with my birthday money. They are really similar to a pair of chelsea boots I have from ASOS which I have worn to death over the autumn/ winter period and thought it was probably a good idea to invest in a leather version. They are fail safe, go with anything boots and based on the fact that it's April... and we STILL have snow, I'll probably be wearing them all Summer too.

P.s. This print is everywhere... Crop tops in New Look and dresses in our local boutique shop as well. However, this little beaut was only £10!

Happy Birthday To Me?

My 27th Birthday

I've not written in a diary since I was about 17 or 18 and yet here I find myself ten years later keeping a public diary for the entire world to see... But grown-ups don't keep diaries though do they? Passed adolescence we've got our heads all figured out right; we shouldn't need to write down our feelings to understand them? I suppose I held that viewpoint. Once I left home I was an adult and sitting in my bedroom scribbling down my world views on boys and music seemed trivial. However, If I'm honest, the real reason I stopped writing in my diary is because I was afraid of what I might learn about myself and that I wasn't always happy. We spend a lot of our time trying to show the world that we are happy. On the online diary that is Facebook I don't post pictures of myself crying (heaven forbid) and I try to avoid too many "Woe is me!" statuses because being happy's important.

So this week when my relationship ended I said nothing. I posted lots of pictures of myself smiling. I made plans for my birthday and got on with trying to be happy (okay, there were maybe a few whiney Twitter statuses but nobody pays attention to them *she says convincingly*). And so I'm sitting in my parents spare room so that when I wake up tomorrow I can be surrounded by people who love me with presents, writing in my online diary... 17 year old Clare masquerading in a 27 year old body.

It'd be easy to say not much has changed but it has. I'm definitely a wiser and richer person for all of the experiences life has allowed me to have in the last ten years, the people that have been a part of my life and the love that I've been shown and continue to be shown. And maybe I'm not completely happy as the clock ticks twelve and sends me into my 27th year on this planet but I'm grateful for so many things. Including this little space, my online diary of sorts, because sometimes it just helps to write it down. I hope I never forget that again.

Lover You Should Come Over

Scarf - Charity // Skirt - Topshop / Socks - Primark // Converse - Spartoo

It's officially half term - hurrah! Although for me that only means a long weekend off. However, it has been spent wonderfully so far. A trip to Ikea with the mother followed by lunch and then a very romantic evening with the boyfriend. He truly excelled himself by turning up at the door with flowers, steak and a bag full of surprises... including Valentines coupons, a stunning thrifted photo album (he's learning), a handmade bracelet and a mix-tape of significant songs. Never has anyone put so much thought or effort into presents for me. (My good karma last Valentines paid off obviously!)

The above outfit is a mish-mash of very old and very new. I bought the jacket aged fifteen with my first wage from the chippy. It's from Bay Trading! The t-shirt is topshop circa 2008 and I still love it. The socks and the shoes are new. I managed to get Converse in a size 5.5 and they are the perfect fit! Even better, they only cost £33 from spartoo.co.uk, however, that deal seems to have vamoosed! On another note I'm really enjoying seeing the southern bloggers coverage of London Fashion Week on Instagram and am hoping the rest of my long weekend is as lovely as it has been and affords me a little more blogging time.

It's Not You... It's Me.

I'm sure the majority of you that have ever ended a relationship have used the phrase "It's not you... It's me." But how many of you actually meant it? I find myself in a new relationship, my first fresh relationship in six years, which is causing me to re-evaluate my opinion of myself and whether the view I have of my last relationship is extremely rose-tinted in my favour.

We are great at admitting our superficial-flaws: I need to eat more healthily; I've not been to the gym this week; I need to try harder at work etc... but to hear your real-flaws said out loud can often feel like a knife to the ego. Nobody likes to be criticised however, I find myself turning my thoughts painfully inward in an attempt to see what others see and recognise my negative traits. My reason for doing so is that I find myself behaving in a way that's not reared it's head since my last relationship...

I am bossy. I am childish. I am critical. I have a temper. 
I never think I'm wrong. 

Phew. I almost feel like I should have a name badge and be receiving a round of applause. I suppose the above are issues I have to address. However, It's not that easy changing your spots, as I am currently finding. My new relationship has made me reflect on my last relationship a lot, which I suppose is natural given the length of time we were together and operating on the Sex and the City theory that it takes half the time you dated someone to get over them (Christ, that means three years then!). Yes, I ended the relationship and yes, I probably threw around the "It's not you... It's me." phrase without actually meaning it. However, when you end a relationship which is essentially floating along nicely because you're in the midst of a quarter life crisis* you've got to focus on the negatives to convince yourself you've done the right thing... which I did. Consequently, it's got to the point where I can't quite recall how I felt in the beginning; where I'm struggling to remember the good stuff which far outweighed the bad but maybe that's what's required to move on.

It has been strange moving into my new home; unpacking items that have been in boxes since the end of my last relationship and recognising the resurfacing of characteristics I don't necessarily want to possess. I think I'll always be bossy but hopefully I'll learn how to deal with the rest (or find a man that will!).

*or mid-twenties menopause as I've recently heard it being labelled!

Skin Deep

The thought of having a bathroom shelf to myself was something that filled me with delight. I would place all my skincare items on said shelf, routinely cleanse, tone and moisturise and would have the skin of an angel. Cue reality. Like a lot of people I find it quite difficult to stick to my skin care regime rigidly however, I know it is important the closer I get to thirty! I have been using Liz Earle products for nearly two years. Their products were one of my early blogging discoveries but I'm sure, like me, you'll have read copious amounts of posts on the infamous Hot Cloth Cleanser. So this post will focus on Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate and on a recent purchase Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant.

Product 1:
I was at a Dermalogica event recently and came away with the Daily Microfoliant. I was looking for a product that wouldn't aggravate my sensitive skin so this seemed like the best option. The adviser said it would be helpful for getting rid of under the skin blemishes which I have a lot of round my mouth and chin and for exfoliating the dry skin on my jaw line. The product is a rice based powder; you decant a small amount onto wet hands and rub together to create a frothy paste which you massage into the skin after cleansing. It has a very distinctive smell but the consistency is nice. First confession; I haven't used it everyday. In fact, I used it religiously for about a week and a bit but it brought out so many imperfections that I cut back on the "daily". I'm hoping persistence is the key with this product and that if I try again I will be on my way to angel soft skin by week two.

Product 2:
The above is a roller ball travel sized version of Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate. The product is designed to be used at night. It smells gorgeous and contains argan oil (if it's good enough for our hair then it's good enough for my face). The instructions state that you should apply the oil all over the face, inhale the "aroma" then massage upwards and outwards for visibly plump and smooth skin. I use this product on average of once a week but have found myself going to it more often over the winter months when simply moisturising hasn't been enough. I'd love to get the full size version as it has a pump dispenser but it's pricey at £40.25.

What does your skin routine consist of? What are your miracle products? Share ladies, share! ... The world will be a prettier, plumper and smoother place if you do!

Turn Your S. A. D. Light On

I bought a pair of work trousers from Asda today. Bog standard, boot-cut, bargain basement £12 trousers. I have not worn anything of the boot-cut variety since 2010 when I had my interview for my current job and traipsed to Next for a suit and matching jewellery. The item was rarely worn again for several reasons 1) it's not really my style 2) whenever I did wear it pupils asked if I was going to a funeral and 3) it restricted my ability to lark around playing "Bear in the Woods" and such like (yes, this is what I do on a day to day basis). I mention this because I am having one of those days where I feel utterly bleugh! We were recording in class today and I caught a glimpse of myself on camera and I felt completely drab and that forbidden word... old. I slept in this morning and in doing so went to work wearing yesterdays make up and a pair of petite trousers. The worrying thing about this is I am not petite therefore teamed with a pair of chelsea boots I looked like an urchin who had grown out of her clothes especially when I threw on my two sizes too big, sheepskin charity shop jacket. A great man once said, "Success is dependent on effort"... if only I could find it.

Effort is my enemy this month because everything seems to require so much of it. January is the month we take stock of our lives. We reflect on the year past and look to what we are going to achieve in the year ahead and tell ourselves we'll do it as better human beings (I will cleanse, tone and moisturise every day. I will use my gym membership more often). Only, January is such a shitty month to make the effort. It's dark, it's cold and everyone's skint. Tomorrow I have promised I will get up when the alarm goes off. I will put my make up on properly and attempt a proper hair style. I will eat breakfast and make up my packed lunch and I will put on my new work trousers and a pair of heels even though I want to live under layers (for layers read duvet) until the dark mornings cease.

I'm not unhappy. In fact I've got lots to be happy about and I am and it's a nice feeling. I suppose I'm just a little S. A. D... And wanting to crawl under the duvet until spring is not helping me become a "better human being" however, it might mean more confessions are made from under it!

For more information on S. A. D. see this website: 
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Seasonal-affective-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx