Good news and glittery shoes

I got a job! Yup, the epic interview tour of 2011 paid off, and I now have my first Staff Nurse job. Its in A&E, in a town near to London. So although its a million miles (or 650 odd) from my boyfriend and family, I am chuffed as A&E is my dream job, and I can visit all my friends in London. My lovely Mum had left this card out for me getting home from London on the megabus sleeper, which actually was awesome! Comfy bunk, snuggly duvet and pillow, much better journey!

Now the shoes! Its my graduation next week (we finished our last placement after summer graduation, which is why its so long after we finished) so I needed something to wear. Before I had even thought about what dress to wear, I spotted these shoes and had to have them.

Not strictly in keeping with the dress code of black shoes, but I am hoping I can get away when them!

Aren't they amazing? I have seen lots of glittery shoes recently, but all with massive heels that I would have no chance of walking in. So these are ideal, although I did have to go a size up as my normal size would have crippled me. They were £36 from Schuh, bargain!

Sorry for all the photos, but I could stare at these all day.....

Have you got any good news? Or glittery shoes?

On the road again

The interview tour of England continues. I have so many ideas of things to blog, but I haven't really been in one place to do it! I got home from London last week, slept for a day, then went up to my boyfriends, was home for 2 days with loads to do, and now I'm in the easyhotel in Edinburgh, ready for an early train to Newcastle. This week's interview tour includes train, metro, interview national express coach, more trains, interview, day in London and then sleeper megabus home. I'm getting a bunk this time though, which I am a bit too excited about.
So, once I am back, I promise to get some more interesting posts up. First up will be about the pure spa event I went to in Edinburgh tonight, which worked out well with my travel plans.

Fingers crossed I get a job this week, which I will be happier about moving for.

How's your week been?

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Weekly Photo Summary

I thought I would start doing weekly summary posts, as I love reading other peoples, and I am trying to take more photo's as I am out and about. I also got the mytubo app after reading about it on Bicky's blog. Its like instagram for Andriod, and is pretty awesome. Oh, and my interview trip went well, but I am going for a few more next week, and will update when I have decided what I am doing!

Starbucks Christmas drinks are here! There was a buy one get one free offer on last week, so I went along with Mama Poms. I got the Praline Mocha and wasn't impressed, but the gingerbread latte is pretty good. Nothing will replace my first love though, the Caramel Macchiato.

I got a Diana F+ camera! I have been wanting a Lomography camera for a while now, and I got this cheap in Urban Outfitters. I can see myself becoming a right lomo geek, and am looking forward to trying out all the things I can do with it.

My overnight megabus journey was pretty foggy! Was a bit scary, what with that awful crash the night before.

Om nom nom! We went to Camden market, and got some chinese food, which was super tasty. They have so many food stalls there, its awesome.

I managed to get a quick snap of the Olympic countdown in Trafalgar square, but this was on tuesday, so its a few days less now.

What have you been up to this week?
Have you tried the Starbucks Christmas drinks?

An evening with ROX and Shaun Leane

I was lucky enough to be invited to an event at ROX in the Argyle Arcade, Glasgow, a couple of weeks ago. It was an Audience with Shaun Leane, who  I will admit I had never heard of, but now know he is a very talented jeweller who worked with Alexander McQueen, as well as many others.

 Nicola from Magic's in the make up, with her friend Lynsey, Me and my friend Laura

The event was held in the ROX thrill room, which is above the Argyle Arcade store.

The thrill room was amazing, with comfy chairs, bar, and an ornate ceiling. I think this is where couples are taken when they come in to choose wedding and engagement rings.

It even had this huge chandelier.

I was able to take a friend with me, so I took one of my besties, Laura.

The evening included a question and answer session with Shaun Leane, hosted by Queen Michelle of Kingdom of Style. Shaun talked about the inspirations for his collections, as well as his work with Alexander McQueen, and a recent project where he constructed a diamond glove.

Some of Shaun's collections were on display, including the one off brooch he made for Sarah Jessica Parker in 2006.

Alot of the designs are quite edgy, with sharp lines and spikes, and large pieces. I prefer quite delicate and understated jewellery, and my favourite collection was the beautiful Cherry Blossom one.

This ring in particular took my fancy! Its simple, girly, and so pretty. The one on display on the night was cream enamel with a diamond, but I prefer this pink version. Luckily, its also cheaper. I have been trying to drop hints to my boyfriend, but I think its fallen on deaf ears.

My other pick from the collections would be this Hook my Heart ring. During the Q&A, Shaun spoke about this, and how it is deeply romantic, if you think about actually hooking someone's heart. I would love for this ring to be adorning my finger!

There were also alot  of items from the ROX collections on show, and there were some lovely pieces. ROX sell a great range of jewellery, from mega expensive diamond engagement rings, to really affordable silver pieces. You can browse these in one of the Scottish ROX stores, or on their website. It would be an ideal place to get Christmas gifts for friends and family. Unfortunately my jobless state means that people will be getting homemade jewellery from me, or maybe used nail polish!

What Shaun Leane pieces do you like?

I'm off to London town!

I am just getting ready to get the overnight megabus to London. The journey will  probably be horrific, but its the cheapest way. I am going to down stay with friends from uni, as I have an 2 interviews next week,  on Monday and Wednesday. They are not in London, but close enough to go for the day. I will get a wee bit of time to explore London too. I thought I would should you my lovely new suitcase, and what toiletries and make up I am taking with me.

Isn't it a beaut? I got it from Argos for £24.99 which is half price. Its meant to be the world's lightest suitcase, which means more weight for clothes!

Toiletries wise I tried to be good and only took the basics, as my case isn't that big, and I have lots of train changes.

Brushes

Face

Eyes

Lips

Again with make up I was restrained, and only packed basics and old favourites that I know I can rely on.

Lastly nail care. These little sets from Ms Manicure will cover all my nail needs when I am away.I am not planning on painting them,so have nothing like that packed.

Sorry this is mostly photos,but I have a bus to catch.Hopefully I will have good news when I get back!

If you would like reviews of any of the products, do let me know.

Zen Lifestyle

 Back  in September, I was invited to a bloggers event at Zen Lifestyle's new salon in Edinburgh's Hanover Street. I am only getting round to telling you all about it now, bad blogger! 

Photo credit: Zen lifestyle website

The evening was lovely, we got to see the new salon, which is amazingly swish, and got a to choose a few treatments. We could choose from Shellac nails, HD brows, Blink & Go lashes, and Dr Murad skin mapping. As I had a wedding coming up that week, I went for Shellac and lashes.

Photo credit: Alison Jamieson Consultants

The Shellac process was very straightforward and quick. My nails were shaped,  and then a base coat applied which was cured under the UV light, then 2 coats of colour, then a top coat, with curing between each coat. It probably took less than 20 minutes altogether. The result was amazing, completely dry, shiny nails, that last for up to 2 weeks.

Sorry for the rubbish phone photo, but this shows the nails 1 week on. There is some nail growth showing, but other than that they still look perfect. I removed the Shellac just before the 2 week mark, following instructions I found on youtube, as it was a bit far for me to go back to Zen to have them removed.

Photo credit: Alison Jamieson Consultants
It was then over to the lash and brow area, to have blink and go lashes applied. (No, thats not me, its Amanda and Rani)

Photo credit: Beauty Blogging Blonde

Again, application was quick and easy. The tape is there to stop my lower lashes getting in the way. It felt a bit strange, but that's all.

I asked for natural looking lashes, and that's what I got! They looked amazing, and lasted for over 2 weeks. I was so happy with the results, and would definitely like to get these lashes again for a special event. Obviously a nice photo of my lashes would be good here, but my boyfriend seems to have lost the photo's he took for me. Its not that I am rubbish, honest!

The event was great overall, thanks Zen! There were amazing nibbles and fizz, nom nom!

Photo credit: Alison Jamieson Consultants

Those coronation chicken wraps were so tasty, took all my willpower to not eat the whole plate!

If you fancy checking out Zen lifestyle, I saw on their website that they have Christmas shopping evenings coming up, so have a look- Zen lifestyle.

Ooh La Spa Foot Therapy Hard Skin Remover

Yeah, its a bit of a mouthful! I don't know about you, but I am constantly on the look out for products and implements that will deal with my hard, cracking, and frankly nasty heels. I have tried scrubs, creams, cheese grater style tools, ped eggs, and still my feet are like hooves. Might be because I am bad about keeping up a routine, I want results now! So, when Superdrug recently had half price offers on skincare, I picked up this hard skin remover.

Now it doesn't say what this is made of, but its a kind of pumice stone I think.  The instructions are to soak feet and the stone, and then rub the stone on some soap before use. This is a vital step apparently.

I used this in the bath, so the soaking was easy. It was quick and easy to use as well, and didn't feel too abrasive or at all sore. I gave my feet a good scrubbing with it, which didn't take long, and could instantly feel the results. Once my feet were dry they felt much better, no flaky rough bits at all. They are still a bit hard, but smooth. I think regular use will reduce the hardness too. Overall though, a much better result than most other things I have tried, and with much less effort. I was so impressed that I went and bought one for my boyfriend, along with a basin from poundland for him to soak his feet in-who said romance was dead? He was impressed too, and I just asked him for a quote -"not as shite as I expected it to be". Praise indeed!

The normal price of the hard skin remover is £2.99, which I think is good, even though I got mine half price. The Ooh La Spa range only seems to be available in bigger Superdrug's, or online.

I picked up a couple of other products from the range, which I haven't tested fully. I have used the foot butter once though, and it worked well, but wasn't very minty smelling. The scrub has a stronger mint smell.

The scrub and butter are £3.99.

Have you got any amazing foot care secrets?

Bargain Alert! Revlon nail polish and Galaxy.

Whilst on one of my regular browses of Boots, I spotted this stand near the tills-

That's right, only £4 for any Revlon nail polish, and a bag of Galaxy bites or counters. This is a great deal seen as the nail polish is normally £6.49. There is nothing about this offer over at the Revlon section, so you will need to have a look around the till area. It includes any polish, so not just the ones on the stand with the chocolate. I didn't look to see how long this offer is on for, sorry, bag blogger! I think its just started though, so should have a wee while left.

Of course, I had to partake in  this great offer, and got 2 polishes, and 2 bags of bites, nom nom nom.

I chose Gold coin, and Cloud. Gold coin will be great for Christmas, and Cloud is a unique shade that I have nothing else like in my collection.

Of course, if you don't already have it, this is an ideal time to pick up the much hyped Faucets of Fushia.

I got it myself a while ago, and its such an unusual polish to find from a 'drugstore' brand.

Will you be partaking in this offer?
Any Revlon polishes you would recommend?