When you're feeling blue...

Make your nails look awesome!

I know I've been MIA again, things have been a bit stressful for me of late. I have finished uni now, and am a fully qualified Nurse. Yay, right? Yes, I am really happy to be qualified, but now I need a job. The job situation for nurses is pretty bad, especially up here in Scotland. I have been applying everywhere, and have had a couple of interviews, but both said other people had more experience. So, this has been getting me down a bit, and I haven't been able to get the motivation for blogging, even though I have all the time in the world to do it. I am currently applying for jobs in England, as I have to accept I am probably not going to get a job in Scotland in the current climate. Ah well, onwards and upwards.

To cheer myself up, I applied some falsies on my constantly breaking nails, and painted them with Barry M Indigo, and Maybelline flash cosmic. I can't take credit for this combo, I saw it on a blog ages ago, sorry I can't remember which one. I then applied a coat of No 7 Stay Perfect top coat, which for £2 when using a No 7 voucher, is a total bargain as it dries really quickly to a great shine.

I love the deep colour and the subtle sparkles. Its nice having long nails too! I'll do a seperate post on the nails and glue I used, once I have had them on for a few more days.

Bling bling!

Behold, my bling phone covers! Cheap, tacky, LOVE IT!

They were £3.30 each, and I got them from this ebay seller.

What type on phone cover do you have?

Feeling Zen....

A while back, I was invited to review some treatments at Zen Lifestyle Salon in Edinburgh. I jumped at the chance, as I have not really been for many treatments, and I have a slight obsession with watching spa treatment videos on youtube. Thats normal, right? It was arranged for the day after I finished my last ever Nursing placement, so was a lovely reward.

Zen Lifestyle has three salons in Edinburgh, with the newest one in Hanover Street opening just last month. I went to the Teviot salon, which is a lovely bright welcoming salon, with treatment rooms on the lower floor. I did turn up looking a bit like a hobo, as I was going straight up to my boyfriends in Dundee after, so had a big backpack! The lovely lady on reception kindly put it away into the office for me though. While I was waiting upstairs I took a few quick snaps-

I was then taken downstairs for my treatments, which were DiamondTome Microdermabrasion and a Priori Coffeeberry Peel.

The treatment room was lovely and cosy, and relaxing. The lighting was low with flickering candles, and soothing music. I snuggled up under the fluffy towels, and the pampering began! I swear, even getting my eye make up removed was bliss! My therapist, Rebecca, gently massaged make up remover into my eyes, and then removed with lovely hot pads. There was then a full face and neck cleanse, which was removed with hot towels. Then, it was time for the microdermabrasion. This treatment uses a diamond tipped wand, which is attached to a suction machine, so your skin is resurfaced and exfoliated. It felt a little strange at first, but I soon got used to it, and it felt good knowing that all the dry skin and impurities were being sucked away! My face was gone over in great detail, as well as my neck and décolletage.

My skin was then cleansed again, and the coffee berry peel applied, along with nice warm eye pads. The peel is all natural, and is deeply moisturising, and claims to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. It felt like a nice face mask, rather than the harsh peel I was imagining. While it worked its magic, I was treated to an amazing head, neck and shoulder massage, which was bliss.  The peel was then removed, and a serum applied. While this soaked in, I was given a hand massage, which was  also amazing. I then had eye gel and moisturiser applied, and was ready to face  the world again! Rebecca gave me a nice glass of water, and I was left to relax and get ready in my own time.

Overall, the experience was amazing. I felt so relaxed and pampered. More importantly, my skin felt amazing afterwards. It felt so soft for ages afterwards, I kept making people touch it! I think maybe this was due more to the microdermabrasion, but it probably was the combination of treatments. I would certainly like to get some more microdermabrasion, and when I finally get myself a Nursing job, I'll be going back for some!

You can read more about Zen lifestyle and its treatments here- Zen Lifestyle

I would like to thank Zen and Alison Jamieson Consultants for giving me this lovely treat.

What beauty treatments do you recommend?

Nina Pro purple polishes

I am testing out blogging with my phone, so if this post looks rubbish, that's why.
I was in Sally's the other day and spotted a special offer on Nina pro nail polishes. They are normally 3.49 and they were buy one get one half price. I got punki purple and purple-xing (the glitter one). They are both gorgeous! The plain one is actually matte, and the glitter is just amazing. I haven't tried these on my nails yet, but will report back.

Have you tried any Nina Pro?

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I'm back

Once again, its been a while, due to all sorts of stresses in my life. I am now finished uni forever, and waiting for my nursing registration to come through, and then I'll be a real nurse. I just need a job now, and all will be good.

Other than doing all sorts of glamourous nursing tasks, what have I been up to? Not much! One of the most exciting things things was going to a blogger's event in Edinburgh, hosted by the lovely Stella and Snooki from Alison Jameson Consultants. It was a great afternoon held in posh hotel Tigerlily, where we got lovely cocktails, our hair and nails done by Medusa Hairdressing.

Here is my hair do, which was a lovely curly half up/half down effort-

My nails, which were a lovely nude shade that I am trying to recreate. Any suggestions for a colour match, do let me know! (The other nails are Rani's)

It was great to meet all the lovely Scottish Bloggers again, and have a good look at all the products that AJC represent.

We went away with some lovely goody bags, so I have lots of products to review for you, including Phil Smith hair products, Osmo hair products, and Tantruth fake tan.



Please do recommend your favourite nude polishes that look similar to the one above!

Raw Gaia Bamboo and Pumice Exfoliant

My skin isn't amazing, and I am in a constant search for products to make it smoother/clearer/generally amazing! When I received an email from Raw Gaia asking if I wanted to review a new, all natural exfoliant, I jumped at the chance. Now, I'll be honest, I probably didn't read the press release with the email properly, as I got a surprise when it arrived. I was expecting your usual cream based exfoliator, but no, this one is a powder!

The exfoliant comes in a 50g plastic tub, and costs £20.99. The directions given are to wet your face, and then dip wet fingers into the product and massage over the face for 2 mins. I wasn't sure how much product to actually use, so I dipped one finger in, thinking I could add more if needed.

I have to say, it is a strange product to use. The sensation is like rubbing sand on your face, or at least what I imagine that would feel like, its not something I make a habit of. It did feel a little abrasive, but maybe I rubbed a bit too hard. If you have sensitive skin then I would go gently with this. However, I really like how my face feels after using it. It feels really soft, and when using it you feel like its really getting into all the nooks and crannies of your face. I also asked my Mum and my friend Katie to try this out, and they had the same opinion, strange to use, but good results. I suppose it depends whether you want a nice relaxing experience, or a functional one. If its functional, then this product is for you!

The product itself is 100% natural and organic, without chemicals and preservatives. This isn't something that I am particularly bothered about, but I know alot of you out there are.

I like the powder format, it means the small tub will last for alot of uses, and if you are travelling you could just take a tiny container full and have enough!

The only drawback I see is the price, as I am a skint student (not for much longer), the price would put me off at the moment. However, I can see the product lasting ages, so price per use is probably very good.

You can read more or buy the product here.

Have you tried any unusual natural products?

Disclaimer: This product was a PR sample, but this did not affect my review in any way.

Sphinx NOTD

I am pleased to report that since I last posted (a while ago, I know) I have still managed to resist nail biting! As such, I finally have nails! The only downside to this tale is that I have also started my final placement as a student nurse, which means I can't really have long nails or wear polish when working. I will hopefully also find an amazing nursing job soon, so this is something which will be pretty much a constant. Sods law, I am finally able to grow longer nails, and I need to cut them. However, I am not letting this put me off, and plan to make the most of my days off, and create some nail art. I have been going a bit mad buying nail art supplies on ebay recently, so expect a good few posts on my bargains. Anyway, on to a recent NOTD, Sphinx from the 17 supreme shine range.

This is a muted gold shade, which looks amazingly shiny in sunlight, but did look a little sludgy when indoors.

The polish claims up to 7 days wear, but I didn't manage anything like that. I did wear it to guide camp though (I'mn a leader) so that was probably an unfair test. It did last well for a good few days though. Application was smooth and easy.

I particularly like the larger sized brush, which I have shown compared to the brush of my topcoat. It made application very easy, as I needed less strokes to cover the nail. Overall, this polish is a winner!

Which 17 polishes do you like?