The Spa at 200 St Vincent Street: Review

Happy Easter weekend everyone! 

I hope you were lucky enough to get some time off work this weekend to relax

 I kick started my Easter holidays in the most relaxing way possible with a luxurious facial

(FYI: My first facial ever!!) 

As well as being home to a gorgeous spa, 200 St Vincent Street is a fabulous conference, events and wedding venue situated in the heart of Glasgow city centre. 

The perfect location for a post work pamper session or a lunch hour treat!

There are a whole host of treatments available which you can see in the brochure here

Personally I have been having a really bad time with my skin recently. Particularly on my left cheek. I seem to have a cluster of under the skin spots which just won't shift! It's really beginning to get me down so I decided to try the Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing in the hope that it would get rid of them. 

When I arrived at the spa I was greeted by Jennifer the lovely spa manager. 

She showed me around the spa which includes a relaxation room 

You can pop in here after your treatment for a glass of prosecco or some afternoon tea

This would be a great idea for a girls day out or a hen party!

Once in the treatment room I explained my skin woes to Jennifer and after inspecting my skin she advised that the Tri-Enzyme resurfacing may not be the best option and that it may irritate my skin further. 

She suggested paying a visit to my GP as it may be something easily sorted with a course of antibiotics. 

Instead she recommended a "Skin Specific Facial" 

This way the facial would be catered to my own skin 

I really appreciated this as she was taking my needs into account and using her years of skin care experience to give me the best advice possible. 

All of the products used during the facial were Elemis 

They felt so luxurious and the smells were amazing 

There was relaxing music playing throughout and I was even treated to a neck, shoulder and scalp massage as part of the process. 

I almost fell asleep a few times. 

Jennifer explained that it would be helpful to get as much hydration back into my skin as possible

I've been scared to moisturise properly recently as I worry that any products I put on my face are going to irritate my skin more! 

She used a serious of hydrating serums to achieve this and assured me that Elemis plant based products should not aggravate my skin. 

I was a little sceptical about how much difference the facial would make to my skin 

I had never had one before so wasn't really sure what to expect

However I am absolutely over the moon with the results! 

My skin feels so soft and smooth, my nasty dry patches are gone and although I think a trip to the GP is probably still necessary the difference it has made to my problem area is unreal. 

Now I really really would rather not post pictures of my spotty face over the internet as I'm self concious enough about my skin but I really think this is worth seeing. 

The first picture was taking in the morning before I went for my facial 

The second was taken this morning, 4 days later 

Obviously my skin hasn't cleared up completely but I think you will agree there is a huge difference already! 

The redness has calmed down considerably

I would highly recommend paying The Spa at 200 St Vincent Street a visit if you are in Glasgow

The lovely staff and stunning surroundings really gave me a wonderful experience 

and the improvement in my skin is obviously a fabulous bonus! 

Check out their spring promotions and Easter on their website 

What do you think of my results?

Have you ever had an Elemis facial?

Jen <3

It's A Small World Wide Web After All...

So after about a year of neglecting my poor little blog to concentrate on getting my degree 

(Getting there slowly but surely)

I think it's time to wipe the cobwebs off and get stuck back in!

I recently participated in a short documentary all about life online 

I got interviewed along with another couple of lovely ladies who are as interested in social media as I am.

The film explains how I got into blogging in the first place and also why I haven't been as active recently! 

The documentary was directed by my lovely little cousin Rebecca 

you can follow her on twitter @BionicBex

Seeing myself on camera just cements why I will never do Youtube!
I hate my face and my voice haha!

Well give it a watch and let me know what you think :) 

Valentine's Day Gift Guide for Her...Or You

So February is here already!
It's one of the best times of the year for being in a relationship. The anticipation of a potential romantic weekend away with your other half or maybe even for some, wondering if they'll pop the question! 

However for the singleton's it is a much more sombre event. Listening to your friends soppy stories about their PERFECT other half can be a little sickening! 

So I have set up a little gift guide with my friends at The St Enoch Centre, Glasgow. You can either use it to drop some hints to your partner 

or go out and treat yourself!

Grapefruit Candle - Arran Aromatics £14.50*

The nights are getting lighter and the weather is getting (sightly) better 

It's time to ditch the Winter candles and start burning some lighter fruitier scents.

This gorgeous grapefruit scented candle from Arran Aromatics 

will set the scene for any romantic home cooked Valentine's meal. 

 Bracelet - Moriconi £35*

Next up is this beautiful mesh and rose gold love heart bracelet from Moriconi Italy 

Rose gold is everywhere right now but I always have difficulty finding nice pieces that match my watch 

This bracelet really does the job. It's a really delicate contrast to the heavy watch.

Soap £7* Body Butter £13* - The Body Shop 

For those of you who are still sticking to your New Year diets and are going through serious chocolate withdrawals! The Body Shop has came out with a new range 'Chocomania' which contains real Community Fair Trade Cocoa Butter but smells like delicious chocolate. 

I'm tempted to stick my face in the body butter it smells sooo good! 

Chocolates - Kimble's £26

For those of you who have already kissed goodbye to your diet 

OH MY GOD look at these chocolates!!! 

Is that not the prettiest box of chocolates you have ever seen?

I don't normally have a sweet tooth but I think I could make an exception for these beauties 

Look at the gorgeous box they come in as well! 

You could definitely use this as some cute storage once you have devoured the chocs

(which I'm sure won't take long) 

Now all you have to do is leave your laptop open at this page and hope your other half takes the hint...

or get yourself down to the shops and treat yourself! 

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day whatever you are doing

Jen <3 

Lip Voltage - Review

If you have Twitter or Instagram I'm sure you will have heard the buzz about this product recently!

Lip Voltage is the latest beauty craze to sweep the country 

I'm pretty sure it gained popularity after Holly Hagen from Geordie Shore posted a pretty impressive Before and After photo on her Instagram account 

Lip Voltage is made by a company called Dream Weave & Co 

I've never tried any of their products before but after all the hype I had to give it a go 

The product comes in two parts 

Part one is the Lip Gloss itself which is a clear gloss which they say is a

 'Quick absorbing peptide lip treatment'

Part two is 'Mix Up The Voltage'

Which allows you to customise the plumping power of the gloss 

depending on how much voltage you add 

1 Drop - Low Voltage 

2 Drops - Medium Voltage 

3 Drops - High Voltage 

Now you may have tried other so called miracle lip pumping products that leave a minty tingle on the lips 

Lip Voltage is a whole different ball game and I'm not going to lie to you girls 

IT HURTS LIKE A BITCH! 

It really does sting for a while after applying 

but it stops after around 10 minutes 

obviously the more Voltage you apply, the more it will sting therefore I really wouldn't recommend adding more than 3 drops. 

My before and after picture definitely isn't as impressive as Holly's 

but I think you can see there is certainly a difference

I used two drops this time but I have used three in the past and there is an even more noticeable difference 

It can leave the skin around your lips a little red 

but touching it up with a bit of concealer solves the problem 

As it has been so popular Lip Voltage is sold out in a lot of places 

but if you visit the Dream Weave and Co website they list some local stockists 

I know there are a few beauty salons near me that stock it and it is around £15.99

Have you given Lip Voltage a try yet?

As much as it stings I'm sure collagen injections would be a hell of a lot worse 

So I think I'll stick to this method for now! 

Jen <3 

Moxi Makeup Brushes

I am a total makeup brush fanatic and I don't think you should ever underestimate the power of a good brush

It can totally change the look of your makeup 

and while I have more than enough brushes to last me a lifetime I am always looking at or buying new ones to add to my collection! 

I love coming across new brands to try so when I seen these little beauties from MOXI I knew I wanted to try them. 

They hadn't been released yet so I registered with their website and waited to find out more details.

I was delighted to find out a few weeks later that I had actually been lucky enough to win the competition they were running where you could win a full set of brushes worth over £90

I was so excited when they arrived!
You can tell they are a luxury brand straight away as each brush was individually wrapped
I'm a sucker for packaging and MOXI certainly don't disappoint
Each brush comes in it's own protective case to make sure they stay in tip top condition

They are by far the best looking brushes I own
who doesn't love a bit of Rose Gold?
They feel really solid and well made I think they will last for a long time

My set of brushes included:
MOXI - Flat Top Angled Brush, perfect for applying foundation
M1 - Blusher Brush
O1 - Foundation Brush, which also works really well with concealer
X1 - Angled Eyeliner brush
I1 - Double Ended Eyeshadow Brush, which is great for both applying and blending shadows

I am loving these brushes so far
They don't shed at all
The foundation brushes leave my face streak free
and my favourite has definitely got to be the double ended eyeshadow brush
it's perfect for travelling as it's two in one
anything which saves space in my makeup bag is always a bonus!

You can purchase these fab brushes from
Moxi Makeup
Unfortunately their site is still under construction so I can't give you details on the prices
but keep an eye out for their website to be back up and running soon!

Jen xx

Juice Warrior - Juice Cleanse: Review

With Christmas fast approaching, it's the time of year when most of us have a jam packed social calender

All these lovely events usually include copious amounts of food and drink, which although great at the time it can soon catch up with you and leaving you feeling just a bit...Bleurgh!

My lifestyle has changed an awful lot in 2013 

I used to be a complete exercise-phobe. This year I joined a gym and have been going regularly 

My diet has improved drastically I now put a lot more thought into what I'm consuming and try to eat as clean as possible when I can.

All these good intentions however seem to go right out the window at Christmas!

I had been reading a lot about juicing and have been thinking about buying myself a juicer to try and incorporate some more fruit and veg into my diet but I didn't want to rush out and buy one if it really wasn't for me.

Luckily I was offered the chance to try out a Juice Cleanse from a Glasgow based company called Juice Warrior. 

Their juices are 100% pure cold pressed fruit and vegetable juices. They are never processed or pasteurised so you don't have to worry about any horrible additives. These juices are all natural,

because of this the juices are highly perishable so have to be consumed within a few days, but the company do offer a delivery service. 

You can pick from a few different cleanses from between 1-3 days. 

I only opted for one day this time as I just wanted to give it a try and decide whether it was for me. 

It is up to the individual whether they want to eat or not whilst doing the cleanse, but it is advised that you stick to fruit and vegetables and don't consume any processed food.

As I attend the gym regularly it is important that I consume enough calories to keep my energy up 

So I was quite worried at the prospect of not eating all day, but I decided to try and stick to the juices alone and see how I got on. 

I waited until about 10:30 to try my first juice

I usually eat breakfast around 7am but I had a day off yesterday so I had only been up for around an hour when I drank this. 

This flavour is 'The Golden One' containing - Pineapple, Orange, Sweet Potato and Ginger 

I was slightly dubious about the Sweet Potato as it seemed quite a random addition amongst the other fruits but it was really quite nice! It definitely suppressed my hunger. 

I had my second juice at around 1:30pm 

This time I opted for 'Sweet Beet' containing - Beetroot, Carrot, Apple, Lemon and Ginger 

Now I really wasn't looking forward to this one as I absolutely hate beetroot

but I liked all the other ingredients so I was hoping they would sort of drown out the beet taste.

Unfortunately that was the strongest flavour and I didn't particularly enjoy this one

but I gulped it down anyway. 

I had another Sweet Beet around 3:30pm

Although I had to decided to try and get through the day drinking the juice alone 

by about 5pm I was absolutely starving so I decided to make some dinner 

I had some roasted vegetables 

Red and Yellow Peppers, Courgettes, Red Onion, and Cherry Tomatoes 

I can honestly say vegetables have never tasted so good! 

Before bed I had one more 'The Golden One'

I thought I would be really tired and worn out by bed time but I actually struggled to get to sleep and seemed to have loads of energy! I was hungry though and had a bit of a sore head.

I'm almost certain that the sore head was due to not having any caffeine.

I am an absolute coffee fiend and whenever I try and take a day off from drinking coffee I get really bad headaches.

I woke up this morning feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed 

My dad even asked me 'What I was on?' haha 

and although the cleanse is not designed to be a weight loss programme 

I did weigh myself before I started and then again this morning

I had lost a total of 4lb which will definitely go a long way in helping me squeeze into my dress tonight for my xmas night out! 

Although I really struggled with the hunger I definitely want to try this again

I will probably try a 3 day cleanse early in the New Year 

from what I have heard the hunger subsides on the 2nd and 3rd day 

Would you try a juice cleanse?

Or have you tried one before?

If you live in the Glasgow and are thinking about trying one here is the website for Juice Warriors

www.juicewarrior.co.uk

Jen xxx

Festive Nails - NOTD

Now I won't pretend to be some sort of nail painting extraordinaire 

They are usually a bit of a riot, I try and keep them nice and tidy but more often than not, I fail. 

However since I'm attending a Christmas Jumper Party tonight I thought I would make a bit of effort and make my talons a bit Christmassy :) 

What colours are more gloriously festive and tacky than red and green?

For the red nails I used:

two coats of 

No 7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in the shade Devils Delight

covered with one coat of 

W7 Nail Polish in shade 2 - Red Dazzle 

For the green nails I used:

two coats of

No 7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in the shade Totally Teal 

and one cot of 

W7 Nail Varnish in Shade 8 - Green Dazzle 

I think the No7 and W7 combinations work really nicely together 

and obviously if the alternating nail colours are a bit OTT for you 

then you could just opt for all red or all green

What are your go to nails for the festive season ?

I will be sure to post a photo of my awesome Christmas jumper on Twitter or Instagram 

So if you aren't already following me please do

Twitter - @thebigburdblog

Instagram - @biggins89

Jen xxx