My Favourite SPF with Image Skincare

When a few sample sizes of Image skincares latest offerings popped through my door the other day, I thought it was actually a good time of year to remind everyone about their SPF range that they have and I personally adore and is my go to for sun protection.

You can read my full review of their SPF here but to summarise this is the best stuff I have found so far for properly protecting my skin in the summer sun and gives me the peace of mind that I wont be making my annoying pigmentation problem any worse! Since posting my review I have continued loving that it doesn't leave me with the awful 'ghost face' effect and makes such a good base for my make up without feeling thick or heavy.

 I am hoping to get along to a stockist soon and take a look at the rest of the range- there is a new tinted moisturiser that really appeals to me considering how impressed I have been with this matte version, and there is also an ultimate protection version with a nice whopping SPF 50 in it that I will probably invest in if I ever get myself a nice summer holiday booked!

I have only used the new products that came in the other day, a couple of times but I can report the new Illuma range smells AMAZING, and I am hoping even the little trial sizes might do a little working on shifting any new pigmentation I have got. Incorporating cell extracts and phyto lightening agents to give truly illuminated skin - I can't wait to see if they deliver!

If you still haven't checked out any of the Image Skincare lines, you are totally missing out! You can find the list of local Scottish Stockists here.

Glasgow Reviewed; Brow Envy at Westend Wax and Beauty

Before treatment with naked brows and one coat of mascara

Over a year ago now I met the amazing Debbie, waxer extraordinaire ( seriously she is incredible at it!) and an all round amazing business woman who I have such a big amount of time for. In just a year her salon, Westend Wax and Beauty has gone from strength to strength and the services it offers have continued to grow. Debbie welcomed Roslyn of Brow Envy in February this year and I had to get along and try out what was she had on offer.

I settled into the chair on Sunday and Ros walked me throw the HD brow treatment first, a seven step procedure including waxing, tinting, tweezing, threading. Ros was a complete professional throughout, I have had HD brows before at a couple of places and no one has ever spent as long explaining the procedure and discussing what I would like to get out of the treatment before. Working together in the consultation in this way meant I was totally confident in letting her just go to town on my brows. As I have explained before I have long suffered from Trichotillomania, a condition that means I mindlessly pull out hairs which has resulted in me having majorly sparse little brows for years that I have worked hard to try and encourage to grow in. Because of this I am pretty nervous when It comes to anyone touching them but Ros had me completely at ease and I was excited to see what she could do for them.  I was hoping for a really decent shape and to help encourage the new hairs to grow in the right way- and that is exactly what I got.

Ros set about working on the shape while I gabbed away to Debbie- she has years of experience on brows so the whole thing was completely painless, she showed me the shape she had managed to create before applying tint ( mixed to a shade I was happy with) and I was thrilled with how they looked. She had explained to me before starting why the shape they currently were in was ageing on my eyes and why moving the arch and altering the shape would be better, so I was delighted to see what she meant when I looked in the mirror! After the tint she actually gave me the mirror to watch her apply the HD powder to help fill in my gaps and pointing out where to focus the powder to help even up my new shape ( I have a lot of growing to do!) this was such a nice touch as often you are left just to walk out without a clue as to how to do it yourself. I was tickled pink with how they looked and could absolutely see where the changes to the shape had made a big difference, she walked me through the aftercare and explained how to work on training the brows to keep their shape. I was so impressed by the knowledge she had and the care she took over ensuring I had all the tools to help improve my brows in the long run.

During- my lashes taking their new shape against the guard.

Next up was the show stopper- the LVL lash treatment which is an innovative treatment designed to lift and straighten the lashes which helps make them look fuller and thicker. After following westendwaxandbeauty on facebook I was seeing photos go up of people who had already had this done and I was SO jealous! I was seeing boring old lashes turn into incredible, long, dark, amazing looking lashes and I wanted to see what she could do for mine. She explained how the process worked and what lotions she would be applying to my lashes to achieve the look and I sat back in the chair and let her work her magic.. A sort of shield is applied to the eye lid and she warned me it might feel slightly uncomfortable but she then makes sure the lashes are pressed against this guard and left to set in that upright position. She makes sure each lash is beautifully separated and also adds a dark tint to give even more definition to the completed look. It does feel odd having your lashes pressed against the lid like that but its not at all painful and you get to spend 45 minutes with your eyes closed which is never a bad thing to me! Ros does her thing making sure you are comfortable and happy throughout and the time passes really quickly and before I knew it, it was time for the pieces to be removed ( also entirely painless) and see the results.....

I have NEVER been so shocked and thrilled when handed a mirror in a salon before- I was completely and utterly blown away by how my own lashes with no mascara, curlers or extensions in sight could look this good. Completely upright, long, thick and healthy looking I literally could not stop staring at them! Ros was thrilled with how they had come out managed to put up with squealing with delight! this treatment is a complete revelation to me and I cannot stop telling people about it- I am not a fan of wearing false lashes and know if I had extensions I would just pick them all out but this means never having to even think of that. Results can last up to around 8 weeks which is incredible, think how handy for weddings and holidays! you could absolutely get away with no mascara at all with lashes like these, I had to keep them clean for 24 hours after which was no issue at all even though usually I am a complete mascara junkie! I am now enjoying just applying a thin layer in the morning which is all you need to achieve ridiculously amazing lashes- I am just so happy with how they look.

A few days later with no mascara or brow powder

I cannot encourage you enough to add these ladies on facebook and take advantage of the fantastic offers they run, (you can follow them on twitter too  Debbie and Ros ). You can get HD brows for £25 and LVL lashes for only £40 right now instead of £60, new clients get a super 15% off their first treatment and even better they do a student discount of 25% off! If you are heading to weddings this summer or off on a exotic holiday I cannot recommend these lash and brow treatments enough- they are just incredible. I have found that since I feel far more ' groomed' with my brows and lashes looking good I have been much happier wearing far less make up- just some tinted moisturiser and a bit of blusher which can only be a good thing for my skin!

BB cream and one coat of mascara and a quick sweep of brow powder and blush

IT'S LOVE!

You can contact Ros and Debbie at the salon on 0141 237 1778 

Pushing myself with Scottish Power and Cancer Research

The Scottish Power High 5 Wave tent

I was determined that 2014 would see me push myself further than I have in recent years, from saying yes to things more often, to trying new foods or accepting new challenges. I have actually managed to stick to this resolution quite well so far and it inspired me when I got an email only a few days before the big Cancer Research Race for Life in Glasgow, asking if I would like to take part...

Ally and I getting our high 5's in!

Scottish Power were willing to donate £250 to the charity on my behalf if I ran the race for them and where I might have once shied away, I was quick to say yes and get my running shoes on for such a good cause. They were one of this years sponsors for the event and hoping to raise as much awareness as they can  by inviting people to take part in their High 5 Wave campaign. All you have to do to help them reach their target of 50 000 high 5's and a donation of £30,000 to Cancer Research is upload a snap of you high fiving on their campaign website which you can visit here. It is so quick and easy to take part in this fun campaign and do your bit for Cancer Research and the incredibly important work they do. 

Getting ready to give my all

My own experiences of this awful disease affecting family and friends inspire me to push myself more and take advantage of as many opportunities as possible and I am really thankful to Scottish Power for inviting me to do this run. I didn't think I could run 5 yards never mind 5K so I really surprised myself when i managed to run the whole way and in 25 minutes too and shock horror I actually enjoyed it too! The whole morning was such good fun, running in a crowd of  15 000 ladies all decked in pink and cheering each other on was amazing, and reading all the dedications on the backs of the running tops was so touching and served as the perfect reminder of who we were all running for and to push ourselves harder.

Chuffed with myself for finishing!

The support stealing the runners finish line treat!

Please do take a minute or two today to upload your high 5 today and keep the wave going for Cancer Research!