Glasgow Reviewed; Emily Rose Vintage Upcycling Class

 For anyone who follows me on twitter or instagram, you will know I am a huge fan of charity shopping and generally reusing and recycling what I can. The recession means there is just less expendable cash for most and I find taking advantage of second hand anything, from clothes to furniture, is the best way for me to make my salary go further. That, and I have always loved a bargain- so finding good items for much less than in shops gives me a great rush! When I bought my flat 3 years ago I furnished it entirely with second hand stuff which at the time suited me fine, but now it feels a little tired and I am looking to up-cycle what I can to breathe some new life into it. Up-cycling is huge right now, with many others in the same situation financially, people are looking for pretty and affordable options for the home and a bit of DIY can go a long way.

I am a bit a of a creative dunce however and I have just never thrown myself into it properly for fear of getting it all wrong so when an amazing new upcycler called Emily of Emily Rose Vintage moved into premises just two streets along for me in the East End of Glasgow, I just had to get along and let her talk me through it.

Offering a variety of classes and price points, I  first went along to try one of her night classes that at just £25 are absolutely the perfect way to throw yourself into transforming a piece of your own and the perfect option if you just want to get stuck right in and transform something. I have had this boring old brown stool in my house since I was about 14 and have always meant to do something about it but such is life, I just never got round to it! These are where the night classes are such a fab idea, I can take this old boring brown stool and after a couple of hours with Emily it is now one my favourite things in my flat! The workshop, located on Sword street which is just around the corner from Bellgrove trains station ( two very short stops along from Queen Street) is a lovely space, there is room for a few of Emily's absolutely stunning pieces to be on show and room for you to bring something in to get to work on. There is also handily a kitchen which means she can whip up some delicious tea and homemade cake to enjoy when taking a break from all the hard work! All it took to turn this stool into something pretty was a couple of coats of paint, some varnish and an amazing little decal I chose from the catalogue of so many beauts and BAM- gorgeous new vintage look stool that I am so proud of.

before and after thanks to Emily Rose Vintage!

Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paints are Emily's weapon of choice as she is a big fan of the finish you can achieve with it and it was great fun learning about how to mix the colours. I was also lucky enough to go along to one of her relaxed Saturday morning classes where I had the chance to learn lots more about these paints and how they can be used in a multitude of different ways. The morning class is the ideal introduction to learn the basics from getting the 'chipped' look to which top coat is right for the job. For £35 for 3-4 hours we covered all the basics using wooden boards and snarfed down some tea and delicious home made cake . It is such a lovely way to spend a morning, like the evening class the atmosphere is so friendly and open that is a great space to learn in. The other people who came along were aboslutely lovely, it was nice to just sit and chat while painting and learning from each persons board as everyone was choosing different colours. You can also opt to do the whole day session for £55 where you can then move on to working on your own item in the afternoon under Emily's expert guidance and enjoy a lovely light lunch.

cake and painting-bliss!

working on my colour combinations

My practice boards from the Saturday morning class- just look at those colours!

 I had such a wonderful time at this class I have not stopped raving about it since, I would love to treat my mum to one of these day classes as I think she would love to learn a new skill and get stuck in with some old furniture. I can think of so many occasions a class like this would make a lovely present, something for hens or bridesmaids to do together, going with a partner to do up something for the house and working together on it or just for a fun class to take with a friend.  I have to say Ally has never been more pleased with any class I have done in the past, he absolutely ADORES the old stool I upcycled and shows it off to anyone who comes in the door which is really sweet. I can't wait to start work on something new!

You can commission Emily to do pieces for you or even buy some of the pieces she has on display ( I wanted them all!) or find out more about her classes by taking a look on her facebook, twitter and website.

Glasgow Reviewed; Elanic Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery

I am overjoyed when any opportunity to go along and chat to like minded skincare enthusiasts comes along so I was absolutely in my element when an invite to head along and check out the luxury health and beauty clinic, Elanic, popped into my inbox. Located on Bath Street right in Glasgow city centre, Elanic offers a wealth of services both surgical and non-surgical, and has some incredibly knowledgeable and passionate staff to boot. A bright and airy reception welcomed me on arrival and clinic Manager Ashleigh gave me the tour- I was instantly impressed with set up that Elanic has on offer. I had no idea you could have a procedure such as liposuction or breast augmentation right there in a clinic, move through to a comfortable recovery room and then head on home to rest up there! I was blown away by the facilities they have on offer and was so intrigued by some of the procedures that they can provide.

Although right now plastic surgery is not something I am considering I was so impressed with the approach the staff at Elanic and the plastic surgeon ( and owner ) Vivek, take. Using an incredibly state of the art Vectra XT System, Vivek was able to show me the incredible differences surgical procedures can do for people The first clinic in Scotland to offer this technology, this 3d body scanner allows potential clients to assess the possible results before making their final decisions. The scanner allows for a high resolution 3d image which can then be manipulated in countless ways to give an idea of what changes will look like, this is invaluable to allow people to make better decisions when it comes to surgery. I was blown away by the quality of images it produces and watching Vivek manipulate them in a whole manner of ways, was an eye opening experience. The difference that can be made in such small changes was really incredible so I can only imagine how amazing this  cutting-edge service is to someone seriously considering procedures.

If it is more a non surgical route you are considering, then Elanic really does have it all. From the incredibly impressive sounding ILipo treatments ( I saw some superb before and after shots) to peels and fillers,  the staff here are so passionate about what they are providing that you can guarantee a superb service. I was thrilled to get chatting to staff about the health side of things and it was encouraging to hear how knowledgeable they were about things such as general nutrition which is so important in educating clients to help better their overall results. I was given a go on the clinics Visia scanner which is a clever piece of kit that takes a UV photograph of your face and can then analyse the sun damage, wrinkles and pores and general condition of your skin under neath the surface. Your consultant can then analyse the results and make recommendations for how to treat your true problem areas to ultimately improve your skin 'age'. Now as a beauty blogger who has worked hard over the past couple of years to turn her skincare regime round, thanks to my pigmentation issues my skin still came out of the Visia at a real age of 39! Not music to my 28 year old ears....

There is hope though in the form of 3 Skinceutical products which the therapist specially picked to treat my issues. I was so exciting to get them home and get trying them out- I can't wait to go back to the clinic in 3 months time and see if they can help bring that skin age down!

Following my skin analysis I was lucky enough to get to sit down for a chat with resident dermatologist Dr Girish Gupta who was an absolute pleasure to chat all things skin with. I have only ever seen an NHS dermatologist before and although good there was absolutely a very restricted amount of time and options on offer and there was also a very considerable wait period which makes the service at Elanic a super option.  You can go to Dr Gupta to discuss everything from acne to worrying moles ( he is a leading dermatologist on skin cancers in Scotland) to lumps, bumps and rashes and he is an absolute delight to chat to.

A host of thank you cards that all spoke so highly of the team

I was really impressed with the care Elanic take in helping their clients get the most out of themselves, their approach isn't a hard sell at all and you can feel their genuine shared interest in improving lives. I loved getting the chance to chat skin with the staff in the clinic and really had my eyes opened to a world of choices I didn't even know existed!  I was so excited to get home and get my skinceuticals products that I think I was practically running. I am trying out an antioxidant treatment that so many of the staff absolutely raved about, and a couple of products to help my fresh pigmentation woes so hopefully I will see some good results on my next visit.

 I can highly recommend going along to meet the exceptional staff at Elanic if you are considering treatments and want to know more. You can contact the team on 0141 332 5106