1. If you had to introduce yourself, what would you say?
I work in a health forward herbal clinic & shop in the west end of Glasgow where I work as a practitioner helping my clients to obtain optimal skin health through their diet, supplementation (when and if necessary) and through treatments. I also provide holistic health care advise to customers in the shop and dispense prescriptions for our medical herbalists. It is such a cool place to work! My dedication to skin health came from having extremely reactive skin growing up and gaining little progress or success with the use of steroids (oh the steroid withdrawal was so bad!), biopsies from dermatologists and antibiotics. Having lost hope and with little self-confidence at 19 I ended up doing my own research and from there controlled my flare-ups through diet, lifestyle changes and supplementation. I discovered homemade facemasks and herbal concoctions (RIP to all the turmeric stained clothes and carpets in my life) and thus my own career path naturally progressed when I began to take all of these fun pastimes more seriously.
2. If you could tell us one interesting fact about yourself what would it be?
I have a very overactive brain and constantly get random business ideas. I have so many scrap bits of paper from when the idea has popped up and I've quickly noted them down. I spent 4 months of my life seriously looking into owning my own porridge café and came up with 17 different variations of porridge. I bloody love porridge, why didn't I pursue that further...
3. What do you do in your spare time?
On a day off I am one of those boring people who just loves catching up with themselves and getting into their own routine. I wake up, make a little to do list which typically involves going to the gym, meeting up with a friend for a quick coffee, going to the library to work on little projects here and there, and coming up with a different healthy dinner followed by a homemade facemask. Besides being a bore, I LOVE exploring new little towns and villages that I haven't been to before and seeking out the best place to go for coffee.
I also love just singing for fun, I sing constantly around work, at home, in the shower and have a bad habit of repeating the same lyric over and over again. I would be lost without my headphones and spotify playlists
4. What's your favourite thing to do in Summer?
I grew up in a small town called Kinross surrounded by fields and hills so as soon as summer comes I just want to climb hills or go on bike rides. And in Glasgow we all become this sociable bunch who just want to have BBQ's in the park all day... it's the best!
5. If you could give someone a tip regarding their skincare or diet what would it be?
- Skincare is hard because everyone is so unique however, a general tip would be that hot water and over washing the skin can cause more bother to your skin than you think... it's so drying and can lead to broken blood capillaries.
- Oil is your friend internally and externally.
- When it comes to your diet just make sure that your palette is colourful. Bright coloured foods are high in antioxidants and nutrients such as; beta carotene, lycopene, anthocyanin. vitamin A and C. These all contribute to collagen formation, protect against free radical damage and regulate blood flow... helping to promote that sought after glow!
- OH and of course, keep on top of water intake to prevent skin dehydration. Ever feel your skin looks a little lack-lustre or puffy? Drink. More. Water.
6. When or how do you wear your IOLLAs?
I find that my IOLLAs really pull together my work outfits so I purposefully don't wear my contact lenses to work. They give me more "RIGHT - let's get these skin issues resolved" vibes. Like a superhero when they put on their cape.
