“The best night of my life”.
That was how popular beauty salon owner Margaret McDowell summed up her emotions after she lifted two gongs at the Scottish Beauty Industry Awards.
Mum-of-two Margaret has been running her salon in Station Road, Shotts, for 20 years.
And she revealed that her table at the plush ceremony in the Marriot Hotel in Glasgow “erupted” when her name was announced not once, but twice.
Delighted Margaret said: “I think I’m still stuck to the ceiling!
“It was just an incredible night, the best night of my life.
“I had all my friends and family there. My husband Gordon and daughter Mandy, my brothers John and James and son-in-law Mark Smith were all there with me at my table.
“My friend and client of 18 years Mary Gardner was there too.
“When I won the first award for the south of Scotland the table absolutely erupted.
“The second celebration when I won Scotland overall ahead of the north and central salons was just off the scale.”
Margaret was straight back to work following the event, but admits she is still trying to recover emotionally from the big win.
She was nominated for the awards by Linda Norton, and even though Linda couldn’t make the ceremony itself after taking unwell, Margaret paid a special thanks to her afterwards.
She added: “Linda started the ball rolling with nominating me for the awards.
“Without her none of this would have happened.
“When I found out initially I’d been nominated I thought it was a wind-up.
“She really supported me and helped me get votes online so I really owe her a lot.
“The awards will definitely be given pride of place in the salon but I’ll just keep working my hardest for my customers.
“So many are like my family now. I love my job and this is just the icing on the cake.”
