MAC ~ Brick-O-La

I put a photo of this on Instagram the other day & then realised I hadn't actually done a blog post on it, whoops!  We have here my favourite lipstick at the moment, Brick-O-La by MAC.

*Whoa, extreme close-up, scary!!!*

I picked this up on a total whim one day from the MAC counter within Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh & I adore it.  It's an amplified finish so it's creamy & very moisturising to wear.  Longevity is not fantastic if not worn with a lip liner but that's true of most lipsticks that are not 12-hour formulas so it's not a biggie.

I can only describe the colour as warm pink with a hint of terracotta to it, making it a very wearable shade.  I find myself wearing it a lot at the moment & it's already on my re-purchase list but I'm trying hard to eek it out until I can get to duty free in 6 weeks!!

It can (obviously!) be ordered direct from MAC online for £15.50 but if I can't get to a counter, I prefer to order via Debenhams so I can collect my Beauty Card points!!

Is anyone else a fan of MAC lipsticks?

Life lately

Hi all, how is everyone?  I've been MIA for a while I'm afraid - I totally lost my blogging mojo for some reason.  It wasn't down to lack of post ideas or anything like that as I currently have 9 draft posts waiting to be published, life has generally just got in the way!  My pc (or internet connection, we're not sure which) is just not working properly either & the last post I did took over 2 hours to do as opposed to the usual 20/30 minutes, which really hasn't helped.  I've also been volunteering at the school again & have spent a LOT of time there in recent weeks.  It's all good fun though!

Anyhoo, I have a couple of hours until I have to be back at the school again(!), this time to help with the Christmas parties.  But first, let me fill you in on what I've been up to the last few weeks.

The Hubble & I spent a couple of days in Edinburgh at the end of November (you may have seen some of my photos on Instagram!)  We like to get away just the two of us now & again & had I not come down with a stomach bug in the night, it would've been perfect!!  Never mind, we'll just have to go again - what a shame!

We've also been really busy with sporting activities on the weekends recently.  Wee man plays rugby every Sunday morning, which the Hubble coaches & he's recently started golf lessons on a Saturday morning too.  However, these are held at the Carnoustie golf course so we drop him off for an hour then enjoy a walk along the seafront followed by coffee in the Carnoustie Golf Hotel.  Last time we went, I took a peek in the spa & have decided that in the New Year, I'm going to treat myself to an Elemis facial or two!  Well, that's if Mr F didn't pick up on the very heavy hints I was dropping & book me in for some treatments, ahem!!

I worked out the other day that I've bought 5 pairs of boots & shoes in 2 months, is that excessive?!?  One of my new pairs are the lovely Kendra Aviva from Clarks.  I wanted these last year so I'm glad I managed to pick them up with 25% off.  I bought them in the suede & I really think they are the most comfortable pair of heels I've ever owned.  I wore them last week on our Mums' Night Out (yes, it needs capital letters!!) & my feet felt fine, even after dancing for 4 hours!  Actually, they were so comfortable, I've just ordered the Crisp Kendra shoe in red as they're such a bargain at 50% off.  Let's hope they fit as well as the boots!  But no. more. footwear........for now, anyway!

I've got lots of posts that I need to finish up with lots of lovely new products to show off & I'm going to have a wee redesign of my blog over Christmas & New Year so don't worry if it all looks strange whilst I'm doing it!!

I hope you're all prepared for the big day & are feeling lovely & festive?!  Even my 6 year son knows the words to my Mr Bublé Christmas cd!!!  I'll be back soon!

A day oot in Auld Reekie

 

 

 

 

Very rarely these days do Mr F & I get the chance to have a whole day to ourselves so when my mum came home after visiting my sister for 6 weeks & offerered to do the school runs etc. we jumped at the chance!  I'd received a fair amount of pennies for my birthday a couple of weeks back so we decided to go to Edinburgh for the day so I could go to John Lewis & Harvey Nichols & spend them!!

 

I love Edinburgh so much, I would live there in a heartbeat.....I just need to do some serious praying to the Lottery gods first though!  We normally take the train through but we find more often than not, there are never any seats on the return journey so have to end up standing for an hour & a half.  Not good at all when you've paid good money for a ticket, in my opinion.  So this time we decided to use the park & ride just beside the Forth Road Bridge which turned out to be so fast & easy, I just think we'll use this option from now on!

 

Anyway, I had a very successful day & picked up a load of new skincare & cosmetics.....and the obligatory pair of new shoes of course!  No shopping trip is complete without new shoes but instead of a pair of sky-high heels, this time I opted for the sensible-but-damn-comfortable ballet flats from Clarks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  MAC Viva Glam 1

2.  No7 cream blush Maple Silk

3.  Soltan Gradually Golden for face

4.  L'Oréal Nude Magique CC Anti-fatigue

5.  Stila Prime Pot

6.  MAC lipliner Spice

7.  Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, Raspberry Pie & Pink Truffle

 

I also purchased more of my favourite cleanser, the fabulous Cleanse & Polish by Liz Earle & a lip balm from Kiehl's, a range I've never tried before but I'm loving the product so far.  I also bought a new make-up pouch & some mini handcreams from Cath Kidston to keep in my handbag rather than the great big tubes I normally stash in there & finally got my hands on some Real Techniques brushes.  These things are like gold dust around here, they're always sold out but a full review of these will follow.  And finally, every trip to Edinburgh involves a visit to Bravissimo for new undies.  I was fitted by the brilliant & very patient Brigit & came away with 2 new sets.

 

Mr F wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café (again!) for lunch where I enjoyed quite possibly the tastiest steak I've had in a looong time & a couple of beers went down well too!  So that's me well & truly spent up for quite some time now.  Well, except for this fabulous bridge camera that I have my eye on that is!  I may have to do quite a few eBay & carbooting sessions to raise the funds for that one though!

 

À la prochaine!