The Printing Press launch party

I went along to the launch party for The Printing Press on George Street in Edinburgh which is the baby of Des McDonald, who boasts working in The Ritz and The Ivy in London on his CV. We were greeted on arrival by an impressive ice sculpture and a glass of champagne, strong start!

The party had an impressive turnout and the restaurant had been cleared to make way for a fresh seafood cart and an adorable cheese stall to keep the guests fed and happy. 

I'm also a bit of a food snob and the glorious canapés made from fresh Scottish produce that were doing the rounds got me excited to go back for a full meal! I love a menu that changes with the seasons.

Along with spotting a bad foundation match at 100 paces, one of my other favourite things to do is to quaff cocktails. I don't do it all that often as they're quite hard to fit into my macros (An eating plan I follow) so they have to be worth it. And they more certainly were! I had a kitsch treacle based drink served in a treacle tin and a prosecco poured over sorbet...It's the only way to drink it darlings.
I think it is a fabulous addition to George Street. Next time you are in Edinburgh give it a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Stay classy




Kelly

Served with science and class, the new wave of drinks.

I have only recently discovered the joys of a properly made cocktail and how to appreciate a good spirit. I know I might be quite late to this party but you know...I'm fashionably late so who cares.

I had a small wow, mind blown experience in Copper Blossom in Edinburgh. It's an adorable new bar that has a hint of Laura Ashley about it.....In a good way! Walking down the beautiful hand painted flowery steps while lanterns swayed above me, I knew I would love this place. It's become one of my favourite bars already.

Sure it gets ridiculously busy on a weekend. Everywhere in Edinburgh does, but you really don't mind the wait. The drinks are amazing.....The mind blowing bit happened when they told me they had a lab downstairs! Wait what? I know, I know....I didn't know science went into cocktails either. I now appreciate the costs of cocktails and I've found I take my time with them more. No knocking back overly sweet sugary efforts of a cocktail, made with cheap spirits! This also has the lovely side effect of a much more manageable hangover in case you do over do it.

Copper Blossom make a clear Bloody Mary.....mind blown! They add an enzyme to it and voila it's clarified (probably way more technical than that but you know....science) My drink of choice though is the Crystal Peach.
If you are out and about in Edinburgh then this place is definitely a place to visit.

Funnily enough though if It'd have been this time last year, I wouldn't have appreciated the drinks anywhere near as much as I do now. I have the brand ambassador for Glenfiddich, Mark Thomson to thank for that. I attended the Stewart Christie garden party which Glenfiddich kindly sponsored. There is no way you would have gotten me near whisky before, but Mark took the time to teach me and my group how to actually enjoy it. Before then I had always thought of whisky as more of an older gentleman's drink, definitely not a fashionable tipple.

My opinion totally changed when I got to know the brand a little better, I worked with them at Goodwood seeing people of all (legal haha) ages sipping on whisky. I even have a favourite whisky cocktail now (Old Fashioned)
I think brands are starting to push now to be more accessible to all ages, taking risks and being dare I say more interesting, I mean check out this little Glenfiddich video.....definitely not dust and boring.

Let me know your favourite bars in Edinburgh...Where shall I check out and what drinks do you recommend?

Stay Classy

Kelly xx

Iolla....Spexy

I wore these awesome NHS glasses as a child. The giant round frames, ridiculously sized for tiny children faces. Mine were a fetching peach to clear fade. The reason for this tragedy? Cost! That had been a problem all through my glasses wearing life.

I went through a stage in my teens of being determined not to be seen in my glasses. I hated the frames. They made me feel so self conscious that I decided to try life without them. Well after being nearly run over on more than one occasion and accidentally getting into the wrong persons car, I decided to save up for some nice glasses.

Fellow glasses wearers know all about "THE COST". You pick up some frames, look at the price tag thinking, "over £100 is steep but I do need them to see and I would quite like to look cool at the same time". You take the glasses to the receptionist and she says... Well it's an extra £60 if you want lenses. Erm well yes...I would quite like lenses in them! That's up there with my main needs in a pair of glasses!

So after shelling out £160 for a mid priced decent enough pair of glasses what happens? Obviously I end up sitting on them within a month. This is not good. I lose things and break things more than is necessary.

This all changed when I got an invite to the IOLLA launch. Finally a brand made by glasses wearers for, well glasses wearers. Obviously the main draw for me was the price. £65 for glasses....that includes the lenses, not only just lenses BUT anti-scratch and anti-glare lenses!!! 

I honestly couldn't believe my short sighted little eyes. The frames are beautiful Italian acetate and are named after famous Scots. I spent a good hour trying them all on, then obviously another hour deciding between my favourite three.

I chose these gorgeous walnut tortoise frames. You know I can't resist a hint of turquoise. They are so light to wear.I can dress them up or down really easily, working them here with my chouchou hood or Boden wrap dress.

So I'll be visiting the showroom in Finnieston again soon but if you can't get along to Glasgow then get yourself online at Iolla They have made online shopping for glasses so easy! At that price you can get spares for you know, when you sit on them.

Stay Classy 

Kelly xx

Winter Lip Velvets...Lime Crime Velvetines

Velvet is going to be big this winter in all kinds of ways.

We know it comes around every year in fashion and you can head over to the lovely Emma's blog bear and bunny to find out how to wear it on your bod....How about wearing it on your face?

Ok well maybe not gluing big ol lumps of velvet to your face but velvet textures? Yes please!

My favourites for this winter are Wicked and Cashmere from Lime Crime. I will list some other alternatives as I know some people have trouble with that brand. (long story I don't want to get into) I have honestly not found a dupe I like as much as Cashmere itself though.

So here they are swatched on my super pale skin.



I would say cashmere is a surprising colour...I've seen it work on pretty much all skin tones. It weirdly doesn't make me look dead, and I think it would look amazing with the 70s vintage fashion we have going on right now. Its a Greige so basically a sort of greyish beige with just the right touch of pink.


Wicked is a glorious deep red with a wine tone to it. I would match it to the victoriana goth trend, or maybe some beautiful royal blue velvet (guess who has such a velvet cape on it's way haha).


Velvetines I find one of the easier matte lip products to work with. Make sure you give it a good shake up before you use it. It goes on almost watery and dries down very quickly. You will get wear from the inner lip outwards but it almost leaves a cute stain so it's not all bad. I find the cheaper ones wear off much quicker.

Cheaper brands to try are MUA in superdrug, Sleek and Bourjois. I've not seen a colour quite like cashmere though.


Do you have any favourites?


Stay classy


Kelly xx