Saturday, 28 February 2015

LONDON BEAUTY SHOP

Hi guys, I'm sorry I've been off blogging for a while now as I've been caught up with a few things. So, a few days ago I was in London which meant it was time for a whole lotta shopping. Because of half term it was very busy and crowded in London especially shopping on Oxford Street. It was too busy to shop for clothes. Trying and standing in the long queues wasn't even an option. So I decided to do a bit of a beauty shop as there are a few items that are hard to get hold of in the North West.

So here's CO LAB in 'Paris.' A dry shampoo by the all famous 'A model recommends'  on Youtube. Dry shampoo lovers have been loving this product for the past few months. The reason I hadn't tried it erlier was because I wash my hair every single day, but I decided to get my hair dyed blue/green on my ends so I haven't been washing my hair every day. So dry shampoo has become a great alternative for me. Firstly, I want to compliment the smell of 'Paris.' Im not a huge fan of the smell of most dry shampoos, so this was a very nice surprise for me. This one smells almost like after shave and its good to throw into your handbag for when your hair needs a little pick up and its an over all good product as it keeps my hair feeling and looking clean as its really lightweight and absorbs oils.

Topshop on Oxford St. (opposite Oxford Circus station)
£2.00 50ml


So every time I used to walk past the YSL fragrance, I couldn't stop myself from spraying a bit of YSL 'Black Opium.' And, naturally, every time I sprayed it on myself, I fell in love with it even more. The only way to describe it, is that its an evening perfume that you can also wear in the daytime and its notes are black coffee, vanilla and white floral.

Harrods
£64.00 50ml

 I'm always in a rush to get out of the house in the morning which is why I love products that allow me to get ready quicker than ever. This is definitely one of those products. The Giorgio Armani eyeliner. It comes with a helpful blending sponge end, which is perfect for anyone like me who doesn't have time to get that perfect eyeliner look. Although it is waterproof, the texture is very creamy and extremely easy to blend, which is always good for when you're correcting any mistakes. 
Selfridges
£19.00

The Dr.Lipp 'Nipple balm.' Yes, the name may put you off this product but this balm works wonders. This product is just as versatile as the Embryolisse, and if you read my blogposts you will know how much I love that product. This balm was originally used for breastfeeding women but is now used for everything from minor incisions to eyebrow shaping. I use this on my lips as my lips haven't been 'pout perfect' recently. This product is made from 100% ultra pure medical grade lanolin.

Space NK (Covent Garden)
£11.50


 So I walked into Liberty's London beauty department exhausted at the end of the day and had left my eye cream back at home. Hoping to do a little research into which eye cream I should try next, I went to the nearest beauty counter which happened to be Kiehls. I was so tired that I just asked the nice man behind the counter which eye cream was best for dark circles and he had recommended the 'Line-reducing Eye-brightening concentrate.' At that point I didn't want to even go to another beauty counter so I decided to just purchase the one that was recommended to me. Everyone reacts to products differently but truthfully this isn't one of my favourite eye creams. I put a dot of the eye cream onto my ring finger and gently patted it around my eye. Immediately my eyes and the skin around my eyes started stinging but I thought that was meant to happen as it was an intense eye cream. So I applied my makeup and concealer how I usually do and within an hour my eye cream was completely ruined. All the concealer underneath my eye had melted and creased. I'll definitely not be purchasing that product again.

Liberty
£33.00


Fighting the crowd at the ever popular Topshop on Oxford St wasn't exactly fun. Never the less, I was on the hunt for the beauty section as I had heard good things about it. I saw that Vivianna from 'Vivianna does makeup' gave a brilliant review on this mascara. I am yet to try this product, but if its as good as I have been told, then you'll be sure to see it in my March favourites.

Topshop (opposite Oxford Circus station)
£18.50


Oh, Bioderma. I finally tracked you down on day 2 as a friend called up telling me there was a little pharmacy that sold Bioderma. Not only were they selling Bioderma, it was BUY 1 GET 1 FREE! 
If anyones in London then definitely check out 'Zest' on Berwick St which is just behind Oxford St as they stock most french skincare brands like Bioderma and Caudalie. It can also be purchased from a pharmacy in Shephards Bush. (Just in case anyone was having trouble finding it)

Zest on Berwick st
£18.00

So I was extremely excited to find out that Mac had a Pro store in Covent Garden, so we headed up there for a good makeup shop. 
As we walked in we were greeted by crazy makeup lovers pushing and shoving, so I went downstairs to the Pro section in search of the eye gloss that recently came out and other general products that you wouldn't find in a normal Mac store. I walked up to the woman to ask her about the products that I was after and she spoke to me with a 'I really don't care' attitude. I've heard about how people complain about the girls at MAC but I've never experienced it myself, until now! But fortunately, before my unhappy exit, I spotted a corrector colour that I hadn't seen in the Mac store at Manchester. It's a bright orange corrector that is brilliant at correcting for people with dark pigmentation. This is ideal for those with a darker skin tone. I haven't yet tried this product as I'm loving Armani's corrector (in 2) at the moment but I will be trying it soon and will be sure to include the review in one of my upcoming blog posts.

Mac in Covent Garden
£12.50


 One of the things I was most excited about was the Burberry store. The only one to stock beauty and accessory products. It's a small shop in Covent Garden. The people there were absolutely lovely, very helpful and approachable. I didn't really go in for a certain product, but as I approached the lip section, I knew I had to make a purchase. The first one I picked up was 'Mocha NO.12' which is a dark brownish pink gloss, which immediately reminded of Mac's 'Spice' lipliner. And of course, I must compliment the sleek Burberry packaging.

Burberry store in Covent Garden 
£18.50


To go with the lipgloss I spotted a lipliner 'Nutmeg No.06' which is more or less the same colour as the lipgloss and the sharpener is a bonus. 

£15.50

I also picked up another lipgloss as gift. Its a touch lighter than 'Mocha' but more pink and its called 'Heather 2'

 £15.50


 £18.50




The lovely women on the top floor then gave us some tasty macaroons and offered to throw in a few amazing sized handbag samples which happened to be very useful when going out with a tiny bag. I definitely recommend that store to anyone interested.



I always see beauty bloggers and Youtubers raving about this product. It's the Pixi 'Glow tonic' which is an exfoliating toner with aloe vera and ginseng. It smells lovely and is definitely helping to keep my skin looking fresh.

Liberty
£18.00





Thank you for reading.

instagram: @sally_akku

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SALLY AKKU 
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