Beauty Brands You Can Pick Up In Manchester

I can imagine there are people in the world that plan a trip solely around the tempurate of the country, or the sights to be seen. I guess there can be a whole range of factors that might have an effect on where people choose to travel to when they're booking trips, but for, the local shopping has become one. So with my home town of Manchester being a seemingly popular tourist destination (for reason that I unfortunately can't understand let alone explain) I figured I'd let you know which beauty brands you can pick up in store here.

You won't find a Space NK store in every city in the UK but you will find a little one in Manchesters St. Ann's Square. Don't be fooled by it's size it is small but perfectly formed, and the staff there are so friendly and helpful. If you're not into online shopping this store has brands like Becca, Hourglass, Oskia, Oribe, Sarah Chapman, By Terry and Aromatherapy Associates on the shelves where you can see/feel/sniff them.

For department stores, we don't have a Fenwicks or a Liberties, but we do have 2 of the 4 UK branches of Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser and a John Lewis (but you do need to go specifically to the Trafford Centre for John Lewis and our House of Fraser can be found near Deansgate in Manchester city centre). Between those stores you'll find Urban Decay, Nars, MAC, Diptique, The White Company and Tom Ford (and if you find yourself in the Trafford Centre branch of Selfridges you'll even find a little section dedicated to Muji).

There's a Boot's or a Superdrug (or one of each) in most areas that have some form of shopping centre in Manchester but I find the Superdrug in the Trafford Centre to be the best one for beauty selection here and the Boots on Market Street in the City Centre carries NYX and Origins which you wont find in most other branches. Market Street will also be the one place you'll find a H&M that stocks their entire range of beauty products.

You'll be able to find Lush and The Body Shop in most area's and we have a stand-alone Yankee Candle store in the Arndale Centre - but you can find a selection of Yankee's products in some branches of Clintons Cards.

If there's anything I've missed feel free to update in the comments - I think this is one of those posts that will need revisiting as new brand become available etc.

The Beauty-Ban Wish List

As I mentioned in my Shopping My Stash post (clicky link here), I've been on a month-long beauty-buying ban this July, and with that I've developed a slight lust-list of products that I can imagine I'll be picking up as soon as August hits. I guess you can can take the girl out of the shop but you can't take the need to shop out of the girl, *sigh*. I figured that, while I won't be able to give reviews of any of these products until I actually pick them up, it might be interesting to see what I'm lusting after and why. Also, spoilers for upcoming review posts are always good, right?

Firstly, Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup has been on top form enabling-wise lately when it comes to the Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask and I'm fighting hard to resist the hype right now. I've been eyeing up some Charlotte products for a while now so I see a treat-filled trip to Selfridges on the horizon to get me some of that action.

I've also been seeing a lot of hype round Revlon's Gel Nail Polishes recently, and while I'm not a huge nail polish lover, these seem like a product for me as they're pitched as a super-long-wearing polish option, and I might be able to get on board if I only have to paint them once a week.

I've been seeing an awful lot of LilyPebbles looking very 90's chic in a combination of MAC Soar Lip Pencil and their Mare Lipstick and it's got me itching to try the two. I've not made a purchase from MAC in ages but I love their lipsticks and already have a few and my stash could always use a new lip liner, the only MAC lip liner I have at the moment is the shade "Redd" but it's lovely.

The REN Wake Wonderful Night-Time Facial hasn't been blogger hyped yet as far as I can see but I've seen a bit of marketing around it and apparently it's a relatively new release from REN. I've tried a few of their products before and they've worked great for me and night-time facial type products are something I generally really like so I'm waiting patiently to pick one up.

And finally, a Hirons recommended product. Would it be a lust-list post without one? The Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads. While at 22 years old I'm not in need of anything un-wrinkling just yet, these are AHA based exfoliating pads and they sound lovely. I've been interested in picking up some Peter Thomas Roth products ever since Anna from VDM first mentioned their Pumpkin Enzyme Mask and I can see a Cult Beauty order on the horizon.

So that's the round up of the top 5 products I'm needing in my stash right now, if you've got any recommendations I'm all ears and I'm also open to requests for post ideas or products that you'd like to see reviewed on the blog. Give me a shout if you have anything in mind!

The Cheapest Way To Shop (Shopping My Stash)

Lately I've realised that starting this blog was possibly one of the most expensive things I've done in a while. Not that actually creating or updating the blog costs me anything at all (I want to make it clear that I don't pay anything for the actual blog itself, it's a free service), but since I've started blogging, I'd allowed my beauty buying habits to get a little bit out of control. Every purchase in Boots has become "Blog Material" and I've used needing product for posts as an excuse for many an impulse buy.

So in an attempt to rein it in (because I can't even look at my bank statement this month) I've decided to leave my purse alone for a month and try to use up things that I already own. And in doing so I've rediscovered some products that I forgot I even had.

A product that I got for christmas and pretty much forgot about instantly was Benefit Lollitint. I don't really go for liquid cheek products in the winter and I had more than enough new lip products to chose from and so this just got left behind. However now that it's summer and I'm wanting a light flush on the cheeks Im finding myself sort of discovering this for the first time. I dot it onto the cheeks and blend with fingers which makes it great for travel.

A product that I used on the daily back in my late teens that got pushed aside when some new purchases came into the picture is the Urban Decay Deluxe Palette. I recently found myself at a camping festival and this came in so useful. It's a little palette with 9 shades and a decent sized mirror and it's full of bright colours, but also has 3 neutrals and your basic black so it's everything you need for a festival palette. need to get more use out of this because it's great.

I've had a lazy moment for lip products and have just wanted pretty no fuss lip colours that are hydrating and I've been reaching for the Revlon Lip Butter in "Cotton Candy" a lot lately. It's a no-fuss light pink that not's too warm or too cool, a super easy option and my lips love it.

Something that I come back to every summer is MAC Paint Pot in "Rubinesque". It's a lovely peachy gold that's sheer and sheeny on the lids and that packs a punch for summer staying power. The dent in this product just shows how much I like it and while I like the Maybelline Colour Tattoos but they just don't compare to this on the shade front.

And finally, a skincare rediscovery: Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster. I shelved this pretty quickly when I bought it because for me, Hydraluron wins hands down for the hydrating serum of choice. That being said, the Sarah Chapman is still nice (and was far to pricey to waste) so I've brought it to the front of my skincare stash in a bid to get some use out of it.

A Boots Moment

So I had a bit of a moment in boots the other day. I had points boosters, there were offers on, it was dangerous territory and some serious spending may have happened. After wandering into the isles looking for a tube of my old favourite mascara, I ended up having to go back for a basket, and the contents of the final purchase looked like this:

Left to right, from top left corner: MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in "Eternal Gold", Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in "Frambourjoise", MaxFactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in "Soft Pink", Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in "No. 51", Maybelline Colour Tatto in "Vintage Plum", Bourjois Rouge Edition Velver in "Hot Pepper", MaxFactor Facefinity Foundation Primer

So I was a tad indulgent, but as I said there were offers on and most of these are products that I've been eyeing up for ages, and with my points boosters enabling me greatly I gave in to temptation.

My first base product purchase of the day was the MaxFactor FaceFinity Foundation Primer, and as mentioned in previous posts, I'm an oily-skin sufferer. This primer is intended to extend the wear of your foundation and claims to be an "all day" primer. I wouldn't say the "all day" claim is quite lived up to (at least not on my face) but I should say I can have some lengthy days, I can spend anywhere up to 11 hours in the office some days and I have a good 1.5 hour commute each way, so I didn't really expect it to last until I got home, but it definitely gets me through the bulk of the day. It smells a bit funny, slightly glue-esque, but since it pretty much glues your foundation to your face I guess that's slightly appropriate.

I'm not normally a girl to change things up foundation-wise, I have my Revlon Colourstay for everyday, Illamasqua's Skin Base for when I feel like something a bit more luxe, and I rarely buy any other foundations. That being said the Bourjois counter had an offer on so I picked up a bottle of their Healthy Mix Foundation in the original formula. It's more glow-y than I'm used to, but I was finding that layering a matte powder over a matte foundation with a mattifying primer underneathe, everything was just looking a bit flat, so the glow is definitely welcomed. It smells delightful when applying and when worn over a primer it lasts most of the day and adds a bit of life to the skin. And best of all? Even though I'm ungodly pale, they have a colour that matches my skin fairly well (the lightest one, surprise surprise).

A final complexion Product I picked up is the MaxFactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in "Soft Pink". This is kind of a blogger-classic product these days, so I figured I had to try it. I've tried it once to give it a test run and it's pretty, a sheer, sheeny, healthy pink on the cheeks. I personally apply it after foundation and then use my normal face powder all over my face to set everything in place. While I can't see it being something I'll reach for much in winter, come spring and sumer I think this might even make it into the makeup bag.

So while I did get distracted, I managed to pick up the product I was intending to get, the MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara. While I love my Urban Decay Perversion, it is pricey, and for day-to day use, I wanted something a little more on the purse-friendly side of things. This one is an oldie but a goodie, I used it back in my poor-student uni days and it's definitely something I'm happy to have back in my collection. It's very black, holds a curl well and adds length as well as thickness.

Again a product that's so hyped here in the online beauty world, the Maybelline Colour Tattoos. They were buy-one-get-one-half-price so I picked up two shades, "Eternal Gold" and "Vintage Plum" and I can finally see what all the fuss is about. "Eternal Gold" is one of the standard more metallic finishes and blends in beautifully on the eyes, and while the leather-effect-finish "Vintage Plum" is slightly more sheer and requires a little more work to get the desired finish, I can say it's also a good'en.

So finally, we have my favourite category, lip products. I love a good bold and have heard a lot about the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, so I thought I'd pick a couple up and see for myself. I picked up shades "Hot Pepper" (a statement orange-y red) and "Frambourjoise" (a slightly deeper bright pink). They're comfortable to apply and set down to a a lush matte texture (that, admittedly, can be a bit drying after a few hours) and haven't got any nasty smell going on. And while they're not quite as long lasting as I'd hoped (lets face it, I don't think the bold, all-day lipstick will ever exist - but a a girl can dream), they stick around for a good few hours and I find that only the centre of the lip ever needs touching up. If you're looking for an affordable, long-wearing bold, they're definitely worth a go.

Next post coming up on Friday - A Winter Skin Saviour. Hope you enjoy! - Jodie