I can’t believe that a blog post that i had scheduled to go live several months ago did not go live and its taken me this long to spot it, Arrghhhhhh!! There is no sign of the blog post, so I have had to start from scratch. Suppose it’s not all bad as I can elaborate on my review of the products I picked up.
So, better late than never, here is my mini beauty haul from Leeds.
I was getting a bit bored of shopping at the same old places and eating at the same restaurants and needed a little bit of a change. We decided to pop to Leeds for a day out of good food and shopping. There were a couple of reasons that made me pick Leeds, one i hadn’t been for about 3-4 years and two they had a restaurant that I wanted to try out again, Cabana. It seems that food is always the deciding factor when venturing out.
I forgot how much I loved Leeds as a city. It’s a beautiful place with great little arcades with breathtaking architecture and little quirky shops and overall great for shopping.
One of my favourite places was the Victoria Quarter Arcade and i seemed to spend a lot of time in there. The arcade is full of so many of my fav shops, Harvey Nicols, Kiehls, Space NK, Liz Earle, White Company, Crabtree and Evelyn…basically the list of amazing shops is endless in this place.
I popped into Space NK and whilst browsing came across the Bumble and Bumble surf spray. The shop assistant sprayed my hair so I could get a feel for it. I try not to commit to buy hair products straight away as there have been so many times I’ve come away with a product and been disappointed. I like to let the product sit in my hair for a few hours to see how it feels throughout the day and how well it holds out. This product gave my waves some body and some texture also giving it some hold but not making my hair rigid, it still had movement. This product is THE BEST sea salt spray I have used. My hair doesn’t feel sticky, crisp or dry…I AM IN LOVE. The bottle of surf spray sold at Space NK was the large one which I didn’t really want to get until I was 100% that this product was for me. The shop assistant suggested to get the trial size which they sold in Boots for £9.50 for a 50ml bottle. I got through about a quarter of the bottle and I knew it was for me and went back to Space NK and got the 125ml bottle for £21.50. I now keep the small trial size bottle in my handbag for when I’m on the go. The trial size bottles of Bumble and Bumble products is such a great idea. Everyones hair is different and if a product is great for my hair type it might be totally wrong for you. This way you’re not wasting as much money when buying the full size product.
My second stop was Liz Earle. This was the first time I had been to one of their standalone stores. I had heard so much about the Cleanse and Polish but had never got round to trying it out. The day I was visiting they had a great offer on, £45 for Cleanse and Polish, toner, moisturiser, mini Cleanse and Polish, 2 large muslin clothes, one travel mini muslin cloth and a body wash. What a bargain, I was so happy with this deal and couldn’t say no. What was even better, I was not disappointed with these products. I am one of those people who have sensitive skin and If the wrong product goes on my face, I will get breakouts and it’s those big nasty spots that feel like they have their own heart beat haha. These products have been great for me since day one. I use the cleanser, toner and moisuriser once a day before bed. I do have those lazy days where I remove my make up with a face wipe, naughty I know. Since using these I haven’t had any nasty breakouts, rashes, pimples etc. I do however feel I picked up the wrong moisturiser and should have gone for dry skin rather than normal/combination. That is probably because I am so used to moisturising with E45 which is super rich. All I do now is mix in a small amount of E45 with my Liz Earle moisuriser. Another great thing is that you can rub it all over your eye lids and around your eyes and it get rids of all my eye makeup. If I have had heavy eye makeup on I do go over my eyes twice. I am really surprised that it can take off my Benefits They’re Real Push-up eyeliner, which has some serious staying power and I don’t get stingy, irritated eyes. Also after using this product for a few months, I have noticed that the few small white pimples (Milia spots) around my right eye have almost gone. There is one stubborn bugger left but I’m thinking it should be gone in the next couple weeks…yay!!! You may find that you run out of Cleanse and Polish before the toner and moisturiser, I think this is normal for most people. So, all in all a great product and well worth the money, super gentle but still does a great job. I think next time I decide to go to Leeds I will try out their in store facials. I’ve never had a facial before and I think its going to have to be a Liz Earle one. Check out the Liz Earle website as they have a similar offer to the one I got, click here.
Whilst I was in Harvey Nicols I came across the Benefits They’re Real Push Up liner. I’ve been eyeing up this product for quite a while and decided to give it a go. I wear liner EVERY day without fail…I am that person that now looks weird without eyeliner. I apply my liner at 7am and it needs to last me through a 9 hour working day and a gym work out. I have to admit I have struggled with this liner a bit. I find the product dries up a little too quick when I’m applying, it turns into little balls. I have been back to a Benefit store since and mentioned this to a member of staff and they have said that I wasn’t the only person who has said this and she seems to think there maybe a faulty batch…trust me to get one of those. Apart from this struggle I do think that the actual formula of the product is excellent as it is a gel formula but in a liquid liner style pen. It has some serious staying power and can last me the whole day and even through a gym workout when I’m hot and sweaty. The applicator takes a little getting used to but is great for getting up close to your lashes because of its AccuFlex tip and the tip is super soft so doesn’t hurt or drag on your eyelid and is great for creating the perfect cat eye flick. As I struggle a little bit with the drying of the product and little balls of product when applying it, I tend to only use it on nights out when I’ve got a bit more time on my hands. In the mornings when I’m getting ready for work I need something a little more quick and easy. I love Benefit products….one of my fav makeup brands. Must get round to trying, They’re Real and Roller Lash mascara.
One of my last buys was from Kiehl’s. This was the first times I’d got round to going to a Kiehl’s store and I loved the store! I can’t believe there was one in my City and I’ve somehow missed it. I love the set up of the store, the skeleton and staff all wearing lab coats, the illuminated Kiehl’s sign, it has such a unique feel about it. Also I think it might be my Scientist background that made me feel at home and fall in love with the store and not forgetting the lovely products. I had such a laugh with two of the members of staff in the store, Abbie and Jude. They were so helpful and had so much knowledge about all the products, a real asset to the company. Whilst I was in store I picked up a Kiehl’s lip balm #1. The tube costs £9.50 and lasts forever. The consistency is quite soft and I love wearing it on its own or over a lipstick. It works as a great gloss for me and isn’t too shiny and sticky and keeps my lips well moisturised for hours. This does come in many different flavours but I went for the original -unscented one. I suffer from really dry lips and up until now have only been able to use Carmex, as most other things cause my lips to become sore and chapped. My lips are that dry I have to have a lip balm in my pocket or bag at all times and the Kiehl’s lip balm is right in there now. The thing I loved about Kiehl’s staff at this store were they weren’t pushy to sell you anything. It gets me mad when shop assistants push you to buy things and then when you say no they become rude. There was none of that, they were very helpful and polite. I was interested in a couple of products in particular and the ladies were nice enough to give me a sample so I could take it away and try it out. This was great as some of their products are quite expensive and it can be daunting to spend say £36 on a serum to then find it didn’t suit your skin.
Overall a lovely and successful trip and for once I was happy with all my buys and after several months i am still using all these products and still happy with them. I can’t wait to go back to Leeds to explore some more.
