As I mentioned in my last post, I hauled a LOT of new products during July. It’s my birthday month which means I received lots of beauty goodies from friends, family and also gifted myself a few things. Harrods opened their new Beauty Hall the day before my birthday so I went along to their opening event, where we received an insane goodie bag full of luxury makeup, skincare and fragrance. Harrods has recently added some new beauty brands that I am super excited about, so I did a little birthday shopping while I was there too.
Because there is so much to talk about from July, I am going to split this post up into two parts: part 1 is focussed on the Harrods event and exclusive brands that they carry, all of which are new to me and some of which are brand new to the UK. Part 2 will be up at a later date and will focus on top picks from my birthday gifts.
Harrods Beauty Hall Event
The Beauty Hall
Harrods unveiled the first stage of it’s new beauty hall on 14th July. Harrods rewards card holders received an email invitation through which tickets could be purchased to the beauty hall event, which took place on the morning of the grand reveal. And if the promise of free food and extraordinary treats wasn’t enough to entice you, it included a goodie bag worth ££££ more than the event itself. If you are as insane as I am, sign-up to newsletters and join rewards programs at your favourite beauty destinations to gain access to similar events – they really are so much fun!
According to Harrods: “This new space is the first phase of a metamorphosis that will see Harrods become one of the largest beauty destinations in the world.” The pictures above don’t really do it justice and only show a small area – the hall is huge, all brands have their own spacious section, there are lots of exclusive brands and exclusive beauty products, and plenty of really friendly, helpful sales associates to really heighten your shopping experience. I had the most amazing day roaming around, chatting to people and trying out as much makeup as I could. It is a luxury beauty lover’s heaven. I have since been back for a small shopping trip and plan on making this a regular shopping destination when I am in the market for new beauty products. The pictures were actually taken upon my return to the store as during the event my hands were full of food and drink, and I was just too captivated by the whole experience to even think of taking my phone out.
Top Picks from the Goodie Bag
Here is a tiny glimpse of not even half of the contents of the goodie bag. These are really just my top picks, with slightly more info down below. I will keep this mini review brief as there is so much to talk about and I don’t want any of you to fall asleep. You can expect to see mentions of some of these products and more details and swatches in future posts on my blog once I have tried them out more.
The Diptyque 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Perfume Oil Coffret was included in the bag, featuring three roller-ball perfume oils, an illustrated notebook and a pencil. I enjoy all the unique scents but don’t find them to be very long lasting on my skin.
We also received an entire Huda Beauty Tantour PR set. Still yet to try this one.
And apparently Harrods now have their own exclusive MAC eyeshadow palette called Fashionably Harrods. Sold in-store and online at Harrods.
MAC eyeshadows are very user-friendly and I am finding myself reaching for this colour scheme as it is perfectly wearable for everyday.
A sneak peak of some of the skincare in the image above, including:
- SUQQU Intense Rich Eye Cream
- By Terry Baume De Rose Crayon
- Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream (So excited to try this one out on my dry skin during winter)
- Lancome Advanced Genifique Yeux Light-Pearl youth activating eye and lash concentrate
One of Jo Malone’s new products, a hair mist in the Orange Blossom scent.
The Glamcor Riki mirrors can be seen throughout the beauty hall. The LED lights running down the sides of the mirrors have changeable brightness levels, perfect for applying makeup indoors where light is sparse.
We were gifted the Riki cutie mirror which usually retails for £55. It has three brightness levels for it’s rechargeable LED lights, a built-in leg stand and a retractable finger ring for holding on the go. It is light and about the size of a phone making it portable – perfect to throw in your bag with the protective sleeve which is included. I find the finger ring to be slightly flimsy and difficult to click in and out of the slot. The leg stand is also quite flimsy and is only made of light plastic. The button on the back controls the light level. The brightness is epic but I will say that the brightest setting does give off a noticeable buzzing sound which drives me slightly mad. It’s very handy to have though!
The Anastasia shimmer body oil is a great addition to an evening or party look. When the light catches your skin, it gives you a gorgeous luminous glow. The oil dries down quickly on the skin which I like. Be prepared to get glitter everywhere though because there are some serious micro glitters in this thing – you were warned.
Lipsticks were a common theme in the goodie bag. My favourites were definitely the Givenchy and Guerlain satin formulas. There was a set of five Givenchy Le Rouge lipsticks with matching nail polishes, all in pinks and reds. I’ve shown an example above. These are really well pigmented (one swipe necessary for full opacity) and have a lovely satin finish. They are really comfortable to wear and do not dry out your lips.
We received a Rouge G de Guerlain lipstick case in the French Mademoiselle design and a lipstick refill in the shade no.23. I was ecstatic when I saw this as I’ve wanted this exact shade in this lipstick for the past year and hadn’t yet purchased it. The case is very weighty and has a mirror that pops up when you take out the lipstick. CUTE.
A swatch of the shade no23 below. I would describe it as a sort of berry red.
The Surratt Lid Lacquers are another product on my to-buy list. They are somewhere between a cream eyeshadow and an eye gloss. They give that glossy lacquer effect to the lids without the sticky texture and creasing often found with eye glosses. The Applicator is also very well suited to the product and is much better quality than the usual sponge applicator. I will report back, but so far I am enjoying this product.
I received the colour 4 Satou Ume, a deep purple with a subtle shimmer.
New & Exclusive Brands
I couldn’t really go to a beauty event without having a little retail therapy. I wasn’t previously aware of the brands featured in this section of the beauty hall, but I was really excited to see some brands I had heard about but not yet seen in the UK. I’ll share with you the ones that really caught my eye.
La Bouche Rouge is a French lipstick brand that launched two years ago and was introduced to the UK for the first time about two months ago in Harrods, where it remains an exclusive brand. It is a sustainable and vegan-friendly brand that offers plastic-free lipstick cases and eco-friendly colour refills that are totally free of micro-plastics and beeswax. The refills retail for £32 and are housed in a hard paper tube. You could even buy the refills without a case, although the cartridge has to be removed to function properly and the paper case, while sturdy, may not last that long if carried in a handbag. The lipstick case retails for £90 and comes in a selection of colours. It is very weighted, has a magnetic closure and is made from vegan-leather. The quality is exceptional and I imagine it will last a lifetime.
I will soon be doing a full review on this brand and the lipstick shades I have in my collection so I will keep this brief. The lipsticks are available in three finishes: balm, satin and matte. You have the freedom to choose from any of the existing shades in the range, or you can create your own using the Pantone colour chart, available in store and online. The formulas are incredibly comfortable and moisturising and glide on smoothly. The mattes are opaque and not drying on my lips. The Satin formula is less opaque, although shades differ slightly as the deeper shades seem more pigmented than the nudes. The lip balms come in clear or tinted colours and have a very healing formula. Harrods offers the full line along with four of its own exclusive shades. In store you can purchase the refills, the lipstick cases and also get your case engraved. On the Harrods website you can buy both the cases and refills, but it looks like you have to go in store if you would like engraving.
It is well worth looking into this unique brand. I love seeing brands that value sustainability and am happy to spend more for quality products that will last. La Bouche Rouge is quickly becoming my favourite lipstick brand, both for their ethics and their divine formulas and colours. I currently have one case and five refill shades which I will review for you all very soon.
After hearing of the newly revamped Gucci Beauty line and their first release of lipsticks, I was pleased to see them stocked in Harrods. As far as I understand, these lipsticks are currently exclusive to Harrods in the UK. They also have Gucci’s first Haute Perfumery line, The Alchemist’s Garden, which is formulated to be layered and blended together to create a unique, personalised fragrance combination. The gentleman on the counter was absolutely lovely and picked out a couple of perfumes that layer beautifully together: The Voice of the Snake (Oud) and A song for the Rose (Rose). I had some samples to take home with me, and although neither of these are my notes of choice, they compliment each other perfectly when layered.
The lipsticks come in three formulas with three corresponding case designs. The satin lipsticks have a gold art deco etched design, the viole lipsticks, which are sheer, have a pretty floral print design and the lip balms have a stunning blue lid. I am patiently waiting to purchase one of the lip balms as my favourite colour is currently out of stock in store as they are very popular. For the other two lipstick formulas I was struggling to find a good everyday shade for myself, as I usually go for a nude pink and there didn’t seem to be any. The colours range from neutral and browny nudes to very vibrant colours. They are lovely but not my usual cup-of tea. I did pick up one of the satin lipsticks in the shade 600 The Fallen Sparrow, a unique shade to my collection. The formula is very light and smooth, but it does have a noticeable scent, although not as bad as some other brands such as YSL. I’m sure I will eventually pick up more shades as I am very drawn to the lipstick range, but I am not dying to purchase any of the colours currently.
The founder of the brand Rodial, Maria Hatzistefanis, made a guest appearance during one of the event talks. It was inspiring to hear someone’s non-conventional career path and the challenges she faced along the way. I have seen Rodial skincare in stores before, but always avoided it due to the high level of fragrance in the formulas. I did not realise that Rodial had a makeup line, which is aimed at the everyday woman who is not a makeup artist and seeks ease and simplicity within their beauty routine. I marched on down to the Rodial counter following the talk to check out the makeup line. I tried a lipgloss on but I could feel the grittiness of the glitter particles between my lips, so I skipped on that one. I then rubbed my fingers in some of powders and was pleasantly surprised! Really soft, finely milled formulas that I could not say no to. I picked up their Soft Focus Glow Powder which I am really enjoying as a finishing powder. It softens the makeup on my cheeks, blends everything together and leaves a lovely sheen to my skin without any glitter particles. I also picked up a blusher in the colour South Beach as I am a sucker for pink blush.
Last but not least, Harrods stocks makeup artist Jillian Dempsey’s curated makeup line, which is focussed on natural, organic products. The packaging is really cute and would make a beautiful gift. I am aware that Cult Beauty stocks this brand, but I had not seen it in any UK stores until this point.
I picked up the cheek tint in the shade scarlet which I saw in Lisa Eldridge’s Christmas gift guide video last year. I am really interested in trying out red cream blusher, perhaps under foundation for a ‘glow from within’. I also picked up a lid tint in the shade glimmer and the mini fan brush, because you know how I am with brushes. The fan brush is made from very soft synthetic fibres. It isn’t really suitable for the lid tint, but it works well for highlighting underneath the brow bone with powder shadows. The lid tint is perfect for the glossy lid look. This is not crease proof, but I need to experiment more with sheer coats to see whether I can minimise creasing.
One small observation – The products smell very strongly of those bags of croissants you can buy in French supermarkets, the ones that aren’t freshly baked. It smells like bready milk, and I’m not really a fan.
And that’s a wrap! Do go and check out the Harrods Beauty Hall – it is a sight to be seen.
I really hope you enjoyed this post and look forward to part two coming soon!
The products mentioned in the "Top Picks from the Goodie Bag" section were received in a gift bag from the Harrods Beauty Hall event, for which I purchased tickets with my own money. All other products mentioned were bought by myself. This is not a sponsored post.
