Marks & Spencer's beauty department has a tendency to fly below our makeup-py radar. So today we've decided to have a look at what you'll find on shelves if you can pull yourself away from the tubs of Chocolate Bites and five packs of knickers.
There is quite a decent beauty range both in store and with some offerings also online. The Your Beauty departments are in key M&S stores around the country including Dublin’s Henry Street, Grafton Stree, Liffey Valley and Dundrum.
A few weeks ago I was taken around the one in the Grafton Street M&S store. It’s up on the second floor, over on the far side from the escalators and therein lies the problem: its location. If it was on the ground floor, it would undoubtedly do some serious business. Here is a smart edit of brands, from cult buys to the M&S classics you buy for your granny, and it covers everything from self tan (the M&S own brand one is meant to be fantastic) and skincare to make up, haircare and even room fragrance.
And I was impressed. There are loads of brands in a relatively small space and the staff are knowledgeable and approachable. As a shopping, or in my case, wandering round experience, it was much nicer than a cramped nearby pharmacy I won‘t name.
It’s an interesting mix of products all in one spot and seems to be constantly updated. As Greek brand Apivita departs, Dr Hauschka arrives; it launched into stores last month.
Some brands are exclusively available in M&S, some are the store’s own brands, both skincare and classic spa brands, and some are familiar high street favourites.
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Ones to investigate are hair care lines from Philip Kingsley (celebrity trichologist and creator of the cult Elasticiser hair treatment) and Josh Wood (his on-the-go hair colour touch ups, Blending Wands are so popular that the Grafton Street M&S had to request further shades and you can read our review here), high tech French skincare brand Filorga, Italian beauty brand Diego Della Palma (great lippies) and the skin cooling Skyn Iceland skincare rage, derived from Icelandic waters.
There’s also Nuxe, Ren, Crabtree & Evelyn, Bliss, Roger & Gallet, Leighton Denny, St Tropez, GlamGlow and Fake Bake. See what I mean? It’s a wee treasure trove of brands which is undoubtedly a little overlooked by beauty fiends who may not realise what’s available. I knew it was there, yet I’d never investigated it before.
Price-wise I was told one cult tanning brand was significantly cheaper in M&S than in some neighbouring shops and each Your Beauty department has regular promo events and offers. When I visited there was lots of gift with purchase offers running from the likes of Nuxe, Bliss and Josh Wood.
M&S Your Beauty is also available online and while not all the brands are online but there are also a few on there that aren’t in store so it’s definitely worth a nosey.
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Have you checked out the M&S beauty halls yet? What did you think? Do you tend to pick up your beauty bits 'n' pieces in department stores/pharmacies or online?
