Celebrating 50 Years of Boots in Northern Ireland, in the Europa Penthouse Suite
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Boots the Chemist are celebrating 50 years of trading in Northern Ireland this year. To celebrate, during an intimate event at the Europa Hotel, the No7 teamof makeup artists recreated key looks from the past five decades, documenting the swinging 60s styles, the electro 80s, right through to today’s current trends – from contouring to creating the perfect brow.
1960s' hair & makeup using Boots products
I went along to the Europa penthouse suite, where a dozen of makeup & beauty concessions had sent their dream teams to pamper & paint our lucky faces.
Anne Higgins, Head of Customer Experience from Boots in Northern Ireland commented; “When the first Boots store opened in Northern Ireland in Belfast’s Corn Market in 1966 it brought with it a wealth of beauty and wellbeing essentials helping customers feel good right across the province."
"Boots also brought to Northern Ireland its No7 brand, which was originally introduced in the 1930s. The now iconic brand has brought a huge range of innovative products to the market through its beauty and skincare collections, from its ground breaking Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum, the UK’s first serum clinically proven to deliver anti-wrinkle results that get even better over time, to its No7 Match Made service which helps you discover the colours shades and finished perfectly suited to you."
The event was a beauty blogger's dream, and as a woman who is now hooked on makeup, I had a whale of a time. There were many international beauty houses available at Boots including Smashbox, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Lancôme and Bare Minerals, who showcased their latest products and trends.
FaeriBex tries some Lancôme lippie
I was also treated to skincare from Liz Earle, No7, Clarins and Clinique with summer hair trends demonstrated by Bumble & Bumble.
Liz Earle
The No7 brand has developed throughout the years, working with top skin scientists and specialists, to meet the demands of today’s savvy shoppers, professional makeup artists and beauty fanatics. Today, its latest new products include the new Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum, Bronze Shimmer Palette and the Special Edition Gold Lash Impact Mascara.
We also came away with lots of samples, so what did I love, what secret products are in the pipeline, and which items will I be buying full size thanks to the samples or demonstrations?
The first stop on my tour of the room were the ladies at Estée Lauder. I had always heard great things about their Double Wear foundation, and Julie from their main Boots store offered to apply it for me so I could compare it to my usual medium coverage Rimmel foundation.
See the result of how the new foundation looked, later on in this post.
That's me in the background!
Julie used the Double Wear To Go £33.00 compact in the lightest shade. The clever compact dispenses a pump of foundation, one for light coverage & two for a more heavier look. This Double Wear incarnation has a slight glow to it, it's not matte but it's not too shiny either. In the words of Goldilocks, it was just right. So I've my eyes set on buying the compact myself once my ten day trial has run out.
Each Estée Lauder concession currently has a ten day sample available for customers to try Double Wear at home. Just come along to your local store & they will use their little machine to match your skin tone & send you off with your ten day trial.
The next sample I'm loving is the No7 Lash Impact in limited edition gold glitter packaging.
I'm really very fussy about mascara. I only use Estée Lauder, Benefit Bad Gal or RollerLash, but not They're Real, or No7 mascaras.
I dislike mascara that clumps, or makes my lashes look spidery, but No7 wands don't let me down, so if I have to recommend a mascara I would say this was top three.
Next is one of the products we were teased with, but that isn't available to buy yet. Here is a snap of the adjustable head eyeliner Lancôme are launching very soon. I didn't get a photo myself, so this is from Alison, PassionsandPreening's snapchat.
I struggle with my eyeliner so I'm dying to get my hands on one of these flexible head types.
Moving on to something I did get a sample of, the Smash Box Primer £25.50
I've tried a couple of brands of primer but never fully added it into my makeup routine. This product might just change that. It's hard to describe how it makes your skin feel, but it's so soft, you'll just want to keep touching it.
Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray £22.00 next. They gave us a couple of samples and they all smell so good. This hairspray isn't an aerosol, which is great because cans of hairspray bring me out in a rash. This is more liquid, but has a tonne of hold. My hair felt very natural and not full of product, despite the curl I had put in holding so well.
Another full size sample the Boots Coconut Oil 100ml at £2.54 is a versatile product you can use for your hair, skin and nails. I used it as a body moisturiser & of course the scent is delicious.
Lastly, if you are into beauty you'll surely have heard about the new Benefit Brow Collection coming soon. I've my eyes set on Gimme Brow in shade 4, £18.50 after the girls colour matched my brows and applied the gel for me.
So my makeup below is Estée Lauder Double Wear To Go foundation & blush, Clinique mascara, Benefit Gimme Brow, Lancôme Juicy Shaker lips. Thanks for a wonderful day, Boots!
