Beauty Trends at Highcross, Leicester

Living where we do in the East Midlands, means we’re under an hour away from 4 pretty decent shopping cities, 1 of them being Leicester. Whilst shopping in Leicester's 'mall', Highcross, there is a fabulous new app that can be used to assist your day which has handy beauty tips if you’re looking on stocking up your make-up, offers and discounts for shops and restaurants, and any events happening soon. 

The PLUS app is like having your own personal shopping partner and one of the best things about the Highcross PLUS app is that the more you use it, the more personalised it becomes and it will better suit your needs every time you visit. The Highcross PLUS app has lots of different features including an interactive map of the shopping centre, labelling shops, restaurants and bars and has a list of opening times for the centre too!

 

 

So, using the app, I set off to Highcross to get my hands on some of the upcoming seasons' beauty trends. I wanted to try and get both high and low end products, showing that there are shops for all budgets and you can get similar products to keep up with the various trends. First up, I headed to John Lewis to see what mascaras they had. Lashings of liner and bold lashes are what's on trend next season and so with the help of Benefit's “Rollerlash” mascara (£19.50), I think I'll be hitting the nail on the head with that one. For the cheaper option, I made my way to Boots using the PLUS app and picked up a Maybelline “Lash Sensational” mascara (£5.99 RRP £7.99) – both look like they have a very similar wand and you can see the difference in both of them below...

In addition to liner and lashes, colour is up next. Metallic Copper eyeshadow is going to be big next season, I love Copper shadows anyway so I actually struggled to find something I’d not tried before but then I came across an eyeshadow in Debenhams, in MAC; “Antiqued”(£13.00). A perfect mix of gold and bronze shades giving a gorgeous copper look. The beauty expert was also so helpful by helping me find exactly what I was looking for and even offered if I wanted to try them out but I'd already done my make-up for the day and was pretty happy with it, haha! If MAC’s not your thing though, for a little less money you could always use a blend of New Looks’ Pure Colour Eyeshadows in “Biscuit” (baked shadow) (£3.99) and “Chestnut” (£1.00 RRP £2.99) to give that same metallic, copper look.

 

 

 

 

 

So, we've got the eyes down, now lets move onto lips. Gloss is coming back so forget those nude lipsticks, it's all about clear, glossy lips. Or, if you're like me and gloss isn't your thing, you'll be extremely happy to know that Matte Red Lips are IN and what brand is best for lipsticks – MAC. Yep, so after MUCH deliberation and a hand full of swatched lipsticks (you can see the stains in the pictures), I went with “Russian Red” (£15.50). As for the cheaper alternative, I don’t think I could have got anything better than Toyshop’s Matte Lipstick in “Hazard” (£8.00), it’s pretty much identical to Russian Red but a little more velvety. The Topshop lipstick range actually really impressed me and the sales assistants were so friendly too! I’d definitely recommend popping in to have a look at their beauty range if you have a chance.

 

Now, moving onto the rest of the face, adding a bronze glow with a hint of blush to the cheeks is the perfect way to accompany the shadow on the eyes, so with Urban Decay’s Naked Flushed palette (£22.50), this is going to give you exactly that all in one go! You can use the 3 colours separately or a mix of them all to give a lovely shimmer to the face. But, if thats a little out of your budget, a mix of Collection’s Bronze Glow Mosaic in “Sunkissed” (£2.99*) and Blush in “Bashful” (£2.99*) are the perfect dupe and a fraction of the cost!*2 products for £5.00

 

 

 

  

We had been wandering around now for a while and we wanted to grab something to eat, so using the offers in the app we managed to get something to eat to keep us going and I made my way to get my last item. Hair accessories are really common but you never really see them used in winter, unless it's a hat. There are so many to choose from at the moment, with feathers and flower headbands being two of my favourite. I had a quick look in both Accessorize and Urban Outfitters but it was this Metallic looking leaf cut headband (£3.50) from Claires Accessories that caught my eye.

 

 

So after a very successful shopping trip, with shops stocked full of the latest Beauty Trends and the shopping centre so easy to navigate, I highly recommend that you down load the PLUS app for Highcross Leicester now – for beauty tips, news and offers to use this weekend! (Apple download) (Android download) And remember, download it before you get there so you can take full advantage of any offers that are valid. I know I’ll be using it every time I go - we all love a good deal, don’t we?! 

Offers currently available in and around Highcross-

1.       Free 200ml body lotion at Lancôme, Debenhams. Purchase La Vie Est Belle 30ml or above fragrance and receive a complimentary body lotion.

2.       Free 15 minute make-up consultation at Givenchy Debenhams. Visit the Givenchy counter at Debenhams and book an appointment to receive a complimentary make-up consultation.

3.       10% off at Boots No7. Take 10% off your purchase when you spend £25 on any Boots No7 products.

I’ll be back with more posts covering Highcross, so stay tuned.

*I have been lucky enough to work with Highcross to produce this post.