M&S Beauty Hall

On a recent trip to my local Marks and Spencer's, I was pleasantly surprised to find they had refurbished their beauty section (about time too, some of the major London branches had this re-vamp months ago!)  Apart from the usual M&S range, they had a whole host of other makeup, skincare and haircare brands that were both well-known and some new to me: Bliss, Nuxe, Filorga, Tara Smith, to name but a few.

Clockwise from top left: Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud Cream, Quench Kit, Arctic Hydrating Balm, Pure face oil, Apivita tinted lip balm, Apivita Express Beauty Masks (sorry for poor photo!)

I was particularly intrigued by skincare brand Skyn Iceland, since I was on the lookout for some new products for the autumn/winter season.  Apparently, their products are designed to treat the effects of stress (SOLD!) on the skin using natural ingredients from Iceland, and are free of most nasties (parabens, petroleum, sulfates etc).  I purchased the Quench Kit for Thirsty Skin: a kit of try-me sizes of four of their hero products which would apparently last you a month.  I thought this was a good introduction to the brand.  I also bought full sizes of their Pure Cloud Cream (£41) and Arctic Hydrating Balm (£25).  Hopefully, I'll get to try these out in the coming weeks, and let you know how I got on.

The Anti-Ageing Super Active Overnight Oil (£6) from Pure also found its way into my basket as I find facial oils to be quite effective in the bleak mid-winter.  As its name suggests, it too is free from nasties.

Another brand (skincare again) that caught my eye was APIVITA.  I had never come across this brand before but, according to their website, they were the first natural cosmetics company in Greece.  As a Korres fan, this piqued my interest.  I picked up 2 of their Express Beauty Masks which, starting at £3 for a dual-sachet, was a nice little treat.  I'm also a sucker for tinted lip-balms, so the Pomegranate Lip Care (£5) found it's way in my basket too!

Overall, I was quite impressed by the range of goodies on offer by M&S.  They had even stocked fragrances by Fragonard which took me back to lazy summers in the south of France...  Admittedly not all of the brands are easy on the pocket, but there's something for everyone, and if you're looking for another way to try alternative brands then this is a good place to start (once you've finished browsing for your knickers!)

You can check out the beauty range in M&S here.