Airport Loving - Heathrow's Fabulous Terminal 5 Beauty Bonanza

From what the papers would have me believe Heathrow's Terminal 5 is a nightmare, full of striking BA workers, crazed members of the public and general mayhem. Except; it's not like that at all! I live in Kent so normally fly from Gatwick (I say normally but there's still no holiday on the horizon - grumble grumble grumble) but Heathrow wasn't any more difficult to get to and the Heathrow Express deposited me there (with many strange looks as I had no suitcase) in around 15 minutes from London Paddington.

I love the Westfield vibe that Terminal 5 has, it's really cool and not hectic like the reports at all!  I found it really chill and I had a great time.

Our first stop was Clinique who have a rather fancy digital unit - brand new naturally and as far as I know it's the first one available (in the UK at least) and it means rather than get hassled by a lab coated assistant if you are in a rush or feeling like you'd rather they talked to the hand you can just assess your skin via the touch screen computer and at the end it prints out a rather nifty list of products for your skin type.

Then it was over to Mac with one of the nicest makeup artists from Mac I have ever had. Easy to chat to and very helpful, I wish I had written down her name.  She picked out the new pro longwear in NW20, the MSF Natural in Medium and one of the mineralise blushes.  She showed me how mixing pro longwear with strobe cream made it better for my skintone and how using the mineralise blusher and then buffing over the top of it again with the 187 that was used for the foundation would give a 'glow from within' rather than a layered and cakey look - genius!

The most exciting thing for me was Victoria's Secret Beauty.  As any beauty junkie knows, the harder a brand is to find, the more covetable it becomes and this can ONLY be found in World Duty Free in the UK.  Which I have to say is a rather stupid idea on the part of Victoria's Secret marketing as they could make an absolute mint over here selling their clothes, underwear and makeup. I know there will be a shop in London at some point but seriously, get a move on i'm going to be too old to care at this rate!

We were treated to a hand and arm massage at Jo Malone with Vitamin E Gel for cuticles which I really liked and were given a spritz of the new Pear and Freesia perfume before we went on our way, smelling much more tasty than before.  I definitely think that this is my favourite Jo Malone fragrance and will be adding it to the ever increasing Christmas list.

 

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Next we were shown the special area of the shop where all of the just for duty free products are available.  This includes quite a lot of my favourite products such as YSL Rouge Pur, Rouge Volupte, Fuax Cils as you can see above.

There are so many special sets at special prices perfect for travel it makes a lot of sense to just wait until you next go on holiday to stock up.  If you are unsure what to buy you can always take a look here  at World Duty Free's own blog which is written by Katy who is also Deputy Health and Beauty Editor on Harpers Bazaar so she knows her stuff (and has suddenly made me want to try the Prevage body lotion)!

You can also check out what's available before flying on the regular world duty free website as it pays to plan ahead.  Also a good way to get around the annoying 100ml or less rules is just to save your money and buy all your goodies at the airport.  I know if I fly from somewhere that has Victoria Secret next time I will be waiting and getting a perfume and body spray there rather than packing them, that way you get to carry them onto the plane and there are no worries about products spilling or exploding in your case.  Or just stock up on the new must have item or repurchase your staples such as the Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus at a price cheaper than on the high street.

Dior Voyage Palette - Airport Exclusive

In an upcoming post I will feature more of the airport specials and makeup items only available when you fly and pass through World Duty Free including my fabulous new body spray Victoria's Secret Luscious Kisses which I learnt was quite popular with celebs (ooh get me)!


Disclaimer: I was taken around Terminal 5 & World Duty Free as a free trip, this post is not paid or sponsored and my feelings are impartial.  Also I am very grateful for the opportunity as I had a great time and got to meet the lovely Cherie City