Liberty Ultimate Beauty Gift 2013 - What I bought and what's in the bag

I’ve indulged in a couple of beauty sprees at Liberty and Space NK this month, tempted by the beauty GWPs both stores had (and in the case of Liberty – still has) on offer with a  minimum spend of £150.

They’re both pretty impressive, but the Liberty GWP pips Space NK to the post in terms of the selection and size of products – in my opinion at least.

Here’s what’s in the bag (I didn’t get the colour bag I wanted, but I can live with that - and it's a fantastic size washbag).

I'm not going to list all of the items individually, but highlights for me include:

• Mini Diptyque candle in a scent I love - Baies
• A mini pot of Eve Lom cleanser - not only is this my favourite cleanser in the world but the pot is a perfect size for travelling, and I'll easily be able to decant cleanser from one of the larger pots into it when it runs out
• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - never tried this but very keen to and this is a very generous sample size
• Nars Orgasm illuminator - ditto
• Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist - have wanted to try this for ages and again it's a very generous size
• ESPA body oil
• Plus goodies from Kiehl's, Dermalogica, Ren, Trish McEvoy, Aesop, Aromatherapy Associates, Phillip Kingsley, Cowshed, Hourglass, Chantecaille and more. 

I'm really impressed with the range of samples and their sizes. It's a definite improvement on last year's Beauty Gift, and while the minimum spend has increased from £125 to £150, I think the contents more than justify this.

So what did I buy? I had a few things in mind, but all that changed when I dropped by the Trish McEvoy counter and received a mini-makeover using the two products pictured below - Instant Solutions Beauty Balm and the Instant Eye Lift.

I've never tried any Trish McEvoy products before, but the natural colours of the blushes and eyeshadows have always caught my eye when passing by the counters (I'm a sucker for delicate pinks, peaches, and soft taupes and browns). I needed a new base and concealer, so I asked the sales staff what they'd recommend, and ended up having a lovely mini makeover.

First of all the exfoliating Beta Hydroxy Pads were used on my face, which I really liked, before an eye serum and face serum, then the BB cream, eye lift and a beautiful gel blush with a powder on top. I was impressed with the results of all products, and purchased the BB cream and the eye lift, with the others all added to my wishlist for a later date. They are costly products - up there with Sisley, By Terry and Chantecaille - but I'm hoping they'll prove to be worthwhile investments - fuller review to follow soon.

I also booked a facial with Eve Lom, which brought me to (and beyond) the required £150 spend. In my opinion, money very well spent. The Beauty Gift provides a great opportunity for you to treat yourself to products you've had your eye on, replenish stocks of tried and tested favourites, and also to buy some early Christmas presents in for beauty-loving friends (the products in the GWP make great stocking fillers too). Judging by the popularity of the Liberty and Space NK beauty GWPs (and I think Harvey Nic's do one too) it surely won't be long before some of the other big departments stores start doing similar... here's hoping anyway!

The Liberty GWP is sold out online but still available in store - though I'm not sure for how long, so hurry on down there if you're interested! I'll post about the Space NK GWP and what I purchased soon.

More beauty happenings at Liberty

Along with the news about Margaret Dabbs' Sole Spa opening in Liberty a few more exciting beauty snippets which may be of interest to London-based bloggers.

Liberty is repeating it's ultimate beauty gift this year. When you spend £90 or more on beauty products you receive 10 must-have products worth £100, plus a Liberty-print cosmetic bag to store them all in! The set includes Shu Uemura lashes, Ren Moroccan Rose body wash and a Le Metier de Beaute lipgloss which looks like a gorgeous deep red shade. I didn't manage to get my hands on one of the beauty gifts last year but I'm thinking this is the perfect excuse to start Christmas shopping a bit early.

The ultimate beauty gift runs from 16 September to 3 October and only while stocks last.

There are also a few other events at various beauty counters in Liberty at the moment, including complimentary express facials at REN, lash application at Shu, gifts with purchase at Korres and deluxe samples with skin consultations at Kiehl's.

Margaret Dabbs foot spa launching at Liberty

Flicking through a Liberty magazine that arrived with this month's copy of Vogue I was interested to read that renowned podiatrist Margaret Dabbs is opening a new foot clinic, Sole Spa, at Liberty in London.

For those who don't know, Margaret Dabbs is behind the original 'medi pedi'; a pedicure in which any problems with the feet such as calluses, corns etc are treated along with the usually buffing and general beautifying (as I understand actual polishing is not included in these pedicures, but this can be done separately at Margaret's clinic in west London, along with regular pedicures).

I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen beauty editors, glossy magazines and, more importantly, my fellow beauty bloggers raving about the medi pedi and have been meaning to try it myself for some time. I am taking part in the Great North Run next weekend and I'm thinking that after that will be the perfect time to lavish some attention on my tootsies (fingers, or should that be toes crossed that my toenails will not have turned black and fallen off by then - apparently very common among distance runners!).

The Sole Spa will include a 'halo therapy room' (whatever that is), medi pedis using oxygen therapy, and even reflexology. The Spa will also include an aquatic therapy space where you can partake in the famous fish pedicure.

Another reason to spend time in Liberty, as if we needed one!

Opens November 2010.

Strange Beautiful / Library of Colour - Beautiful polishes (anyone tried them?)

I first heard about Strange Beautiful whilst reading Nailed Up - a great polish blog if you don't already follow it, with fantastically clear photos..

I absolutely adore the first two polishes in this post - so my kind of colours - though less keen on the Chartreuse admittedly. Having never heard of this brand, I did a bit of research online and found that Strange Beautiful is stocked in Liberty (though unfortunately they are all out of stock at the moment.)

The polishes are not sold separately but in collections of 8 polishes - at less than £6 a polish that's potentially pretty good value. I haven't tried one yet so I can't comment on the quality but from the swatches on Nailed Up it looks pretty decent. According to the Liberty website, "Each polish has been developed and evaluated with an artist’s eye producing hues that are deeply and richly saturated throughout."

I particularly love Volume 3 - such beautiful autumnal colours. Might have to do some further investigations and find out when they'll be back in stock!

Has anyone had any experience with this brand? By the way I'm not even sure whether the brand or the collection is called Strange Beautiful. I think maybe the collection is Strange Beautiful and the brand Library of Colour. Google not much help - can anyone shed some light??