Shopping Heaven | Places to go in London and a round of Worth The Hype?

After Friday night’s Wimbledon Summer Party (read all about it here) I stopped over in London with Laura H. As it was another belting summer’s day we decided to leave our luggage at the hotel and head back out to Oxford Circus for a spot of shopping.

We were staying in Bank which is an excellent base for a weekend in the city. Tower Bridge and St Pauls are just around the corner and the Millenium Bridge is within walking distance. Hop on a tube and Covent Garden, Oxford Circus, Regent Street, Kings Cross are all only 15 minutes away. 

It’s also smack bang in the heart of the financial district so the buildings tend to be rather ostentatious! Our first stop was to probably the grandest Wetherspoons I’ve ever seen, The Crosse Keys.

Despite this our hearty cooked breakfasts were still a reasonable price and much cheaper than the hotel.

We decided to create a ‘blogger wishlist’ for the day. Basically it was our top picks for shops, brands and products that bloggers rave about. We wanted to see for ourselves if they were really worth the hype.

Here’s where we went and what I thought!

Anthropologie | Regent Street (Closest tubes: Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus)

This place is full of beautiful and often quirky home and lifestyle accessories and clothing. Downstairs is a treasure trove of homewear pieces and gifts. 

They had glossy coffee table style books and these decorative books of the classics, cut into each letter of the alphabet.

Upstairs their nightwear was soft and luxurious, the sort of thing that would make me feel like a cast member of Made in Chelsea if only I could justify the price tags! A girl can dream. 

I fell head over heels in love with a Happ and Stahns perfume in a dreamy fragrance which lingered on my skin and created a wonderful waft of scent as I moved around. I didn’t buy it in the end and have regretted that ever since. I’ll be back!!!

Laura H picked out a decorative candle holder in the bathroom section and I couldn’t resist this little fish. It’s the perfect store for my jewellery trinkets and is already in use at home.

Selfridges & Co | Oxford Street (Closest tube: Bond Street, or a short walk from Oxford Circus)

Selfridges Beauty Hall to be precise! A cornucopia of everything beauty related that you can think of and the source of pretty much every other thing on our blogging wishlist.

MAC
 

I think I must be the only beauty blogger on the planet that owns nothing from MAC! I had my heart set on trying a couple of lipsticks – Ruby Woo, a daring red and Crème Cup, a nude which is supposed to suit everyone. It was so busy at the counters though that I could hardly get to the lipsticks. 

When I finally found a spot, there were just too many colours to look through. You couldn’t see the names of them so I was having to pick each one up individually and kept getting covered in lipstick… not what I’d had in mind! In the end I left the more eager girls to it.

Worth the blogger hype? I still don’t know – I couldn’t get close enough to try anything!

Charlotte Tilbury

Everything was neatly laid out with a ‘movie star’ theme running throughout that made you feel glamorous just being there! All of the eyeshadow palettes were on display and in easy sampling reach. The face powder Airbrush Flawless Finish was softer to touch than I can describe – it’s on the lust list now!

You may remember from an earlier post (here!) that my initial thoughts on CT were pretty much: ‘meh‘! Then I ended up wearing my shadow palette continuously and slowly the love affair has grown! From my time at the stand I’ve narrowed my ‘next to purchase’ shortlist down to two palettes. I can happily order it online having tried it all in the store!

Worth the blogger hype? Well… I still think it’s priced to reflect the drop dead gorgeous packaging, but I’m still going to say yes as I’ve certainly got my money’s worth out of that eyeshadow quad!

Jo Malone

I really wanted to smell these scents for myself and see what all the fuss was about. The stand is ridiculously pretty and makes you want to whip out your credit card and go nuts. 

Worth the blogger hype? Yes… and no!  

Taking the drop dead beautiful packaging out of the equation, for most of the scents I’d say no. I wasn’t blown away by the candles (my love for Yankee Candles holds strong!) and a lot of the cologne scent combinations just weren’t for me. I’d definitely recommend that you try before you buy as I think a lot of the scents would divide people’s opinions.

HOWEVER. The fruity scents Pear & Freesia and Nectarine Honey Blossom are absolutely gorgeous and won us both over.  I am going to treat myself to some super indulgent bath oil and I have a sneaky feeling that come payday Laura H will be putting in an order too!

Liberty London | Regent Street (Close tube: Oxford Circus)

A blogger tour of London’s top shops wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Liberty of London! Laura H hadn’t been before so we headed in for a quick mooch around the beauty and fashion departments.

Worth the blogger hype? Yes – even if only to take a snap of the always instagram worthy flower displays and drool over the designer handbags.

Oxford Street on a Saturday

I’ve previously avoided this street like the plague, remembering the one previous time I went as being a nightmare of overcrowded shuffling and elbows. I don’t know if it was the beautiful sunshine, or because we were in no rush to be anywhere, but a walk down Oxford Street on Saturday watching the big red buses and excited tourists felt like the perfect place to be, and a fitting way to end a great mini break in the city. <3 <3 <3

 Where do you find your shopping heaven? What are your ‘worth the hype’ shopping must haves?