Beauty Safari – Sunderland Beauty Week (AD)

On Thursday night bump and I headed to Sunderland to take part in a beauty safari blogging event as part of Sunderland Beauty Week*.

I was kindly invited to this special VIP event by Sorted PR and I was really excited to get back to Sunderland following the success of the bloggers safari supper for restaurant week.

---

What is Sunderland Beauty Week?

Hosted by the Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland it’s a week for all beauty enthusiasts to indulge.

It ran from Monday 1st to Saturday 6th July with the aim to help you to discover your summer look.

Over the six days the centre hosted glam offers, demos, makeovers, and competitions, leading up to a fantastic and free VIP event on the Saturday starring celebrity makeup artist Amanda Bell and style blogger Laura Ferry.

Fabulous beauty retailers hosted in-store activity all week and this included skincare consultations, mini makeovers, demos and competitions for all.

An extra bonus included if you spent £20 on any beauty product you received a mystery gift. All you had to do was take your receipts to the customer service desk to claim a prize.

---

Beauty safari event

The evening kick-started at 5:30pm with some nibbles and refreshments in the management suite before we were split into two groups for the safari to begin.

I was in group 1 and we headed downstairs to Boots.

We started off at the Estée Lauder counter. We were given a demonstration of the limited edition highlighters and bronzers.

We also got a spritz of the Bronze Goddess fragrance which is now being sold throughout the year due to being so popular.

Next we crossed over to the No7 counter. I’m a big No7 fan which comes from my mam. We were talked through all the different services they offer at the counter for free; for example colour matching for foundation, blusher and lipstick.

After No7 we went to the Clinique counter. We were talked through what happens during a consultation, going through your skincare concerns and preparing a routine which will help combat these issues. We were also given a demonstration of the 3 step skincare routine which can be custom fit to you depending on your concerns. The Clinique philosophy is “great skincare can be created”.

The final counter we visited in Boots was Benefit where we were talked through their newly launched Hello Happy foundation.

After receiving some lovely freebie goodies we left Boots and headed to Hotel Chocolat. I didn’t know they had a skincare range but my gosh the packaging is beautiful and everything just smells AMAZING.

Next up was Lush. I don’t get to go into Lush very often these days because my hubby says the smell makes him get a migraine but I’m a big fan! We actually got hands on in Lush, creating our very own face mask which we then got to take home with us.

We made the Making Angels Bare Skin Cleanser. To use take some of the product and add water, a little goes a long way. It’s very gentle and can be used as a face and body cleanser.

After Lush we went to the Body Shop. We had a great demonstration of three products. First up was the Camomile Cleansing Balm which I tried at the Facials in a Flash event and it’s a fab product.

Next was the Drops of Youth Peel which I have only heard rave reviews of. The last product was the new body yogurt which I’ve tried as my work friend is a total convert, it dries within seconds but the mositurising effect is really long lasting.

The next stop was Topshop where we learnt all about Doll cosmetics. The company was started by two best friends in 2016 originally just focused on false lashes but has grown to include other products such as highlighters and bronzers and will soon be launching a range of lipsticks too.

And finally we headed to Debenhams. We went to the Clinque counter where we had a full demonstration of the new moisture surge range.

It was a jam-packed evening but I learnt so many skincare tips and kindly received lots of beauty treats to try out. The timing is perfect as pretty soon I will have my hands full with a newborn so won’t have time to get out the shops but when I get give minutes I can have a little pamper at home.

If you missed this year’s Beauty Week I recommend getting yourself along next year – you won’t regret it!

Huge thank you to Sorted PR and the Bridges marketing team for the invite and for looking after us all so well, I had a wonderful time.

---

Pin this 👇🏻

---

*Disclaimer

This review has been written with 100% honesty. 

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was invited to attend this VIP evening  for review purposes. I did receive some testers and samples as a thank you from the brands mentioned above. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.

If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com

Please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.

---

Other beauty related posts

Keep your makeup brushes in tip top condition and say goodbye to messy makeup brushes. 

My thoughts on the Tropic Enchanted Facial

Vixen Kylie Lip Kit Review

Here’s my current evening skincare routine.

---

Keep in touch

You can also find me on Twitter @rachael_stray
Or follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rachaelstrayblog/
You can see my random pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachys2011/
And see what I’m pinning on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rachaelstray/