Fenwick beauty favourites

Fenwick beauty hall favourites

As we descend into the Christmas shopping season, the department stores are going full guns ablaze for your beauty dollars. If you want to bypass the chaos of tourists and overzealous scent-spritzers but want to shop in London, Fenwick is a pretty good place to start.

This year, Fenwick has overhauled its ground floor, giving the full entrance space over to its beauty offer. I went to a press event there last month designed to flag up its credentials as a place where you can buy all your makeup, skincare and fragrance favourites. (And discover some new ones too – there’s a focus on niche brands including Artis brushes and tea-centric Bohdidharma fragrances from Michael Boadi of Illuminum fame).

What they did for press was really cool. We were given an empty bag and let loose on a ‘trolley dash’ to pick our eight favourite products including a skincare and fragrance product. Easy, right? You’d think! But being faced with a whole beauty hall incited a severe case of ‘this or that?’ indecision.

Fenwick beauty hall Bond street

Finally, after about fifteen circuits I went for the following:

Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Serum
I first tried this in the summer. It has my perfect serum texture for morning moisturising – gel-like but not too ‘wet’ or sticky. And the pump pushes out exactly enough for one application.

By Terry Serum Terrybly Sunbooster
Another moisturising gel, this is really a summer product but I love it because a) it smells beachy and b) it adds a tiny bit of revitalising colour and has the minutest bit of shimmer to give you a bit of a glow.

Hermes Eau D’Orange Vert eau de cologne
This elegant citrus scent is so deliciously fresh and uplifting. I wear it if I need to focus on something because it seems to sharpen the senses.

MAC Brow Set gel
I have ridiculously badly behaved brows so this is what I use to glue them in place. It doesn’t flake or go hard but valiantly keeps them in place all day.

YSL Touche Eclat
I had the loveliest chat with the YSL on-counter fellow. He wanted me to try all sorts of other products and was telling me about his Youtube channel but alas, I only had time for my YSL Touche Eclat. Although I also love the Estee Lauder and Charlotte Tilbury equivalents, the YSL is slimmer for carrying in my bag.

Clinique Lid Smoothie
This is hands down one of the easiest eyeshadows to wear. It’s a cream eyeshadow that blends in smoothly with a clean finger and Currant Affair is a subtle shade for everyday if I just want to look a bit groomed.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick
These lipsticks are amazing if you like sheer pinky-corals (I wear Insoumise) or 60s pale, kittenish pinks (try Flirt). They have a little bit of irridesence that allows the colour to stain your lips without them feeling completely dried out.

By Terry Baume de Rose
I’ve been meaning to try this for yonks. I love the little frosted glass pot and the tinted pink balm (in ‘Rosy Babe’) as well as its distinctive rose scent – a new favourite for me.

WORDS AND IMAGES: Navaz Batliwalla/Disneyrollergirl