One of the best kinds; it's a secret that's hiding in plain site.
There are outlet centres up and down our nation. Some of these are owned by McArthur Glen. Most of those are home to some of my favourite places on Earth.
Let's be honest with each other, ya? It's often the best way to approach life. So, outlet centres are a bit shit (yes, I've decided that my blog is going to be written in my gutter-mouth vernacular. fyi, my vernacular also includes some long words and many metaphors. deal with it.). Ooh the excitement!!! There's a Ralph Lauren and a Jack Wills and...oh, there's a Cross selling out-of-date diaries and a big ol' M&S with bras in A cup or GG cup. Ooh!!! I'm going to be a bargain-hunting Katniss Everdeen; I'll have that 70% off slinky dress in my size firmly in my hand before anyone else has even seen it and...oh, I am an Elma Fudd of bargain-hunting am I? Well that's just fine.
But it's not all bad. There are Starbucks and Molton Browns where you can get a little aromatherapy recovery (without buying anything) and there are those fancy kitchen shops which will reassure you that compared to some, you clearly get out the house a little more often.
So, that secret...?
THE COSMETICS COMPANY OUTLET STORE!
image: McArthur Glen
Go to one, then thank me. Thank me with something pretty.
TCCOS is where relatives of Estee Lauder go to wait patiently to be picked up and taken home by appreciative strangers. Only not in a Singles' Bar kind of way. Estee Lauder, for the uninitiated of you, is not just that pretty gold counter you see in Debenhams. Estee Lauder is a megalith of company and like any multinational worth its nasdac it's only getting bigger. Brands to be found under the EL-brella-ella-ella include: MAC, Origins, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Smashbox, Prescriptives, Ojon and EL itself. So yes, you guessed it, TCCOS is the place to find bargains from those ranges and more.
Now, just as there are no 34Bs in the M&S and no size 12s in Coast, you are not going to find an NW20 in TCCOS (I found - and bought - a NC20 once and lived to regret it :( ). For every black mascara on offer there will be 2 purple, 3 greens and all fifty shades of grey. You get the idea. So why so excited, Helen? Why acting like this is some wonderful secret you're sharing with us?
Two words: LIMITED EDITIONS.
The various Estee Lauder brands launch LEs a few times a year. They're strictly time-bonded any stock not sold in time gets packed up and brought...here. And that's a LOT of stock. The same applies to gift sets and seasonal/promotional ranges, changes to formula or packaging or simply excess bits and bobs. But it's not all randomites, you'll find staples here too - especially from Clinique and EL itself.
My last visit to a TCCOS was 3hrs long. But I only spent £150 and at £50 an hour that's the cheapest therapy I know. To help you get started here's what to look out for in my top three brands (and what to AVOID):
MAC
GRAB:Brush Sets. OMG, grab the brush sets. When seasonal ranges are launched, a few brushes are boxed up, given different handles and put in pretty boxes/bags/stands (especially at Christmas). THEN: January comes and no one wants a £40 brush set (even if the contents *are* worth £65). Off to TCCOS and on sale they go for £28 - or thereabouts.
You don't need me to tell you that MAC is lauded for its brushes.
ALSO GRAB:
Pigment powders, Mascaras and Lipsticks. Not all of these are going to be nice colours, but persevere.
WALK-ON-BY:
Big Bounce Eyeshadow. I cannot tell you firmly enough to steer clear of these. They were developed about five years ago and the formula is the missing link between powder and gel colour. There's a reason that link is missing.
BOBBI BROWN:
GRAB:Palettes. Get all up in that. Bobbi Brown is known for using colour well together and putting shadow, blush and lipstick all in one handbag-friendly palette with the kind of mirror that will show you EXACTLY what you look like (how very rude).
ALSO GRAB:
Just as the palettes pull complimentary bits together, the Bobbi Brown combo-sets create or complete "looks" brilliantly. You'll usually get a pretty bag and a shadow, a liner, maybe a blush etc. As these are often launched for specific seasons (Christmas sparkle, Summer beach) and so are easy to find at TCCOS. If there's a gel liner in there, buy it. Bobbi Brown ain't the kinda brand to try floggin you some daft-arse colours none of us can wear.
WALK-ON-BY:
Err...pass. BB is the brand that does good things well while giving "fashion" colours a wide berth, so you won't find any duds. I guess I should tell you the brush sets are awesome too. Oh, I've thought of one: If the store has the Bobbi Brown Beauty Book, then you can pass on that: you're pretty already.
OJON:
I found it hard to decide on my third brand. I'm choosing OJON because you may not have heard of it. If so, it's a haircare brand. I don't write copy for them so if you want to read more then click here.Any combo-sets. These bundles of joy are put together for markets like QVC and they are absolutely a total bargain. Usually £40+ stuff for about £18. And the stuff is GOOOOD. Even my whispy "I want to be straight but I don't want to be sleek; I want to be smooth but I'd like a little kink just when you're not expecting one" hair sorts its act out and becomes luscious and bountiful when I use Ojon.
ALSO GRAB:
If you're only going to get one product, get the Damage Restorative Spray. I think it's one of the most expensive things they do but it really is like getting your stern but friendly neighbour to come over and sort out your other shitty, uncooperative neighbour who simply will not do as they're told. (I was going to use "Cool Aunt" and "kid" but didn't wish to alienate my demograph). Because your hair will just start to be all in agreement with you, and will actually do unexpected nice things. And it will smell AMAZING.
WALK-ON-BY:
The Extreme Hold Hairspray (which is no longer appearing on the Ojon website but I assure you is in stock in TCCOS for at least a while longer) is another brilliant product which outperforms even MY high expectations. So why walk on by? Because the Umberto Giannini one is just as good and smells exactly the same, so I think is EXACTLY the same (they even have the same aerosol tops) for about 25% of the price. It's all about paying attention.
Right. Do you want to see what I got last time I went? What cost me £150?
Clockwise from noon:
- Bobbi Brown Antigua Palette. The blush alone was worth it. Hello Sexy Flush! And I like that the eyeshadows are simple so you don't look too made up. Bobbi Brown doing what she does. Well. (£17.50 rrp: £47.50!!!)
- Smashbox Double Ended Eye Brightener. An eyepencil which highlights browbone and inner corner with one end and lightens the waterline with the other. (£11 rrP: £16)
- MAC Fluidline in Midnight Snack. It's a kind of dark gunmetal with the tiniest of shimmers. (£10 rrp: £14)
- MAC Opulash Volume Mascara in Black (Hallelujah!). I loved it for its big, thick bristly brush; I am so sick of spindly plastic ones. (£9 rrp: £14)
- MAC Fluidline in Added Goodness. Brown, but DARRRRK Espresso Brown - like how when the mauveyness of the coffee is visible, but it's still definitely brown - with the same tiny shimmer (only more bronze) as Midnight Snack. They're both from the same LE "Cook" range from Spring 2012* (£10 rrp: £14)
- Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Hollywood Red. The photo does not do it justice. Think of the most balanced scarlet you can. Just enough blue, just enough orange, BANG ON THE MONEY RED. Loved it. Had to have it. Is my search for the perfect red over? (£12 rrp: £18).
- Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eyeshadows x2 in Velvet and Black Velvet. Oh the shimmer. Oh the darkness. I wore these together the following week to a ball in Oxford and received many admiring comments. I nearly didn't buy them. They may be the most expensive eye shadows I own. But I simply had to have them and I am SO glad I do. (£13.50 each rrp: £20 each)
- MAC Kissable LipColor in Scandelicious. What colour is this? Fuchsia? Mauve? Pink? Red? Who knows. All I know is it is the exact shade and consistency of one I had as a teenager, although - like me - maybe a little brighter. It's a "LipColor"; it's not a stick or a gloss or a creme; it is creamy, and it has a sheen but not really a gloss...oh whatevs, I liked it. A lot. (£11 rrp: £16.50)
- MAC Chenman Creme Brilliance. A clear gloss, and one that you think is going to be sticky and gloopy because it's in a squeezy tube. It's not. It has a nice heavy feel as you apply but holds fast to your lips making them appear all juicy. You can even smack your lips together and they won't stick! I wasn't going to be easily swayed by this one; I don't tend to buy clear glosses (why would you?) but I applied this and wondered around the store getting more and more convinced. Then I tried it over the BB Hollywood Red and was in love. (£10 rrp: £14)
*yes, Spring 2012. So they had already been in existence for around 8 months when I bought them. This is absolutely fine; no one's been opening the jars and getting them all nasty. I've checked and they don't actually have use-by time periods (so it's not use-by 06/2014 but use within 12 months of opening), and truth be known, I pay those signs no heed anyway. If it smells odd, looks odd, goes on or comes off odd then it's probably time to ditch it. But, y'know, this is the internet and people are loopy so I am hereby not telling you to use out of date products. Or stay out after dark.
- Origins Sensory Therapy x3. I'd tried this wonderstuff a couple of weeks before while wandering around HoF on Oxford Street. It is truly amazing. It's a minty soothing gel-lotion and you take one pump and rub it onto the back of your neck and it makes the world a significantly more tolerable place. If it can have that effect on me in Oxford Street just think how zen it could make us in real life. So TCCOS had a triple pack for £18. That's half price. And I already knew it worked. And this was in TCCOS where I forget stress can even exist.
So yeah, that was all I had to say this week. In short: There is an outlet store called The Cosmetics Company (I added the OS; I'm gonna leave it there) where many Estee Lauder bargains are to be found. Go have a look.
Ones I know of are in the following outlet centres:
York
Swindon
Bicester Village
Portsmouth
Ellesmere Port
There may be more but I'd check the website before heading off.
Oh, and do not be fooled by this one; it's not them.
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