London Muse - Shopping day

As part of my two week make up course we spent the day shopping at some of the top make up stores in London and enjoyed some incredible discounts in order to start up and add to our professional make up kits. We started off at the MAC pro store where we were given access to the store at 9am, an hour before the public and given shopping bags to pop products into while we browsed. This was a real treat as anyone who shops ar MAC knows how busy it can get, especially the pro store just off Carnaby Street. The staff were really helpful giving us advice on tips on essential products we should have in our kit and the discount meant that we could stock up on foundation colours and palettes. 

The Muse girls and I after a couple of hours in MAC!

Next up we went to Illamasqua on Beak street which I had never been too so I was extremely excited to see the store. I love the style of the website and the products and the store was just as exciting and theatrical. With glittery floors and mirrors, it oozed drama and creativity and guess who we saw as we walked in? None other than make up artist Alex Box and Illamasqua guru David Horne. We couldn't believe our eyes! Alex was incredibly sweet and posed for a photo with us and told us to contact her if we ever needed advice on the make up industry. The staff were very attentive and helped us pick out our favourite products. I bought only a couple of products from the store but will definitely be going back for more soon including skin base foundation, pigments and brushes!

The girls and I with Alex Philips (Illamasqua artist and Muse graduate) and Alex Box (one of my favourite creative make up artists)

We stopped for lunch at Satsuma in Soho where I used to go often during my breaks when I worked at a theatre nearby, where we had noodles and tempura (yum) and the decor was lovely. It was a chance to rest our legs after hours of shopaholic behaviour and put our many shopping bags down! 

Lovely centre piece on our table! and a few MAC bags...

Noodle time for the shopaholics!

Our last stop was Charles Fox in Covent Garden, a kind of mecca for make up artists which sells lots of brands including Kryolan and Ben NYE. It is a real essential shop for anyone who is working in the make up industry or simply loves make up as it contains everything you would want or need! Sponges, pencils, prosthetics, palettes and glitter, the list goes on and on! The staff were helpful and even asked us if we would be interested in doing work experience in store which is a great opportunity! They also gave us a goodie bag containing lots of amazing products which I have added to my professional kit. The store was thankfully very quiet so we had the chance to take our time and test out lots of professional brands that we had never even heard of before. I bought a number of products from the shop and will be visiting regularly to stock up on essentials and make up artist must haves.

Posing outside Charles Fox on a rainy but fabulous shopping day!

Here are the products I bought on the day:

MAC Invisible powder

MAC Face and body foundation 

MAC Blusher palette with Fleurpower blusher

MAC Eyeshadow palette with Brule, Omega, Sketch and Carbon eyeshadows

MAC 217 brush

MAC Teddy eyeliner

Illamasqua satin primer

Illamasqua matte primer

Illamasqua cream blusher in "rude"

Ben nye lip pencils 

Derma concealer palette in Fair and Medium

Kryolan Lip palette

I tried to control myself and only buy the basics that I needed and although this doesn't seem like a lot of products it all adds up very quickly even with the discount! However I am so thankful to the London Muse team for giving us this shopping day during the course as I could never have afforded this many products without the discount and helpful advice. I now know what are must haves for a make up artists kit and am slowing learning not to waste money on glittery eye products just because they are pretty and instead invest in quality brushes and essentials!

Could you imagine a more perfect day? ;)

x