So I've been to the hbeauty beach event at the Metro Centre today and I have very mixed feelings about it 😕
The event itself was good, but it was over really quickly. I started with an Elemis arm massage, which was lovely, although it didn’t tempt me to buy anything (probably a good thing for my bank account 😂), next was the sol de janeiro stand, where she took off everything elemis had just put on me to apply their new coconut lotion. I was really excited because I usually love coconut scents, but this one was disappointing. It didn’t smell very coconutty to me at all and actually made me feel a bit sick. I think I’ll definitely be sticking with delícia drench!
Next was Charlotte Tilbury, where I had some makeup applied. I tried the light taupe exagger eyes crayon, but whilst she was putting it on, I remembered that I have a Bobbi Brown one already at home (which I’ve only worn once 😂) I also tried the cherry blush stick and the new highlighter, which were both lovely.
The perfume stand was probably the biggest success for me in terms of actually finding things I wanted to buy. I really liked all of the holiday Goldfield & Banks fragrances which they'd selected to put out, and I also found a Memo one that smelled more coconutty than the Sol de Janeiro lotion but I couldn't then find that one in store. There were only about five people there though, which I guess that's good as we were quickly round all the stands and we weren't waiting awkwardly, but it didn't really feel quite flat and lacked atmosphere.
Afterwards, I had a look around the hbeauty and managed to find the last remaining Goldfield & Banks Coast to Coast discovery set, which included the scents I’d loved, so obviously that came home with me 😍
They also had a mystery bag for £50 in the gorgeous orange tote bag that the perfume set came in, so naturally I had to get that too. My husband had a ticket as well and had his passport stamped at the event, so I also picked up a Dior eyeshadow palette and the Charlotte Tilbury cherry blush stick.
By the end I had two GWP bags, a sample set and the mystery bag, and I was SO excited to open everything. You don’t get to choose your samples and I didn’t see what was being put into the bags. It looked like she was adding one of everything, so I was expecting a really good mix.
Now, anyone who knows me knows I have the self-control of a raccoon on meth when it comes to beauty surprises, so there was absolutely no chance I was waiting until I got home to open everything 😂 I ripped open the GWP bags, samples and mystery bag as soon as I got in the car. And that's when the disappointment hit.
My sample selection only included two out of the four perfumes I wanted to try (I wanted all of them), and I got the teeny tiny Charlotte Tilbury mascara sample that I’m genuinely going to struggle to use because it’s so small.
Then came the mystery bag, which I had been SO excited about, and honestly, I think I might actually complain to Harrods because what a letdown. Three red lipsticks. THREE. Anyone who remembers my thoughts on the Harrods advent calendar last year will know I won’t appreciate one red lipstick, never mind three 😂
There was also a red blusher with a sale sticker on it, a silver glitter blusher, a tiny Paula’s Choice toner and something from The Ordinary.
For £50, I honestly expected so much more. It just felt like such a random selection and not at all what I was hoping for. So I'm upset / fuming about it.
The saving grace was definitely the coffee and lovely cocktails at the H Beauty cocktail bar, which were gorgeous. I’m really glad I went, but I’ve definitely come away with mixed feelings. The event itself was nice, but it felt quite quiet and I think my expectations were probably higher.
At least the Goldfield & Banks set was a definite win 😍 and I've been lusting after the Dior palette for a while. Oh I did also get to make a really cute bag charm thing. I did it seashells so it'll defo come on holiday with me.