When news reached me that Hennes & Mauritz had begun a new venture bridging the gap between their H&M, Monki and COS stores I’d already begun segmenting away a sizeable chunk of my bank balance for a raid of their new store. And after an hour-long peruse of the freshly opened ‘& Other Stories’ on Regent Street, London (heads up: there’s also an online store) – I’m pleased I did just that. The trendsetting vibe of H&M combined with the high quality basics of Monki and COS’ trademark clean lines, the shopping experience was a very unique one. But I wasn’t there for the garb, I headed straight over their makeup area housing an absolute shedload of beauty booty. All bases are covered by & Other Stories – makeup, skincare, bodycare, tools – there’s even a section dedicated to external brands. It was a tough one to whittle down, but here’s what made the come home cut…
While taking in the various displays, own-brand line ups and nifty makeup stations, the one array that stood out to the beauty obsessed eye was that of the nail polishes. There were loads of them, I’d hazard a guess at a new shade for your toes and tips each week of the year if you’d be up for the challenge. Wrapped up in packaging that’s just dying to be papped for Pintrest, each Nail Colour is swatched onto a handy keyring of sticks kept at the counter so you can see what you’re getting. After adding a double digited amount into my basket I narrowed it down to three very predictable pickings: Scarlet Red, Moire Green and Borato Greige. Obvious choices for moi, but I pondered that there could be some possible Essie dupes in there and at £5 a pop they’re a slightly cheaper choice so I’ll get lacquering up and report back to you on that one.
Face product-wise I thought I’d roadtest their cheekbone carving combo – Face Contour Cream and Total Tint Stick in Beige, both £10. I’ve yet to stripe these on but with the highlighter having an air of a NARS Multiple about it and not a hint of warmth in the contour compact, I’ve got high hopes. It was love at first sniff with my final purchase; Hand Soap in Fig Fiction. Hello Diptyque Philosykos scent! A glorified hand wash may seem like a strange addition but it perfectly rounds off my bathroom toiletry stash and is a welcome replacement to my Sainsburys Basics soap that occupied that spot before. Perfect.
It’s worth noting that a few purchases outside the & Other Stories family were made, namely from a Swedish created company that caught my eye called L:A Bruket. But more on that later in the week – just building anticipation you know. And for the full scoop on & Other Stories make a visit back here on Sunday where I’ll be chronicling my best London beauty spots, quite literally. Who’s up for a makeup fuelled field trip?
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