Beauty Week at Fenwicks, Newcastle

It's Monday!  Forgive the enthusiasm, I know that people who celebrate Mondays are pretty annoying but I promise you I'm excited for a reason.  Today is a special Monday because it's the start of Beauty Week at Fenwick in Newcastle, six whole days of fun and inspiration in the Beauty Hall.

Last week I was invited to a Blogger Preview Night at Fenwick (think glasses of bubbles, macarons and excited girls with DSLRs wearing Breton stripes) to learn what Beauty Week is all about.

Beauty Week takes place from today until Saturday with live beauty demonstrations, fragrance sampling and lots of discounts and exclusive goodies to get your hands on.  Take a look here for the full timetable (I'm currently trying to decide whether to go and see the Dior or Laura Mercier makeup artist!)

I will admit, having only recently dipped my toe into the world of beauty, I've never really properly explored the Fenwick's Beauty Hall so I was very excited to get the chance to have a good look round and see some of the things that Fenwick offer their customers.

First things first I had a dilemma!  A table covered in appointment cards for treatments at most of the Beauty Houses in Fenwick and having to pick between them.  With only a few hours to play, I knew I could only fit in three appointments.  As I'm a rather indecisive person picking only three was no easy decision, so I decided to go for a good mix of treatments.

My first visit was to Molton Brown for a hand and arm massage.  Having visited many a fine hotel for afternoon tea, I tend to get lost in the bathroom for a good long while, trying out the Molton Brown products you quite often find by the sink.

I had a choice of delicious smelling creams to choose from but decided to go for the brand new Rhubarb and Rose Body Lotion on my arms with the matching Hand Cream for the dry skin on my hands.  Made from Rhubarb sourced in West Yorkshire's "Rhubarb Triangle" the scent is to die for and just made me think of desserts.   

Make sure you go hunt out the gorgeous new scent during Beauty Week and, if you spend £45.00 you get a little toiletry bag full of mini goodies, perfect for travelling.

With my skin feeling soft and smelling of freshly baked Rhubarb Pie I decided to go for a hair treatment next and headed for the Aveda counter.

Aveda isn't a brand I'm very familiar with but I was glad I popped over for a visit because the girls on the counter are so passionate about the brand so I learnt a lot from them.

Aveda are a brand who truly care about the environment and they source all of their ingredients responsibly, use renewable energy to manufacture and they even plant a tree for every aerosol they produce.

I was there for a hair treatment but was first treated to a lovely neck and shoulder massage - something that Aveda offer to their Fenwick's customers.  Next time you're struggling through the store with heavy shopping bags and have "Street Rage" you really must pop along to Aveda for a massage, it was beautiful!

Aveda have just launched a brand new hair product - the Thickening Tonic that thickens each strand of hair from the root right through to the end.  I wasn't sure if even the most amazing and magic of sprays could ever thicken my hair as it's so frazzled from years of heat abuse.

Aveda's hair stylist, Jess, applied the tonic to my hair and then blow dried it to get some volume. I was very impressed with the instant results and even the next day my hair still felt thicker.

If you want to try it out for yourself, Aveda offer the treatment free for first time customers so make sure you head to the counter during Beauty Week.

My hair breaks very easily and I have a dry scalp so I was interested to hear about Aveda's Invati range and definitely want to try out the Exfoliating Shampoo, Thickening Conditioner and Scalp  Revitalizer which should nourish my scalp and improve the strength of my hair.

The last stop for the evening was the Bobbi Brown counter for a lesson in creating a "smoky eye", something that I've been struggling with for a while now. I explained that I have problem applying darker colours in the crease without looking like I have a black eye.

I was given a seat and a hand mirror so I could watch the lovely expert at work as she applied the makeup.  I was talked through a simple smoky eye that was created using one eye shadow all over the lid and then applying a dark coloured eye liner to smoke the colour out.   The finished result looked amazing and I definitely feel confident that I could recreate the look at home.

I was so excited to learn that Bobbi Brown offer a huge range of lessons to customers at their counter in Fenwick.  If you're interested in learning some new tricks or have always struggled with a particular part of your makeup, make sure you stop by and ask them what lessons they offer.

Now, you may be thinking that bloggers get all of the perks, but these treatments and many more across the other beauty counters are available to all Fenwick's customers either for free or at a small cost redeemable against a purchase.  I had no idea that each counter offered so much so it's definitely worth stopping for a proper look next time you're strolling through the Beauty Hall.

Beauty Week is the perfect time to explore the Fenwick's Beauty Hall properly, the staff are all very friendly and approachable (so don't worry if you're been a little afraid of beauty counters in other shops!) and there's plenty to learn. 

As an added little bonus if you visit the Molton Brown, Aveda or Bobbi Brown counters during Beauty Week and quote "New Girl in Toon" you'll  receive a deluxe sample of the products used in my treatments.

Make sure you let me know how you get on!

Want more?  Read my previous blog posts about Makeup for a Newbie and The Pudding Parlour at Fenwicks