Space NK

This is hands down my favorite place to pick up/​browse for high-​end beauty items. (I’d say the latter happens more often…) so I had to give it it’s first review!
Located in Princess Square, as you can probably imagine the store itself is beautifully layed out and is generally a lovely shopping experience. Every time I’ve been in the staff have been attentive enough, without doing that annoying thing where they latch on to you and tell you that you need some miraculous new £85 face serum. (unlike the usual beauty halls!) — they are helpful if you need anything but basically just leave you to browse on your own. Win.
However the main reason it is my favourite is the variety of products and brands. If you’re a beauty junkie like me then you’ll be trying to get your hands on an eye shadow palette (because that’s how exciting my life is) and not find it anywhere, and refuse to pay £20 shipping from America. Usually Space NK will stock those kind of items — from brands such as Kevyn Aucoin to Beauty Blender to Sunday Riley.
Can you tell I’m a fan?! If shopping for beauty is your thing and you’re looking for a few different items in a stress free environment, then give it a go if you haven’t already.

This is the place for über cool make up brands that you can’t get anywhere else.
The employees are genuinely helpful, and because they have a range of brands to choose from, rather than just one brand, there’s less of a hard sell that you might get from some of the individual make up counters in the department stores. It’s not actually a hard sell at all really, it genuinely feels like advice.
I was on a quest for a new foundation. I’m very photosensitive, and need to wear thick greasy sunscreen every day. Helpfully, it’s also a rather fetching ‘beige with a hint of grey’ colour, so I wanted to find a base that would give me more of an ‘actually alive’ complexion, rather than a ‘just dug up’ one.
On my first visit, the employee recommended two brands — Hourglass and Nars. She gave me a little pot of the Hourglass as a tester to try out at home, but couldn’t do so with the Nars as it was a solid texture rather than liquid. But she said if I didn’t like the Hourglass, to come back in and she would do my whole face with the Nars one.
So I tried the Hourglass at home and was delighted! It’s a bit of a miracle product actually. I went back in and was thinking about trying the Nars just as a comparison, but the employee who I was speaking with on this visit was the Northern Rep (or something) for Hourglass and she told me so much more about it. It’s a liquid powder, and contains Kaolinite Clay, so it absorbs oil, which explains why it still was able to give quite a matte finish even after being applied over my sunscreen gunk. (Whereas normally I look like I’ve just done a ten hour shift down the chippy.) Having just looked at the box, it actually does call itself ‘the miracle foundation’ and you think ‘aye right’, but they’ve actually got a fair claim to it, I’m pretty impressed.
And get this — it’s also paraben free, oil free, fragrance free, nanoparticle free, phthalate free, synthetic dye free, gluten free, and vegan. Seriously! I’ve never heard of a specifically gluten free make up before, but there you have it, one exists. My life is complete. As you may have guessed, it’s also hideously expensive, but I bought it anyway. A little goes a long way, right?
If I had tons of money I could spend a LOT in this shop. It’s a real wee gem of a place.

Apart from being a gourmand, I have a real weakness for top quality/​high-​end skincare and makeup. Whether in the US or continental Europe, you can find me splashing cash in my candy shop that is Sephora or respective makeup departments of Nordstrom, Saks, and the like. I have a kit that resembles that of a professional makeup artist, but normal day-​to-​day I wear very minimal makeup (no clown makeup here ladies!). I’m obsessed with colours, textures, and packaging.
Upon moving to the UK, I was sad to find out there are no Sephora stores to be found, and the ladies at the makeup counters in House of Fraser, Debenhams, John Lewis, etc. pounce on you like meat-​hungry cougars. Rooowl. However, once I entered Princes Square, a shining light beckoned to me like a glimmering sign of hope. Nuxe, By Terry, NARS, Jemma Kidd, Kiehls, Nude, Caudalie, Darphin, Hourglass, Laura Mercier, Shu Uemura, Diptyque… The list goes one. Most of my favourite brands housed in a bright, clean space, and without the crowds and scary pushy sales people.
Space NK boasts an impressive portfolio of luxury beauty brands picked from around the world, and thank goodness for that. The layout is similar to that of Sephora where you can test and sample the products either yourself or with the help of one of the incredibly approachable and friendly staff members. Every occasion, albeit not cheap, has been pleasurable in great thanks to the staff. Unlike the department stores, they are not dedicated to one brand, so they know their stuff, and can recommend different brands to you for your specific needs or concerns. Concealing? Hyperpigmentation? The right shade of red lipstick? The N. dulge programme is also worthwhile if you’re like me… for every £1 you get 1 point; every 100 points you receive £5 to spend in store. On top of that you also receive various offers and birthday treats (such as Nude skincare products!). In short… if you’re looking for high-​end beauty brands in a boutique setting without the fuss of department stores, this is your place.

I just love Space NK, they have a fantastic range of innovative beauty products that you’ll rarely see in other cosmetic stores in Glasgow. They stock NARS, Laura Mercier and stunning Shu Uemura eyelashes that will definitely make a statement.
The staff are very helpful and you can get free consultations on the best products for your skin and tips on getting a flawless complection. I was once put in the direction of «Dr. Seabagh Foaming Cleanser» after a couple of months of breakout hell. I’d tried everything and this was a last resort, It wasn’t cheap, £22 for 100ml bottle and I was sceptical but I decided to give it a go. It cleared up my skin in about 5 days, it was like a miracle! I swore by the stuff for nearly two years but then I moved to Germany for ten months and it stopped working. It could have been the water there but I haven’t used it since. I might pop back soon to give it another shot as when it worked the results were fantastic and I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking for quick results for breakouts. As far as I’m aware Space NK is the only stockist in Glasgow, hurrah!
They used to stock loads of Philosophy products but they don’t have so many anymore. My favourite purchase from here was a lipgloss set from Philosophy which was called «A Few Good Men», these men were, «The Muffin Man» — a lemon muffin flavoured lipgloss, «The Gingerbread Man» — a tasty gingerbread lipgloss and my favourite, «The Ice-​Cream Man.» Unfortunately they don’t have this set anymore, but who knows, maybe one day they’ll make a return.
Space NK is great, quite expensive but sometimes you need to pay that little bit extra when it comes to cosmetics. They also do sales now and then so you could grab yourself a bargain!

A year or so ago, I spent a couple of months in Paris. During one of my long jaunts around some of the wonderful Parisian department stores one of those department store ladies sprayed me with a bottle of perfume. And you know what? I actually fell in love with it. I managed to blag a tester bottle and used it religiously until every last drop was gone. By this time, I was back in the good old UK and it was coming up to Christmas. Aha, I was on to a winner. At least, I thought I was until I sent my Mum into the Debenham’s perfume section and she reported back that not only was the perfume I wanted not available in mainstream stores, it was also very expensive. Damn.
Now, we had a bit of a look on the internet at we managed to locate the perfume in the Space NK store. Plus, because Santa knew that I’d been very good that year — he pulled through and bought me the perfume in question. And so thanks to Space NK, I have been smelling fabulous ever since.
The point of that long and slightly rambling story was to tell you that Space NK is, erm, great. As well as rare perfumes, they also sell a whole load of upmarket beauty and make up brands that you can’t find anywhere else.
And if you’re feeling particularly brazen? You can get the lovely make-​up ladies in there to give you a make-​over for free. What’s not to love?

I’m regularly dragged round here by E-​Bot despite having no interest or knowledge in the products, but as I’ve spent a good deal of time here I feel I should review it.
Basically it’s a very fancy and upmarket cosmetics store, that apparently sells loads of stuff you can’t get elsewhere. If you’re a girl you’ll likely love it, if not, then youprobably won’t, but it does smell very nice inside at least.

SpaceNK has a great layout and location. It stocks many of the high brand beauty brands and occasionally has a good discount section.
I have to say I find the staff a bit grating. I’m not sure whether it’s due to sitting about in a large white room all day that makes them appear so icy but they tend to not really bother with you unless you look ready to buy.
Probably best to visit with a friend if you’re shy of counter girls.

It would be easy to feel a little intimidated about entering Space NK — a glimpse through the window shows a slick interior with shelves beautifully arranged and tables with selected goodies carefully laid out — it’s almost a bit too perfect I guess. But fear not — take the plunge and get yourself in there. It’s a fabulous place for browsing and discovering unusual and exclusive brands for face and body. Yes, it is expensive, however you are getting something different and it’s clearly not the place where most would do the majority of their beauty shopping. It’s a real treat yourself type of store. The staff are on hand if help is needed, and show a good knowledge of products. I find them exceptionally friendly too. They also have the most fabulous sales with really excellent discounts — I got many half price items just before Christmas and some with a 75% discount just after.

I’ve always felt that the concept for Space NK, while good, is very much inspired by that of Sephora, the French perfume and beauty chain.
While Sephora caters for all pockets, from its funky own brands all the way through to the premium make-​up and perfumes, Space NK misses a trick by solely concentrating on the premium brands.
I do like how you don’t have speak to sales consultants desperate for a sale, but in some ways their sales pitch is maybe a little bit too unobtrosive.
Space NK stocks Stila and Nars, along with Philosophy and their own brand items, which are definitely in the middle to high price brackets.
I tend to browse rather than buy in Space NK.