If you're looking for a day -or hour- of pampering then don't go past this place! Its hidden away…read morein a basement (ahem) and right next to co couture chocolate boutique- naughty! They specialise in holistic treatments and offer such a huge range of lovely services and treatments! You can get things such as massage, facials, tanning, electrolysis, vein threading, body wraps, Brazilian waxing (oh-er!), achne treatment, beard trimming, mens shaving,foot scrubs (particularly divine!), pedicures, manicures...ok I think you get the picture! Its truly a beautiful place for both sexes. I was given a gift voucher for here and have been back several times since! The foot scrub and pedicures are great, as is the Swedish massage and they're great at the tanning too! The staff are lovely and chatty and the feel of the place is clean and relaxing! Love love love it!

From the owner: Beauty Basement located in the heart of Belfast. Specialize in the exclusive CatioVatial, Mary…read moreChor products and in-house facial treatments. Deep tissue massage,ear candles,Indian head massage,body wraps,scrubs,manicure,pedicure, 2 week polish,gel/acrylic extensions, tanning,electrolysis,advanced waxing,threading.

Every good girl (and boy) deserves treats, and that is what you'll get in here. While it feels a…read morelittle clinical in design, the selection of gorgeous fancy lotions and potions in here is enough for even the most frugal shopper to get their purse out. Also, while the staff sometimes look intimidatingly glamorous, I've always found them really helpful and friendly, and it is the perfect place to go when you want a treat or Boots is stressing you out. It's girly- Saturday heaven!

Everyone's heard of Space NK, right? Well, by far the most interesting thing about it is that the…read morefounder and face of the company, Nicky Kinnard, is a Northern Irish girl! How cool is that? She opened up her first store in Covent Garden years ago and now has shops all over the world. I'm always a fan when something global turns out to be homegrown... Plus, I love this shop. From the outside, it looks like it would be the type of shop in which you'd be judged by what you're wearing, but it couldn't be farther from that. Yes, the products are all pretty high end, but the girls who work there are always on hand to give you some advice, wrap your purchase beautifully for you and send you on your merry way again!

Carrickfergus now has two branches of this little shop, World of Colour (I believe there is another…read moreone in Ballyclare too) - they have a great selection of makeup, nail polish, toiletries and perfumes. They also have useful hints and tips on the shelves, stating whether this product is a good replacement for well known, more expensive brands. I got the W7 concealer which is better than Touche Eclat, and less than half the price! They also sell my favorite brand of foundation for £2 cheaper than anywhere else. To top it off the staff are extremely friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, and they also offer a loyalty scheme.

World of Colour - Could I love this shop any more? Well ok I could own it that would be pretty…read moreawesome. But anyhow, it's a mini sale make up paradise. They sell a range of brand name products for a great discount price. They also sell lots of brand perfume as well as imitation ones which smell exactly like the real deal. Brands include; Benefit, Clarins, Nivea etc. Your basic make up ranges all at discount price, great! I could spend all day in here smelling all the pretty scents and testing out all the samples of make up but I would probably end up looking like some nut job from a loony bin, so I'll resist and call in every now and again.

This is a good branch of Superdrug. Rather larger than my local one, it holds a large range of…read morecosmetics (Check out Revolution, they have some amazing palettes at great prices!) They also stock a great range of haircare, skincare, baby, male grooming, otc medicines, perfume, and some drinks and snacks. As you walk in the door, to your right, there is also an eyebrow threading bar.

I would have thought that in the planning of setting up these shops they would have placed…read moreSuperdrug and Boots a little further apart... but that was probably too sensible an idea. Anyhow, Superdrug is a great alternative to Boots in that the two different shops offer different make up brands, e.g. Boots sell No7 and Superdrug sell Gosh. Now to all those men out there who are reading this it probably means nothing to you, but for us girlies it provides a good range and variety when we're out buying out necessities (yes, they are necessities!) and although both ranges are fantastic brands, some times one will offer better deals than the other. The staff here are friendly and helpful, I got totally confused in here the other day when I was looking for some bits and pieces and instead of laughing at me (which I wouldn't have blamed them for) the girls really helped me find what I was looking for. For this, Superdrug earns brownie points and it ensures I will return again.

Pretty big shop right in the centre of town, very good make-up selection. great for gifts.read more

This chemist is part of a chain of shops well known in the North Down area. This particular one has…read morea very busy pharmacy department as it is situated next door to a large General practitioners . It is well laid out and the staff are very helpful and friendly. There are always lots of good brand name products on offer at very reasonable prices and they not only sell the usual toiletries and make up but they also have a wide choice of cleaning products . I was able to walk into the store and avail of the passport photographic service which took less than ten minutes before I was walking out with the beautiful mug shots in my hand and I still had change out of a fiver. I have been to this chemist on lots of occasions and I have always come out with something that I have found to be a lot cheaper than other stores especially in their perfume department.

Never mind Sally's, this is the place to go if you love Salon Brands with low prices. I go here…read moreevery couple of months an top up on the latest hair care products for a fraction of the price. They stock all the beauty and hair salon secrets to giving you the perfect tan, hair, nails and skin. Not only that they have a vast array of fascinators, hats, shoes, fake fur stoles, hand bags and purses,to finish off the perfect look for a wedding guest or for a day at the races.

From the owner: Previously Metro Hair & Beauty Wholesaleread more

This is a bit of a strange one, so let me give you some context. It was my girlfriend's birthday…read morecoming up and she had been pretty heavily hinting that she would like some MAC make up for it. In fact a few weeks before we had a little bit of a scouting mission to MAC so I didn't mess up too badly when I went solo. Anyway the week of her birthday arrived and I headed to MAC solo. Any men reading this will realise what a daunting prospect this is, it's like being thrown in to a foreign land and being expected to fend for yourself. Luckily it's located right at the entrance of Debenhams, so once you cross those doors you're pretty committed. I went in and I obviously looked confused as I was approached by three members of MAC staff, luckily I was armed with my phone and had notes to refer to whilst looking at all the make-up. The staff couldn't have been more understanding, firstly understanding that I didn't have a clue what I was talking about and secondly patient. Anyway they eventually helped me purchase a Palette. I think I got as much kudos for getting the present on my own as I did for the actual gift. Men, take note! No longer shall you be afraid to venture in to the world of cosmetics!

The MAC counter is located within Debenhams and is a very good value high fashion but high quality…read morerange of cosmetics. The colour selection and staying power of the eyeshadows are hard to beat. It can be very busy at weekends, so you might have to wait for (or book) a personal consultation. However, a consultation is worth waiting for as the staff are all very friendly and great at what they do. The Christmas palettes are lovely gifts, although they do sell out very quickly.

SemiChem is in the bracket below Boots I would say. In that you don't get the huge selection and…read morethe great advantage points but you will maybe pick up a few more bargains if truth be told. You can pick up some really cheap stuff in here but I have always found that the stuff that was going cheap was never anything that I wanted to buy, but thats just me I guess. In this particular store, the staff are pretty dead on and you won't have a bad shopping experience. The store is nice and clean and tidy so you certainly wont have any problems. Also, as a plus point, you can get parked near here pretty easily so that is a huge bonus for me anyway.

I am a frequent visitor to Semi Chem for the cheap toothpaste, reduced price face creams and sundry…read moreother household cleaning stuff. Even if I've bought only a niggardly piece of soap the staff nearly always dutifully trot out the weekly perfume offer which may be good value but not the type of purchase that you throw in along side a box of washing powder or whatever other mundane item you've just picked up. Still, it's useful to look into these if it is time to buy a present. There is also an increasing amount of random bargain items like packets of dried fruit, sugar, kitchen utensils and stationery as Semi-Chem tries to keep ahead of the squeeze from the proliferating Pound Shops and other discount stores.

Kind of the original sort of ethical shop that was, as everyone knows founded by Anita Roddick and…read moreis still a shop dedicated to environmental products and this sometimes pushes the prices up a little bit. The shop always smells great and you can get an amazing selection of soaps, skincare, shampoos and bath stuff. It maybe isn't as good as the legendary Lush, of which there is quite a big one in Belfast but the Body Shop is still pretty good. The staff in here are all young girls, which is good and bad, they can be friendly but they can also be a little bit aloof as well. Its based in the Bloomfield Shopping Centre which means it has excellent parking near by, access to plenty of ATMs, is easy to get to and there are plenty of other shops around which makes this wee shop really convenient to pop into.

This Body Shop has been in the same location in Bloomfields Shopping centre since its conception…read more It is one of the only ever present retail outlets in Bloomfields that has stood the test of time, this says a lot for the place. In a competitive shopping centre it has fought off many rivals. To be honest I do not really like The Body Shop, its super ethical and over priced if you ask me. All there products are amazing but as I previously mentioned they seem change the prices far too often. This Body Shop is in a great location and is always a decent bet if you are looking for a present for a female. It shows that you care about the planet as well as caring for them. It works on so many levels. With good parking, ATM access in Bloomfields Body Shop is thriving.