The regeneration of Hulme in the late'80's and early '90's brought many invaluable businesses to…read morethis area and facing Hulme market, Afro World is one of them. I am a curly girl with tresses which vary from sleek and shiny on a good day, to a frizzy halo- depending on the weather. Although certain high street chains and chemists have woken up to the fact that yes, we are a multicultural Britain with a diverse population who have individual needs, their range of products for people of colour can be very limited. This is not a political rant, it is a cold, hard, consumer fact. Afro World is a saving grace and "limited" is not a word that applies here. Having entered its hallowed doors, you have never seen so many hair and skin products in your life! There are rows and rows stocking brands such as Soft n Free, Dark n Lovely, Ultra Sheen and Pink, to name but a few- seriously the shop sells hundreds of them. The name of this store is a tad misleading as this mecca also sells makes for European and Asian hair types. You can buy a good quality real hair wig for only £29, extensions, and curly or straight pony tails line the shelves and offer you the ability to alter your appearance every day of the week. Handy for Geminis or international spies. The owners really know their stock inside and out. This is an incredible talent, considering how many lines are sold there, and they are always on hand to give you help and advice. Not many men ( with the obvious exception of hairdressers) are able to discuss with you whether you suit a wavy weave or a head full of corn rows in a truly macho fashion. Afro World also sells a good range of make-up for Asian and Afro-Caribbean skin and various hair accessories . It is open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm and on Sunday from 11am-5pm. Be aware that the shop is closed for prayer on Fridays from 1.30-2.30pm. So if you fancy a wicked weave, exceptional extensions or just need to stock up on your Kirby grips then this shop has it all.

I don't have much to add here as I actually popped in to get something for my wife - no she isn't…read moregoing to be sporting an afro or dreads soon, but she did want some pink hair dye picking up! They sell fake hair, wigs, have a beauty and hair section and all sorts of beauty products - you can tell from this description that I'm not massively up on this theme... This is the newer store after the previous one was destroyed by fire and it does look very modern and well laid out. The staff were very helpful guiding me straight to what I needed - a very easy visit, in and out!

This Boots store is the largest in Clayton Square, it is opposite St John's Centre and a couple of…read moreminutes on foot away from Liverpool One and Liverpool Lime Street Station, it is a large store and is a good location within the city centre. The product range is good, they have a nice range of most products you'd expect to find in a Boots, including the Bulldog Skincare range which was the main purpose of my visit. There is an Opticians and Pharmacy area as you'd expect from a large Boots store. I did find the gift-sets to be a little poor, maybe that is because people of Liverpool seem to have raided the shelves as they are currently 50% off, but the selection is much better in Manchester, many big brands which are sold in the latter didn't seem to be sold here, but they did have some cool Twinings Tea gift-sets, which aren't sold in the former, however, they did seem to be damaged, ripped and one was even missing a tea-bag (thieves?) It's a large Boots store, the selection is pretty good, I do feel they should do more to maintain the quality of products, I get it isn't the store's fault to a full extent but they should be maintaining them and not selling products which have obviously been tampered with, prices were OK/competitive in the majority of areas. I do prefer my local Manchester - Market Street store as I find the selection to be slightly better, with more facilities overall, but this still is a good store in Liverpool. 4*

This branch of Boots is excellent. It is situated in the heart of the city centre and has a huge…read morerange of, well, everything. On the ground floor you have a large pharmacy area, cosmetics concessions, perfumes, toiletries, holiday items, food, and hair products. Upstairs has baby clothes and products, a large camera and film processing section and a wide range of electronics. The different products are organised into clearly marked sections and it is easy to find everything in store. If you are a bit lost the staff are more than happy to help you. There are often offers displayed for multibuys and the products are competitively priced. When I used to work in the city centre I bought my lunch at Boots for most of the week. They have an excellent value meal deal where you can buy sandwiches, wraps, salads or sushi, chocolate or crisps and a drink for about £3.50. The food is always of a good quality.

The Body Shop is located on the Upper floor of the Liverpool One, next to Q Park and opposite…read moreApple, while also being close to the large department store John Lewis. Having ongoing issues with cracked lips, I called in here to see if they had any samples or natural products I could buy which would help with that. The store inside is set up like my nearest branch at Manchester Arndale, which is the only other branch of the chain I can recall visiting. The prices here were pretty high for what I'd basically call premium toiletries and accessories, with nothing which looked likely to justify the higher price tag, other than when I asked a few questions about a lip balm to a member of staff, they seemed to try and make it worth the money but a lip-barm which was small, like the size you could get a few of (around 4?) in a little gift set for £1 to £2 in a supermarket cost £5 here which in my opinion is unjustifiable. Samples of certain products didn't seem good for hygiene, for example, the lip barm allowed you to rub it on your hand but considering it's also been rubbed on other people, that isn't as good as perhaps using a sample you can just press down or spray, such as a cream or aerosol, so especially in a store like this with the price needs to be justified having products you can sample easily without these hygiene issues is important. The staff here seemed quite helpful and friendly, admittedly the high pricing isn't their fault. The store smelled nice, it has a relatively nice and modern feel, but due to issues with some products including the sampling and prices it is far from perfect or fantastic, admittedly I'm not the target market for this store so I'm going to count that into my overall rating that this place is far from terrible, considering it had a nice feel with some decent products and friendly, helpful staff I feel it deserves a three-star rating at least.

Can't rate this place highly enough. Surely the friendliest and most helpful Body Shop staff you…read morecould find anywhere (and they are usually pretty good in all their shops); it made shopping here (on the 14th November) a real pleasure. The girls seemed happy at their work too, even singing along to the piped music and it all added to the happy atmosphere. All the usual lovely products on offer that you'd expect here of course: scents, soaps, make-up, candles, gifts and so much more. After we made our purchases we were also given some gorgeous free gifts (special offers this month) and extra free samples. Even my husband was smiling and he hates shopping! Those girls should definitely get some kind of award.

If you have read my review of Tan Zone then you will know my opinion on these types of places and…read moreit is not one which reflects kindly on the morality. In essence a touch of gold is like tan zone but it is better decorated and this is the only discernible difference I can find. I am hardly an expert on these types of places but the prices seem to be extortionate and the young crowd who enter here are being duped into becoming something that they needn't. The staff here seem to be very fond of their own reflection and spend more time looking into mirrors than actually serving customers so I wouldn't say much for the personal touch here to be perfectly honest. On the whole very little difference between here and Tan Zone so if you're part of the tangerine army then take your pick but you may find a friendlier welcome at Tan Zone.

A Touch of Gold, no not a Touch of Frost themed wedding anniversary! Much more than that.. It's yet…read moreanother beauty salon based around Liverpool. You'd think we'd all look like Californians given the dense amount of tanning studios, hair studios and beauty salons we have all over the city and her outskirts. But never mind, this is the place to go for all your waxing, manicure, pedicure and body detox needs! They offer a range of facials including non surgical plumping face lifts, for youthful looking skin! They offer a wide range of other treatments including massage, eyebrow re shaping and tinting and also full body packages at a wide range of prices. I'm pretty sure you can mix and match and create bespoke packages after a consultation so that you cover your every need in terms of vanity! They're ideally located and seem to be very busy. I'd go in, but I'm frightened I'd come out looking like the lovechild of Dave Dickinson and Leslie Ash!

This is an excellent little shop. they don't have much space - but they get an awful lot of stock…read morein. They sell an amazing range of things - from beauty products, body care, hair care to home wares, perfumes and medicines. They will also complete prescriptions. They are very helpful when it comes to advice - the resident pharmacist is very good. The often have some good offers on - half price - buy 1 get 1 free etc. They also sell batteries and sweets. Their prices are very competitive - very seldom are they more expensive than their competition. I usually end up spending a lot more than I intended here!

I never thought I'd step foot in a Lush store again, after setting a promise to myself after a…read morenegative experience at the Manchester Arndale branch, therefore I was shocked only to find myself in another store, a day later to pick up Mother's Day gifts. This store is actually a lot nicer than the Manchester Arndale branch and more spacious and also helped increase my opinion on the Lush brand in general, and as this store hasn't had a review in close to 7 full years, I'm glad to be ending that run with a much-needed review today! Lush are a "hand-made" cosmetics retailer in the United Kingdom, founded in 1995. Lush prides its-self, against animal testing and does not buy produce from those companies. Back to the regular review and this Lush store its-self in Stoke On-Trent, in the Intu Potteries. This is quite a large store, and quite a nice one. I still don't understand why one would go in and buy many expensive products like this only available for one use, just because they smell nice, and in my opinion they is no benefits about having most of these products, compared to going into Tesco and buying things from there, but if you're into this stuff, this store would seem pretty great / cool for you, and of course it is a good place to pick up a gift. They have a lot of "Try me" samples here on breath mints and things like that, although the one I tried has a really strong flavor and probably cost more than a pint of beer in London, which shows Lush can be quite pricey at times with bath bombs costing around £4. If I was to spend that on a toiletry, I'd expect it to last for weeks, not just have one use! Due to the larger space than Manchester, it doesn't seem as much that all the smells are piled into one giant one, creating a mess. The staff here seemed nice, although they didn't keep approaching me in every angle, so basically I went from feeling like Sergio Aguero to a Stoke City footballer, or even a lower standard than that (I know, hard to believe) This store is in a reasonable location in The Potteries too, it is right up the sleep slope on the ground floor (I think), close to lifts. (I cant be more specific as I've only been to Stoke once, when I had this visit!) This store is a nice store really and it is quite spacious too, and a good place to go if you're into that sort of stuff, but I simply don't see the point in it and just see it as a designer brand for toiletries. I'm sorry Lush, I just don't want to switch from the likes of Dove and Radox. This store is still a nice store, and I feel it deserves a solid 3 stars, but due to the pricing of most items, I can't think of a reason to warrant any higher.

A great Lush store, loads of room to roam/browse the various lovely smellies. Staff are always on…read morehand to help with questions and they are extremely knowledgeable about all their products and give sound recommendations for what you are looking for. The Herbalism face wash is one of my favourite products, it ex-foliates gently and leaves you face smooth, soft and clean feeling without any greasiness or drying out of the skin. Another favourite is the Honey I Washed the Kids soap is smells absolutely amazing. I love the fact all the products are natural and good for the environment - some products are a bit pricey but the quality is always consistent.

Whilst having a wonderful weekend visiting the Shrewsbury Flower show we came across a lovely row…read moreof independent shops which included Roobarb, what a lovely welcome form the staff. Nothing was too much trouble from these lovely ladies. I didn't know where to look at this colourful gem. I bought a number of items and I will be back soon.

From the owner: Roobarb is a lifestyle shop selling amazing ladies clothes, jewellery, scarves, hats, gloves plus…read morehandbags & homeware.