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.

Wow! Check out the window display! I would have taken a photo regardless of requiring a pic for…read moreYelp! Endless lotions and potions are stacked tetris-style on shelf after shelf covering all the available window space and making your head spin with the seemingly infinite hair pampering options available! If you have afro hair and like to coax it into any style of your choosing then I can't imagine you could go away empty handed! They also sell hair dryers and styling tools, hair dye, wigs, weaves, clip in hair extensions and a huge range of hair accessories. On top of this they have a huge variety of body lotions and skin creams and a selection of makeup. It would be easy to feel pretty overwhelmed by the vast array of products on display, but the staff are helpful and friendly and will point you in the right direction. Sihala provides many products to be used by all women but specialises in a range of products for black people that would not be found in most high street cosmetics retailers, which often tend to overlook the specific needs of black customers. Go Sihala!

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!

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.

Divine Beauty is a hair product supermarket with rows and rows of every hair mousse, gel, cream and…read moreshampoo you can think of. Selling predominantly Afro- Caribbean products, this shop also stocks a good range of high quality hair pieces, wigs and extensions. Displayed on lines of decapitated dolls heads, Divine Beauty has an air of looking slightly disjointed and morose. In the rear of the shop, a hairdresser Aimee is on hand to do weaves and extensions, but again, this looks an unfinished and unprofessional space. There are much better hair shops in the area and the staff are ill informed on their stock, so much so that I went along to purchase a pony tail for my brunette bonce on a bad hair day and the gentleman assistant tried to sell me a ginger piece! I would not make an appointment here for a hair do but I would come in to bag some bobbles.

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.

The Look is a cheap cosmetics shop in the market. It's pretty much what you'd expect from such a…read moreshop with piles of unbranded eyeliners, lipsticks, foundation, eyeshadow etc. As Aniela has pointed out, it's not the kind of place you'd buy from if you have sensitive skin as it can be difficult to find out the ingredients of the products and natural products can be much easier to trust. However, if you usually by cheap branded make up anyway, the makeup here may not be particularly worse in quality and the prices are definitely a bonus if you're counting the pennies. They also sell a huge amount of fragrances and aftershave by well-known brands so if you're into perfume, you may well find something at a good price to suit your nose's taste!

I don;t want to sound terrible, but I just can't really give The Look much more than this. I have…read morequite sensitive skin, so I am quite carefull about what I buy in terms of cosmetics. I would never buy anything here, as I have no idea where it comes from. There are baskets and baskets of different bits and pieces of jumbled up make up, that due to the lack of order, you have to pick up and look at. I felt that everytime I did this, I was getting the evil eye cast over me by the shop ladies. One upside is that they do stock incredibly bright nail varnishes at reasonable prices.

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!

its one of them perfume shops that sells perfume not so much on the cheap, but has such a wide…read morerange, its always worth a look in for elderly relatives! as i was looking for elizabeth ardens Blue Grass for last christmas and they were the only shop to have it! has some fab forgotten perfumes and some new ones, so look in, why smell like everyone else?