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.

Booked my makeup for a weding (29th dec) wnt in on the day only to find that i had booked the…read morewrong day i booked the 28th instead of the 29th. ..i could have cried but the girl on the desk told me they cud fit me in i just had to wait until they were free which was great for me . Thank god they cud take me as my makeup would not have looked anywere as good as theres The staff were lovely..i seen them help a few customers that came in for make up...the girls doin the make ups were very friendly made u feel very comfortable and the make ups they done looked brilliant. .i loved mine and wil defo b back Thanks again for fitting me in

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.

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

Junction 1 is all about managing your expectations. The first time I visited, I had just been to…read morethe US and been on a serious spree in one of the outlet malls there. I went to Junction 1 expecting the same kind of unbelievable bargains there, especially as Belfast's first Ralph Lauren store had just opened there. Big mistake. You just don't get those kind of crazy prices anywhere but in the states. So, with my expectations of bargains managed right down, I made a second visit and was very impressed with both the range of shops and the prices. The best buys are to be found in M&S and the Next outlets, as well as Gap, Levis and Mexx. You'll get prices which are about half of what you would pay in the high street shops, but you may be buying goods that are a season or two old. As long as you're not looking for high fashion, there are savings to be made. M&S underwear, Next shoes, Gap clothes for children and jeans are all good choices and sadly the Ralph Lauren store has closed down. Maybe it was too expensive to do any business? The whole environment at Junction 1 is really pleasant, beautifully landscaped 'streets' and lots of open space, very much in the style of my beloved US outlet malls. There are plenty of places to bolster your energy reserves for round two of shopping - M&S café, Starbucks, Subway and Moe's Cafe which does very good scones. It's not really a place to take the kids, although if you have to, you could bribe them with a visit to Adventure Island, an indoor play area. Sadly you can't drop them off there and collect them 3 hours later, you have to actually stay with them. Now there's a niche in the market if ever I saw one.

Junction One is my kinda shopping experience...cheap, easy to get around, and tons of wonderful…read moreshops all in the same area. Heaven for most girls, and even for some guys (my dad's a huge fan, but he doesn't like to openly admit it). This place has really taken off since its opening in six years ago. Us poor Norn Ironers now wonder what the heck we were doing paying full price for all those clothes / shoes / accessories / cosmetics / other bits and bobs when you can get up to 60% off such things in Junction One. I've gotten so many things here over the years, many from shops which are long since gone (RIP Logo...darn that recession), and for really genuinely good prices. Ones to definitely check out are Next Clearance (no changing rooms is the only let down here), All Wellan Good (*really* cheap makeup and toiletries), Cosmetics Company (top brands such as Bobby Brown and Elizabeth Arden feature here, but you'll get them for a good bit cheaper than on the high street), Mexx and Tom Tailor. Unfortunately, as I previously mentioned, a few shops have closed over the years, including the awesome Ralph Lauren store and Pilot. One other slightly negative note is that the cafes are really quite expensive...no 60% bargains to be had in these! All in all, a tremendous shopping experience, and one which you won't regret.

A choice of two - one inside and one outside the Tower Centre. Great shop for making savings on…read moreeverday toiletries, perfumes, hair products etc. They sell other stuff too, sch as as cleaning products and small items such as tights, etc. The one inside the centre is small and can get a bit congested a he en of the aisle next to the till and also at te far end of he shopwhre you turn to come down the other side of the aisle,. Another problem area can be the display baskets at the entrance, but provded you watch out you'll avoid bumping into them. For more space and more choice, the one outside the centre is ideal, but the one insideis good if you are in a hurry and justwant to pop in for something quickly. Watch out at Christmas time for gift sets and gift items which are often good value.

Really good alternative to Boots. Everything is so much cheaper. They offer for example high…read morequality shampoos which can be found in boots for double the price. They don't have a massive shop but they do have a good selection of products.

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.

Lovely modern salon with so much space. Offers great treatments and professional product such as…read moreDermalogica, le chat nails, sunjunkie & white to broen tanning!

From the owner: Body & Soul Beauty Clinique offer 3 treatment rooms which will make you feel relaxed and chilled,…read moremanicure and pedicure area and spray tanning facilities.

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.