Manchester Shopping Offers: High-end Beauty Freebies

Hey kittens, Happy Saturday! Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend so far! As a little end-of-the-week treat, I thought I would let you in on two pretty nifty shopping secrets taking place this weekend (and a little longer, for one), especially as one of my favourite pastimes to do at the weekend is a bit of cheeky window shopping – okay, not always window shopping; there’s often quite a lot of real shopping involved!

Both of these offers are gifts with purchases – which I am not usually a huge fan of – however, these high end beauty freebies are really too good to miss out on! Keep reading to find out where to get your paws on them this weekend….

The first offer is taking place for today only (so get your speedy heels on, you only have until the centre shuts at 8pm tonight), but is really too good to pass up if you are planning on shopping anyway. Manchester Arndale is holding an “Oh Goodie!” campaign, where any purhcases adding up to £70 (even seperately, from different stores) from any of the shops within the Arndale on fashion, footwear, beauty and accessories can be added to with a goodie bag. Aside from a cute goodie bag, exclusively designed by local fashion illustrator, Dom&Ink, each person will also recieve two OPI nail polishes.

I love this offer as it doesn’t constrict you to a certain store, or make you spend the amount all in one go. To be honest, if you are planning of buying any sort of new clothes and accessories for Spring, today would be the day to do so – if you’re planning a new SS14 wardrobe anyway, two nail polishes are just a bonus! Plus, both of these are full sized and worth £24 altogether, so it’s a nifty incentive. As OPI are my personal favourite nail polish brand, I had to snap up an “Oh Goodie” goodie bag* myself – especially as orange is set to be -the- colour of the season.

However, if you want a little more time to think about your purchase – the disadvantage of the Arndale’s offer is that it’s running for one day only – or are looking at making a beauty buy yourself, I would highly recommend getting on Harvey Nichols Spring Beauty Gift with Purchase 2014.*

As y’all know, Harvey Nics is my favourite luxury store in Manchester and I’ve made no secret of their beauty hall being my favourite of their departments. So, I was thrilled to hear that this year they are bringing back their famous – and generous – gift with purchase. This time, the requirement is a little higher (you will need to spend £135 on fragrance, skincare, beauty or cosmetics) but the reward is also larger. They’re giving you the chance to receive over £200 worth of high end beauty samples, along with an exclusive makeup bag to keep them in.

Aside from all the gorgeous samples, I love the plastic makeup case – personally, I think PVC cosmetic bags are the best type, as they are so easy for cleaning away any dirt from spilt foundation or some gloopy lipquid eyeliner. This gorgeous pink bag has been designed by illustrator Darren Wall, a London based Art Director who is most well known for his work on Hot Chip’s latest album artwork. My favourite treats inside include mini sizes of Benefit’s Porefessional, Trish McEvoy’s High Volume Mascara and YSL Forever serum. These bags have been available both online and in store for a couple of weeks and will continue to be whilst there’s enough left – so don’t hang about!

So kittens, be sure to head over to my two top shopping picks in Manchester this weekend to get your paws on some high end beauty treats – for free!