Bye Bye Brussels Beauty

Can you tell I have a thing for alliteration?

So, a long time coming, here's a little tribute to all the little beauty bits that I will miss about Brussels:

 (for those of you new to this blog, I have just moved back to London after a four year stint in Belgium and the blog and I are trying to adjust to the new state of affairs.... )

1) The pharmacies for all the lovely and very cult French brands they stock, like Nuxe, Caudalie, La Roche-Posay, Lierac etc etc.... yes you can get them all here, but it's the convenience I'll miss, they are literally everywhere in Belgium, whereas you have to hunt them down a bit here. I'm particularly hankering after the Effaclar creams (click here for review) again as the stress has made my skin flare up again *sad face*.

2) Ici Paris XL, but ONLY because they stock Erborian BB cream which is completely amazing and generally completely ignored in the beauty blogging world. What can I say? People just won't listen up.

I can heartily add that I do NOT miss the Ici Paris shopping 'experience' however.

3)Natural cosmetics seem more readily available in Brussels, especially those uber-hippy all organic, all fair-trade, no-nasties brands. I'm by no means a organic fanatic but sometimes you like to feel the inner peace which comes with showering with a vaguely rose-scented, non-lathering shower gel which is supporting a precious aloe harvest in a small Mexican village.... Look, sometimes it makes me feel better, ok?

4)MAC. It was literally a 20 minute walk from our flat in Brussels. Now I have to take the tube. *tuts*

5) Limited Editions. No one in Brussels gets that excited about limited edition Chanel polishes or the new Dior palette, or whatever, which means they are pretty much always around if you want them. They are still selling Chanel Mimosa for the record. I could always be guaranteed of getting any limited edition product I was after without the mad rush we have here in London. We are just too informed now.

HOT TIP: For those in Brussels the Planet Parfum branch in Midi Station stocks pretty much every Chanel polish that's been discontinued, so if you're still after Mimosa, Morning Rose, Peridot, Rouge Carat....go check if they have them there.

6) Salon Waxing. Soooo much cheaper there as it's considered essential maintenance and not a luxury. However I think that I have FINALLY just hit on the secret to longer-lasting leg smoothness.... it may be a bit contraversial but I will promise to post on this soon.  Remind me if I forget and you're dying to know ;)

7) Free samples: They are quite generous with samples in Brussels, they'll always chuck in a few perfume vials or some skin cream sachets. In London I always have to ask quite cheekily and I get all embarassed because I'm a bit English like that and don't like asking for things....

But for all that I'll miss in Brussels I'm so exstatic to be back near Boots, Superdrug and the entire realm of discount online beauty shopping.... I don't even know where to begin. If you're a UK lass, brought up and bred on one's proximity to Boots, try living without for 4 years and then tell me I'm a fruitloop.