This week, I’ve decided to start the first of my ‘Follow me around’ series. I’m lucky that I get to travel quite a bit doing what I do and end up in all sorts of weird and wonderful places, magical makeup and beauty havens as well as many pretty normal (but just as interesting in their own way!) places, ha ha and thought you might like to virtually join me!
First up…Cocktail Cosmetics!
Sutton Coldfield, a town in the suburbs of Birmingham (about 10km from Birmingham city centre) is home to any makeup obsessive’s idea of heaven…Cocktail Cosmetics! A makeup and beauty emporium, filled with all manor of exciting things. They stock brands, especially US brands, that are usually pretty difficult to get hold of and often come with expensive postage and customs charges. Brands such as Jeffree Star Cosmetics, OCC, Morphe, Beauty Bakerie, Milani and LA Splash (some of my personal favorites!) to name just a few!
I’ve been a regular online Cocktail Cosmetics customer for a good while now and have always been impressed by their range of stock, but their customer service definitely deserves a mention…brilliant! Their delivery times are fast too, even at busier times/ at new product launches, they still aim to get your products to you asap and in the best possible condition (they package your products really securely). They offer free UK shipping on orders over £50, which let’s face it, my orders usually are, ha ha, but also other reasonable delivery options on all deliveries. If you order before 1pm, they do aim to dispatch same day! You can pay slightly more for guaranteed net day delivery if you need, which is a great option to have, but otherwise it’s a flat delivery charge of £4.25 for the UK, £8.95 for Ireland and they do also ship to most of the rest of the world too.
I actually visited the Cocktail Cosmetics store at the start of June. Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ new Velour Liquid Lipstick shades and Skin Frosts were launching…arghhh! A bit of a drive from North Wales, yes, but totally worth it and I’ll be going a lot more regularly now. With the help of sat nav, the shop was really easy to find on the high street and was really pleased to find an inexpensive car park (pay and display) down a small road opposite and less than a minute’s walk away!
Let’s have more of a mooch around the store itself…
The shop is gorgeous, really cute decor and well laid out. It’s so good to actually be able to test things too rather than using guess work and online swatches alone like most online only makeup purchases rely on! Plenty of makeup wipes, tissues and little bins around the counter tops, seems like such a trivial thing, but as you would all probably agree, really annoying when there is none or you have to ask someone every time! Even the shopping baskets are cute! They’ve taken the time to make the shop fun to shop in and an easy an pleasurable experience. Kudos to Cocktail Cosmetics for making otherwise harder to get brands available to us here in the UK and Ireland and at very reasonable/ comparable to US prices too.
I met the lovely Bethany, Makeup Artist at Cocktail Cosmetics when I visited and just want to mention how helpful she was and an absolute pleasure to chat makeup with! She had great product knowledge, a clear passion for makeup and helped when I need it and was also happy for me to just do my own thing, which is not always the case in other stores. It can be so frustrating! I’m really indecisive and was in there way longer than I needed, ha ha, but I just liked the fact that I felt like I could take my time, try stuff out and make sure I got everything I went in for! If you visit and are fellow makeup artist, Bethany is great for an extra opinion and chats and if you visit to pick up a few makeup treats for yourself and are unsure, she’ll be able to point you in the right direction!

I picked up –
+ Jeffree Star Cosmetics Skin Frosts in ‘Ice Cold’, ‘Peach Goddess’ and ‘King Tut’
+ Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipsticks in ‘Mannequin’ and ‘Rose Matter’
+ Saucebox ‘Etude’ Eyeshadow Palette
+ Violet Voss ‘Sexy and Eye Know It’ faux mink lashes & black glitter
+ Morphe 35C Palette
+ Milani Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow single in ’04 Bella Caffe’ & nude lip pencil
+ Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip Liquid Lipstick in ‘Fortune Cookie’
+ Morphe spare lash tool and mini shader.
Lyd x
PLEASE NOTE:
I’m now based in Cork, Ireland. Although I do still take select bookings for North Wales/ Cheshire and Dublin (get in touch for more info) and am available to travel country wide…I’m mainly taking makeup bookings for Cork City and surrounding areas.
As a bridal makeup specialist, I do get booked up well in advance so if you’re looking for wedding makeup in Cork contact me asap to check availability, secure your date and avoid disappointment! I’m freelance and travel to your home/ venue of choice.
Also available for makeup for any occasion/ event, lessons and master class makeup…find more information and a full list of services here.
Contact us for enquiries/ bookings and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
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