What on earth would you know about discounted beauty?’ trilled a woman the other day. ‘You get everything for free.’
She clearly knew nothing about my bargain-loving roots, and my grasping prole ancestors.
‘Madam,’ I replied. ‘I am from Birmingham. More than that, I am my grandmother’s daughter. What would you care to know?’
My devotion to seeking out a steal is second to none. And there is nowhere better for this than TK Maxx.
At moments of stress, I take myself off to my nearest branch and lose myself in the soap section.
It’s possible to find high-end skincare ranges in TK Maxx stores and online, including celebrity favourite Eve Lom
Although the firm has a website, this is best done in person so you can sniff out the finest £2.99 bars (variations on lemon, pine and cedar from Florence or Marseilles) and avoid the less successful (dismal berries, coconuts and sundry cheap vanillas).
I use them myself, or store them in my knicker drawer to give as gifts.
TK Maxx’s candles and room scents also require immersion, as many are utterly ghastly.
Basically, do not purchase from its online site unless the brand is a stalwart such as This Works (Lavender & Roman Chamomile Diffuser, £14.99, saving £23.01, tkmaxx.com), or Elemis (Regency Library Scented Candle, £24.99, saving £29.01).
Most swish brands don’t want to advertise their presence, so you have to scour by category.
Recent online finds include my hotly adored Eve Lom Cleansing Oil Capsules at £16.99 for 50 rather than the usual £60, and ritzy Illamasqua brushes at £3.99 each.
Make-up, on the other hand, might have had too many inquisitive fingers in it in-store, so it is well worth investigating this online.
I’ve had a lot of success with ravishing Chantecaille, Shiseido and Stila discoveries.
Hannah loves nothing more then seeking out a steal in TK Maxx or at Bicester Village in Oxford
I won’t buy face cream or liquid eye products when I can’t see the best before dates — which might be sooner rather than later in a discount store — as I might not get through them before they’re past their best.
I also steer clear of foundation, which needs to be perfect to work.
But, currently, one might seek out: Eyeko Limitless Eyeshadow Palette (£6.99, saving £18.01); Pixi Mind Your Own Glow Radiance Palette (£8.99, saving £7.01); Too Faced Turn Up The Light Highlighter Palette (£24.99, saving £11.01); and Tom Ford Velvet Cherry Matte Lipstick (£34.99, saving £15.01).
ASOS (asos.com) is another treasure trove for discounted wares — it’s always laying on reductions or time-based offers.
In the spirit of investigative journalism, I ventured onto TikTok Shop, ‘where entertainment meets shopping’. Maybe if you’re 14.
Within five minutes, I genuinely had to dose up on paracetamol. It’s just so shouty. But it is handy for finding flash sales.
Avoid the weird 20p applicator sponges in favour of branded brilliance.
I spotted the straight-hair obsessive’s favourite anti-frizz treatment, Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray, for £21.60 for 200ml, rather than the usual £27.
Elsewhere, follow showcase.co on Instagram to learn about sales for brands such as Dr Barbara Sturm, Aromatherapy Associates, ESPA, Molton Brown, Philip Kingsley and Ultrasun.
Perfume is always worth Googling. How else would I have discovered that Cabochard by Gres can be had for £14.97 from sephora.co.uk?
If I seek out my beloved Rien by Etat Libre d’Orange, I am confronted by a range of discount options including on notino.co.uk, allbeauty.com and beauty theshop.com.
As I write, Brand Alley has 60 per cent off Floris London Cefiro eau de toilette, (£40, saving £60, brandalley.co.uk).
Meanwhile, Secret Sales boasts a Hermes Terre D’hermes Gift Set, featuring a 50ml eau de toilette, aftershave lotion, and hair and body wash for £72.95 rather than £120 (secretsales.com).
In terms of a jaunt, Oxford’s Bicester Village remains the mecca, with Clarins, Benefit Cosmetics, Beauté Prestige (bearing Nars and Shiseido) and Floral Street outlets, typically with a minimum 30 per cent off. Charlotte Tilbury is also launching there this month.
Visit on a quieter weekday — not least in the run-up to Christmas.
Should you join the membership programme, you’ll receive early access to private sales, while members’ week and birthday treats spell extra savings.
Catch me there, channelling my gran.
RACE YOU TO IT
America’s best-selling cream for the neck and decollete, StriVectin TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream Plus (from £12 for 7ml, strivectin.co.uk) has been reformulated to become a peptide powerhouse. It promises to reduce horizontal neck rings, vertical decollete wrinkles and age spots in a month.
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett, 54, is the face of the new Armani Si Eau de Parfum Intense, available at Boots from Wednesday
The 54-year-old actress is the face of the new Armani Si Eau de Parfum Intense (£130 for 100ml, from Wednesday, boots.com).
She loves Armani Lip Power Lipstick in 108, In Love (£33, boots.com) and relies on Daylong Extreme Liposomal Sun Lotion SPF 50+ (£8.70 for 50ml, cocooncenter.co.uk).
5 SEASONAL SCENTS
(£100 for 50ml, millerharris.com)
Memories of a Greek bohemian idyll: a salty fig with saffron.
(£145 for 50ml, experimental perfumeclub.com)
Cardamom moss and sandalwood musk creates the petrichor of a rainstorm.
COSMETIC CRAVING
I hadn’t concocted a feline flick all summer — too tricky, too fussy, too likely to smudge off in seconds. Cue a single swipe of Lancome Idole Ultra Precise Waterproof Eyeliner (£22, lancome.co.uk) and I am back in love.
This ultra-slim (0.1mm) yet intensely inky felt-tip kohl is such a sophisticated-ooking joy. It’s a cinch to apply and goes nowhere until you choose to remove it.
It launched in black in 2020, and in brown, blue, green and grey this January.
I am wild for pairing the classic jet shade with Lancome Lash Idole Mascara (£25) — also available in a waterproof form — for chic, flatteringly eye-opening lift and curl.