B in debt after shopping here too much :) (B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful)

Member Name: JStripey

Product:	B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful
Date:	10/09/08 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic indulgent spangly cosmetics! Smells divine. Proper retail therapy

Disadvantages: Expensive and dangerously addictive

If you like your makeup and beauty products simple and practical then this is not the shop for you. But if they simply must be luxurious, sparkly, highly scented and in outrageous bejeweled containers then you must make the pilgrimage to B Never ..... But a warning, this shop is very dangerous.

I sometimes like to oogle the products online but this is nothing compared to visiting the shop itself, which is akin to visiting an Eastern souk specifically for lotion and potion addicts.

I cannot comment on the Stores in the North of the country, but the London outlet is one of those shops hiding in the bowels of the 1830s marketplace of Covent Garden. Like its sister shop (which is just next door), Lush, the smell of highly fragranced herbal and floral products hits you straight away. However unlike Lush one realises straight away that this is not a place where you can explore and come out with something cheapish in a plastic pot to experiment with. B never is a potentially expensive emporium where everything is very attractively packaged often in antique silver and glass bottles which have echoes of North Africa.

This is definitely a moment to abandon your financial worries, pull out your credit card and go crazy. Do not enter if you are kept awake at night by debt related nightmares unless you want to leave feeling depressed. For example a sample of my favorite rich jasmine scented perfume (2 hearts beating as one) costs £18.. a sample! The full version is £48. BUT its fab fab fab! A blusher and brush will set you back £10 and £18 respectively BUT they are both encrusted with jewels and sequins. In fact most of the makeup items are in little ethnic spangly pots.

To be fair you can pick up a shampoo or body moisturiser for about £6-10 and most of the products I have tried have been very indulgent, smelt like heaven and really worked. I cannot recommend enough fagners foot lotion at £7 or tangle conditioner at £6.50. What makes this shop dangerous is that it is totally futile attempting to go in and buy one thing. When I lived in London I had to actually ban myself from entering as I wanted to buy EVERYTHING in the shop.

They are not so free and easy with samples, but if you ask nicely they will give you little pots to try. In general the staff are fairly in your face as with Lush, but I think they appreciate that many people want to explore as well and will back off if you ask them to.

We have Lush in Italy (yay) but we NEED this shop too. In fact I may write to them now as I am certain that Italian ladies would go insane for this shop. It is really a shop for the women (my husband refuses to enter and remains smoking outside and watching the mime artists etc) though they do have wonderful ranges for the more modern man, such as dirty and dear john. I have used some of the dirty stuff on myself and the moisturiser is very light and works well.

It is no surprise that when we were visiting family in London that I insisted on a visit to bnever. With a baby we have little money to flash about at the moment, so I was very careful and just bought a lovely little lip gloss (bebe £7 and MmmmmMmmmmm)...... oh and a moisturiser, er... and a scented fan at £10, which is simply essential! ha ha. If we come into a sudden unexpected inheritance I will be flying home at once to buy more.

In fact, maybe it would not be so good for me if they opened a shop here! ;)

Summary: A posher version of Lush (sister shop) that is expensive but amazing