Space NK - Astronomic Prices! (Space NK Apothecary)

Member Name: glitter_princess

Product:	Space NK Apothecary
Date:	15/10/08 (201 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great products; beautifully displayed; usually in stock

Disadvantages: Rude staff; rather high prices !

It quite often happens that I'll be flicking through the beauty pages of a magazine and I'll come across a product that I know I just have to have. Unfortunately, most of the time in magazines like Vogue or In Style, it's not going to be the kind of brand that you'll find down your local Boots store. Luckily for me, a few years ago I discovered SpaceNK apothecary, which is the equivalent of the holy grail for beauty fiends and cosmetic junkies like myself! It sells lots of brands that are particularly difficult to find, including Kiehls, Stila, Laura Mercier, NARS, ModelCo, Dr Hauschka, Eve Lom and Philosophy, as well as their own make-up range. Of course, if I bought all my make-up from here, I'd be bankrupt before you can say "I really do need a new lipgloss!" but if you're looking for a pick-me-up treat, you really can't go wrong with anything from here.

The stores are all decorated in a very light, airy, minimalist style with white tiled flooring and lots of glass. The lighting is always very good, meaning that you can test products properly, rather than being fooled by dim lighting. Unlike places like Boots or even Sephora, whose displays tend to get rather disorganised and messy, everything in Space NK is always perfectly arranged on their glass shelves and clean. When displaying make-up, they only keep the testers on show, which, while it does keep the store very tidy looking, means that if you want to buy something, you do have to ask a staff member for it, which can be a problem.
Whereas in Sephora, I'll quite often go in for a particular product only to find they've sold out, SpaceNK nearly always have everything in stock and they tend to get new products in far more quickly than their rivals.

The range of products that SpaceNK stock is just fantastic. Honestly, if you're looking for quality make-up or skincare, you won't find anything better than the stuff they sell here! I have never been disappointed with anything that I've bought from this shop (and I've bought a fair few things in the last few years!) They sell a mixture of hard-to-get-hold-of American and French brands (none of which test on animals) and if you're a guy and thinking there's nothing for you there, you'd be wrong! They even do a range created especially for men. Must-try products on my list have to be the Stila lip glaze (£18) which gives a lovely sheer colour to your lips, is scented with fruit fragrance and is packaged in a much copied pen design. In terms of their brands, Stila is definitely my favourite, but other items I'd recommend would be the Kiehls Lip balm (£9), ModelCo's Tan in a Can (£26). I've also had my eye on the Diptyque candles (as used by many a celebrity!) for a while now (maybe when cash permits I'll treat myself! After all, they do cost upwards of £25!). Their own range of make-up is fairly extensive (and slightly cheaper than many of their other products) and I've found it to be good quality. It's particularly good if you're looking for holiday make-up, as they offer different compacts which you can personalise with your own choice of lipstick, eye shadow and blush, minimising the space your make-up takes up in your luggage. They also do a fantastic range of accessories, including eyelash curlers, tweezers, loofahs, make-up brushes and, taking pride of place, a blue squirrel powder brush (£50) that I've had my eye on for quite a while now!

Should you wish to return a product, you'll have no problems as long as the product is unused and you have the reciept.

As you might have guessed, these products don't come cheap - you can expect to pay £18 for a Stila lip glaze (although you'd be hard pushed to find any of these products any cheaper elsewhere in the UK). On the same note, they never have sales or discounted products, so it's not exactly ideal if you're the thrifty type!

However, there's always a down side and for Space NK it's the staff. I have found them to be the most incredibly snooty and rude people that I have ever encountered. I have visited three of their stores (Bluewater, London, and Leeds) and every time I have been made to feel unwelcome and as if I am unworthy of their time. Unlike many shops, they aren't pushy about selling their products and don't pounce on you and try the 'hard sell.' They are, however, aloof to the point of rudeness and catching their attention can be particularly difficult. On my most recent trip, I had to ask an assistant whether they had a Stila Convertible Colour in a particular colour, to which her charming response was to grunt, turn her back on me and march off to find it (to which my sister's response was to say, very loudly and very sarcastically, "Of course, I'll just go and have a look for you!"). Presumably they treat their A-list customers with a bit more care, but for mere mortals like myself, the service is certainly not up to scratch. When purchasing products from SpaceNK, I have never received free samples (which I always do at Sephora and quite often do from Boots) and the whole service is extremely unfriendly and impersonal. However, on the up side, they do wrap your purchase rather nicely and you get a posh looking, minimalist white bag to carry it around in.

SpaceNK have stores in Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bluewater Shopping Centre (Gravesend), Brighton, Cheltenham, Cobham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guildford, Leeds, Manchester, Marlow, Nottingham, Richmond, and numerous stores in London, including one just 50 metres from my office! Temptation... For more details and addresses of particular stores, visit their website at www.spacenk.co.uk.

Despite the fact that I love this shop, I only ever shop here if I really can't find what I'm looking for in Boots or Sephora (where the service is far more friendly!). If I'm going to pay such a high price for a product, I expect to be treated with a certain degree of courtesy.

Summary: Beautiful but expensive products