My podcast host and I headed to Manchester Central last weekend to check out the Glamour Beauty Festival at Manchester Central.

The event is pretty much a chance to check out products and tips from the main beauty brands. From facials at Pixie Beauty to foundation shade matching woth Fenty beauty, there were plenty of ways to revamp your make up bag and skin care routine in time for winter.

Some of the brands were offering free samples or discounts on the day. Then there were plenty of competitions and prize draws to win more products. I even got a snazzy little tattoo from the Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely stand.

Lovely peonie tattoo from SJP

Throughout the day, there were talks and panel sessions from beauty experts, editors, influencers and the like. Sadly i missed the session on black beauty which featured the amaaazing Candice Brathwaite, the motivational Slumflower and beauty editor Funmi Fetto amongst others.

Other celeb spots included Rylan Clark-Neal, Megan Barton-Hanson and Louise Redknapp.

Then of course there were countless Insta opportunities. If I see another flower wall, I’ll go mad! But, they certainly worked in terms of attracting visitors to stands, entering comps and of course, sharing obligatory pics and hashtags.

What I quite liked was that each day ran in two waves, morning and afternoon, so there was no chance of you losing a whole day in there. and to be honest, you probably wouldn’t need it.

One observation we made was the sheer number of brands who are extending the range of shades they offer. Diversity and inclusion might actually be making a difference!!

At the other extreme, we couldn’t help but notice the number of young girls who all looked the same! Yea, I probably sound old, but the lip pouts, extreme contouring, butterfly lashes and ‘on fleek’ eyebrows, were enough to make me put name down for a consultation at the facial filler stand. Im a confident woman, but i wonder how it would make a younger, less secure woman feel. Maybe that’s another post.

Now, this was the first the event had been held in Manchester and to be honest, I don’t think it had been publicised well. Pretty much everyone I spoke to before and after event didn’t know it was happening! So, first bit of feedback is for the Glamour team to get a wriggle on with promo for next year.

It was fun and the goody bag was IMMENSE! I’m talking Fenty Beauty, Smashbox, Sleek, Origins, Huda Beauty, The Ordinary, the list goes on and on and on… They said it was worth £300 and that’s a pretty accurate estimate. Many of the products were full size too (bonus!). So had I needed to pay the hefty £40 ticket fee, this would have made it worth the trip.

Goody bag of DREAMS!! 🙌🏿🙌🏿

All in all, it was a good way to spend a wet sunday morning. With a friend, childfree and free cosmetics! If you are a beauty buff, I’d certainly recommend for next year, if it returns.

Rating 3.5/5

We were gifted 2 tickets to the Glamour Beauty Festival Live at Manchester Central Convention Centre on Sunday 3rd November