Celebrating the Launch of Kiehl’s at Highcross Leicester

Around a year ago Kiehl’s was a brand that I’d barely heard of, and almost a year on they’re on of the first places that I go to when I’m thinking about buying new treats for my skin. I was lucky enough to be reintroduced to the brand again to celebrate the Kiehl’s store opening at the Debenhams in Highcross Leicester.

A group of us met before hand and made our way to one of my favourite parts of Leicester City Centre, Bath House Lane where the Kiehl’s on Wheels (A Touring Kiehl’s Store!) was waiting to greet us and host a fabulous event. The Kiehl’s On Wheels Van is managed by Hannah, who was the store manager at the Nottingham event I was at around this time last year, and was also with Saff the assistant manager of the Nottingham store. With some lovely mocktails provided by nearby restaurant Turtle Bay (which were lovely and refreshing), we sat down to talk through the core favourites from Kiehl’s as well as some of the new launches.

What’s clear is that both Hannah and Saff both live and breath Kiehl’s, their knowledge on the brand and every product is entirely evident, and their passion for every potion and lotion in the range only make me want to try every product that they make.

We covered a lot of the same products which I went through in detail with in my Nottingham blogger event post, so I recommend you check that out if you want an overview on some of the key products that were mentioned, but there were a few new to me things which stood out, one of which as we were trying products on on our hands, my left hand where I was trying products looked entirely different to my right hand in comparison by the end.

Right hand sans-product, blotchier and a more uneven complexion
Left hand where products were tried

The second thing that stood out was a primer, which I’m itching to buy already, I’m going to try and pick this up at duty free when we are in Heathrow, as I’m already regretting not getting it!

The Micro-Blur Skin Perfector Primer felt incredible, almost half way between a balm texture and a pore filling silicone primer. It’s not just a makeup product that acts as a great base for makeup, but over time it helps reduce the size of pores and makes your base great, even without a primer. My hand was so silky smooth after using this and I tried this on areas of my other hand such as round my knuckles were there’s naturally more lines to ‘fill in’ and it did a fabulous job of evening them out, so I imagine it would be a great base under the skin.

After the talk on the van outside, we moved inside to Debenhams store to admire the new set up, nested just between the MAC counter (I say counter, it’s bigger than some MAC stores!) which has dominated the front of Leicester’s Debenhams store since I can remember, and just opposite the Urban Decay counter.

The shop fit itself is done in it’s Kiehl’s new design – a step away from the old apothecary style drawers, sinks and counters, to a much more modern and fresh feeling approach. There are parts of the newstyle store which feel reminiscent from the old style, such as the neon sign, exposed brick walls, and how can I forget Mr Bones? But the bright white backdrop to products with punchy coloured botanical designs feels like a step in the right direction for a brand which is often groundbreaking in the world of skincare. Annoyingly my camera battery decided to play tricks on me and went from being fully charged to dead in under half hour so I didn’t manage to get many pictures.

We were kindly given a goody bag with a huge selection of samples which are going to be super handy to have as longhaul flight essentials for our honeymoon. I also purchased a few things whilst I was there which I already had planned for prior to going. I picked up the Kiehl’s to go Ultra Facial Cleanser in a travel size for (£9 – great price and size if you’re unsure and want to try), looking at my collection of skincare I was unsure what to take with me for three weeks away for a good all rounder that does a good job of removing makeup, keeping skin clear, and making me feel really fresh faced (which will be needed in the humidity of where we are going!), this was the first thing that popped into my head, and seeing it available as a travel size meant I instantly picked it up.

Secondly I purchased the Ultra Facial Cream, this quickly became a staple last year after I had several generous sized samples of it and I loved it. It was a rich moisturiser that didn’t feel heavy on my oily skin, which is a rarity, most moisturisers I get bored with or only like in the evening as they feel to heavy, but that isn’t the case with this, I love it under everything and at any time of day. Again, I picked up not the travel size, but the smaller sized of the two ‘full size’ tubs – as I didn’t want anything too bulky to take with me and thought this would be a perfect day and night moisturiser for me in one, as I’m trying hard to not overpack on the beauty front and be as concise as possible!

If you’re local to Leicester – or any Kiehl’s store or counter for that matter – if you’ve never been in before I totally recommend going in and chatting to the staff. Their business is built with no advertising just word of mouth – which when you consider that Midnight Recovery Oil sells one globally every ten seconds now, is hugely impressive. They offer personalised skincare consultations and an opportunity to try out products in the store as a mini facial for those which are suited to your skin type, often with samples to take away and try too – so if there’s any products you want to try it’s worth a visit first to ask for a sample to try before you buy.

 

A massive thank you to Hannah, and Kiehl’s for having me once again. I can’t see my obsession with Kiehl’s stopping any time soon. Infact I’m advocating that we see a Kiehl’s opening in the Peterborough shopping centre Queensgate revamp soon, so I can stock up on treats whilst on my lunch break from work!

Are you a Kiehl’s Fan? What are your favourite products if so

rachael-signature

FacebookInstagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr

Helpless Whilst Drying

Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com

Follow:
Share:

18 Comments

  1. Sophie in Wonderland xo
    April 18, 2017 / 8:43 am

    such a lovely write up of the event! it was a fab evening and I loved how passionate Hannah and Saff were and their knowledge is impressive I learnt so much on that evening! beautiful photos too! xxx

  2. lizzgold
    April 18, 2017 / 3:00 pm

    I love Kiehl’s products! They’re brilliant quality and I will always be a fan. It’s one of the few brands that I actually don’t like shopping from though because I know first hand how they work as a company and there’s a lot of elements that I don’t agree with. I’m reluctant to go into detail but I worked for Kiehl’s for a period and I was treated appallingly. It’s just such a shame when the products are so good that they can’t make it work behind the scenes. But clearly that’s not everywhere, glad to hear you had a good experience with the staff you spoke to πŸ˜„ I really want to try the Midnight Recovery Cleansing Oil!

    • April 18, 2017 / 3:28 pm

      Oh god that sounds horrible! The staff I’ve met so far have always been nice and helpful, but I guess it’s the same as most stores one bad manager and everything can go to pot! That does look really interesting, but I don’t really like cleansing oils, or midnight recovery so I don’t think it would be for me haaha!

      • lizzgold
        April 18, 2017 / 3:46 pm

        I realise my experience will be a rarity but it just kind of taints a brand when you know how the treat their staff. I like to think I was always giving great service but working there was probably the worst year of my life, I think I aged about ten years πŸ˜‚ I’m the same with companies who test on animals as soon as they can. It’s just always on my mind you know? I’ll still buy the products if they’re good quality but it’s never the same as a brand you trust 100%. Yeah I’ve only really just gotten into cleansing oils, reckon the Kiehl’s one will be amazing but it’s so expensive 😫

        • April 18, 2017 / 4:02 pm

          I know what you mean, I’ve heard the same from friends who work at certain stores or restaurants and once you know the background it does alter your thoughts and feelings towards a brand!

  3. April 18, 2017 / 3:29 pm

    Kiehl’s on Wheels – what a great name! πŸ™‚ Both the Ultra Cleanser and Cream are great staples! I’ve not tried that primer – sounds really good. I’ll have to get a sample next time I’m at a Kiehl’s counter.

    • April 18, 2017 / 4:01 pm

      Sadly they didn’t have a sample of the primer left in the store or on the van, fully confident it would be amazing on the skin though! Kiehls on wheels is a great name!

  4. April 19, 2017 / 1:15 am

    Lucky you! I love getting samples. Glad you had a good time. Where are you going on your honeymoon? When we went to the tropics in Central America, I packed as little as possible. Micellar water was my go to cleanser.

    • April 19, 2017 / 7:09 am

      Kuala Lumpur for 4 days, then Bali for 10, I have a mini bottle of micellar bottle ready to go but figured I might need something to properly cleanse my skin in the humidity!

      • April 20, 2017 / 3:03 am

        Lucky you! Please take lots of photos! Have a fabulous time!

  5. Sherry Scribbles
    April 19, 2017 / 10:37 am

    You got some great photos from the event Rachael! And some great samples too by the looks of it. Crème de Corps is one of my all time favourite products, specifically the body butter.
    Sherry x

  6. April 23, 2017 / 8:25 pm

    Sounds like a fab event that you went to. It’s always so nice to have people taking the time to explain about their products. I love their Micro-Blur Skin Perfector Primer and Deep Earth mask (blackheads slayer *LOL*)

    • April 24, 2017 / 9:21 am

      That Primer is on my hitlist to get, it looked so good on my hand, can’t imagine the wonders it would do on my face! Ooh not heard of black earth, I’ll be looking at that when I’m next at a counter or store! x

      • April 24, 2017 / 9:32 am

        Ja that primer is fab, get a sample or something. I wear it along without makeup wahahah. Their deep earth cleanser and mask are both very good πŸ˜„ will be fab to know how you got along.

        • April 24, 2017 / 9:49 am

          I wanted to get a sample at the event but they didn’t have any left. I think they’ll have a counter at heathrow before we fly, so hopefully they’ll have some samples there to grab, if I don’t make it to a counter before! Xx

Leave a Reply and Let's Have a Chat