#TOPSHOPBrightonRock

Last week marked the end of the refurbishment of Brighton's Churchill Square with the opening of a brand new Topshop store, and for some ridiculous reason I decided to get up at 7am to attend the launch. Boy was it busy.

Yes, that guy was giving out free Starbucks, and no, I didn't end up getting any. I regretted that for the hour and a half I queued. Now you might think I'm crazy for queuing that long just for a store opening, but there were free goody bags for the first 250 customers. We students will do anything for a freebie.

I also wanted to check out Topshop's AW14 Collection - I've never been able to shop at Topshop easily before as their largest size is a 16, which always end up running about 2 sizes smaller, but having almost hit the 20lbs mark on my weight loss journey I was eager to find out if this was about to change.

The store is huge, and filled to the brim with this year's A/W fashion must-haves: one of the first things I spotted was this blanket scarf, which is so similar to the Burberry poncho, and an entire section of Topshop's own makeup products. There were so many super-soft coats in pastel blues and creams, and jeans galore.  Even better, the store was well-stocked and I even found a few tops that fit me, but the life of a student sometimes means choosing between the essentials in life. If I didn't have an empty fridge I probably would have bought one of everything.

As it was the store opening we were given goody bags, listened to a live dj, could be photographed in a pop-up photo booth and - for the quickest customers - were given free makeovers on the makeup counter. I wasn't a quick customer unfortunately, but I did manage to get my hands on a goody bag filled with Topshop treats. Those lollies tasted so good.

 The lipsticks I got were in two shades - Hazard and, fittingly for the Brighton opening, Brighton Rock - and I also treated myself to a brow pencil. It's not something I currently own as I really am not a fan of the unruly brow look but I wanted to try something new.
The Topshop lipsticks are also a new product to me, as I usually use Sleek or No. 7 lipsticks, but I've heard great things about them and so far haven't had any problems with them. They're long lasting, they don't dry my lips out as some mattes have a tendency to do, and they feel almost satin-y when you apply them. In the first photo below I'm wearing Hazard, in the second I'm wearing Brighton Rock, and I've used my brow pencil in both.

 

My only issue with them is how easily they transferred onto my coffee cup, but even then it wasn't that bad.

The free makeup was, of course, a great incentive for me to attend the launch but honestly the best part was trying on a clothes that I could fit into, when 3 months ago I would have just looked at it wistfully. It's a great place to be right now.