Fab Find of the Week/Shops We Love: Space NK Oxford Circus
We have to admit to a longstanding special affection for Space NK. Jo was the very first journalist to write about the store when it threw open its doors, originally in Covent Garden (at that time, offering clothing, too).
We’ve watched it grow and grow since then into an absolute mecca for beauty-hounds up and down the UK, for make-up, skincare, haircare, bodycare and with an increased focus on fragrance, of late. But the ‘megastore’ at Oxford Circus is truly something else.
Having been unable to attend the preview last Thursday (the small matter of having 220 people to tea in her garden in aid of charity), Jo suggested to the press team that she visit on Friday – official opening day – and duly hauled her weary limbs to London. There, she joined shoppers who had literally camped out on Oxford Street overnight (probably the first time this has happened since the glory days of the Boxing Day Sales). If ever anyone was in doubt about how much women love beauty products, being in that store on Friday would have blown them away. It was RAMMED. A party atmosphere prevailed. As Jo commented to the PR team, ‘The buzz makes me feel like I’m in New York…’
Oxford Circus is the largest Space NK store yet, and this spaciousness makes a wonderful place to browse and shop a quite astonishing collection of brands. And it means that those brands’ entire ranges have room to strut their stuff, so you’ll find the whole line-up for many of them, rather than an edit. Honestly, the list is pretty endless – from By Terry to Ole Henriksen (an old fave of Beauty Bible’s which has had quite a makeover), via ILIA, Augustinus Bader, Rare Beauty, Sarah Chapman, OSKIA, Erborian, Olaplex, Hourglass, Tatcha, Laura Mercier, Sunday Riley, Sam McKnight – and lots of brand new-to-us names.
Space NK’s signature see-thru make-up bags, just waiting to be filled
Space NK have over the past few years offered an increasing number of ‘Mini but Mighty’ intro/travel sizes of products, which we’re always keen to see. But at the front of the store is a ‘playroom’, with sweetie-like dispensers of a curated edit of the hottest products in the store – they call it ‘The Viral Drop’ – with which you can, if you like, fill one of Space NK’s signature see-through make-up bags (naturally, we chose ‘Beauty Bible pink’, for ours).
So many fab minis, to try before you buy (the full size)
There a clever Fragrance Bar, with an AI questionnaire to help steer you to your match from fragrances that are circulating on a Yo Sushi!-style carousel. You can also have many fragrance bottles engraved, after settling on your fave from the impressive line-up of scent brands which make up a whole new specialist area for Space NK. (Frankly, they always lagged a little behind in the scent stakes, but all that’s changed this year, and you can now find all manner of fab fragrances from BYREDO, D.S.&Durga, Dedcool, Vyrao, Ellis Brooklyn and Kilian Paris, among many, many others.
Space NK’s pros are on hand to share their tips (and glam you up)
Elsewhere in the store, you’ll find beauty services on offer – makeovers, lessons, etc. – and as beauty destinations go, this fab store is honestly unrivalled. (Not least for its incredibly convenient location, at the nexus of a raft of tube lines and bus routes.) But we couldn’t wrap up this report without mentioning the limited edition, put-a-smile-on-your-face item that everyone wants to get their hands on: the first ever collaboration between Jellycat and any other brand, in the form of a small, black, strokeable toy version of one of Space NK’s carrier bags. So popular that the stash was being watched over by two security guards, when we visited.
We’ll be back. And back. And back…
216 Oxford Street, London, W1C 1D
For opening hours, check the storefinder page here
