Millions flock to Bicester Village each year for discounted fashion at designer outlets. Now it has its sights set on beauty. I visited before Christmas and my fear of finding skincare-slightly-on-the-turn and sad-looking eyeshadows in shades of mint and mauve proved unfounded.
Fragrance was well served, with a festive pop-up store by Byredo, selling even its bestselling candles, fragrances and hand care at what seemed a smallish discount. There were also permanent outlets for Creed, Penhaligon’s, Roja and Molton Brown, all with up to 60% off the RRP.
Neom had 30-odd per cent reductions on its luxury candles and I couldn’t work out why, given that they were still full price elsewhere. (Slightly wonky labels? Overstocking? They looked great to me.)
Benefit’s unit was selling its latest gifts collection at various discounts weeks before their prices were matched elsewhere by Black Friday.
The hope of tracking down discontinued items is often the reason for a visit to an outlet village – my companion succeeded in her pilgrimage for some Fendi boots that had got away – and the same can be true for beauty. Bicester’s Beauté Prestige International, home to Shiseido’s brands such as Nars and Clé de Peau, was in possession of some lipsticks in classic, wearable nudes and reds since replaced by refillable tubes in regular stockists. It gave me hope that I may find my dear departed Sweet Almond Shea Liquid Soap over at L’Occitane, but no dice.
What struck me is that, when it comes to shelf life, beauty has an advantage over fashion at Bicester. Trendy garments have often lost their allure by the time they arrive at an outlet. Beauty aesthetics are slower moving. Bicester stores such as the Cosmetic Company Store (selling brands under the Estée Lauder Companies umbrella, all at minimum 25% off RRP), Clarins and Elemis all contained plenty of great products – many just packaged in seasonal gift sets that may simply have been hogging too much room in a warehouse.
At Bamford I was not surprised to see a large discount on a eucalyptus shower cream that once made my buttocks so cold that I gasped. It was also selling beautiful Christmassy candle trios with a quarter off.
I imagine that, as with all outlet shopping, some days there will be nothing worth buying. But on my visit, there were plenty of beautiful bargains in-store.
