London Calling: Covent Garden

After getting a really lovely response on my Borough Market post last weekend – you really enjoyed it didn’t you Mum? – I thought it might be nice to carry it on as a bit of a series, a regular on the old blog, a little outlet for those planning on coming to London that need some recommendations/inspiration on where the cool kids go* or for those living in London but like me, take it for granted and don’t explore it enough.

*Apologies for the use of the phrase cool kids, which without a doubt confirms that I am a) the total opposite of the definition of that phrase and b) well, just a bit of a knob!

Anyway, cringey phrases aside, this weekend I decided to put my tourist hat on – don’t worry, despite being a total geek I don’t actually possess a ‘Tourist’ hat – and head off to show you some more of my favourite London hotspots. Oh, and eat lovely food, drink too much coffee and spend way more than my purse/boyfriend would like me to. Jesus, the things I do for my blog and my readers. Such a trooper!

Enter one of my favourite places in London (…and the world) and also a beauty lover’s heaven. Girls – and guys that get dragged along by their girlfriends – I give you the best of Covent Garden.

Covent Garden is easily one of my favourite places to shop, mooch (gotta’ love a mooch), have some food, grab a coffee and just people watch.

There are so many unbelievable shops, restaurants and touristy outlets in Covent Garden that I’ve really tried hard to narrow it down to my favourites. So forgive me if I miss any biggies. Or have a thousand favourites.

Let’s start with the big guns. The oh my god I’m in heaven Makeup and Beauty stores.

If you’re a MAC fan, you’re gonna want to head over to this store. Two storeys worth of make up goodies combined with the fact that the makeup artists actually leave you alone and don’t pester you once you’ve told them you’re “just browsing” (does that make me anti-social? #SorryNotSorry) makes this one of my favourite MAC stores. I know MAC can sometimes be thought of as a “higher end Makeup for beginners” but personally, due to the ridiculous shade and texture range of their eyeshadows and lipsticks, I’d say it’s probably my favourite brand. Well, my joint favourite brand along with (the sometimes eye-waterlingly expensive/”I feel sick handing my card over” Nars range.

Talking of Nars, my next stop consisted of heading into Covent Garden’s Seven Dials area to *Hides the purse and guilty face*… Space NK. Where else?

I actually never got many pictures inside as the shop assistants gave me and my – let’s be honest, pretty huge dslr – camera a look that would make you think I’d killed their mum. (and also caused a “what’s your problem bitch” from me. In my head, because I definitely didn’t have the balls to say it to their face)

Things that caught my eye/put on my list to check reviews of before I go back and rape the store –

• Oribe dry texturizing spray (although I may have to make a cheeky pit stop to Boots to check out Charles Worthington’s Volume and bounce texturising spray – a dupe of the Oribe according to Amelia)
• Hourglass Ambient lighting blushers – which aren’t actually in stores yet, but I did have a good chat to the shop assistant about them – oh I love a good beauty chat, I do – and let’s just say, you’re gonna see me haulin’
• The whole Sarah Chapman range. Say no more!

This Costa is my favourite Costa ever FYI – yep, I have a favourite Costa, I’m that cool – just off of Seven Dials down on Shelton St. Huge and cosy, love! Oh, and it’s also opposite Rokit, which is where I headed next. With a very quick OOTD squeezed in between…

Followed by a quick lunch break at Itsu – which I failed to photograph in my Hangry (hungry and angry for anyone not in the know. But as I – always late to the game Ellie – am in the know, I’m positive you will be too) – state.

… before heading to the heart of Covent Garden, the market, entertainers area – definitely not the official name for it – and the walkway. Oh, and Long acre street which quite frankly deserves a post in itself, but as I was too engrossed in my shopping and never got any pictures, so I’ll have to save that for another time 😉 (I do however, highly recommend the H&M, Zara, Jack Wills, Muji and The Garden Pharmacy on that street though. *mentally zones out, day dreaming of all purchases I wish my purse would allow me to make*

And that I think is where I’ll come to the end of this little Covent Garden appreciation post as I a) have probably bored you all to sleep by now zzzzz and b) really can’t be fucked arsed bothered to spend another 3hours uploading more pictures with my painfully slow internet. #ShitBloggerSays

To conclude – Amazing (like, seriously amazing) beauty stores, every high street – and lots of high end – Fashion shops too, so many restaurants it almost takes a day to chose where you’ll eat and generally just an amazing atmosphere. And lots of lovely architecture too.  Yeah, because I really go here for the architecture…