Aside from travelling to far away destinations, spending time with the ones you love and simply just getting away from it all, before you have even set foot on a plane, the beautiful world of travel begins in the duty free. Gone are the days were you would simply pick up your favourite bottle of factor 50 for a bargain price, now Duty Free shopping is a glamorous and ultra luxurious experience for the savvy luxe shopper.

“But this season there is one brand in particular who is  paving the way when it comes immersive shopping experience…”

Whether it’s a penchant for shoes, the latest must have lipstick or the “It” bag of the season you can usually pick it up for a better price or a better deal in Duty Free.

But this season there is one brand in particular who is paving the way when it comes immersive shopping experience whilst also providing some of the very best products on the market and Ali and I were invited down to Terminal 2 to experience it all and shop our favourite products.

It all started around 10 years ago when I worked at The End in Watford, our boss knew beauty icons and one of the first icons she introduced me to was the Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cil mascara which to date is one of my all time favourite high end mascaras and considering the rate the beauty landscape moves at these days, that is pretty damn impressive.

From there I discovered the product that changed the beauty game, the Touche Eclat which again can be found in regular rotation within my every day make-up collection. But the beauty of beauty is, you never stop discovering new and amazing products and this year was no different.

I discovered “My Shade” in the Rouge Pur Couture Mat Lipstick; shade 218 Coral Remix which sent me spiralling into a love affair with YSL Lip products and the newest to hit the YSL Beauty Pop up at Heathrow Terminal 2 is the Tatouage Couture Matte Lip stain. The innovative lip stain is like no lip stain you have experienced before. Gone are the watery liquids we once knew, Tatouage brings high impact, intense colour to all of the shade range, from Blood Orange Pact to Nude Emblem, the seam free finish is absolute perfection and absolute comfort.

And this is where the high tech, immersive experience steps it all up a notch…

If I’m flying over an hour, you are most likely to find me make-up free and in the snuggliest attire I could find and the last thing I want to have to do is apply a full face of make-up just to find the shades that suit me in the Tatouage Couture range, and now you don’t have to.

“Meaning you can experience the most iconic products and shades no matter how you travel.”

At the new Heathrow Terminal 2 pop up, you can try on almost every product in every shade, without a make up brush touching your face thanks to the incredible technology which is integrated to the pop up. Ipads have been built in, with absolute precision accuracy to ensure you really get the most accurate and true experience of the Yves Saint Laurent collection. Meaning you can experience the most iconic products and shades no matter how you travel.

If I’m travelling short haul, I tend to travel ready to  roll when I land at my destination as these trips are often a little shorter and a lot more intense.

“an energetic blend of Sweet black coffee and creamy white musk.”

This is when I get to make use of the Black Opium Photobooth, which is not only home to the most incredible Selfie set up I have ever experienced, I mean see for yourself, but also houses the modern classic fragrance from YSL that has been a favourite of mine for a few years now, the YSL Black Opium fragrance and the new Pure Illusion edition. Which just might be the perfect pick me up when you get to your destination, featuring an energetic blend of Sweet black coffee and creamy white musk.

Aside from all the excitement, it’s also a perfect opportunity to bulk buy those timeless favourites from YSL and as well as Duty Free discounts there’s also great offers which I always take full advantage of such as the double pack of ANY mascara from the collection, whether it’s The Shock or Faux Cil. Then there’s gift sets which I like to pick up for Christmas, Mothers day or birthdays especially for Ali’s step-mum as she loves the Black Opium Fragrance as much as me whilst Ali can never have enough of the Y fragrance and thats my opinion not his, he smells as good as he looks when he wears that.

So thats my guide to shopping YSL beauty on your travels, let me know in the comments if you have any tips for shopping savvy on the go.