Fashion: Off the peg - Melanie Rickey selects her book of the year - the Space NK catalogue
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Your support makes all the difference.What do you buy the woman who has everything? An Hermes chewing gum holder or Prada backgammon set might impress some, but if you really want to get it right, a beauty goodie is the best idea. And we're not talking a Body Shop gift basket either. These days only the most imaginative products will do, as women become well-versed in the most exclusive and elusive brands. We want make-up with "soothing botanical anti-oxidants", hand-cream with "soluble collagen" and hair gunk with "silicone serum". We want Nars, Nuxe, Stila ... and none of it is available in Boots.
Luckily all of these products are available from Space NK Apothecary (five branches in London, and one each in Manchester and Glasgow). The shops are the brainchild of Nicky Kinnaird, and now there's a mail order catalogue too - which means even the most hopeless gift giver can get help.
The idea behind Space NK was to combine "hot new things", silly money and the consumer's insatiable desire to feel special to sell offbeat beauty products and similar luxuries. The catalogue is the best bits of the shops condensed into 32 cute little pages.
As well as make-up, there are wonderful Diptyque scented candles (the Tuberose is gorgeous), the full complement of Philosophy products, and perfume from Antonia's Flowers and Chantecaille. Any fashionable woman will be dying to receive this year's hottest products - the Bumble Band (pounds 7.50), a bra strap-cum-headband, and The Miracle Worker (pounds 30), a Philosophy giftbox packed with travel-sized pots of heaven called things like "hope in a jar" and "time on your hands" (pictured).
You can choose gifts for friends and family, and then drop heavy hints about the item at the top of page 12 - a Philosophy lip and cheek tint called The Supernatural, pounds 17 - or the pots of transparent lip colour by Nars on page 18, pounds 15.50 each. Both are very popular among customers into the "dab it on with your fingers" school of make-up.
Since its November launch the catalogue hotline has been buzzing with orders from Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hawaii and closer to home. Foreign orders take longer to process; UK orders take only five days. So now there's no excuse
Space NK customer service line, for orders, catalogues and information on your nearest branch, 0870 169 9999
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