I'm a Beauty Editor, and I Love Boots—This Is What I Always Buy There

During the early '00s, a handful of Sephora stores popped up around the UK for the first time. Although I didn't have any awareness of what a big deal this was back then, I have vivid memories of my 13-year-old self and my best friends taking a monthly pilgrimage to Brent Cross (the journey involved two buses from our homes in the London suburbs and a dash on foot across the North Circular) to spend hours swatching lipsticks and spritzing perfumes there. To us, Sephora was the height of cool, and although we couldn't afford a thing, there was something about that shop that made beauty products seem like the most exciting things in the world. 

Boots, on the other hand, did not. With one on pretty much every high street and in every shopping centre in the UK, it's fair to say that Boots just doesn't have the same level of sex appeal as Sephora. Maybe it's because it's the shop that your mum dragged you to as a child to buy anti car sickness tablets for your school trip (just me?) or where your grandma finds the best deals on her toothpaste. Perhaps it's because a fridge full of limp-looking sandwiches doesn't help the displays of new lipsticks and nail polishes look their most glamorous. Or maybe it's because it's the place you visit every month to stock up on tampons, deodorant and shower gel and then wonder how you've spent £50 on basics once you've got to the till.

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(Image credit: @MICARICKETTS)

However, heading into my thirties, I'm beginning to appreciate the value in a high-street store that you can rely on. While Sephora has come, gone and then come back to the UK again, trusty Boots has always been there—and, when it comes to beauty, it has plenty of hidden gems on its shelves.

From a £14 mascara that's sold every nine seconds to a Scandi skincare brand with a 13,500 person waiting list, Boots has its fair share of sellout beauty products and cult brands. Plus, plenty of the the brands and product the giant stocks hit the trifecta of being affordable, reliable and great quality. What's not to love?

Keep scrolling to shop the best Boots beauty products—from its own best-sellers to my personal favourites.

Shop The Best Boots Products:

1. Make-Up

2. Skincare

3. Bath, Body Haircare

Next up, I swapped my expensive skincare routine for an under-£98 one—here's what happened.

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.

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Mica Ricketts