For those who are in desperate need of some self-care ahead of the frantic festive season, Amaranth has all the deals you need.
You can get a Dr Hauschka ‘one hour to myself’ facial for just £39 (normally £55).
ADVERTISEMENT
Or book in for a 30 minute consultation with a nutritional therapist, with up to £20 to spend on supplements, for only £15.
All their Black Friday deals will run until the end of November – you can book by calling 0161 518 1334.
The Royal Exchange building
L’Occitane
Perfect for Christmas shopping (or for a bit of pampering for yourself), L’Occitane is a much-loved brand for beauty and fragrance.
ADVERTISEMENT
Its shop on the Market Street side of the Royal Exchange is knocking 20% off all its full-priced products this weekend.
The deal runs from November 25 to 28.
The Body Shop
The deals are running for ages at The Body Shop, with prices slashed for almost a fortnight.
There’s 50% off Black Friday collections between November 18 and 30.
Up until November 23, you can get a free gift when you spend £35.
ADVERTISEMENT
And there’s 20% off for all Love Your Body Club members, which is free to subscribe to, right up until November 30.
French Connection
French Connection is discounting products right across its fashion and home collections.
There’s 20% off the lot – including things that are already on sale.
The offer’s running until November 29, and there’s a chance to win your Black Friday spend in store.
Yards Store
This menswear shop on Old Bank Street stocks massive brands like Carhartt, Patagonia, Paul Smith, Barbour and Fjallraven.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now’s a good time to start browsing if you’ve not already visited – it’s 20% off in store.
The deal has already started.
Lululemon
For activewear that will last through countless workouts, Lululemon is always a good bet.
The shop, which faces out onto St Ann’s Square, is running big discounts for Black Friday.
You can get up to 30% off in store on the day itself.
Featured image: The Royal Exchange
Shopping
Beloved Danish lifestyle and home decor store Søstrene Grene to open new site in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
Stockport has been given the ‘Grene’ light, as a beloved Danish lifestyle and home decor brand is opening in the town’s centre.
Known for its contemporary – yet surprisingly affordable – home decor, furniture, and stylish lifestyle products, stepping foot inside a Søstrene Grene is store is arguably unlike any other experience on the high street, thanks to its unique layout and winding aisles making it feel like you’re discovering something new around every corner.
Founded in Aarhus in Denmark back in 1973 by Inger Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen, Søstrene Grene – which translates as the ‘Green Sisters’ – is now led by Grene’s sons, Mikkel and Cresten Grene, making sure that while the brand continues to grow internationally, it still stays true to its family roots.
Søstrene Grene will be taking over a spacious 4590 sq ft unit formerly occupied by JD Sports inside Stockport‘s Merseyway Shopping Centre, and it’s already being described as an ‘exciting milestone’ moment for the Greater Manchester town.
Søstrene Grene will be opening a new site in Stockport / Credit: The Manc Group
Shoppers will be able to experience a signature immersive shopping experience when the brand opens in Stockport.
Think soft lighting, classical music, and a distinctive labyrinth-style layout designed to surprise and inspire at every turn – everything Søstrene Grene is known and loved for.
Central to Stockport’s £1bn regeneration plans, Merseyway is playing a key role in the town’s vision of a ‘thriving and vibrant’ town centre, and Søstrene Grene’s opening will be a huge part of that alongside other major projects including new cultural and creative space Stockroom, and the Merseyway Innovation Centre offering flexible working spaces and offices to support local businesses.
The beloved Danish lifestyle and home decor store is known for its affordable prices / Credit: The Manc Group
“We are looking very much forward to opening our first store in wonderful Stockport,” commented Søstrene Grene Group’s CEO, Mikkel Grene.
“This opening will further solidify our presence in Greater Manchester, where we already have many loyal customers. The location in Merseyway Shopping Centre is superb and this new store will be the first in the area to showcase our newest shopping concept where we have worked especially on evoking the visitors’ senses.
“We want our visitors to feel like entering a Søstrene Grene is like taking a break from an often-hectic everyday life and we cannot wait to spread this feeling amongst shoppers in Stockport.”
Søstrene Grene is opening in Stockport later this year.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Shopping
Why are people queuing HOURS for these viral toys in Manchester?
Thomas Melia
A viral craze has yet again struck the internet, and this time it’s a cute plush collectible toy character even causing queues in Manchester.
In Britain it’s safe to say we are accustomed to a queue or two, but this newest line which has started forming outside a toy and collectibles shop on Market Street has puzzled a fair few Mancs.
The queues aren’t appearing from nowhere either; social media users describe how they’ve walked past the store as early as 7:30am and seen dozens of people standing outside waiting.
The culprit of these queues? An adorable collectable plush toy character that goes by the name of ‘Labubu‘.
Here’s the reason why Market Street has those insane queues.Labubu has made her way to Manchester in all her variations.Credit: Pop Mart
If your follow-up question is, “What is a Labubu?”, don’t worry because we asked exactly the same thing before we ended up nose-deep in the world of these widely popular plush toys.
Labubu is the name of the viral plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to make this worldwide cuddly phenomenon.
Recognised by their bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles (which some people find off-putting), Labubu has become a bit of an overnight superstar and shows no signs of slowing down.
The general public aren’t the only ones all over these famous fur-balls either, as celebs and stars alike have been attaching them to their handbags and sporting them like a prized possession.
And these are some pretty big names too, everyone from global superstar Rihanna to pop princess Dua Lipa have been pictured with a variation of Labubu dangling from their handbag.
People don’t just want to buy these viral toys as they are, part of the reason people are so obsessed with Labubu is the surprise element as you’ll find thousands of unboxing videos online.
Avid TikTok users will come across plenty of unboxing style videos, where collectors predict which colour or variation of the viral toy they will get before inevitably find out for themselves.
Previous Love Island contestant, reality TV star and model Olivia Attwood has got involved in this current Labubu trend, making lots of videos on social media expressing her love towards these plush collectables.
Attwood has become an unofficial mascot for Labubu through her various videos on social media, where she either unboxes or makes reference to these ‘monsters’.
This adorable plush toy character has even made its way into the rap field with UK drill act Central Cee not only having one but five variations of Labubu.
Each Labubu falls under a category or ‘series’, Cench seems to be a fan of the ‘Have A Seat’ range with all his collectibles in a sitting position.
The series all have their own names and limited edition style characters too including ‘Wings Of Fortune’, ‘Big Into Energy’, Pop Mart even launched a collaboration with household brand Coca Cola.
Labubu toys are exclusive to Pop Mart and available in their stores nationwide including Manchester Market Street and soon in their brand-new Trafford Centre destination too HERE.
So, that explains all the queuing, at the very least.
Daisy Jackson -
25th November 2021 
