Savvy mum saves £156 in TK Maxx thanks to secret hacks – and she’s sharing them with everyone

AS TK Maxx expands its luxury cosmetics lines, Suzanne Baum went bargain hunting at the Brent Cross branch in North London.

I WAS warned to get there early to land the hottest deals. So I headed over for 8:45am, 15 minutes before the doors opened . . . and found a queue of other savvy shoppers.

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Inside, on a floor once dominated by clothes thrown around like a jumble sale, were row after row beautifully stacked with make-up.

I resolved to find a new eyeshadow palette and soon spotted favourite brands including Elemis, Vichy and Clarins, for less than half the RRP.

NARS, Shiseido, Anastasia and Huda Beauty also stood out.

I got my hands on a Kiko foundation costing £4.99, reduced from £15.99; a Pixi lipstick and liner for £6.99, reduced from £18; a Maybelline Mega Plush Volum’ mascara, £3.99 reduced from £7.99; plus an Anastasia lipstick reduced to £7.99 from £29.99.

And that was just for starters.

The huge variety of skincare is where I found the real steals and, as a beauty journalist, I know how the price of some of the lesser-known names can make you squeal.

A few more that jumped out at me were This Works moisturiser at £19.99, usually £52; Lange Paris night cream reduced from £105 to £19.99; and Skin Pharmacy Collagen Time Reversing day moisturiser at £12.99, from £99.90.

If that isn’t enough to lure in shopping shunners, I don’t know what is.

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Dig deeper

With TK Maxx stock you don’t really know what to expect.

On the surface, it is well organised. But as you rummage through, you often come across items that are noticeably damaged. The box might be ripped or frayed at the edge, though the product is intact.

Consider this when gifting someone a product and dig a bit deeper.

Another drawback is the offering of old stock rather than new launches – not ideal if you are chasing current stuff but great if you are a sucker for a golden oldie.

I didn’t feel maxed-out with the money spent or through exhaustion.

Suzanne Baum

The staff were super-helpful, clearly very happy to be back at work after the lockdowns and on the ball if I couldn’t find something.

One lady sifted out a concealer stick I was looking for, lost between a stack of Max Factor foundations. That was impressive.

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It didn’t take long for my basket to stack up and that’s without the one thing I came here to get: Eyeshadow.

Chucking in a £4.99 Laura Geller palette, reduced from £29, I thought about stocking up on a few. After all, that is the price of a fancy coffee.

With the total cost of my eight products coming to less than £50, rather than £197, I didn’t feel maxed-out with the money spent or through exhaustion. TK has the Maxx factor.