It seems hard to believe but the festive season is coming.

Soon the sight of office colleagues staggering along arm in arm wearing Santa hats will become a regular feature on our High Streets. Restaurants and clubs will be packed with revellers and Noddy Holder will be shrieking "It's Christmas!"

Don't get me wrong, I enter wholeheartedly into the festive spirit, which includes getting glammed up. I've found a whole new world of discounted leading beauty brands, professional salon products and expert advice to help me in my quest to be the belle of the ball.

The Hair Store sells salon products at discounted prices.

And, if you can see your way past the shocking colours and annoying split screen design, you'll find leading names like TiGi, Redken, Fudge and Paul Mitchell at your fingertips.

Products are arranged by category into shampoos, conditioners, colour, electrical and accessories, styling and beauty. In most cases you'll need to select your hair type first (fine, curly, coloured, dry), so you'll only be shown relevant products. For styling you can search by hair or product type such as lacquers, gels, mousses, lotions and straighteners.

There are plenty of electrical appliances too with hairdryers, waving irons, hot brushes, straighteners and curling tongs from big names as well as an excellent selection of brushes, rollers, clips and combs.

Delivery costs between £1.95 for one item and £4.35 for five or more items and takes about seven to ten working days.

Escentual is a fantastic online beauty specialist with a sleek, well-organised site, which boasts loads of excellent features. The beauty helper, for example, is packed with interesting articles and tips on every beauty subject imaginable.

The list of brands isn't huge but does feature comprehensive ranges from selected names like Clarins, Christian Dior, Vichy, Tisserand and Crabtree &

Evelyn. Search by category (cosmetics, skincare, bath and body) and then by sub-category or simply click on your preferred brand and start loading up your basket. When you've finished add £1.95 for delivery, which takes between one and five days.

Cosmetic Bargains doesn't have the same finesse or depth of products but does offer a wider range of brands at knockdown prices. It sells mostly end of lines but promises only genuine products, not samples or testers and can deliver direct in about five to eight days for £2.95.

Products from beauty names like Helena Rubenstein, Maybelline, L'Oreal and Revlon are again arranged by category.

The range is fairly eclectic and changes regularly so you'll need to have a good rummage.

www.hairstore.co.uk
www.escentual.co.uk
www.cosmeticbargains.co.uk