Let’s be honest: hanging around in an airport for three hours whilst you wait for your flight can be quite the bore sometimes. I usually get my bags checked in, head straight for a mandatory pre-flight Burger King (it’d be rude not to, right?), browse the shops and wish I was rich enough to buy everything, and then find myself sat around just waiting and w a i t i n g for my gate number. Just get me in the sunshine already, pur-lease.

But, this wasn’t the case when I flew to Cyprus last month. In fact, I had quite the opposite problem. Time flew by and I found myself boarding in what felt like five minutes, all thanks to World Duty Free offering me a VIP experience.

We had an early morning flight that day and so checked in to East Midlands airport not-so-bright but very early at 4am, and after treating ourselves to a breakfast sandwich, we eagerly headed straight to World Duty Free with our cameras in hand and a fresh face ready for some pampering.

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We were met by a lovely lady called Kim, who immediately won us over by offering us cocktails – the perfect way to please a girl, right? Granted, it was 4am, but hey, who am I to say no to a yummy alcohol beverage!?

Whilst someone got to work whipping up our cocktails, Kim introduced us to two beautiful girls who would be giving us a mini makeover ready for our flight. I opted for a light, natural look over at the Dior counter whilst my friend Charlotte went for a slightly more smokey eye at the Clarins counter. It’s rare for me to ever have my makeup done by someone else, and I absolutely loved it. It was incredibly relaxing, and I had the added bonus of more cocktails brought over when I wanted them, along with some chocolates for me to nibble on too.  Our makeover was then finished off with a fragrance consultation which left me wishing I was rich. Each and every Dior perfume I tried was beautiful.

To say Charlotte and I were tired when we arrived at the airport would be an understatement, and a pamper session with cocktails and choccies was the perfect way to not only spruce us up, but perk us up too!

After we’d grabbed a few piccies with the lovely girls that looked after us, Kim took us on a little tour around the World Duty Free store, making sure to introduce us to their best offers and deals. She also persuaded us to try the Vanilla Cinnamon flavoured Baileys they were promoting (whoops, more alcohol!) and oh my word, it was delicious.

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As if we hadn’t been looked after and pampered enough already, we were both gifted with a goodie bag full of mini products for us to take home and try, along with a beautiful Dolce Rosa Excelsa bracelet. I’m a sucker for mini sized products, and so I was over the moon when I got stuck in looking at everything. The Viktor & Rolf Bon Bon perfume was a particular favourite of mine! (Though, clearly, it is all amazing!)

This VIP experience was quite honestly the most perfect way to start a holiday, and I wish I could do it each and every time. A huge thank you goes not only to the lovely girls working at the East Midlands World Duty Free, but also to the man who made our fabulous cocktails and to Caroline at World Duty Free for organising this amazing experience for us.

What do you do to keep occupied at the airport? Are you a sucker for World Duty Free shopping?