The HELLO! Shopping section is where you'll find all the best shopping advice, guidance and top deals coverage. Whether you're after style advice, unbiased beauty reviews, expert tips or gift inspiration (perfect for Valentine's Day or Christmas as well as all year round!), you've come to the right place to help with your next purchase.
Now more than ever we know how stretched all our budgets are, so we want to make sure the advice we give is the best it can be.
We wanted to introduce you to the team of shopping experts we have at HELLO! But also, so you know, if you click on a writer's name in their article it will take you straight to their bio page along with a list of their most recent articles.
This is a team that works really hard to provide helpful advice, reviewing products where possible and reaching out to experts to add guidance in their field.
We cover many topics, from fashion to beauty, health and wellness, travel and so much more. As well, we try to visit brand press days in order to use the products and discover the way various brands make their products, so we always take this into consideration prior to including.
It's important to stress that we would never feature a product we didn't approve of.
While we occasionally run advertisements across the section, this is clearly stated on the site with a disclaimer for our readers.
We have a thorough calendar of shopping events to make sure we don't miss all the big campaigns, whether it's the launch of the new iPhone or the annual Black Friday extravaganza. Deals are everywhere, you've just got to know where to find them, and that's what our team of experts excel at.
We prioritise journalistic integrity, factual accuracy, and also having fun with every story we share.
Meet the HELLO! Shopping Team.
Leanne Bayley
Specialist subject: Beauty: Makeup, Skincare & Fragrances
Leanne Bayley is our Director of Lifestyle & Commerce, overseeing shopping strategy and content across HELLO! She looks at trend forecasts and leads a team of talented editors and writers, and commissions where possible.
When in content mode, Leanne mainly focuses on beauty content and gifting. Her goal is to help readers make the best choices while they’re shopping for makeup, skincare or fragrances - and will always share a discount code if she can find one.
Having worked at HELLO! since 2018 she’s now quite the expert when it comes to Princess Kate & Meghan Markle’s style. And if she can find you a royal beauty must-have on sale, she will tell you all about it.
Leanne is a digital native and has a background at British GLAMOUR, Cosmopolitan UK, ELLE UK, Fabulous magazine, Daily Mail Fashion Finder, Harrods magazine and many more. When she’s not curating shopping content for HELLO! readers you’ll find our resident magpie sharing all of her favourite sparkly #SequinSunday fashion buys on her Instagram account @leannebayley.
Email Leanne with new beauty product launches and commerce enquiries at leanne.bayley@hellomagazine.com and follow her on X and Instagram @leannebayley and @dailybayley9to5 on TikTok.
Karen Silas
Specialist subject: Homeware & garden outdoor must-haves
Karen is a Senior Lifestyle Editor at HELLO! Online and joined the Commerce team in 2020, having worked in digital media for nearly two decades. An online customer since the invention of Amazon, she creates shopping content with a focus on homeware and outdoor essentials, as well as gifting ideas.
She earned a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Washington, and now applies her analytic skills to her role, not to mention calculating the best deals and product rating averages. Although she shops for a living, outside of her 9 to 5 you'll find her travelling, cooking, napping and watching murder shows, and jotting down notes about new products she has tried. Her greatest joy is hanging out with her husband, son, and two cats, Lotta and Pixie.
Email Karen at karen.silas@hellomagazine.com and follow her on Instagram @_karensilas_/ , X and Flipboard.
Katherine Robinson
Specialist subject: Kids essentials & Accessories
Katherine is a Senior Lifestyle Editor at HELLO! Online, and for the past three years has joined the publication’s shopping experts in finding the best deals, newest gadgets and shopping trends - specialising in Amazon and more specifically, what the kids will love.
She pulls on over two decades of editorial experience and is a pro at covering shopping events, including Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day - always digging out the top discounts.
She is an expert at helping readers find the best products for their children and frequently reviews trending accessories, gadgets and new launches.
As a mum-of-two she has years of experience in testing kids toys and parenting gadgets.
Email Katherine at katherine.robinson@hellomagazine.com and follow @kathydelmar on Instagram and @kathydelmarr on X and TikTok.
Carla Challis
Specialist subject: Accessories and Travel
Carla Challis is our Shopping Partnerships Editor and she is obsessed with jewellery and handbags.
Carla's role is varied, and she works with HELLO! loved brands/merchants to strike up a closer working relationship.
She is fully immersed in our advertisers and their products, driving digital excellence in optimisation across the many HELLO! verticals. She also identifies and onboards new fashion and beauty brands on to our various affiliate networks.
When she's in editorial mode, accessories and travel must-haves are her forte, with Carla keen to try out the hottest viral handbag or perusing the holiday destinations top of everyone's wish list.
Carla has written about celebrities, fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle and fitness for over 15 years, from the BBC and Press Association to ASOS, beauty mags and teen publications.
Away from work, Carla loves catching up on The Real Housewives franchise, listening to crime podcasts, and hanging out with her family, including her young daughter and dog, Sal.
Email Carla at carla.challis@hellomagazine.com and follow @carla.challis on Instagram.
Hollie Brotherton
Specialist subject: Fashion
Hollie Brotherton is our Lifestyle & Commerce Senior Writer, covering all things shopping, with a big focus on occasion wear and curating the hottest trend edits.
She is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with a Multimedia Journalism degree from Bournemouth University. Working across both print and digital, she's written for titles including Glamour, Marie Claire, ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar. She’s also worked on countless photoshoots from celebrity to fashion editorial.
Hollie lives in London and when she’s not shopping or fangirling over Hailey Bieber and Sienna Miller’s latest looks, you’ll find her trying the latest restaurant launches, sweating it out at Barry’s and Barrecore or ideally in the airport departure lounge.
Contact her at hollie.brotherton@hellomagazine.com or follow her on Instagram @holliebrotherton.
Sophie Bates
Specialist subject: Fashion & Footwear
Sophie is a Commerce Writer at HELLO! writing about all the latest fashion trends that hit the high street, the cool shoes going viral on TikTok and the celebrity and royal style must-haves.
Sophie has worked on the HELLO! Shopping team since 2022, and has brought her experience working as a copywriter across many of the verticals on side, and finding the latest deals that shoppers will love.
She has an eye for a bargain, whether it be a celebrity-loved Amazon find or an unmissable saving on a reader-loved brand.
Sophie has a keen interest in fashion, and when she's not shopping the latest style trend, she's scrolling through TikTok in search of the next viral skincare product to review or exploring London's restaurants and rooftop bars.
To find out more, follow Sophie on Instagram at @sophiebates21 and TikTok at @sophiebates217.
