I was lucky enough to go on holiday with my family to New York!! I've wanted to go ever since I can remember and as soon as I found out we were going I started to save my money straight away because we all know New York is famous for it's shops!
One of the first stops we made on the trip was to Sephora as there isn't one in England. I didn't want to go too crazy so I just picked up 2 things I was pretty certain I'd love! I brought the Sephora own brand lip crayon trio 'Lips in Bloom' as I could see myself wearing all 3 colours and as you by them in a pack you save yourself $12 which is always a positive. I also brought the 'Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation' as Essie Button always talks about how amazing this mineral foundation is and I have been dying to try this for so long.
I wondered in to the department store 'Macy's' with my family and came across the mac counter and couldn't resist a sneaky purchase. I chose 'New York Apple' because I have in fact been eyeing this up a while because of the beautiful colour and finish but the name of the lipstick was relevant to the trip I was on plus mac is £5 (!!!) cheaper in the states so I was like ''why the heck not''. And as strange as this may sound but now every time I use this lipstick it will bring back nice memories.
In the states a drug store called 'Duane Reade' I believe owned by Wallgreens (?) became my family's second home as it contained so much food and drink and as I quickly discovered: beauty products!! I couldn't not buy these things as they again aren't available in the UK as far as I know and I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. As you can see I went a bit lip product crazy... I purchased 3 (oops) EOS lip balms in mint, summer fruits and coconut milk because I have given into the hype and really wanted to try them. I picked up 2 wet and wild eye-shadow pallets in 'Sweet As Candy' and 'The Naked Truth' along with a lip crayon as they were incredibly cheep and I always hear good things. And finally a Dr Rescue Baby Lips in 'Pink Me Up' as you can't get these in the UK and after the flight I had super chapped lips, also from the same brand but in the Electro collection I picked up Oh! Orange!
Next up Forever 21! I have always wanted to go to this store ever since I first heard about it so I'm so glad I managed to go in even though it was quite brief. I picked up a really lovely gold feather necklace that looks so dainty and it was insanely affordable (like most of the jewellery in Forever 21) so I could not resist and also this grey bat winged top with super tight arms which is actually quite flattering despite how oversized it is.
I never originally planned to go into American Eagle because I have heard about how expensive it is but I saw a massive sign on their shop window saying all their jeans were $30 (£18) rather than their usual price of around $50 so I headed straight in as I always hear about how flattering their jeans are supposed to be. I picked up 2 pairs; One being a regular black skinny pair and the over a light distressed pair with rips in. I find it so hard to find cheap-ish jeans that are flattering so I would definitely recommend American Eagle. I also was in need of a cream cardigan so I picked up this one which I love and is also slightly bat winged.
A bit of a random purchase was this New York themed magnet. I got this from the New York Public Library which is apparently one of the biggest in the world (?!). It's one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. It had paintings on the ceiling like in Beauty and the Beast and it just felt so magical.
One of the days I was away my family decided it would be a good idea to go to the Natural History Museum which was so amazing and to top it off they had the most amazing gift shop (Of which I got something for one of my friends in hear and I'm tempted to keep it for myself). I went over to the jewellery section and found a selection of stone necklaces which were so pretty and I was actually eyeing one up earlier that day on Instagram. I narrowed it down to this one as purple is one of my favourite colours and i just loved it.
Now on to some kinda patriotic purchases... I got these adorable 'I ♡ NY' pj bottoms as I couldn't leave without them and they looked so cosy and also this grey New York hat. Not going to lie one of the reasons I picked up this hat is because one of my favourite actresses in a movie wear this and I've loved it ever since and also I'm not a huge fan on 'Snap Backs' I much prefer them curved which is kinda hard to find.
Finally the last shop I brought clothes from was Aeropostale. One of my friends recommend this to me before I went as they said it was super reasonable and they weren't wrong. they had so many by one get two free's I was in my element. The first thing I could were the burgundy and white lace cami's which I loved and are just good quality basic items and these were in the 'buy 1 get 2 free section' so you may be wondering where the other one is but that is actually a gift to the friend who recommended the shop. The second thing I got was a black a white floral skater skirt from the Bethany Mota collection which was love at first sight and is so flattering a fits lovely, you could either wear it on it's own on with thick tights in the winter. A tip I can give you is if they don't have your size out front ask a member of staff if they have any out back as they most likely probably do and it doesn't hurt to ask, that's what I did. And the last thing I got from this entire crazy haul was a pink and blue plaid shirt which i love and is so versatile for all seasons and amazing for layering.
I'll speak to you all soon,
Sarah x
