NYC #1 - Shopping (Wet-n-Wild, Sephora, VS & Kate Spade)

Oh dear... haven't I managed to balls up that regular blogging pledge I made? I'm dying to sit and write all about my recent trip to New York though, so maybe all can be forgiven! This year was my 21st birthday, my sisters 18th and my dads retirement... so my dad kindly offered to combine one of our joint dreams and take us to New York City! I scrimped and saved for a few months, saved every penny of my birthday money and slowly built up a shopping fund for the trip, which happened at the end of March.
This post is going to be all about the shopping! <3

Obviously being the make-up obsessing manic that I am, I was dying to try a few bits and bobs. To be honest, I surprised myself and didn't have a big long list of things I wanted to try... instead just picked up a few bits and bobs from the local drug stores. Walgreens, Duane Reed and CVS were the three pharmacies I noticed were most common, and were sort of half supermarket / Superdrug style.

Wet-n-Wild Palettes: comfort zone ($8), silent treatment ($4) and the naked truth ($6)

One of the brands I was very keen to try was Wet'n'Wild, as I've heard so many good things about their eye-shadows and I've never been able to find any products in England. I picked up the Comfort Zone Palette, which I am obsessed with. I also picked up a couple of mini-quads, which again are super high quality and have used everyday since.

Sephora's own lipstick and concealer, Wet-n-wild glitter single, Cover Girl last blast 24hr mascara and EOS Lipbalm

The Covergirl Lash Blast mascara was something that was on my list, as the packaging and brush looked identical to my all time fave, which is Max Factors 'false lash effect'. It was around the $12 dollar mark and in my opinion a total waste, as the formula was crap and did very little. I suppose I can get away with wearing it on days where I wear glasses! Hey-ho.

I picked up a couple of bits from Sephora... after making my sister walk round all the counters with me for nearly an hour I decided against making any "high-end" purchases for a couple of reasons: 1) I don't really use that many high end products from the UK, so perhaps would be wasting money and 2) higher end US makeup is far easier to buy over here, compared to drug store, thanks to various cosmetic websites. So I went for one of Sephora's own lipsticks and concealers instead... more as a souvenir than anything, which is perhaps a bit sad... but hey-ho.

I was also surprised to see how much cheaper Real Techniques Brushes are in America! I picked up the blush brush and the powder brush for less than $10 each (I'm sure you don't need a picture as everyone and their nan has RT brushes), which works out around £6.20! Bargain or what?! I found that along with the stippling brush, that was all the pharmacies seemed to stock, which was a little disappointing, but they're the two brushes I most wanted, so can't complain too much!

I picked up a few other bits and bobs on the way, I'll not bore you with all my little clothes purchases. One thing I did get for my housemates were some Victoria's Secret body sprays. They're on a deal in the US for 6 for $35, which is a total bargain. My fave is Coconut Passion, i've never smelt anything so gorgeous! They also had lots of underwear deals on and I picked up 5 pairs of knickers for $30... which as you can guess was another total bargain compared to how expensive VS is over here!

I spent a little bit of money on clothes as well, but the biggest purchase was this little beauty. There's very little to say really, apart from sorry to my boyfriend James, because there's a new love in my life!! After thinking I wanted a Michael Kors bag, I was really disappointed in the quality and look of the one I had my eye on... and after seeing everyone and their mum sporting one I decided to go for something different. Hello Kate Spade <3 This gorgeous tote was around the $300 mark and was the perfect way to invest in something that would always remind me of my 21st and the trip of a lifetime.

Hope you enjoyed this post, I could have written all day. I'll probably do another post about all the sight seeing we did, as well as places I recommend for food and what our hotel was like.
Thanks for reading!