American Beauty Shopping

Well, where do I start with this one? 

I'd like to take a moment to direct your eyes back to yesterday's blog post which was an overview of my trip to New York for the couple of days leading up to Christmas, and in that post I promised to share with you the purchases I made whilst in the Big Apple. Of course I bought plenty of souvenirs from gift shops (yes, I'm that kind of person) but that's not what you're interested in is it? Oh, you want to see make up and other beauty products? Well, read on my pretties, read on.. 

For a start all I have to say that it's my money that I worked for and earned so I shall spend it on what makes me happy, and if that's excessive amounts of beauty products then okay. But, not only that, I also found out that I was going to New York on my birthday (amazing surprise, btw!), which meant that any money which was kindly slipped inside cards or given as a gift (as is common for a milestone like 21) then I kept it in a safe place with the intention of using it to be able to shop in style on my trip to NY. 

Duty Free, Manchester Airport 

Clarins Ever Matte Pressed Powder - 00 Transparent Opale

Totally an Essie Button inspired purchase! I've not used this yet, but hopefully it will help to keep a shine free finish for longer, because no matter how matte my foundation is, that sneaky shine always creeps in around 4pm! Plus, Clarins packaging is gorgeous! Literally, stunning. 

Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot - Bare Study

A soft and creamy eyeshadow that's easy to work with a leaves a whatever sort of pigment you want it to be; a light wash for a subtle hint of shimmer, or build it up to be more intense, but it'll still be longwearing and creaseless. I got Bare Study because it's a light champagne colour and will make a nice base, all over lid colour, and browbone highlight. 

Mac Frost Eyeshadow - Bronze

Bronze is kind of like a dark, mucky brown, but a good colour that can be used in lots of different ways, and it's definitely a staple colour. I wanted to play it safe with a 'goes with everything and can be used any time' sort of shade.  

Mac Frost Lipstick - New York Apple 

How could I not get that lipstick?? C'mon! Aside from the perfectly fitting name for my destination, it is actually a very pretty colour. I've heard many people comment that 'frost' finishes from Mac would not be a preferred choice, but Costa Chic is actually one of my faves for summer and New York Apple is definitely a winter hit. Frost finishes tick my boxes. It's a lovely dark pink shade with a shimmery sparkly finish to it (not in a tacky way), but it makes it that something a little extra special around the holiday season - it made the cut as my Christmas Day lipstick this year!

Macy's

Bobbi Brown Corrector - Porcelain Peach

This was $24 to buy from Macy's and despite their huge store wide sale, there was no discount on Bobbi Brown :(, but at the current conversion rate this works out at about £14.50 so I did make quite a good saving compared to if I'd have bought it in the UK. The saleswoman also almost convinced me to buy to Creamy Concealer Duo Kit as well and I've since decided that I'm going to order that next time Debenhams has 10% off beauty because at the end of the day my under eyes were looking pretty damn good! I can tell from pictures taken which day I was wearing the corrector and concealer (they were demonstrated on me in store), compared to the days when I wasn't and they really did make a difference. I haven't actually used this since I got back (should've put it to work on Christmas day to conceal my bags!) but it's a cult product to cancel out dark colouring under the eye - bye bye zombie eyes!

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret Fragrance Mist Set

Victoria's Secret fragrance and body care seems to be a popular hit, but is something I've never tried before, and when they look so pretty and girly and smell so lovely it's hard not to want to add a bottle or two to your collection. I can't quite remember what the deals were on full sized bottles but I think it was mix and match any 3 for $25 (something like that), but in a busy store it was hard to stand around sniffing different bottles to figure out which scents you like and I got as far as knowing I like 'Pure Seduction' before I spotted this set of 5 smaller sized fragrance bottles in a box. It was only $18 which is just less than £11.00 for 5x 60ml bottles of fragrance which I actually thought was a really good deal; it makes them about £2 a bottle!! For how overpriced their lingerie is, this was good value and I'm so pleased that I found it so now I can try out which fragrances I like from this set of: Pure Seduction, Coconut Passion, Love Spell, Mango Temptation, and Pure Daydream, and then I can buy my favourite in the full size around summer time. Plan!

Sephora

Make Up Forever HD Complexion Starter Kit

On sale for just $55(!) (£33) this Complexion Kit from Make Up Forever contains: a full size 30ml HD foundation, 15ml HD primer, 5g of HD powder and a kabuki brush. When just the foundation alone is $42(/£25) it seems like a good idea to pay a little extra to recieve a primer, a powder and a brush too, all in a neat little set. These are my first products from Make Up Forever so it's the perfect little introductory set to the brand, and the quality is supposed to exceptional so I look forward to having a HD complexion over the next few weeks. Full review covering the whole set in detail will likely follow.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - Color Correcting Adjust

Everybody knows how much of a sucker I am for mini things, they're just 'awh! adorable!' being so small and cute. I'd had a browse at the Smashbox primers but ended up not getting one because the Make Up Forever Kit contains one, and I already love using my colour correcting Bare Minerals one, but these minis were lined up by the til, just so handy to make a last minute decision of 'oh go on then, I'll get one'. It was $10/£6 which is quite a lot for only 12ml but I'd rather just try out the small size and see how I get along with a green primer because I can sense it being quite a risky purchase and not a 'guaranteed love', if that makes sense.

Boscia Lumanizing Black Mask

Perhaps quite an unheard of brand and product? I know that in the UK this doesn't receive much attention at all, but I've seen at least 3 American YouTubers talk about this and sing it's absolute praises/show demonstrations and I've wanted it for such a long time, I even contemplated paying £40 to get one off eBay because they're only available in Sephora. It was $32/£20, and it's kind of like the Origins Clear Improvements Mask, but only because it's dark in colour (it's actually opaque jet black) and it works to detox the skin and remove impurities, but this isn't a clay mask.. it's a peel off mask. I've used it three times since I got back and I absolutely love it - it's so difficult to try and ration it, I don't want to run out!! As you lift it away from your skin you can see it pulling any oil and yuckkk out from your pores; it's so gross, but so fascinating, and really helps to brighten a complexion.

Drugstores; Walgreens/CVS/Duane Reade

Jordana Glitters Nail Polish - Confetti

This nail varnish looked so pretty in the bottle and the perfect chunky pink glitter, but on the nails I'm not sure I'm impressed (I'm wearing it over a light pink in these pictures) and I've had to put on 4 coats to get the glitter particles this dense. I like it, I'm just not thrilled by it.

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palette - Comfort Zone 

It wasn't an accident that I picked up two 'Comfort Zone' palettes. In a similar fashion to what I did with It's a 10 Miracle Treatment, I got one for me, one for you - I'm going to host a giveaway! It doesn't seem like much because Wet n Wild is an inexpensive American brand, but the colours are so pretty and it is near impossible to get hold of one of these in the UK ..so I wanted to share the joy :) It contains 8 super pigmented shades and although the green shade on the right probably won't suit me, the rest of the colours look really wearable. I'm going to review one palette, and keep it for myself, and then keep the other safe and pristine to give to one of my readers some time in January (Cough cough, be sure to be following my blog so you don't miss out!). :)

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palette - Walking on Eggshells

Why is Wet n Wild not available in the UK?? I swear it did used to be, didn't it? But anyway, how perfect is this little palette! I say this about so many palettes that 'it's the perfect one for every day use', but no really; a light highlight colour, a pink natural lid colour and a darker brown crease.. all in a super compact teeny palette that was literally no more than £2! How do they do it? This was the only trio palette available but I'd love to see more (edit: I found this image of some more - I need more!).

Maybelline Baby Lips - Pink Shock

Yay, Baby Lips! Double yay for non-UK Baby Lips! Pink Shock is one from the 'Electro Range' and although it's mostly same old same old with these; super cute adorable lip balm that leave your lips superficially soft and smooth.. (but nobody cares that they don't have long lasting effects because they're just so damn yummy!!), these ones also leave more of a tint on your lips than the previous tinted offerings, i.e. Cherry Me. I look forward to trying this and it could make it's way into a full review and hopefully they'll cross the pond to the UK soon.

Non-Beauty Shopping in New York..

Aside from enough souvenirs to keep the Manhattan Gift Shop Industry running for the next year, and a bag full of American sweeties to keep my sweet tooth happy, I also made a couple of non-beauty purchases in Michael Kors (eep!) and Victoria's Secret: 

Michael Kors

I talked in my New York, New York blog post about how my mum and I thought we were walking through a door into the Rockefeller Center, but got confused in the crowds and actually walked inside a Michael Kors store ..easy mistake to make! The first bag that I laid my eyes on was the one that I walked out of the store with 10 minutes later and it was definitely love at first sight! I got a twist on the classic black and went for navy; a colour that should never go out of fashion, and a classic style that should hopefully be timeless. It's my first ever designer bag, and actually my first designer item at all! I'm hoping it will be an investment and last me for years and years. 

Large Selma Satchel Bag - Navy $358.

It's £315 to buy in the UK (Selfridges price), but it was around £245 in America - kerching for a bargain! 

Victoria's Secret

As much as I'd like to say I got myself an amazingly perfect new set of underwear, I'm not made from pure platinum and could barely even afford the skimpiest thong (jokes). At a minimum of $55 (plus tax) per bra, it wasn't meant to be. But I did pick myself up a pair of those 'invisible knickers' to avoid VPL disasters in tight clothing - nothing worse than lumps and bumps showing in a pencil skirt! A picture would definitely be too much, so all I'll say is if you're looking for some undetectable underwear then VS has your answer!

I don't know if that seems a lot or not, but for a three day sight seeing holiday.. it probably was excessive. But every morning when I do my make up I can think 'ah, I remember buying this in New York' ;) 

What do you think of my purchases?

I could've bought so much more out there; American beauty stores have so much more choice and it's so much cheaper too!

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!! ♥

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