For Your USA Shopping List: My Recommendations

For Your USA Shopping List

A common question I get asked is… what will I buy when I visit New York? From makeup to the most random things (like jam), here are my recommendations for your USA shopping list. I also asked on Instagram (@live_lavishly_blog) what other people stock up on while they’re here and I’ve included some of those recommendations too.  

When it comes to beauty products, most of the brands in the USA are now available at home, so I haven’t added too many here. For things like bags, shoes, clothes, etc., they tend to work our dearer here than back home, when you take sales tax and the exchange rate into account (gone are the days when €1 was worth nearly $2!). That being said, you can still bag a bargain in the outlets (Woodbury Common and Jersey Gardens).

The reason why I’ve included the products in this list is because either: 

1. You can’t buy them in Ireland;
2. You can buy them in Ireland, but they’re way more expensive vs. the USA;
3. You can buy them in Ireland, but only online and that’s not for everyone; or
4. You can buy them in Ireland/ online but some people are waiting to go on a shopping spree in the USA (“,)

Happy shopping! Oh and do tag me if you add any of these things to your USA Shopping List. 

Carly 

P.S. I’ll colour most recently added bits pink so that, if you’ve read the list before, you can see what might have been added since.

Beauty Bits

• Jergen’s Body Lotion in Cherry Almond (Target, CVS, Duane Reade)
• CREST 3D Whitening Toothpaste & Whitening Strips (Target, CVS, Duane Reade)
• Colorpop Eyeshadows (Ulta)
• Van der Hagen Shave Butter (Target)
• Thayer’s Facial Toner in Cucumber (Target, CVS, TJ Maxx, Duane Reade)
• Mahogany Teakwood (Intense) Candles (Bath & Body Works)
• Old Spice Solid Anti-perspirant Deodorant in “Timber” (Darren’s fave)
• Milani blushes and matte lipsticks (unreal!)

Sephora Shopping List

• Biossance Squalane & Antioxidant Cleansing Oil
• Laneige Lip Sleeping Masks
• Kaja Play Bento (Bronzer, Blush, Highlighter trio)
• Haus of Labs (Gaga’s beauty line is now in Sephora!)
• Kosas Radiant Concealer 
• NudeStix Blush in shade “Tiger Lily Queen”
• Elemis Pro-collagen Cleansing Balm 
• Sephora’s Waterproof Retractable Eye Pencils
• Sephora’s Collection Blush
• Sephora Collection Bronzer
• Item Beauty Lip Oils 
• Saie Glowy Super Gel in “Starglow”
• Saie Liquid blush in “Rosy”
• Dr. Dennis Gross Extra Strength Daily Peel
• Rare Beauty lip creams, liquid blushes and 4 in 1 mist
• Rare Beauty Bronzer Stick in “Happy Sol”
• Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palettes
• Pat McGrath’s Matte Lipsticks
• Ouai Body & Scalp Sugar Scrub in “St.Barts”
• Danessa Myricks Eye, Cheek & Lip Cream Pigments
• Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (for body)
• Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream & Primer
• Rose Inc. Matte Lipsticks, Cream Blushes and Bronzers 

Currently Obsessed with:

Beauty Stores

• Ulta Beauty (for lots of small, independent beauty brands)
• Sephora (the mothership)
• Kiko (Times Square)
• Bath & Body Works 
• Nordstrom (and Nordstrom Rack for beauty bargains)
• Marshalls for the beauty bargains
• TJ Maxx for the beauty bargains (TK Maxx in Ireland). My favourite is on Wall St. 
• Bloomingdales (for high end beauty products)
• Macy’s (for high end beauty products)
• Target
• CVS, Duane Reade and basically all of the pharmacies

Supermarket Bits

• Hi-chew (sweets) in Apple
• Cheetos Puffs in White Cheddar
• Perrier Sparkling Water in Lemon (or Lime)
• La Croix Sparkling Water in Peach Pear (Lemon and Apricot are also firm faves)
• Hot Pepper & Bacon Jam and “Those Chips” (trust me…) from City Acres
• Peanut Butter M&Ms
• Tate’s Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies. The Gluten Free version are nicest IMO :0 (supermarkets, CVS, Duane Reade)
• Reese’s Take 5 Chocolate Bars
• Milk Duds

Fashion Bits

• Old Navy Jeans (such a big range of sizes, styles and lengths)
• Levi’s (tends to be cheaper over here – especially in Macy’s)
• Uniqlo (for great quality basics like tees, tanks, vests and shirts)
• Macy’s (for bargains on designer bits)
• Calvin Klein underwear (cheaper over here – especially in Macy’s)

Recommendations from Others on Instagram

A lot of people included some of my recommendations above but I left them out to avoid duplication (”,)

• Melatonin (OTC Sleep Supplement)*
• ibuprofen*
• Paracetamol*
• Tums (for heartburn)*
• Twizzlers 
• Poptarts
• Listerine Fresh Breath Strips
• Liquid Coffee Creamer
• Sour Skittles 
• Apple Products (iPads, etc.)
• Thermacare heat wraps/ pads
• Vintage Shopping 
• A trip to Trader Joe’s (a supermarket)
• Dream Water*
• Tootsie Caramel Apple Pops
• Victoria Secret’s Body Products (said to be cheaper here)
• Flaming Hot and Crunchy Cheetos
• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
• Cream Style Sweet Corn
• JLo’s Skincare Range in Sephora (I wasn’t a fan of this personally. It was too heavy for my sensitive skin)

If you’re done with shopping, and are looking for something else to do, check out my Ultimate Guide to New York here! I also have a list of free things here and a list of our fave restaurants and bakeries. You won’t be bored (or hungry), put it that way! 

Chat soon, 

Carly

* Consult a pharmacist before you consider purchasing any of these products.