Sometimes there comes a point when all I want to do is play with makeup, and forget about the world. When I feel the need, big, excessive and downright scary is the only route to go down in the makeup stakes, and this time I reached for the lashes, and never looked back! The lashes I have on in these pictures were bought on eBay a few years ago (similar pair here), when I was just starting to wear falsies and did not expect the sheer hugeness of them. They are 'can barely keep your eyes open' heavy and have been sitting collecting dust with my other unloved, forgotten products, just waiting to adorn a ridiculous fancy dress costume. Feeling a little creative, I took the scissors and got a little snip-happy, ending up with three mini lashes on each bottom lash line. This creates a rather wide eyed and really quite terrifying look, which to me is reminiscent of dolly eyes! Hence I was inclined to put my hair up in two high ponytails a la 90's style, and proceed to scare the bejesus out of my sister. Why, why, why did this hairstyle ever go out of fashion! My hair has never felt swishier! Somehow I don't think these lashes will be my first pick on a night out but they are extremely interesting if you're feeling imaginative! bloglovin' . twitter . tumblr . instagram . pintrerest

USA haulin'

When you're in another country, money isn't really... money? To me, dollars are literally monopoly money, hence why New York turned me into a crazy spending machine, full of hopes and dreams of lining my pockets (or suitcase) with as much chocolate, make-up and American items as humanly possible! One of the main attractions of American shopping for me were the much anticipated drug store visits, although, if I'm honest, I was a little disappointed  In my imagination, drug stores are the American supermarket equivalent of fairytale make-up stores with rows upon rows of exciting products never seen in the UK, and to my disappointment they pretty much consisted of their equivalent to Boots' make-up aisles... surrounded  by fruit and veg. The brand I was most excited about, NYX, was nowhere to be found, and my only purchase aside from copious amounts of orange juice consisted of DUO Lash Adhesive, a lash glue much raved about by the Pixiwoos! Definitely a must have item, and gives lashes that extra bit of security for extra fluttering.
One shop which surpassed expectation, however, was Sephora. Oh Sephora, Sephora, Sephora, the shop were dreams are made! Why, why, WHY did England get rid of Sephora?! I think I found myself in Sephora at least 10 different times in every part of New York, and each and every time the aisles were packed with everything I could ever want and more... and more. I ended up making a few snap purchases; a Becca Mini Beach Tint duo consisting of two beautiful cream blushes in Watermelon and Fig, which are super blendable and lovely for summer. I also grabbed a new Anastasia Brow Wiz to replace my old one, which has since died a sad death, and as these are my absolute favourite brow pencils I could not be without! I was also extremely interested in Fresh Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment, a gorgeous, extremely pigmented berry red balm which has a buttery soft consistency and is gorgeous to throw on for everyday use. I also picked up the much-raved about Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful, which is a soft and very pretty peachy pink, but is not in my opinion particularly worth the hype! A final purchase at Sephora was Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara, which I think I would adore, did I not possess elephant, stick straight lashes which need uber-heavy duty waterproof mascara to keep that damn curl in place! This, sadly, did not quite fill the shoes of my beloved L'oreal Telescopic, but layering over other mascaras does give this a use in my collection!
Multiple chocolate purchases were also made, not least a hefty bag of Lindt chocolate truffles in hundreds of different flavours (my all-time favourite are still the milk chocolate ones!), a few bars of Dylan's Candy Shop goodness and a ridiculous amount of Hersheys... which upon returning to the UK I promptly decided tasted like a mix of chocolate, cheese and vomit and gifted this to my sister to get the smell out of my room.
Last, but most certainly not least, was the most extravagant purchase of the trip, and well, ever... my brand new beautiful Marc Jacobs Rose Gold watch from Bloomingdales. I have never owned a nice watch before, so apart from actually knowing the time now, I also have a beautiful new piece of jewellery that will always remind me of my trip, to commemorate my 18th birthday!
Phew. That was long, and probably boring, but it had to be done! Can you believe I actually had dollars left at the end of this?! 
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new york, new york

-U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!-

 -Rockefeller Center-

-Top o' the Rock!-

-Observation Deck-

-Ground Zero-

-The plaques surrounding the 9/11 memorial-

-Downtownnn-

-The Hudson River-

-Looking across the pond at Jersey City-

-Lady Liberty-

-Breakfast at Normas... beats Tiffanys everytime!-

-Central Park with snow on the ground!-

-The Met Steps (ie. sit at the top unless you're a loser!)-

-My very first Ladurée Macarons-

-Times Square vs Empire State-

-The top of the Empire State at night... perfect-

New York in winter is really something. Freezing temperatures and snow flurries aside, the city is like a perfect, frozen picture of hustle, bustle and buzz everywhere; I'm not sure if I could ever get bored of New York! This was my very first visit, hopefully of many, and of course our 4 day trip was crammed chock-a-block with the typical tourist destinations- Rockefeller, Empire State, Lady Liberty, Broadway, Central Park... and of course Fifth Avenue (but more on my purchases next time!) I stayed in the Affinia Manhattan hotel, literally across the road from Madison Square Gardens and a stones throw away from Times Square. 

Surprisingly, one of my absolute favourite parts of the trip was walking down the edge of the Hudson River on the sunniest, clearest day we could have wished for. The Hudson River and views of the statue of Liberty were absolutely beautiful, and combined with an emotional visit to Ground Zero (where two massive water features commemorate the 9/11 plane crashes) and a trip to Magnolia Bakery (oh my their red velvet cakes are to die for!), Downtown was a brilliant experience... except the subway ride down which was like a slightly dirtier version of the Tube, if thats even possible!

Another highlight was brunch at a restaurant near Central Park called Normas, where I literally ate heaven in the form of caramel french toast. Combined with trips to Bills, Ellen's Stardust Diner and Shake Shack, the food was goooooood even though I was permanently in the state of either famished and ready to pass out or completely stuffed with food and ready to throw up.

All in all, New York was perfect, and I need to go back. Soon.

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