Purchases from New York. Should I just buy here?

[gorgeygertrude]

Looking at skincare/ beauty products, medications ( OTC) clothes and tech.
Should I bother buying over there with the exchange rate or are there any must haves that are excellent value or stuff I can't get here unless expensive taxes ?

Skin care is always worth grabbing when you go over, far more choice and much cheaper than over here, over the counter meds can be bought in larger quantities, pain killers, melatonin, vitamins worth a look. Tech, I wouldn't bother with, better to buy from home.

Thank you! Amy brands you recommend ... skincare ?

Tech depends on the exchange rate at this point it’s not really worth the effort.
medications like antibiotic and steroid creams are available otc there and can only
be got on prescription here so that’s what I bring back
also Ralph Lauren is much cheaper

You can buy the larger boxes of meds over here (ibuprofen etc) here you just need to go to the pharmacist to do it.

I usually upgrade my phone while in the states but need to be aware if they find the box they will charge import tax which more than wipes out any savings.

Need to factor in sales tax too so nowadays most of the things I bring back are snacks and things like big tubs of chewable tums

I didn't really buy anything when I went earlier this year, it was either the same price or more expensive. I was planning on buying Kiehls, a New York company and was very surprised the items I wanted were about 20% more expensive than in the UK. Melatonin was the only item I would buy now.

Very little is cheaper these days - but I usually get melatonin and big containers of ibuprofen. I know people who swear by Advil PM too...Sephora is a fun visit for make-up/skincare - lots of branches around Manhattan. It's worth signing up for CVS/Sephora customer cards for discounts (if you need to give a zip code I usually just give 10001.

Agree with melatonin and OTC creams of various kinds.

You can also buy large quantities of acetaminophen/ tylenol, ibuprofen, advil, etc.

Go to sephora or Ulta and look for Korean skincare brands like La Neige. In my experience they have the best priced for results products. There are a lot of them in the market now. The COS Rx products are also great.

Get paracetamol

Mega packs, mega cheap

Antibiotic cream too - polysporin

Systane eye drops too, if you use them. Very cheap

OTC creams and meds are generally stronger than in the UK as they are allowed to sell higher concentrations so things like eczema/psoriasis creams are great.

Melatonin, Advil or Tylenol, teeth whitening strips, Touchland hand sanitisers, Wet and Wild make up, you'll find a lot once you start looking.

Bath and Bodywork's products.
Peppermint bark.
Sephora.
Meds like painkillers and sleeping aid tablets.
Have a mooch in TJ Maxx, TK in UK.
Anthropologie.
Lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.
Dinner at Bobby Flays Bar Americain

Crest whitening strips

Things like Apple products and big brand names are pretty much the same price wherever you are.

These! They have no active ingredient over here and are shit. But they do in the states so worth buying.

I think its easy to get hooked on miracle creams... its an endless search for better and better. What nature gave you and diet plays a big part too.
What's on sale here is perfectly fine. I use Boots no. 7 and no complaints