So I will be in the US next month and have shopping time. What clothes / cosmetics shall i buy?

[abusybee]

I'm hoping the exchange rate means that lots of clothes shops will be good value but is there anywhere in particular I should seek out? Obv I know about GAP but I'm interested in stuff you can't get here.

And I'm interested in some new makeup / shampoo etc - what should I try?

Redken hair products are a good buy or Aveda

7 for mankind jeans £145 here, about half price there

Estee lauder works out cheaper, also creme de la mer (same company)

benefit makeup
bobbi brown makeup

I am after a lands end swimsuit which is only on their us website and it is sooo much cheaper.

just remembered, abercrombie and fitch

Sebastien Laminates hair products - they are amazing, last for ages and cost twice the price in the UK. Esp. Laminates Drops serum if your hair gets at all frizzy.

bath and body works for smellies and candles

victorias secrets for undies

EVERYTHING

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old navy much better gargain than gap

banana republic fabbo stuff too

basically anything that is an american brand is cheaper,i always stock up on aveda and origins. if you are in new york there are some perfume stores om west 30th street i think that sell all brands at huge discounts.

oooh now getting excited. keep 'em coming! Though I am worried that years of not being able to do any shopping without whinging kids has left me incapable of making a decision to buy anything at all - spent about half an hour in M&S trying to decide between 2 pairs of socks last week!

I was wondering if american apparel are worth trying to track down as I keep reading they do great t-shirts and I coudl do with throwing all of mine out and starting again.

go to duanne read pharmacys, i buy loads of pain relief products and dental, opi nail varnish about £4, you could try MAC makeup. go to woodbury common if in nyc, trainers are cheaper there although notin regular nike stores. they give you loads of testers if you buy lots from the cosmetic companys, not like here where you have to beg for them

also, get all your manicures and pedicures there, quicker and cheaper.

abusybee, I bought a great cotton skirt at american apparel. don't think it's vastly cheaper than in England though, but well worth a visit (fab tshirt for children as well)

sadly won't be in NYC - new Orleans alas - but will def be hanging out in Duane Read - my favourite ever shopping experience. DH thinks I am weird but I truly believe you can see straight into the soul of a country with 30 mins in a drug store! (home enema kit anyone?!)

i ditch my husband after lunch and find the biggest duanne read i can, last time spent 3 hours and $400, he thinks i have a problem

oooh shall I start a new thread - So I will be in the US...... what shall I buy in Duane Read?

So far I am dying to get my hands on some Neutrogena spray on self tan and lots of tester sizes of everything. Oooh and now I'm thinking of that funny bubble gummy type smell mmmmmmmm

HiFi thank god I am not alone, and I think I have nearly converted DH round to my way of thinking. He does LOADS of travel so I live in hope of something odd from a pharmacy in China....

I know my US friend feels similarly about the wonder that is Boots and neither of us can understand where the other one is coming from!