Last week I was in LA for a few days for work, and I luckily had a little bit of free time on my first full day there & for a few of hours on the day I flew back to Europe. I wish I could tell you all about things to see and do in LA, but since I wasn’t there as a tourist.. I wouldn’t really know. On the first day there I had some spare time to kick the jetlag because the work days were going to start quite early and end late, during which I found a Bath & Body Works and did a super quick haul before I met up with my colleagues. On the last day -during the morning before I took the plane home- I went to a Walgreens and Sephora with a colleague and also bought a few little things. Finally I also spotted a Kitson in LAX airport, where they stocked some travel friendly cult beauty products. So all in all this is not a huge haul, but it’s more than enough considering I have just been to Japan and practically wrecked my bank account there. Also, I think I have come to the conclusion that I really don’t need anything anymore.. (Have I temporarily lost my shopping mojo?)

First up are these two divine smelling products by Bath & Body Works. I went to quite a small shop close to my hotel in downtown LA and was surprised to find a whole lot of madness going on. Apparently I ended up there on the morning of the very first day of sales and got caught up in a handful of women buying hundreds of body lotions, shower gels and a whole lot more. I did not have time to smell everything, so I kinda trusted the scent Endless Weekend (hey, it sounds perfect!) and bought a Deep Cleansing Hand Soap. There are small exfoliating grains in this one, which is perfect for removing tricky foundation stains on the back of your hand after you did your makeup. I’m not using it yet since I’m finishing my exfoliating hand wash by Crabtree & Evelyn, but I had a little sniff already and it smells just as good as it sounds. I also got a Shea & Vitamin E Shower Gel in the scent Violet Lily Sky, which is also so ridiculously yummy. I can’t wait to start using it! These are $12.50 normally, but I only paid $3.00 each because of the sale.


Of course I also had to get some of these mini Anti-Bacterial Hand Gels. My boss brought us some as a souvenir when she came back from the US and I’m absolutely hooked to how delicious these smell, so I purchased a set of five different ones. I had one more that smelled like Caipirinha, but I sadly lost that one in a taxi. The other scents I got are Mediterranean Lemon, Mandarin Citron, Cool As A Cucumber and Pure Paradise. And they all smell absolutely wonderful! These weren’t on sale, but I got 5 for $5.00, which is still super cheap if you ask me.


Last up from Bath & Body Works are two scented candles. I had read so much about these and see them pass by in my Instagram feed so often.. I just had to get a couple of them. I took the most time sniffing the candles because the scent does fill our whole apartment, so I had to pick carefully. I quickly chose Island Waters because it’s one of the best smelling candles I have ever come across, and also caved for Tokyo Petals since it smells wonderfully soft and reminds me of Japan. I am burning Island Waters for the first time as we speak and I’m already loving how even these burn because of the three wicks. Genius! These candles are normally $22.50, but thanks to the sale I only paid $11.25 each.



At Walgreens I got an Almay eyeshadow trio called Intense I-Color Smoky-I for Green Eyes. I got a little bit overwhelmed by all the other make-up, and ended up just settling for this as it’s a brand we don’t have anywhere in Europe and is very typically American for me. There was this promotion going on on all Almay eyeshadows as well, so I paid a little over $5.00 for this one. Of course I also had to finally get one of these Eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balms - I ended up getting the Raspberry Pomegranate flavour. I’ve been using it a lot since and I just love how easy the shape of this one is! I will definitely repurchase, I already found a few online shops that sell them here.


At Sephora I got a little overwhelmed too, especially since we had only 5 minutes before we needed to take a cab back in order to catch our flights. I ended up just repurchasing one of my favourite brush cleansers by Sephora's own brand: their Daily Makeup Brush Cleanser. I use this one every day right before using my brushes - it’s the perfect cleanser to use in between deep washes. My flight ended up being delayed for an hour, so I had some time to wander around the gate at LAX Airport. I didn’t really find anything I wanted at the regular duty free stores as they stocked mostly perfume and high end brands (which I seriously don’t get.. even the duty-free at Brussels Airport is much more interesting), so I ended up at Kitson where they stocked a few cult beauty products. I ended up purchasing Mario Badescu's Facial Spray With Aloe, Herbs & Rosewater because I’m still obsessed with roses and am also still slightly in love with the brand Mario Badescu ever since I tried their miraculous Drying Lotion (review here).

Now that I’m back home I do realise I could’ve bought some more products (why did I forget getting one of those new Tangle Teezers?), but since I didn’t have a lot of free time, I ended up spending most of the time I did have checking out LA, trying to sleep and eating. Yep, eating.. I had some pretty decent pancakes and mac ‘n cheese there. What I loved the most is how decently priced everything was and all the promotions that were going on.. We seriously don’t get that here. I also found everyone to be very helpful and friendly in a very spontaneous way.. Another thing that sometimes needs a little improvement back where I live. Next year we’re probably going on a road trip along the East coast of the US, so I’ll save up for some decent hauling then.

Hope you enjoyed! And if you have any tips on what stuff I should get next time I’m in the US.. Let me know!