While Texas may not be known for its shopping credibilities, but rather BBQs, Cowboys and Rodeos, I discovered that Texas is rather brilliant at another thing; absolutely humongous ginormous shopping malls! Now we aren’t talking Westfield size here, oh no. These malls are so big that the security guys need Segways to get around. It takes me about 25 minutes to get from one end to the next (without going into shops!) and absolutely everything is bigger, way bigger, than here in the UK.
So naturally I spent quite a bit of time exploring these shopping malls (quite literally the size of a small town) and, well, I bought quite a bit. Spending US dollars sometimes feels like I’m spending Monopoly Money but having looked back over my haul, there’s nothing I regret buying! But enough rambling, I know you just came here to see what I bought, so here we go!
Candles! Lots of candles. Both Tory Burch and Anthropologie are much cheaper out in the US, so I stocked up on candles from both. My favourite has to be the . Walking into the store was like walking into a cloud of the most heavenly scent, and my nose lead me straight to the back of the store where a few of these beautiful candles were burning, and it took all of my mental resistance not to buy one of every ‘flavour’. As well as being absolutely beautiful (and can you see the lid, hidden behind it in the picture? Just gorgeous) it smells divine too. With Peony, Amber and Apricot, this elegant candle may just be my favourite candle purchase ever. I’m realising I should have started by talking about the Anthro candles, because the Tory Burch can’t really be beaten, but the were far cheaper, and they are truly massive. They have very powerful scents and I can think of millions of ways to use their beautiful containers long after the candles are finished.
Ooh stationary! My rose gold obsession (as you may know if you follow me on Instagram) is getting a tad out of hand. While in Anthropologie, I also picked up this Rose Gold stapler and sellotape dispenser. I’m really disappointed though as the sellotape dispenser has already broken (the plastic nodules that hold the tape in place have both snapped off) so I plan on marching it back to the Regent Street store, but the stapler however is exactly what my desk needed and I love it. This little pink pen is also from Anthro, while the cards are from a boutique gift store in The Domain shopping mall. I also picked up a new Kate Spade iPhone case for my 6 plus, although there was no Kate Spade store in Austin but I found this one in an AT&T store.
I didn’t have a massive splurge in Sephora this time, in fact most of the beauty pieces I picked up were from CVS. I stocked up on some pretty Essie Shades, Find Me An Oasis and Take It Outside as well as an eos lip balm (because it was cute!). I grabbed a few of the Maybelline Age Rewind concealers after hearing rave reviews, but not being able to find them here in the UK. I also grabbed another Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon. I am really obsessed with the one I bought the last time I went to NYC (here’s my Sephora Haul from that trip!) and thought I’d grab another in a slightly lighter shade for Spring.
In the search for more long lasting lip shades, I also picked up some 24 hour shades from Cover Girl, and another in the shade ‘Fig’ which is almost as good as the Rimmel Provocalips. Almost. Also in the image above you can just about see one of these adorable bottles of hand sanitiser (top left) which I picked up from Bath & Body Works. It was 5 for $5 so I couldn’t resist!
The silver swirl bracelet and this gorgeous pendant are both from a boutique jewellery store in the centre of Downtown Austin called Sikara. We had an event in their store during SXSW and like a magpie I eyed up these stunning accessories. Each piece is inspired by the owner’s travels and is hand crafted.
In the Barton’s Creek shopping mall I went a tad crazy in , picking up a new Gym kit including a padded sports bra and a pair of Yoga pants as well as a baggier pair of trousers which I plan on wearing over the top of my leggings to get to and from the gym. I also picked up a few pairs of knickers, and, that’s all I have to say about that!
Last but not least, these beautiful ! I love wearing pretty sandals in summer, and these are so easy to slip on as there are no straps – plus they are so pretty with the big Tory Burch logo in gold on the top of the T bar. They were quite expensive for flip flops, but I will be saving these for special occasions as opposed to just lounging around on the beach!
I hope you enjoyed seeing what I picked up in Texas, and I’d love to know what you think of my haul!
