What happens when Renee and I spend a weekend together in NY, mecca for Asian makeup and skincare?

Well . . . THIS happens.

And this:

So actually, our hauls included stuff from Sephora, Birchbox (there’s a store in Soho!), and Ricky’s. But our main goal was to haul Asian cosmetics.

Follow along on our virtual tour of some of the best Asian beauty stores NY has to offer.  This isn’t intended to list all that NY has to offer.  For a comprehensive list, check out Fanserviced’s map and terrific store reviews here.

Chinatown

You can generally wander around and come across various beauty stores, from small boutiques to branded stores like Amore and The Face Shop.  Below are two of the best ones that we visited this time around.

1. oo35mm

81 Mott Street, 2 Floor
New York, NY 10013

From street level, walk up a flight of stairs to the entrance of oo35mm.  oo35mm is my and Renee’s favorite store for Asian cosmetics in all of NY.  The sales associate is very friendly and knowledgeable and can give good recommendations depending on your skin troubles.  It’s tiny yet offers a huge variety of brands, mostly Japanese and Korean and some Taiwanese, and a huge variety of products, from face and body products to makeup.  It has some LG brands (like Isa Knox), makeup from Liole, Etude House, Chacott, Tony Moly, Kevin Beautymaker, and lots lots more.  It is also a full-on e-tailer, so check out the website to see all of its offerings.

2. New Kam Man

200 Canal Street
New York, NY 10079

Head directly up the stairs of this supermarket to the second floor, which is where you’ll find tons of mostly Japanese skincare, makeup, lashes, and toiletries.  It offers more than just the standard Hada Labo and Juju Aquamoist products.  I picked up some unsoaked sheet masks and eye masks so I can DIY my own.

Herald Square

1. Urban Outfitters

1333 Broadway
New York, NY 10018-7204

So Urban Outfitters in general now have Korean cosmetics in store (mostly Tony Moly).  This location in particular has brands that aren’t necessarily at the others, namely Holika Holika, a couple of The Face Shop products, and more Tony Moly makeup than I’ve seen at other UOs.  (Also has displays for Ardency Inn and Lime Crime, two Western makeup lines that are rarely seen in stores.)

I had a good chuckle at this Hydrochloric Acid 3 Seconds Starter from Holika Holika.  I guess UO never took chemistry.  Oooh, buuuuurn.  (See what I did there?)

Flushing, Queens

Turns out that one block can offer hours of shopping enjoyment!  The following stores are all on Roosevelt Avenue between Main and Union.

1. New World Mall

136-20 Roosevelt Avenue

Flushing, NY 11354

This mall is pretty small.  The first floor has an Amore store (offering the usual Laneige, Sulwhasoo, and IOPE makeup and skincare) and a Tony Moly store.  The second floor has at least three small beauty stores offering a mishmash of brands and products and a Missha store that also sells other brands (I remember lots of Japanese products).

2. The Face Shop

3. Skinfood

4. Nature Republic

5. Club Clio

So all of these stores are located on either side of Roosevelt.  If you walk up Roosevelt towards Union (away from Main and New World Mall), you will hit them in rapid succession.  Really clean and brightly lit shops with very comprehensive skincare, makeup, and bodycare offerings.  Obviously from their own brands (Club Clio also offers makeup from sister company Peripera).  The Face Shop is currently decked out with ginormous posters of Kim Soo Hyun (Do Min Joon in “My Love From Another Star”).

If you ever find yourself in NY, do check out the stores in this post.  So much fun even if you buy nothing!  (Not that I would know.)

P.S. Check out my post on shopping in LA here.