We met up in the San Gabriel Valley (you know, the other valley in LA) for some major hauling of Asian cosmetics.
We hit up our old favorites (see this post), including (not in that post) Maneki Neko in the Santa Anita Mall, Takashima in Arcadia, and Art Land in the San Gabriel Superstore.
But what’s the biggest development on the shopping front? The Amore store in the Focus/99 Ranch Plaza in San Gabriel is now an Aritaum. I REPEAT, WE HAVE AN ARITAUM.
Aritaum
140 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776
I (Angela) am way too excited about this but justifiably so. Aritaum is a store that sells multiple brands that fall under the corporate AmorePacific umbrella. Why does that matter? This is the only place where I’ve seen certain popular brands and products in real life AND for cheaper than online stores and Amazon sellers. Namely:
- Laneige makeup (much more expansive offerings than in Amore stores, including Serum Intense lipsticks and Water Drop Tints)
- IOPE makeup (including the Cheon Song Yi Water Fit and Color Fit lipsticks)
- Sulwhasoo makeup
- Hanyul skincare (but sadly no sign of the Hanyul Luminant Cushion)
- Mamonde skincare and makeup
- Aritaum makeup (including the Honey Melting Tints all over the blogosphere; I’ve previously only seen eyeshadows and maybe nail polishes at Amore stores)
You can also find the same Laneige and IOPE skincare offered in Amore stores.
Update: I replaced the photos of the makeup displays with unfiltered versions so that you can make out some of the prices and product names.
And now the shopping p0rn that you’ve been scratching at the post for (includes Christmas presents). Click to enlarge.
holy cow! I live near SG but have never heard of that store before… can’t wait to drop by and check it out!
Yup! It’s a must-see. If there were a tourist’s guide to the SGV, I’d put Aritaum on it 🙂 –Angela
aaah i am so jealous, we don’t have any asian cosmetic stores here in florida TT and aritaum is one of my favorites too
Aw, that’s too bad. On the plus side, it’s easier on the wallet not to be surrounded by temptation.