"The cat is beauty and the beast, a baffling blend, a wicked feast.”
What’s that you say? You want MOAR reviews of Laneige Water Drop Tints? Well I’m happy to oblige with a review of my seventh Water Drop Tint. I saw this at Aritaum in San Gabriel, Calif., and initially resisted. But it beckoned—nay, compelled–me to return. And so I introduce . . . Hot Pink! ($22 at Aritaum.)
Isn’t she puuurrrrty?
Continue reading “Hot or Not? Laneige Water Drop Tint in Hot Pink Review + Swatches”
Over the holidays, we spent what felt like hours (in a good way) at Takashima in San Gabriel and in Arcadia. The selection differs slightly between the two, so we had to go to both. ::looks away:: Ahem, moving on . . .
We loooove Takashima as hands-down the best place for Japanese beauty products–better than any Japanese supermarket and any other Japanese beauty store. I haven’t seen any place on the East Coast with the breadth and depth of the offerings at Takashima. (But please let me know if I’m wrong!) Check out Takashima’s e-storefront here and brick-and-mortar locations here (currently in Calif. only).
Continue reading “Haullaback Girls: Takashima and PA++++ Sunscreen Shopping”
Ahh, it’s nice to have friends who travel. They gain eye-opening experiences, life lessons, multicultural perspectives, blah blah…but most importantly, they can bring you back makeup goodies. My dear friend had the briefest layover in Seoul but managed to bring back the latest cushion compact by HERA: the Ultra Moisture Cushion in shade 21 Cool Vanilla.
The gorgeous pale purple and holographic packaging is almost reason enough to buy it. To top it off, the formula is actually really wonderful. I expected the usual satiny-dewy finish, but lo and behold, the Ultra Moisture is a soft, polished matte finish. ::mind blown::
While I am on a roll with animal products, I picked up a nicely packaged artisanal-looking pot of expensive hand cream at a health food store. It’s $13 for a 3-4 oz jar.
I found the packaging to be irresistibly cute with the thick gift-like cardboard box, vintage font, and a bee stamp. The ingredients promised all natural beeswax and Royal Jelly (hello Burts Bees competitor) so I HAD to. My hands are so dry from constant washing and hand-sanitizer to keep nasty NYC subway germs at bay. It’s a vicious circle of dryness and washing and more dryness.
Continue reading “Un-BEE-lievable – Savannah Bee Beeswax Hand Cream”
As a lover of animals (and all their parts) I had to jump on the horse fat bandwagon. Guerrison 9-Complex cream’s fifth ingredient is horse fat. Why horse fat? Supposedly it is all natural and is rich in vitamin E. It creates a protective moist barrier for your skin. One swatch at the asian cosmetics store Beauty Tips in Alhambra and I was SOLD damnit.
Continue reading “Whinny-ing Moisturizer – Guerrison 9-Complex Cream”
The Facial Radiance Overnight Mask by First Aid Beauty ($38 for 1.7 oz.) is a clear, jellyish sleeping mask. In addition to the usual moisturizing ingredients, it boasts brightening ingredients such as niacinamide, ascorbyl glucoside (vitamin C), and licorice root extract.
Continue reading “Sleep On It: First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Overnight Mask Review”
I have been obsessed with the PoBling Sonic Cleanser since seeing it in the Asian cosmetics stores. I paid the full price of $45 at Maneki Neko in Arcadia for the gold one. Super overpriced but I felt more assured that the exorbitant price meant that it was the true original PoBling. It’s basically a vibrating facial cleanser with a super soft tightly packed bristle head:
In the throes of the flaky, peeling, sensitizing period of tretinoin use, I added Andalou Naturals’ 1000 Roses Moroccan Beauty Oil ($19.95 for 1 fl. oz., available at Whole Foods) to my arsenal of flake-fighting hydrators.
Targeted for dry, delicate, and sensitive skin, the oil is actually a compound of multiple oils–sunflower, jojoba, rosehip, pomegranate, cranberry, argan, and sea buckthorn–and actual rose oil appears at the bottom of the ingredients list. The marketing also touts alpine rose stem cells, but I don’t know how much weight that carries, scientifically speaking. (Full ingredients are below.)
Continue reading “Moroccan Roll: Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Moroccan Beauty Oil Review”
Syn-Ake is an anti-wrinkle chemical based on a synthetic protein fragment that replicates part of the venom of the Malaysian Temple Viper. This compound works in a manner similar to Botox to relax tight skin muscles that create wrinkles. Now, with that said, I don’t think anything applied topically can work the way that injected Botox and fillers work. But what the hell. I bought this on a whim during my September haul in Canada:
Continue reading “SYN-AKE to me baby – Lovemore SYN-AKE Peptide Complex Firming Facial Cream”
From the massive haul of LA beauty stores comes a new unexpected favorite: INDIGO BLUE LIQUID EYELINER! It sure is pigmented, smooth, and totally beats Stila Stay All Day in cobalt blue. Behold Love Drops (excuse the odd name)
Continue reading “Black and BLUE! – Love Drops Indigo Blue Eyeliner (liquid)”
BeautyandtheCat's Beauty Blog 