2017 Furvorites

2017 was a long year. Instead of recapping all the awful things that have become the new normal, let’s bury our heads in fluffy beauty stuphs.

Angela’s 2017 Furvorites

• Blue skincare: Full disclosure: I am heavily biased in favor of blue stuphs because JOY. Blue tansy, blue chamomile, copper peptides, get on mah face! Past obsession: Sunday Riley Luna. Current: NIOD CAIS2 (reviewed here). Future: Skin Biology 7% GHK-Cu Accelerator, a new purchase that I plan to mix with Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. And with Ultraviolet as 2018’s color of the year, might purple skincare become a thing?

• Skipping toner: I experimented with skipping toner and–surprise!–my skin improved. For a few years, I religiously swiped hydrating toner on with a soft cotton pad and loved how one swipe could remove dry flakes. But inspired by @silvertran’s posts about his “skin detox” regimen that avoids exfoliators, I started skipping the toner. After all, swiping skin exfoliates physically. Do that 2x a day and throw in an occasional acid toner, and that’s a LOT of exfoliating! After a few weeks, I noticed that skin felt stronger, thicker, and less sensitive (presumably my skin’s moisture barrier repaired itself over time). And when I incorporated NIOD CAIS–a very pH-sensitive product that is meant to be applied right after cleaning and drying skin–I had further reason to continue skipping. The main downside? I think my nose pores have grown even larger.

• Powder foundashuns: I was obsessed with cushions for a hot minute, but this year I returned to my first love because powders simply wear better and longer. Laura Mercier Mineral Powder Foundation (medium coverage) and IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation Illumination (light coverage) have been my go-tos. Soft radiance without the telltale wet shine of cushions!

Renee’s 2017 Furvorites

• Custom Pet Fashun: not to shamelessly shill a sponsor purrroduct but I love my Roxy sweatshirt by Animal Hearted. With the declining popularity of conspicuous consumption and obvious designer logos, what better way to express yourself sartorially than by rocking your beloved instead of Karl Whatshisfield’s face on your clothes?
• Mason Pearson Child’s Boar Bristle Hair Brush: yes this is an obnoxiously priced $110 hair brush. To be fair I got it for about £45 at Liberty of London. I thought it was a good price for the fx rate and meant to gift it to someone eventually. Didn’t touch it til I dyed my hair platinum (yeah, Asian with platinum blonde, biatch. Judge all y’all want.) Damn, over-bleaching wreaks havoc on your hurrrrr. Luckily this brush is a great detangler without pulling and snagging on my thread-thin hair. Worth taking out of its precious packaging. Almost worth the full price.
• Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Night Cap Overnight Perfector: on the topic of fragile hair, overnight hair conditioners are awesome for those who shower in the morning like me. We sheet mask our face, feet, hands, and hair is the final frontier. It really helps preserve your delicate strands after so much processing and frequent shampoos. On top of this, the shitty current NE cold and wool beanies are drying out my dome so that I feel like the static electricity on my head is gonna start a scalp fire. Always use protection…for your hair.

Joint (Non-Beauty) Furvorite

Yuko Higuchi is a Japanese illustrator of cats (and other animals–but be real, it’s all about the cats). Angela used her books as props in this post. Captivating and fantastical doesn’t even begin to describe her work (which has appeared in collabs with Gucci, Uniqlo, and more).

Some of her cats have what we lovingly call “Steve Buscemi eyes” and one even looks like Roxy! You can find her work in LINE stickers and maybe your local Japanese bookstore or stationery store (Maido and Kinokuniya in LA and NY). Swoooooon!

From both of us, here’s to a better 2018! (Roxy says zzzzzzzzzz.)