"The cat is beauty and the beast, a baffling blend, a wicked feast.”
The Mamonde Stamping Edge Lip Tint seemed so promising. A dual-ended pen, it has a pointed cushion/sponge on one end and a balmy crayon on the other. The shade 06 Peach Bloom caught my eye. The cushion side was a smooth, matte, pigmented bright peach that applied easily with slight pressure. The balm end swiveled up to reveal a glossy, sheer peach balm. In short: I swatched, I swooned, I bought. 
Continue reading “Peach DOOM: Mamonde Stamping Edge Lip Tint in 06 Peach Bloom Review + Swatches”
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::
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”
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”
Now that it’s the tail end of 2014, it’s the purrfect oppurrtunity to cat-alog our purrsonal furvorites and best discoveries of the year.
*Post spawnsored by Miss Roxy, BeautyandtheCat’s resident bundle of holiday cheer.*
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.
Continue reading “Deck the Hauls: Aritaum in San Gabriel + Hauls”
The Chacott Quick Eyeliner in 356 Black ($18 for 0.016 oz. at Chacott’s online store or oo35mm) claims to be appropriate for HDTV. I don’t know about that, but it is a saturated, glossy, jet black, waterproof formula that applies easily and precisely through a brush tip. It’s my new favorite eyeliner, able to survive all day on hooded, oily eyelids.
In this month’s Allure, the editor’s letter mentioned the SkinBetter app. The free app–a venture between Allure/Conde Nast and Canfield Scientific (update: Canfield Scientific is also the developer of the more-advanced VISIA analyzer)–is supposed to be all sorts of patented techy goodness and analyzes the condition of your skin using your camera phone, some algorithms, and a comparison system. Gimmick or the real deal?
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