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PSA (Pretty Service Announcement): Where to Buy Asian Makeup and Skincare

Renee’s Asian cosmetics haul was from Alhambra/Monterey Park in the Los Angeles area.  But thankfully Asian cosmetics are increasingly available online from international sellers and even in regular American stores and websites.

First, check out Skin & Tonics’ guide on specialized Asian websites and Amazon and eBay sellers that sell Asian cosmetics.  I’ve also successfully bought from TGIWholesale.  These sellers tend to be generous with random free samples, but shipping from Asia can take 2-4 weeks and be expensive.

Second, the four American stores/websites below carry various Asian brands, which might come as a surprise.  Compared to purchasing from an international seller, they might offer these benefits (of course, it varies by store): Continue reading “PSA (Pretty Service Announcement): Where to Buy Asian Makeup and Skincare”

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HD Baby One More Time! Makeup Forever HD Foundation Invisible Cover Foundation

While I’m on a roll and shared this site with the Facebook world, I wanted to quickly review Makeup Forever’s HD Foundation, the product that everyone wants to yap about.
Here’s my non-madeup face. I know it looks like a cat’s ass right out of the shower but be patient!

So I’m lucky to have pretty smooth skin with no zitz, scars, or craters. This is from years of dedicated pampering so it’s not like I didn’t work for it! Just cuz you’re born tall doesn’t mean you can play in the NBA mmmkay?

Right after this I moisturized and slapped on 1.5 pumps of the Makeup Forever HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Shade128 (Almond). I used the unscientific method of applying with my hands, no tools. The salesgirl at Alcone NYC (a profession makeup artist store for stage, film, and special effects makeup) did a swatch test. This was a shade darker than I need, but summer is here so I might as well do the “tan” look. It matched my darker forehead but my cheeks are a shade lighter.

Here are the bottle and swatch on the inner side of my left arm.

Continue reading “HD Baby One More Time! Makeup Forever HD Foundation Invisible Cover Foundation”

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Tofu Infinity and Beyond! – Moritaya Tofu Yogurt Pack (Tama no Koshi)

On this gorgeous Sunday…also depressing Sunday cuz most of us have to go back to work tomorrow (URGH) I decided to do a cheerer upper by slathering on the Moritaya Tofu Yogurt Pack. Again, in one of my previous posts I said that “pack” is another name for mask. This is something I just understood recently, how provincial of me.

So fermentation is a big deal in Asian cosmetics. We (not Angela and I,  but the Asian cosmetics folks) handpick and ferment stuff in barrels like they are nice fine wine. And of course what better example of fermentation than tofu? Through the coagulation process, salts, enzymes, and good acids are added so perhaps these can aid in making your skin glow like a shiny silken piece of white tofu…?

The container is so deliciously cute that I didn’t mind the $27 price tag (for 4.8 ounces of mask! Compare this to brand-name Kiehl’s which is $25 for 5 oz jar). And the texture…oh the lovely white, creamy-yet-jiggly texture made me wanna slap copious amounts on my face right there in the aisle.

Here’s the container:

99c8f-img_3192 Continue reading “Tofu Infinity and Beyond! – Moritaya Tofu Yogurt Pack (Tama no Koshi)”

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Snow Water & Sleeping Beauty – Laneige Snow Water Sleeping Pack_EX

So on my cross-country flight back from LAX-JFK, I merrily dove into experimentation with Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX. I had seen this advertised in Asian malls and supermarkets before but the name never stirred excitement until now. Phoebe from Image Cosmetics (inside that Asian plaza on 500 N. Atlantic) said it is awesome, and I tend to believe and like her as a salesgirl. For those unfamiliar, the term “pack” means a mask. Not all masks are made alike. Some are wash-off, some are peel-off, some are actually leave-in moisturizers. Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX is pretty much a light moisturizer made to be left on overnight.

It has over a thousand reviews on Amazon at 4.5 stars. This is a significant achievement for a beauty product due to the vast degree of variance between different people’s skin. Also, bad skin can be like obesity. Few products will cure it completely and the afflicted have a tendency to blame their troubles on anything they try, unless it delivers a miracle like the birth of Jesus.

So I had the luck & pleasure of spreading out across three plane seats with my Squadew mist and Laneige jar. I washed off all makeup, sunblock, and moisturizer before misting with Squadew and applying the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX.

Continue reading “Snow Water & Sleeping Beauty – Laneige Snow Water Sleeping Pack_EX”

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My Lips from the Star Tutorial a la Cheon Song-Yi / Jun Ji-Hyun (Using Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in LR07 Love Me Pink and TonyMoly Tint in Cherry Pink)

While Renee works her way through the animal kingdom, let me share some lip looks that I’m drawn to lately.

I was briefly am still obsessed with the Korean drama “My Love from the Star” (also known as “My Love from Another Star” and free on Hulu and DramaFever).

Story aside, I loved taking in the characters’ makeup looks.  Cheon Song-Yi (played by Jun Ji-Hyun), Korea’s sweetheart, sported full-on bright lips in a rainbow of feminine colors: cherry red, deep red, orange, hot pink, violet pink, coral pink, . . . gawgeous.  Her best friend/proverbial bridesmaid, Yoo Se-Mi (played by Yoo In-Na), sported the very-popular-in-Korea gradient lip, usually in orange or peach tones.

Here I show you three different lip looks inspired by “My Love from the Star” and all those beautiful Korean stars with hateably glowy and clear skin.

*Note: Today was overcast so all of the photos came out dull and cool-toned.  I edited them to try to show the true color, but I don’t think I captured the brightness and richness of the colors.

1. Over lightly moisturized lips, pat on a suuuuper light layer of foundation (I used a BB cushion).  Stop here if you like corpse lips.

Continue reading “My Lips from the Star Tutorial a la Cheon Song-Yi / Jun Ji-Hyun (Using Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in LR07 Love Me Pink and TonyMoly Tint in Cherry Pink)”

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“Whoo” Let the Dogs Out? The History of Whoo’s Gongjinhyang Skin Care Set

Ok I saw Ange’s post and got super duper excited and I’m on vacation so I can post 15 reviews if I wanna!

As part of “field research” for this blog I bought TWO skin care sets from Artland inside the San Gabriel Superstore in LA area: The History of Whoo and the other by PURETEM. Both are from South Korea and have a long list of (mostly natural) ingredients that sound like a botanist’s wet dream. Similar to dogs that can sense epileptic seizures, strange and exotic ingredients in cosmetics can work in inexplicable ways…

I will review The History of Whoo first, since it seems to be the fancy pantsy equivalent to La Mer and I’m giddy at looking at the miniature gift set. Korean cosmetics feel like bargains because you get more products at a relatively reasonable price, including lovely travel sets of miniature bottles. However, some of the high end stuff are in the same price range as La Mer or La Prairie. Thus…I am prone to thinking they are more effective because the Korean Olay equivalents are around $10 a pop.

The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Skin Care Lotion.
I bought the lotion and received the miniature set for “free”. Yeah it doesn’t feel free because the lotion bottle costs $85. But from the rare and exotic list of ingredients, I decided that it’s probably worth it. From what I read on other blogs (http://sulwhasoo-sulwhasoo.blogspot.com/2011/01/history-of-whoo-gongjinhyang-review.html) it is a great line for us 30-something-year-old women. Continue reading ““Whoo” Let the Dogs Out? The History of Whoo’s Gongjinhyang Skin Care Set”

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Mascara Must-Have: Anastasia Lash Genius Review

Hi, world and Google footprint!  Angela here.  I like to think I’m the softer side of TheDurianGray BeautyandtheCat. . . we’ll see.  It’s the first day, and I’m still up at 1am blogging.

For my first post, and because it’s freakin’ 1am, I wanted to start off with something simple and easy to photograph.  So today I’m introducing you to a little known item that I can’t live without: the clear waterproofing topcoat for mascara.

The title of this post is a little fib as it’s not a must-have for everyone.  But it sounded better than “Mascara Must-Have for a Narrowly Defined Demographic and Just Optional for Everyone Else.”  If you read on, you might recognize yourself as a member of that lucky demographic, and if so, this just might be life-changing info.

You see, the bane of my makeup existence has always been my hooded eyes.  Sometimes referred to as Asian eyes (even though many Asians don’t have them) or monolids (which are actually different), hooded eyes mean that my poor lashes are constantly touching my upper lids.  The constant friction and oils from my skin inevitably cause the melting of any mascara within an hour.  Yes, even waterproof mascara.  Yes, even after applying a great eye primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion) and powdering the area.

So what’s a mascara-loving girl to do? Continue reading “Mascara Must-Have: Anastasia Lash Genius Review”

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You’ve Got Snail! My Escargot Obsession – Nature Republic Solution Special Set

Angela and I are two ladies who are obsessed with skin care and beauty products (like every other lady ever). So now that we’ve provided that detailed introduction, WELCOME to our first blog post. After reading thousands (ok maybe half a dozen) blog posts, we’ve decided to come up with another one. Because that’s why.

Angela works as a lawyer and I am a bitchy finance person so we will keep most of our posts short and to the point. Due to the schizophrenic information age, I personally believe that more than a few hundred words WILL bore people and lead them to miss critical information.
So here is my first product review (not the first product I’ve ever loved…oh that beautiful cheapo Oil of Olay). Ange will post the next one right Ange?

Nature Republic’s Snail Solution Set: Skin Booster, Emulsion, and Cream. To be applied in that order based on decreasing concentration of snail slime.

Continue reading “You’ve Got Snail! My Escargot Obsession – Nature Republic Solution Special Set”