Thursday, June 01, 2006

Domesticity Retail Mini-Roundup: Summer Edition

Today: not a good day, considering that I was already PMSing like a fiend and I couldn't wait for school to be over (and for a limo to take me to the nearest spa so I could get myself un-kinked before boarding that plane to Manila). Amidst all the procrastination, however, I was able to go spend some time at the usual haunts...

- At The Store Formerly Known as Holiday Mart Kaheka (come on, Hawaii readers, you know which store I'm talking about), I finally got that tester for L'Oreal's Bare Naturale mineral makeup to work. Lo and behold, more coverage from the powder! Too bad the tester didn't match my skin. And too bad I won't be buying one until I come back from Manila.

(During my trip to this store, I also heard "Do I Make You Proud" - which I mistook for a Bo Bice song until I realized that it was my man Taylor Hicks singing. Now I'm convinced - bravo, Taylor. Then again, I'm the person who can't wait for Taylor to be in the same room with J.D. "Eyeliner Costs Me A" Fortune, just to hear what the ensuing craziness will look like...)

- Speaking of the Manila trip... So the new L'Occitane store opened at Ala Moana, and even though I know they might move to Waikiki once the Royal Hawaiian renovation is over, I really don't want them to move back there and turn into a gigantic tourist trap. (It's the same deal with Lush - I don't want them to go to Waikiki and just be stuck with the tourist riff-raff. At least at Ala Moana they also get the local fashionistas and class-cutting gawkers.) Anyway, the Ala Moana store is sweet - not as gigantic as their outlet store in Las Vegas, or as sexy as their branch on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, but it's surprisingly wallet-friendly, IMO - I just fell in love with their tiny guest-size soaps (hello, Mimosa- I ought to take you with me in my travel bag) and the cans of candles and balms imprinted in Braille. All the favorites were there, too, from Verbena to Sweet Almond to Eau des 9 Reines (my new favorite rose scent) - and, of course, the lavender and shea butter. Also, I've been looking at their Mamans et Bebes balm, which I'm planning to get for a friend who's expecting her own little bebe in the fall.

- Sephora, as usual, makes my head spin. I have yet to encounter anything offensive this season - no perfume watches, shower heads, or annoying celebrity fragrances on this visit - but I think I'm in love with Pout's Superbalm, which looks, tastes, and feels like a delicious dessert. And while the name still annoys me, I was heartened to see our friends at Arrogance Mix come up with some surprisingly sweet cocktail-inspired fragrances.

- And finally, seeing all the old-school, pre-Carmen Electra-fied Max Factor products on sale at Longs gave me memories of the guy who taught the makeup class I went to one summer in Manila (back when I was a clueless, grungy teen), who proudly proclaimed the wonders of MF's blush: "Subtle Amber! It's fantastic! For day, for night!" Now that I look back on it, maybe I should snap up that last case of Subtle Amber, just for the memories.

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