New Domain: cecibeautytherapy.com!

I took the plunge and bought my own domain name! Please re-save your bookmarks and update your RSS feedbloglovin accounts with the new URL site address: cecibeautytherapy.com !

Unboxing April Beauteque Mask Maven Bag – Overall Happy!

The second Mask Maven bag arrived early April but I didn’t get to “unbox” (unbag?) until now. There were lots of other reveals from bloggers but the unique thing is that we all can get different “flavors” of masks from the same series. This will be shorter than my last post, first impressions only.

First overall impression: I like this April bag a WHOLE lot better than their launch bag in March. It was so disappointing that their very first bag was half-full of lower quality masks that didn’t have a great ingredients list, i.e. their star ingredients listed at the very bottom of the list. This made me question my commitment to a 6-month subscription but the April bag is keeping me hopeful for May. 

Haul: First RoseRoseShop Order! Gold Eye patches, Masks & Peripera’s new Lip Ink

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I came back from Taipei for only 1 week and I had already put in an Asian Beauty haul from Rose Rose Shop (RRS).  -___- You would think I was done with shopping but I had a small excuse to fit in a haul.  (And my Taipei travel haul to come – it’s impressive).

My boyfriend asked me again if there was anything HE could do for his dark eye circles. While I did find the Petitfée Gold & EGF Hydrogel Eye Patches in Taipei’s local beauty store, 86 Shop, they only carried the eye and spot patch variety and I wanted the full ying and yang eye patch shape. (See the differences below in my post.) Also prices were marked up. Converted to USD, they were running for about $15 a tub and I knew I could order them from ebay for $12-$13 with free shipping so I held back on getting them in Taipei.  

Over 100 Photos: New Kam Man NYC Chinatown Supermarket/Asian Beauty HEAVEN

Warning: Photo dump post/cosmetic porn ahead.

I’ve been living in Chinatown/LES Manhattan for almost 3 decades and I’ve seen my neighborhood transform from humble mom and pop shops to retail giants and new condo developments moving in. Before Asian beauty products ever came to the attention of Westerners, local Chinatown pharmacies and facial places would stock up on our home country’s beauty essentials.

I noticed that an old supermarket favorite, New Kam Man, has been getting a lot of attention because of it’s heavenly second floor of Asian beauty goods where I used to peruse in high school (more for the Hello Kitty products). They first opened in the early 1970’s as the largest Asian supermarket and operate 3 floors of beauty, food and home/kitchen goods. I went to Yelp to see if anyone has done this place any justice and while there were only a FEW photos of the beauty selection, it doesn’t give someone a good idea of all the offerings or price points. So, I went to do a visit and came back with drool-worthy EYECANDY.

Check out my photo dump after the jump! 

Unboxing March Beauteque Mask Maven Bag – Some Pleasant Surprises!

This is a late unboxing post for Beauteque’s Mask Maven bag but for reference sakes I will post it! This is the FIRST Mask Maven bag from Beauteque since they launched the new subscription in February 2015. I thought it was still important to include so that you can get some eye-candy while figuring out if this mask subscription will be right for you’re needs.

There isn’t a product info card but there’s an inspirational quote with general instructions on how to use a sheet mask and a wash-off pack. The quote is from Henry David Thoreau “Be yourself not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.”  Full reveal after the jump.

New Mask Subscription Service – Beauteque Mask Maven

I subscribed to my first mask subscription service from Beauteque – Mask Maven!  (Pronounced “Byoo-tek”.)

What made me pull the trigger and commit to 6 months of service is that this is a mask-only type of subscription. It’s not only sheet masks for your face but some surprises will be for your hair, feet, hands and whatever other areas companies created masks for! Have you seen the crotch mask for your bikini zone from MemeBox? Yea, cool things like that hopefully.

I like this subscription because I don’t feel like I’m hoarding and letting good products like face creams or serums go bad since masks are one-time use and can last as long as 2-3 years since each one is individually sealed. It takes much longer to go through a bottle or jar of cream than it does for a sheet mask. Rip it open, treat yourself for a night and it’s done and served its purpose (well, hopefully)!

Each mask pouch will contain 9 – 11 masks per month, pricing varies at which plan you want to commit to.

Review: Peripera Lumi Pang Lip Gloss (with REAL FRUIT EXTRACTS!)

I bought two Peripera Lumi Pang lip glosses because I saw a raving review of these online and couldn’t resist getting these faced with a BOGO deal on Clio’s NYC Union Sq grand opening. They’re $18USD each and you can get these priced at $7 from other e-tailers (just be mindful of shipping since they are shipped straight from Korea, for these, I suggest RoseRoseShop priced at $6.99 if you plan to buy a few more items n your order). I’ll review the Cushion Lips in a future post.

I’m drawn to Reds and Corals and I realize that these two shades don’t look too different out of the boxes but the RD05 “Sensual” has a berry tint to it (and Peri’s recommended shade) and the RD03 “Hi Twenty” is more coral. 

Store Visit: Club Clio in Union Sq, NYC Manhattan

Club Clio had opened it’s first Manhattan store back in Jan 2015 and I didn’t start my blog until today so I thought I would share some things from my first visit and some things I’ve learned since opening day.

Club Clio Union Sq location: 11 W 14th St, New York, NY 10011
More info: http://clubcliousa.com/ 

Value

I visited early Feb, a month after grand opening and they still had Grand Opening specials. The most enticing offer to me was the Buy One Get One Free offer on all Peripera lip products! The second promo I snagged was the Buy 10 Sheet Masks and get 5 Free (priced at $1 per sheet mask). So for $10, you get 15 masks in total – sure, I can try those out! They also had BOGO on their Goodal Want Sleeping Packs but priced at $40 each (while online prices were cheaper) I didn’t pull the trigger on those. 

Hello world! Why I EXIST

Hi there! 

I’m Cecilia and I’m starting this blog to share and keep track of my beauty journey. Over the years, I grew more and more of a fan of Asian beauty items because of their innovation, attractive/cute packaging, affordability and proven results. Korean products especially have earned a place in my heart.

With so many products and options, it got so overwhelming that I would search blog or youtube reviews before committing to buy, test products and research online to understand this whole new level of beauty. After 3 years of going through the learning curve, I think I can finally say that I know a thing or two about Asian beauty and the abundant offerings it has!

I’m a freckled Chinese-American located in New York City and the Asian beauty trend is taking this city (and the rest of the world) by storm! I’m witnessing brick and mortar stores pop up, more ecommerce sites offering international shipping (with English descriptions) and more buzz on beauty forums. It’s an exciting place to be right now (well, maybe Myeongdong is better?) and I want to share my passion with anyone who wants to experience this with me!

Hopefully this blog will be a comprehensive resource on Asian beauty shopping in NYC, provide helpful reviews on more obscure products and be your source for some beauty excitement!