Confessions of a Beauty Addict

USA Today!

2006-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

HELLA GOOD had a brief mention in today's USA Today's Small Business blog and a neat mention about my other personal blog, Rare Bird Finds, which I run with Sharla from Sharma Designs, who is also mentioned and quoted in the blurb :)

Under Construction

2006-08-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about all the fabulous new products HELLA GOOD is coming out with in a few short weeks! We're putting this blog on hiatus and under construction. For all the new product launches, we've decided revamp this blog (ha, I know - I change this blog as many times as Cher changes outfits) It'll be worth the wait, I promise!

xo, Mei-Lynn

My Beauty Article is Live!

2006-08-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

I wrote a beauty article for the online fashion magazine, Fashiontribes, about the look for Fall. You can read it here:

Morning After Make-up: For Fall, Think Smudgy Bedroom Eyes with a Twist

Enjoy!

Posted in Beauty Tips_

Discontinued Hella Good Products

2006-08-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sadly, we must say goodbye to Hottie Pants, our caramel and vanilla pudding sugar scrub, and Butter Me Up, our butterscotch milk bath. May they rest in peace. We made the business decision to discontinue making them because of sales and/or because of the time it took to make them.

However, for those who did love these products, don't fear! We are coming out with a bunch of new bath products (yippeee) in the next month or so and I guarantee you there will be a butterscotch-scented something and a caramel-vanilla-pudding-scented something (this scent being a favorite scent among men - I swear, I think the majority of pple who bought Hottie Pants were guys for the women in their lives).

Please stay tuned for new products!

Can Safe

2006-08-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Ah, when I think of Aqua Net, I remember the 80's and how girls would stand in front of the bathroom mirror at school, pull out an entire bottle of Aqua Net from their fringe or denim handbag, and begin spraying their hair like they were fumigating for termites. Those were the good ole days. While cruising the net, I stumbled upon this product that I thinkis the perfect safe for women - it looks like an ordinary bottle of Aqua Net hairspray, but you can hide valuables inside it. Thieves won't even bother with it. Neat! $14.98 at Things You Never Knew Existed.

Posted in Beauty Products_

My Failed Trip to Felt Club

2006-08-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

So, I was pretty darn excited about going to Felt Club even though it meant driving about 32 miles to get to Hollywood. Tara and I go to get sandwiches from a sandwich shop and then we hop into my car. One hour and forty minutes later after battling traffic and circling around the block searching for parking, we arrive. I hop out of the car and then I hear Tara say, "Where's my purse?"

It turns out Tara left her purse at the sandwich shop. After some frantic calls to try and get the sandwich shop's number, she finally gets a hold of someone who says, "Yep, we have your purse."

So, we hop back into my car and 32 miles later arrive back to where we began. Luckily, nothing was missing from her purse. She hugged it close to her chest.

That is how I went to Felt Club and yet didn't go to Felt Club. So close, yet so far.

Felt Club - Be There!

2006-08-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

I love it when I have the opportunity to go to a craft show and be a shopper rather than a vendor. When you're a vendor at a show, you're sort of glued to your booth unless you have to run to the restroom or grab a bite (if you can be so lucky).

Tomorrow (Saturday), I'm off to Felt Club, a really neat-o craft show for some heavy duty shopping.

Here's the info:

FELT CLUB | Sat., August 12, 11am-6pm | Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

A few of my favorite vendors are going to be there. I'm so excited!

Aquolina Pink Sugar

2006-08-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

Aquolina's Pink Sugar is the yummiest smelling fragrance. It has an upscale cotton candy scent that is to die for if you're into sweet fragrances (like me!). Aside from cotton candy, there's a bit of caramel, raspberry and vanilla in there. Mmmm!

Posted in Beauty Products_

Eye Masks are Now Available!

2006-08-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ahh, yay! The Hangover from Hell cooling eye mask and the Sexy Mo Fo sleep mask are now available on the site.

The Hangover from Hell cooling mask cools the eyes after a rough night of partying. It helps make you feel refreshed and wonderful.

The Sexy Mo Fo sleep mask was lovingly made by Jenni of Hambone and Jennicakes. She had recently made eye masks that appeared in OK! Magazine worn by Anne Heche.

I am in love with both our new products!

Visit www.hellagoodproducts.com and take a peek!

Posted in Hella Good News_

We're Adding 2 New Products!

2006-07-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yay! We're adding two new products to our site some time this week (stay tuned to this blog on their official launch).

The first is a 100% cotton eye mask with an elastic strap in the HELLA GOOD colors of pink and brown with the words "Sexy Mo Fo" embroidered on the front. Super cute! It's exclusive to the HELLA GOOD store and complements our "Sexy Mo Fo" bath scrubb y.

The second is a cooling eye mask made by a London-based company. The mask, adorably named Hangover From Hell (pictured above), is for the morning after a wild night and you need to de-puff those eyes. It's also meant to complement our coffee-based bath scrubby, "The Morning After."

Stay tuned!

Posted in Hella Good News_

Win Free Beauty Products at Allure!

2006-07-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Allure Magazine is giving away 16,130 free beauty products!!! Every day for the month of August they are giving products away for free. To see the goodies and to check out how to enter each day, go to allure.com/freestuff.

Posted in Beauty Products_

Don't Hassel the Hoff

2006-07-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally cooled down! YAY!

I spent a great deal of time indoors making bath products and watching a lot of TV. I am a fan of "America's Got Talent" and I actually like David Hasselhoff as a judge. I also spent some time watching him sing on You Tube. They make me giggle. Here's one of my favorites:

Du by Davel Hasselhoff

He's like a German Elvis, no?

To celebrate the break in the weather, I think I'm going to get myself a "Don't Hassel the Hoff" T-shirt. I want one really badly.

Okay, you can make fun of me now.

Posted in Random Musings_

Hot Hot Hot!

2006-07-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

It's way too hot in Los Angeles. It's over 100 degrees and I feel like I'm melting. I really admire women and men who look like they're dry as powder and their shirt collar doesn't even look wet. I'm the one who's patting at her face. I know I'm in bad shape the minute I feel the beads of sweat on my upper lip. Lovely, I know.

The worse part is slipping into a hot vehicle. Ohmygoodness, it makes me feel like I'm going to die until the A/C kicks in. There's a product called AutoCool that supposedly keeps your car a cool 70 degrees so you never to deal with a boiling hot interior. Does anyone know if it works? I searched the Internet for reviews but can't find any. I am *this close* to buying it. If I do, I will definitely give a review. Eh, it is only $14.99 so I may just splurge.

With the sun this hot, don't forget to put SPF all over your body and to keep your make-up to a minimum. Wear a large brim hat if you have it, or buy yourself this pretty parasol that we posted about on my other blog, Rare Bird Finds.

Edited to add: Thank you, Selene, for finding reviews for AutoCool. Turns out it's junk. Wahh. It did sound too good to be true :(

Posted in Random Musings_

Rubber Ducks

2006-07-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of the rubber duck and I think it's because as a kid I never had one - but I always did! Here are a few rubber ducks I discovered that are different and would certainly make bath time more fun. There's the personal massager rubber duck, there are designer ducks, there's the glow-in-the-dark duckie, there's the duck radio, there's the color- changing duck, there's the bling-bling duck, there's the mood light duck, and finally there are the devil ducks.

And, for those HELLA GOOD LLC customers who spend $35 or more at www.hellagoodproducts.com - they still get a mini rubber duckie in their order.

Posted in Random Musings_

My Apology

2006-07-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I gave a presentation last week and an encore presentation this week on the topic of "How To Start Your Own Online Business." It's such a broad topic, so I gave a basic overview. Each topic, such as marketing for example, could've been its own presentation. However, I realized while talking to my audience about blogs, I felt a pang of guilt because I was breaking the very cardinal sin I was telling them to avoid - don't post sporadically, keep your blog content fresh and updated.

I apologize for posting sporadically. Sometimes I just don't have time to post. Other times I feel like what I do have to say is probably horribly boring.

So, I am going to work on being a better poster. I should practice what I preach :)

Posted in Random Musings_

Ow! Pierced Eye Glasses

2006-07-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

I wear glasses. I love my glasses, actually. Just today someone asked me if I would consider Lasik and my answer is no only because I've worn glasses since I was in the second grade and they are a part of who I am. They're also my security blanket.

However, I recently heard of a dude who invented pierced glasses. That's right. They pierce your eye glasses to your nose bridge. The lens are attached to the piercing with a super strong magnet so you can remove them before bedtime. Although the FAQ page says it doesn't hurt, it still looks painful to me, but I am a wimp. I may love eye glasses, but I will never pierce them onto my face.

The final product is still being worked on but will be launched soon. Expected cost is up to $100.

Posted in Random Musings_

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

For those readers in the U.S., have a happy and safe Independence Day!

Copy Cats are Nasty Folks

2006-06-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Ek. I've been on the phone a lot with our attorney. There happens to be quite a few copy cat companies out there who think it's perfectly OK to copy HELLA GOOD's products. I don't mean just create a competing product - I mean, literally take the words off the packaging and off the site and slap it on their products and site, and call it a day.

Uhm, hello?

The last time I went through this headache, the company's owner apologized after receiving her cease and desist letter and said she was "being lazy" - as if that is sufficient explanation as to why our bath scrubby's copy was verbatim on her similar product.

Not to be snarky (okay, a little snarky), but if a company is so lazy that they have to steal - yes, steal - someone else's creative ideas, then you really have to wonder what the quality of their products are like when they have so little integrity.

Infringing on our copyright creates confusion in the marketplace. Our customers see the copied product and think it's somehow related to us. They buy it (and it's not necessarily cheaper, either) and are dissatisfied by the overall quality. That's unfair to the customer and to us.

I urge you, if you happen to stumble across an obvious copy cat - oh, you'll know it when you see it - boycott their products and write them an email telling them that you don't support copyright infringement.

Posted in Random Musings_

Sephora's Marketing Campaign

2006-06-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sephora spent $18,000 for a 250,000 coffee cup campaign to advertise their new store in NYC. The gimmick? Street vendors were handing New Yorkers their cups of coffees in a special cup with a printed pink lipstick smear near the mouth of the cup.

Personally, I would be grossed out, although I admittedly have a thing about seeing lipstick on a cup. Whenever I leave a lipstick mark, I immediately try to wipe it off. Only time will tell if this marketing campaign - "New York Pretty" - worked.

Posted in Random Musings_

BORBA Clarifying Chocolate Part 2

2006-06-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, I wrote about this chocolate bar that is supposed to clear up your skin the other day. It is being sold exclusively at Nordstrom, but the information on how to use it (i.e. How often? How long before you see results? How many calories?) is missing from their site. I wrote Nordstrom to get some answers, and here is the email I received:

The bar is only to be used as a supplement with the Borba Skin
Balancing Water. When used with the Borba Skin Balancing  Water, it will
increase the effectiveness by 10%. The Bar will have no effect when used by
itself.

Each bar has 270 calories, it is recommended to consume one square each
day. Continuous use of this product will improve your skin's clarity.

There is no time span for usage. You may incorporate this into your
daily routine!

 Posted in Beauty Products_

My Letter to the Editor of Audrey Magazine

2006-06-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Audrey magazine? I hadn't until this past January. It's a glossy mag that's geared towards Asian American women. Being half-Asian, I really was intrigued by the magazine - and I ended up loving it! And, I had written to them to let them know what I thought.

Well, it turns out that in the June/July issue (on page 12) is my letter to the editor:

A friend recently loaned me her latest issue of Audrey magazine and I am ashamed to admit it, but I almost don't want to give it back! I don't know why I never head of Audrey, but I will definitely be signing up for a subscription. Keep up the amazing work!

Mei-Lynn Destouche

Los Angeles, CA

Check out the magazine if you happen to stumble upon it. It's really quite good.

Posted in Random Musings_

Feelin' Crafty? Make Your Own Bathtub Caddy!

2006-06-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

If you're feeling crafty, I found great directions on how to go about making your own bathtub caddy.

You can find the directions here at HGTV.

Posted in Random Musings_

BORBA Clarifying Chocolate

2006-06-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, remember the days when people used to say that chocolate caused break-outs? Well, BORBA - the skin care company that treats the skin from inside and out - has come out with a Swiss dark chocolate bar that they claim will improve your skin. According to them, it will "promote clarity, prevent breakouts and reduce irritation and redness."

I'm sure it's possible, but my question is, how many bars of chocolate do you need to eat a day? And, how many calories?

It's sold exclusively at Nordstrom. $8 for one 1.79 oz. bar.

Posted in Beauty Products_

Ack! I'm Sick!

2006-06-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so no posts from me in awhile because I have been sick with flu-like symptoms. Of course, I worried I had the Bird Flu and then worried I had meningitis. Of course, now that I'm starting to feel better except for a nasty sore throat, I realize I worry too much and have an overactive imagination.

Once I'm all better, I'll post more.

P.S. Thank you, Tara, for holding down the fort while I nurse myself back to health!

Posted in Random Musings_

Quote of the Day

2006-06-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

"In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally." - W. Somerset Maugham

I agree. Personally, I think Hollywood should get more apples. Don't you?

Posted in Random Musings_