Taste Central: the online store for snobs
Are you a snob? A snob is defined as a person who believes their tastes in a particular area are superior to others. You can be a music, food, bag, beauty, or shoe snob - all at the same time. It doesn't mean you're a terrible person, just that in the course of pursuing the things you care about, you've already narrowed down the qualities of a "good" find.
I am a snob. I'm particular about how I dress and the products I use on my face and body, simply because I already know what works and what doesn't. :) However, I'm not as concerned about how luxe a brand is as I am about the quality of the product. If it works and it's affordable at the same time then all the better! In my experience though, quality - the kind I will cherish, enjoy, and maximize to the end - often comes at a price.
And that is why I love Taste Central. It's a well-curated online store that contains only things that cater to, well, snobs. Haha. It's a website by tastemakers for tastemakers; for people who are willing to blow cash on the good suff. Taste Central is actually the sister site of Deal Grocer. Instead of discounts though, you can buy products outright.
There are quite a few awesome things in there for beauty enthusiasts such as we. There are hard-to-find brands like Jo Malone, Aesop, Fresh, Philosophy, and Bumble & Bumble. There are also quietly famous brands you've never heard of before but are too expensive to be hipster (lol) - Chantecaille, Percy & Reed, Red Ken, Mukti, Babor, and Frederick Feckkai.
The only makeup there I think is a Base Escentuals foundation, a Chantecaille loose powder and lipstick . All the other products (so far) are for facial, body, and hair care. Oh and nail polishes! They have Chanel and O.P.I.
Here are my picks!
Chantecaille’s Loose Powder. This got pretty good reviews at Makeupalley and other blogs. But whoa, the price. It's around P4,000.
Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey. I love how sophisticated Jo Malone is. It doesn't even try.
Aesop Parsley Seed Antioxidant Serum. I want to try Aesop! Wonder if the rumors are true that it's coming to Manila?
Aesop Parsley Seed Antioxidant Eye Serum
Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Oil
Shu Uemura set at 70% off - it's only P840 and has other variants. These are generous samples, I believe. Still a steal!
I have this Fresh Soy Face Cleanser (sold out already). Temptalia actually reviewed this and liked it! I just used it last night and it's like a foamier Celeteque that smells like cucumber. Very nice. I'll post a review if it works for me. ;)
I can (and have) literally spent hours just checking everything at Taste Central. The home section is a completely different story! So yes I think the site is worth a visit if you have very particular tastes. ;)
