There’s a chain of drugstores out here called ABC Stores, and you’ll find one on almost every corner in Honolulu. They outnumber the Starbucks, and that’s no joke!
Like most drugstores, they carry lots of miscellaneous knickknack-ery (aka stuff you’d end up giving to your coworkers), but they’re upgrading their image when it comes to beauty. Now, they carry products I’d actually want to keep for myself.
The Island Girl line of beauty products, exclusive to ABC Stores, ranges from cuticle oils to nail polishes and eyeshadows. Prices are generally low, like around $2.50-$10 per set, and since some of the palettes and polish sets include multiple shades, the price often breaks down to less than a dollar per color.
The new line should be available for purchase on the ABCStores.com website soon.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Tiffany says
December 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pmHey Karen! Cute cuticle oils!
Sephora’s blog mentioned your blog today and I thought that was exciting 🙂
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pmHi Tiffany,
They are really cute… I’ll have to snag a bottle before I go home. Plus, they’re huge!
Oh, thank you for letting me know. I’ll hop on over and check it out. I love their blog!
Got any exciting plans for the weekend?
Allison says
December 19th, 2008 at 12:30 pmooo, karen, those polish colors are fantastic!
have you tried any yet? i’m curious about the quality. $2.99 a pop is awesome for those colors!
Tiera says
December 19th, 2008 at 12:54 pmWhen I worked in Waikiki I used to get snacks at the ABC store all the time (spam musubis, hot dots, lunchables, doritos)… I should have paid more attention to the cosmetics section!
But I know they have TONS of really cute Hello Kitty Hawaii stuff! Definitely a must to take home!
Tami says
December 19th, 2008 at 12:57 pmHey Karen,
I just checked out the website and came across a product that greatly piqued my interest–Wicked Wahine perfume set. Have you ever tried any of their products? I wanted your opinion before I place my order. Thanks 🙂
Tiffany says
December 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pmI love their blog too – it’s always giving me new lemmings!
This weekend is gonna be pretty low key – everyone I know has gone out of town for the holidays it seems. I need to brave the mall tomorrow to finish shopping, and maybe go see a movie. What about you? Any big plans in Hawaii this weekend? 🙂
Indian Girl says
December 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pmThe polishes are super cute, especially the pink one.
Indian Girl´s last blog post..Three Custom Colors Lipstick Collection inspired by The L Word
pepper says
December 19th, 2008 at 1:49 pmYou should stock up – those products would make such cute gifts! Especially the “hawaii” palette – who wouldn’t be excited for that ?!
jojoba says
December 19th, 2008 at 1:56 pminteresting packaging. looks like toys! 🙂
jojoba´s last blog post..Review: The Body Shop Sparkle Eye Palette 01 & 02, Sparkling Seduction Collection, Christmas 2008
Vampy Varnish says
December 19th, 2008 at 2:22 pmYep, I remember those ABC stores all over the place. I wish I had some of those polishes now!
Vampy Varnish´s last blog post..Carolyn New York Swatches – The Blues
Mariah says
December 19th, 2008 at 2:22 pmOMGOMG! I would KILL to get my hands on those polishes!! NICE!
Lehea says
December 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pmI came across alot of those things while on my Hawaii trip this past summer. I’ll probably run into them again when I go to Vegas next month. They have an ABC store in Fashion Show Mall and at the shops in Planet Hollywood.
lindsay says
December 19th, 2008 at 3:53 pmI haven’t been to ABC store in so long, but I might stop by the Ala Moana one to get that SUPER CUTE cuticule oil!
lexi says
December 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pmOMG i NEED those nailpolishes! They are goooooorgeous!!! too bad i’m in cold ol’ canada 🙁
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:53 pmHi Allison,
I haven’t yet! My toes are bare right now (although I brought a bottle o’ Essie with me, heh) so I’m tempted to go crazy with the neon! I have to be careful what I purchase because I overpacked and don’t have a lot of room in my suitcase. I’ve yet to figure out the art of traveling light, sigh.
How was your Friday? Are you ready for the weekend?
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:53 pmHi Tiera,
Oh, I must’ve missed the Hello Kitty Hawaii stuff in my pre-coffee haze. I will have to go back and check.
BTW I had my first Acai bowl today! It was so yummy!
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:53 pmHi Tami,
I haven’t! When I go back to the store I will see if there are any testers and give ’em a sniff. Which one were you most interested in?
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:54 pmHi Tiffany,
Today was spent at this huge mall called Ala Moana… El Hub and I had to finish some last minute Christmas shopping. Tomorrow I think I will have the chance to go to the beach so that I can surf for an hour or two. I’m terribly out of shape so I chances are if I go I will be falling on my bum/face/side most of the time. 🙂
I think if we get the chance we’re going to catch a movie, too! I want to see Slumdog Millionaire or the oh-so-cheesy lookin’ Four Christmases! How about you?
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:54 pmHi Indian Girl,
I was surprised that so many of the colors were really cute and trendy!
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:55 pmHi Pepper,
Good call… le sigh, too bad most of my friends aren’t as beauty obsessed! I would love to give these as fun stocking stuffer gifts!
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:55 pmHi Jojoba,
Yah! It’s very youthful and fun, but not too adolescent!
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:55 pmHi Vampy Varnish,
Yah, they’re like the Starbucks of Waikiki. 🙂
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pmHi Mariah,
I had a feeling you’d like the crazy neon colors!
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pmHi Lehea,
Oh yah! There’s also one right outside The California Hotel, too (big surprise, huh?).
Karen says
December 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pmHi Lindsay,
That is the item that’s tempting me most. I love the cute lil’ flowers in it.
I was just at Ala Moana today. It was crazy busy!
Tami says
December 19th, 2008 at 11:28 pmHey Karen,
It was a set with four scents in it. If I remember correctly there was pineapple coconut, pear, papaya and mango. I might be a little off on the names of last three scents, I have become a little forgetful in my old age lol.
Luv J says
December 19th, 2008 at 11:53 pmI picked up those Island Girl oils last time I was in Maui.. love them. How’s the weather there? Man, I’m dreaming of being on the island.. sooo cold here right now.. *sniffles*
Ellery says
December 20th, 2008 at 1:20 amThe packaging is sooo cute! I love the baby pink nail polish in the last picture!
Ellery´s last blog post..New samples
Allison says
December 20th, 2008 at 7:14 amkaren,
my week was lovely. i just finished my final grad classes EVER, and have spent the majority of the week chillin out, maxxin’, and relaxin’
i am enamored by the neon orange and yellow cremes i see in your picture…if you decide to try one, pretty please post pics! i mean, really, what’s ONE bottle of nail polish going to hurt??? 😉
Tiffany says
December 20th, 2008 at 9:50 amLOL, I want to see 4 Christmases as well, if we can make it to the movies! We also finished up Christmas shopping today, we went early and there was NO ONE at the mall – it was crazy!
Hope you have fun if you go surfing! That’s something I have ALWAYS wanted to do!
Vanessa says
December 20th, 2008 at 3:51 pmThat is totally cute. I couldn’t help but notice the “Hawaii” palette missing an A after the W (lol).
Briana says
December 21st, 2008 at 9:42 amI remember seeing this stuff. In fact one of my friends was in Hawaii a few months before me and forgot to check her Island Girls lipglosses and they got taken away at the airport. So I got her some more when I went. I didn’t try any of the stuff, but it was all very cute 🙂
lexi says
December 21st, 2008 at 11:35 amawwww – i loved the ABC stores! it’s funny cuz admist all the LV and other high end shops along Oahu there are ABC stores in between them!
Gloria says
December 21st, 2008 at 12:09 pmDid I read that they carry Hello Kitty things?!? Someone needs to get me to Hawaii, stat!
The Island Girl makeup is sooo cute. I love the lipgloss palette and the eyeshadows! So so so cute!!! I don’t see it on the ABC Store website though. 🙁 I’ll have to ask my coworker to get me stuff when he goes in February. LoL, sending a boy to buy makeup for me.
pia says
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:22 pmwaaaahhhh…hawaii sure has tons of cute makeup. I love the nail polishes you showed us. Me want big time. Is there any way that the stores have online shop? Have a fantastic holiday, Karen! XOXO
pia´s last blog post..If you’re ever in need of bold orange…
Emily says
December 28th, 2008 at 4:00 pmI remember the ABC Stores! I got a roll-on clear lipgloss with dried flower leaves when I was in HI back in ’02. I adored that lipgloss.
Virginia says
March 11th, 2009 at 10:45 amI wish there was a place here on the Mainland where I could find Island Girl eyeshadow wheels. The quality and colors are amazing.
Emma says
March 10th, 2010 at 4:54 pmI am in Las Vegas right now, and I just bought 4 of the nailpolishes in the ABC Store in the Planet Hollywood mall. My neighbor bought them too, but she bought them in Hawaii. These nailpolishes are really cute, but make sure you have a clear top coat because it chips easily. Other than that, I love the nailpolish!
Wenc says
May 10th, 2010 at 7:53 amI just came home from Guam this morning. They have branches of the said ABC stores in Guam and in Saipan, aside from the ones in Hawaii. I was able to buy nailpolishes for myself, some for gifts and the like. I also bought some eyeshadows for more gifts. I tried the nailpolish a while ago, they were literally quick dry. I love the colors that Island Girl offers. <3
simone says
July 5th, 2011 at 1:14 pmHello to everyone. I just wanted to say that I just discovered the Island Girl nail polish in vegas this past week and the colors are great. I have been using it for about a week now. The only real draw back I see with it is that it chips VERY EASILY and quite a bit. Not good for a girl like me who has to have perfect nails all the time. I will play around some more with it. Different colors may chip more readily than others. Real bummer cause the packaging is great-you get lots of polish for $2.99. But….sometimes you get what you pay for 🙂