Where This MAC Makeup Artist Shops For Scents in Long Beach

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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Image via Yelp

Gregory Arlt is the director of makeup artistry for MAC Cosmetics. Born and raised in LA, he has been doing makeup professionally for more than 20 years and counts Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham among his regulars. And if you've ever had the pleasure to meet him, you'd know he smells good—real good. Arlt's secret fragrance source? A mystical shop in Long Beach.

In the spirit of all things different, I give you The Eye Of The Cat in Long Beach. I discovered this amazing 'sorcerer's shop' on accident around 1989 when I was shopping at my OTHER obscure favorite shop, Record Reaction, which is sadly no more. The Eye Of The Cat is essentially an occult retailer. When I walk in I feel like I've stumbled into a world that's somewhere between Harry Potter and The Craft. I am always fascinated while shopping there, seeing rows and rows of herbs, incense, bath oils and salts, and the most extensive supply of 'magical' oils one could ever imagine. I wear the oils as a fragrance, but they can be used for so many things including love spells, money drawing, confidence boosting or to cleanse your aura. That's why I go; I've been mixing and wearing a blends of various oils for years that people literally stop me on the street to ask what I'm wearing. While I'll eschew the black cat bones and bat hearts that they sell, I'll keep coming back for the oils as long as the place is standing there! Talk about off the beaten path!

· MAC Cosmetics [Official Site]
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The Eye Of The Cat

3314 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803