HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...celebrating with more Hello Kitty

Today is my birthday and I celebrated by going to work. ;-)  Okay, so maybe I didn't get all of these goodies for my Birthday, but I did receive a package from Sephora as well as my annual Beauty Insider birthday gift, today!!

I stopped home for a quick break, and was greeted by a lovely package on my doorstep.  If you don't know, the Hello Kitty makeup line at Sephora is disappearing.  Prices have been slashed...items that were once sold out, have popped up again (I'm assuming because many of the stores have sent back their inventory).

A little over a month ago, I ordered some products from the thinning Hello Kitty inventory and one of the items that I wanted was no longer available.  I really wanted the retractable kabuki brush and was able to get one in gold, last summer.  Sephora also carried the brushes in silver (which is what I had my eyes on).  Well...as fate would have it, the silver brushes that sold out on Sephora's site, made a come back!!  I snagged two of silver kabuki brushes and can't wait to play with them.  If they are anything like the gold brush, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

I just wanted to check-in...I'll be back for more updates.

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Hello Kitty Pick Me Up

Yesterday, I woke up a bit "under the weather".  I had a nasty soar throat and cough and it made a huge dent in my plans to rock my newest MAC Retro Matte shade that I picked up the night before.  Nothing like needing to drink hot tea in this still eighty-something degree weather (I'm hoping that does the trick).  The upside to this whole "icky" feeling is that I now have an excuse to use my newest Hello Kitty mug that I purchased from Michael's craft store.

I bought the mug, on clearance, during the "back-to-school" season.  I thought about purchasing another mug, but never got around to it.  I had dreams of hot cocoa on a cold winter's night, but I think we're a long while off from that actually happening, so the hot tea soothing a soar throat will have to do.

I'll add this to the collection of mugs/bowls that Walmart offered.  I couldn't resist getting one of those in every design either.

Taken from my Facebook page from last Holiday season

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Sephora Hello Kitty Tokyo Pop!

Comb, Brush, Gloss, Mirror, Palette, and Polishes

Yesterday, after a grueling day at work, I was greeted by a packing when I arrived home.  Between shopping during my 4th of July get away and the order my husband placed some days ago, I managed to finally get my hands on the Hello Kitty Tokyo Pop collection at Sephora.  Although I don't have every piece from the collection, I did manage to get a great deal of the items.  Check out my Tokyo Pop series to follow.

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Sephora HELLO KITTY SALE!!!!

Today, I decided to take a look a Sephora's website, and to my surprise I find out that nearly every Hello Kitty item is on sale...including newly released items.  Items that were already marked down, appear to have been marked down further.  I may have to take a trip to my local mall and see what they still have available.

If you're interested in picking up any items from the Hello Kitty collection, now's your chance!!

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More Hello Kitty?!?!?!?! Is that possible?

Last week, I decided to venture into a store that I hadn't visited before.  My mission was to just look around, but with all the cuteness screaming at me, I had to leave with something.  Character World is a store that I wasn't too familiar with.  I had often walked by it and noticed the huge plush Hello Kitty in the window.  After much curiosity and a little bit of time to spare, I decided to venture into the store.  As I walked along the perimeter of the store, I noticed an all too familiar Sanrio character...TUXEDO SAM!!  Growing up, this little penguin had to be my absolute favorite, but he has since been hiding in retirement, only to make appearances every once in a while.  I can recall when Sanrio celebrated their 50th anniversary; they displayed some special edition products in Target stores.  That's when I found a small Hello Kitty plush doll in a Tuxedo Sam costume.  That's about as close as I could get to my little blue friend.  During my visit to Character World, I stumbled across some Tuxedo Sam earrings and had to get them. 



Tuxedo Sam stud earrings. $4.99 USD

I also lucked up on a very edgy set of Hello Kitty earrings in black and gold.  The earrings didn't have a price tag on them and there were none left to compare them to.  I accepted the price quote of $12.99 from the owner.  I took to the internet to try to find out if any other retailers carry them and happened to come across a couple of sites.  It looks like I got a little bit of a deal because the sites I came across wanted a little bit more money for the earrings.  I found the earrings online here, here, and here.  I have to say that I am not too familiar with those sites and haven't ordered anything from them before, but it is a little comforting to know where to find them in case Character World doesn't get more in stock. 



Hello Kitty earrings by Loungefly. $12.99 USD

I don't know how long the earrings will hold up in my sensitive earlobes, but I'll be sure to check back in with more updates.

Since I was in a Hello Kitty sort of mood, I decided to go down to Sephora and check out the Tokyo Pop collection.  I took the opportunity to swatch the newest palette and fell in love, but instead set my sights on some old items I wanted to get my hands on.  While at Sephora, I tried my luck with one of the Sales Associates and asked if there were anymore products from the "Wild Thing" collection.  To my surprise, the associate was able to locate an item that I had on my wish list.  I was excited and annoyed at the same time.  I was excited to learn that they still had items available, even though they were no longer on the salesroom floor.  I was annoyed because I called for two items in particular WEEKS ago and were told that they didn't have them.  Sometimes, it may be more beneficial to actually visit the store location.  I went ahead and purchased the Hello Kitty "Wild Thing" comb and decided to order the makeup bag online.




Sephora Hello Kitty Wild Thing Wide Tooth Comb.  Originally priced $12. On sale, $7 USD

I am familiar with the durability of this comb because I have the silver one that was released with the Noir collection.  It offers wide teeth, a heavy grade plastic, and is large in size.  I have used it for detangling on both wet and dry hair.

Yesterday, my Sephora package finally arrived.  I have been slowly picking up items from this collection that launched late last year.  This is probably the final accessory piece from the "Wild Thing" collection that I didn't own.  One thing I noticed about this makeup bag, compared to some from previous releases, is that it does not have pockets/pouches inside, but it makes up in the amount of room that it gives.  I can't wait to test out the durability of this bag.  Maybe I'll take it on my upcoming vacation.




Sephora Hello Kitty Wild Thing Bag.  Originally priced,$29.  On sale, $15 USD 



Sephora Hello Kitty Wild Thing Bag



Sephora Hello Kitty Wild Thing Bag

I had a little bit of an issue placing my order online, so I had to call Sephora's customer service to complete the order.  The service rep picked out a few samples for me.

Head over to Sephora's website and check out what's on sale.  These items don't stick around for very long.

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Hello Kitty Sephora: Last Call for Polish

Left to Right: Ice Cube, Banana Cream, Minty, Blueberry, Purple Sprinkles, Pink Sprinkles, Frosted Cupcake, and Bubble Gum

A while back, I posted that Sephora had placed some items from there "permanent" Hello Kitty line on sale.  The prices for these polishes had been reduced to $5, down from $10.I was able to grab all 8 of the nail polishes that they featured in their permanent line.  Recently, I decided to scour the Sephora website and noticed that the selection of Hello Kitty nail polishes has dwindled.

Banana Cream, 3 coats

Banana Cream is definitely an appropriate name for this shade.  This was a slightly thin formula and needed 3 coats to show this opacity.  This creamy yellow shade is just in time for the spring season.

Minty, 3 coats

Minty probably had a thinner application than Banana Cream.  Neither color seemed difficult to build, nor did it seem to take long to dry.  Although the formula was a bit on the watery side, the fact that I was able to apply multiple coats in a relatively short amount of time, made this product worth while.  I'm a bit impatient when it comes to waiting on nail polish to dry.



Blueberry, 2 coats

Blueberry was probably the most opaque out of all of these polishes.  This is definitely a plus in my book, as I am very much a fan of opaque polishes.  It only took 2 coats to build up this opacity and I was almost good to go with only one coat.



Purple Sprinkles, 2 coats

Purple Sprinkles turned out to be another pleasant surprise for me.  This polish was very dense with glittery goodness.  It only took two coats to build up this opacity.  This might be a color that could stand alone.

Frosted Cupcake, 4 coats

Frosted Cupcake came as a bit of a surprise.  I didnt' expect this color to be as sheer as it was.  It took 4 coats to build up to this opacity.  This might better serve as a top coat, rather than a stand-alone polish.

Pink Sprinkles, 4 coats

With this polish, I was surprised at how much the base color showed up.  I expected to get peachy/pink iridescent glitter in a clear polish, rather than the peach base color.  It did take 4 coats to build to this opacity, so this glitter polish is not as dense as Purple Sprinkles.  This polish might be great for layering.



Bubble Gum, 3 coats

Bubble Gum applied in much the same way that Minty did.  This polish seemed to be a bit thin, but there wasn't much down time between coats.  I enjoyed this color so much that I decided on this for my manicure after I finished shooting pictures for this post.

Overall, I think that these polishes were worth the money and the cute packaging is just an added bonus.  These polishes will make a wonderful addition to the polishes that I purchased back during the release of the 2011 holiday collection.  It looks like Sephora has made room for the latest Hello Kitty nail polishes, just in time for Summer.  If you haven't guessed by now, I can't wait to sink my nails into those bright colors.

If you were on the fence about these beauties, this may be your final opportunity to snatch them up.  If you don't see the shade you adore online, you might be able to check your local Sephora while supplies last.

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Sephora Has Done it Again...Hello Kitty Sale!

Looks like Sephora is back at it again.  Could they be making room for another collection?  Now available at Sephora.com and in stores are (almost) newly marked down items.  I have to admit that a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty bummed out about the fact that I missed some of the items that were carried in JC Penney Sephora locations, only to find out that some of those items have recently gone on sale at the independent Sephora locations...albeit the prices are not the same, but it is still a sale!

I happened to stumble across this sale and I'm not sure what made me check Sephora's site, but I'm glad I did.  These items were picked up during a couple of visits to my local Sephora.  During my first visit, I was able to pick up six of the nail polishes at $5, when they were originally priced at $10 (from when they first launched).  I was also able to get my hands on the very last perfume ring at my local Sephora.  The ring was released last spring at $29 and can currently be found on Sephora's website for $17.  I also purchased a back-up eyeliner pen for $7.  I first experienced this eyeliner pen when my husband purchased the large, "Hello Kitty Wild Thing Makeup Palette".  I was smitten with the ease of the pen and how smoothly the color applied.

The second haul came a day later, when my husband surprised me by taking a drive, out of state to pick up the last three items featured in the image above.  Between my local Sephora and the Sephora website, some of the items I wanted were unavailable.  I was able to locate the products, but I didn't know that my husband would be the one to pick them up.  The last three items I received were the bronzer, and two nail polishes.  The bronzer was release last spring, in the same collection as the perfume ring and I finally have it.  The bronzer is very reminiscent of NARS Casino bronzer and at a price point of $19 (down from $28), this bronzer will serve as a very nice back-up to my NARS casino bronzer.

Stay tuned for more posts, featuring these products.

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JC Penny's Sephora Bids Adieu to Hello Kitty

It appears as though JC Penney’s Sephora locations are bidding farewell to this fabulous feline, Hello Kitty.  Recently, I stumbled upon a couple of YouTube videos, where I learned that Hello Kitty products have been placed on clearance.  What a tremendous opportunity to score items that are still being retailed at higher prices on both, Sephora’s website and in Sephora’s “free-standing” stores!  I could not wait to pay a visit to my local mall to see what items were currently in stock.  Since JC Penney Sephora locations do not typically feature the entire line of Hello Kitty products, this trip was very much a gamble, and I lucked up. 

The Hello Kitty 5-piece brush set that retails for $49 was marked down to $12.  I thought I got a good deal when I purchased the 5-piece brush set that was released with the Hello Kitty Wild Thing collection (on sale), but this takes the entire cake.  Usually Sephora will release a special edition brush set with each collection and it's only a matter of time before you can purchase them for a good deal.  This particular brush set however, is a staple in Sephora's Hello Kitty line-up.  To get this brush set for only $12 was astounding.  For the past few years that Hello Kitty has retailed at Sephora, I debated as to whether or not I should purchase this set...I have to admit, that price made the decision for me. ;o)


 

The Hello Kitty 3-piece brush set that retails for $35 was marked down to $8.  I am in love with this brush set!!  I have been stalking this brush since its release last year, but was uncertain of the quality.  I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised by this set.  I was nervous that this brush set would be made out of cheap plastic, but the brushes actually have a nice weight to the.  The bristles are soft enough for the delicate eye area, yet stiff enough to pick up product and apply it.  The bristles are just the cutest fluffy and white with pink tips.  I was able to pick up 4 of these sets for less than the retail price of one.

 

 

 

  

The Hello Kitty Hand-Held Mirror that retails for $36 was marked down to $8.  I picked this beauty up on a whim.  I already owned the Hello Kitty hand-held mirror that was released with the Hello Kitty Noir holiday collection of 2011.  I decided to pick this mirror up because I figured it would be easier to clean than the black, matte mirror from the Noir collection.  I have to admit that once I purchased the Noir mirror, the original silver hand-held mirror was no longer on my radar...but how could anyone pass up this price?

 

 

 

 

The Hello Kitty Apple Balm (lip balm) that retails on Sephora’s website at $10 was marked down to $3.  This product turned out to be a hidden gem.  I wasn't expecting how moisturizing this was for my extremely dry lips and the subtle wash of color it gives was an added bonus.  This just might replace all of the other lip balms in my collection.  I am not opposed to paying full retail cost for this product.

 

 

  

The Hello Kitty Charmmy Kohl Eyeliner kit that retails for $29 was marked down to $7.  What a great way to experiment with adding color to the waterline.  This convenient package features 7 eyeliner colors that, for the price, will make even the less adventurous take the plunge.  From my experience with these eyeliners, they are extremely emollient and glide on with ease.

 

 

 

 

 

*All prices are listed in USD currency.

My purchases were broken up into two visits to my local mall.  I was told that in the span of one morning, one shopper came in and purchased 15 of the 5-piece hello kitty brush sets.  Good thing I called when the store opened and asked for them to hold some products for me. :o)

 

If you are a Hello Kitty/Makeup fanatic, this is a sale that you won’t want to miss.

 

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Ode to a Kitty...

I am a fan of versatility when it comes to hair.  Check out this post, featuring a fabulous feline…Hello Kitty styling tools.
 

I’m not one that really likes to blow-dry my hair, and over the years I’ve grown quite accustomed to not using a blow-dryer.  One year, I decided to purchase a blow-dryer from Target, primarily because of the cost and that Hello Kitty was embossed along the barrel of the dryer.   A few weeks ago, I attempted to find a comb attachment for my blow-dryer that has become reduced to drying my kids’ craft projects.  Needless to say, my attempt was futile.  I learned that the nozzle of the blow-dryer was far too wide to fit any of the “universal” comb attachments I came across.  One beauty store manager suggested that I buy a new blow-dryer…I reluctantly took on the challenge.

Last week (...meaning, the week before Christmas...I know this post is a little late), I stumbled across some new Hello Kitty styling tools that were retailing at Ulta.  One look at the price tag and I began to question whether or not I wanted to engineer some type of comb apparatus for the blow-dryer I already owned.  The fact that you’re reading this should tell you how that idea ended.   While looking at the images of the Hello Kitty styling tools, something seemed strikingly familiar about the new products.  I went rummaging for my Hello Kitty hair dryer and along the handle; I noticed some information was embossed on the handle of the dryer.  I was able to make out the manufacturer…”Spectra Merchandising”.  Upon doing a Google search, the familiarity became very apparent.  Listed on the Spectra Merchandising website was my original Hello Kitty Hair dryer KT3052A, as well as some Hello Kitty styling tools that I had been eyeing on Target’s website; all listed under “Personal Care”.  There was another category titled “Professional Hair Care”, which is where the styling tools that are were carried at Ulta.  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this revelation so I took to the World Wide Web to try to find some product reviews.  There weren’t very many reviews on the internet for these products.  I was able to locate a few reviews on the “Personal Care” styling tools and the overall consensus didn’t seem too promising.  It made me wonder if the “Professional Care” styling tools would pose some of the same problems.

Let’s compare the tools…

Price Tag:

The “Personal Care” styling tools originally retailed for $39.99 each, but the prices have since been dropped and of the retailers that I have found, these products are listed for approximately $26-$32 each (which is not terrible considering you can find quality styling tools at the same price point).  The hair-dryer that I originally purchased (KT3052A) is now $17.99 on Target’s website.

 

The “Professional Hair Care” styling tools were listed on Ulta’s website for $79.99 and that price was temporarily cut to $59.99.  Ulta is no longer carrying the styling tools on their website, but they are still being carried at Ulta locations (depending on availability). 

Blow-dryer Features:

I took to Spectra’s website and did a match-up of the listed features.  There are two dryers (KT3052A and KT3052M) listed under the “Personal Care” category and overall, they seem to be very similar in terms of the functions.  Both are 1875W dryers, with 2 heat settings and a cool shot button.  Both dryers come with an air concentrator nozzle that appears to be more for aesthetics than actual usefulness.  The dimensions on both dryers are also very similar.  The main difference is in the graphics and the price tag. 

Now, comparing the “Personal Care” dryers to the “Professional Hair Care” dryer (KT3055BP) introduces a couple of different features.  The similarities are that all of the dryers have the same wattage (1875W) and there is a cool shot button.  Some differences are that the “Professional” dryer boasts 3 heat settings and 2 speed settings.  The “Professional” dryer also comes with 3 attachments; 2 air concentrator nozzles and 1 diffuser.  The diffuser was probably the most attractive feature for me personally because I had never used one and wanted to test it out.

Flat iron features:

Both KT3057MA (personal care) and KT3060BP (professional) have 1-inch ceramic heating plates, floating plates, and both boasts to adding shine to your hair.  The “Personal Care” flat iron does not appear to have an actual temperature indicator.  I did locate a YouTube video that reviewed this product, but again, there was no clear indication of the temperature range for this product.  The “Professional” flat iron has a LCD temperature indicator with buttons to increase or decrease the temperature.  The temperature is changed in pre-set increments ranging from 265°F /130°C to 445°F/230°C.  This flat iron also comes with an insulated travel pouch, complete with an external pocket to store the swivel cord.  Spectra’s website lists Nano Tourmaline Technology as a feature for the “Professional” flat iron and an automatic shut off feature, but the most notable difference between the two flat irons is the graphics and the price.  The “Personal Care” flat iron is being retailed on a few websites, one of those is Target, who is selling the flat iron at approximately $26 compare to Ulta’s $59.99.  The question becomes, do the differences in features/functions warrant the additional $34?

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually, after much deliberation and stalking the styling tools at my local Ulta, the urge to grab the new “Professional” grade items took over.  I was holding onto a 20% off gift certificate that I received in the mail and decided to apply it to a new Hello Kitty hair dryer and flat iron.  In addition to purchasing these items, I also purchased a comb/pik attachment from my local Sally’s Beauty Supply, in hopes that it would fit my new Hello Kitty hair dryer.

I had experimented a bit with both of the Hello Kitty hair dryers in my collection and also tested the Hello Kitty flat iron against another brand’s that I purchased this summer. 

Here is what I found…

To blow dry my hair, I parted my hair into 4 sections.  For three of the four sections, I used the “Professional” hair dryer (KT3055BP).  With one section, I was able to test out the diffuser attachment.  I’m not sure how I feel about the outcome.  I think it has more to do with my hair’s behavior than the styling tool.  I think a bit more practice may be necessary.   On another section of my hair, I tested one of the two air concentrator nozzles.  I was most impressed with this.  I didn’t really understand the purpose of having one air concentrator nozzle and this dryer came with two.  This helped to straighten my hair and left it with lots of body.  The third section I reserved for testing out my new comb attachment.  Although I had quite a bit of trouble keeping the attachment on, this worked best to straighten my hair.  I think it might be a preferred quick straightening method as opposed to using a flat iron.  The last section, I used my “Personal Care” dryer (KT3052A) to compare the overall performance of the Professional vs. Personal dryers.  The “Professional” dryer (KT3055BP) came out with a win for me.  Overall, I was concerned that the difference between the two blow dryers was only going to amount to the steep difference in price, but surprisingly, there was a difference in performance.  Were those differences worth the money?  It might depend on the buyer’s purpose for purchasing the hair dryer.

After blow drying my hair, I wanted to test out the flat iron to see how well does it straighten and curl my hair.  To test out the flat iron, I partitioned my hair into two sections.  One of the main issues I had with this flat iron was that the heating plates did not clamp all the way together.  The gaps in between the plates caused parts of my hair to slip through without becoming straightened or curled.  To compensate for this, I found myself having to press harder to clamp the plates or moving my fingers to a position on the flat iron that conducted heat, causing my fingers to get singed every now and then.  The placement of the temperature buttons was also a concern for me.  While manipulating the flat iron to create curls, it became easy to inadvertently change the temperature settings.  This could possibly be due to me having to overcompensate for the gaps between the plates as I mentioned earlier.  The front end of the flat iron has unique slanted design and I’m not sure if this is purposeful or not.  As far as adding shine to the hair, when comparing this flat iron to another flat iron I own, there was a noticeable difference in the hair shine.  Hair shine seemed to be less obvious on the side of my hair where I used the Hello Kitty fat iron. 

 

 Top Imamge: Using HK Flat Iron; Bottom Image: Cortex Flat Iron

 

I revisit the question of whether or not the product is worth the price tag.  This summer, I purchased a flat iron duo from Marshalls for $34.99.  For that price, I was able to score a full size flat iron, a miniature flat iron, and an alligator clip to help section my hair.  I have not tried the “Personal Care” Hello Kitty Flat iron (KT3057MA), to make a comparative analysis, however, comparing the performance of the” Professional” grade flat iron (KT3060BP) to the one I purchased from Marshalls, I believe it’s safe to say there are quality options available at a much cheaper price tag.

 

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