Sailor Moon Miracle Romance Shining Moon Powder Compact REVIEW

So it's been a long time since I've done an item review but now that I have better equipment, I can actually do them again!  I'm going to re-do my Yuna and Kairi necklace ones with better pictures... and actually do my Serah pendant one but for the time being, Sailor Moon!

Last summer, the Premium Bandai website announced that they were going to release a special line of Sailor Moon cosmetic items aimed at those who grew up with the original 90s show (aka women).  This line started out with cosmetics and the first of which to be released was the powder compact priced for sale at 3,999 Yen (around $38 USD).  When this announcement was made they said that they had plans to release this item overseas but sadly, they don't seem to plan on making good on that promise.  I believe they only got so far as Hong Kong... not the western market.  Since I felt its better to be safe than sorry and wait on that, I went on and bought my compact through Mio Boutique Tokyo where it has since then sold out and is out of production.  This item was incredibly hard to get your hands on outside of Japan because inside of the country, they were only allowing 2 items per household making it pretty much near impossible for shopping services to get them for people.  There were 2 rounds of pre-orders for this item both of which sold out within hours.  Finally, they had another round of pre-orders that was unlimited (and once again, Japan only).  I was able to secure one through this and these pre-orders were up for only a week before they sold out for good.

I paid roughly $43 for my compact sometime in June 2013 and waited 6 months for Bandai to ship them.  In total, my compact came to $57 including EMS shipping from Mio Boutique Tokyo to me.  Not a bad deal at all if I do say so myself.  I've been wanting a Sailor Moon compact since I was 7 years old and figured this may very well be my only chance to nab an affordable one.  A few days ago after a ton of drama with my designated post office, my compact arrived!  Onto the photos:

(Click to enlarge the photos)

The box is a pretty sugar pink color with a silver silhouette of Princess Serenity

Side of the box

...another side of the box.  The other side of the box has a silver silhouette of Luna but it kept photographing blurry so I don't have a picture of that.  I may do a video when I'm not feeling lazy but who knows!

The bottom of the box

Inside flaps of the box that say, "Moon Prism Power Make Up!" in a rainbow font.  I thought that was a pretty cute touch.

Onto what everyone wants, the compact!  It's nice and shiny and has acrylic rhinestones.  I consider this to be a step up from the original 90s Japanese toy since that one just had color plastic instead of "crystals."

The compact by itself.  It's a nice size but...

DEFINE COMPACT FOR ME, PLEASE.  Out of all the compacts that I own (and I collect them), this is by far the fattest and most impractical one of them all!  Powder compacts are typically thicker than dual mirror ones (duh) but I think this one is just a bit much...  It opens by pressing on the rectangle.

View of the bottom

The compact opened.  It comes with a really cute powder puff.  It's quite small compared to every other powder puff that comes in my other compacts though.

Opened compact for a view of the mirror.  The mirror is very tiny and impractical.  I could hardly see myself in it because it's so small... but the moon and star relief surrounding it is pretty cute.

The compact opened showing the design of the silver crystal and ribbon.  Now this is where I become very disappointed.  In the promotional photos of the compact, I couldn't tell how the powder and powder puff would be separated but...

...as you can see here, the only thing separating the powder, the powder puff, and the mirror is a crappy sheet of clear plastic with the crystal and ribbon printed on it.  I found this to be very cheap and tacky.  Most high quality powder compacts have a separating compartment to store the powder puff beneath it.  This was a very stupid decision on Bandai's part not to include this feature.


All in all, it's a pretty cute but very impractical powder compact.  Originally, I planned on actually using this compact for the mirror and keeping it in a silk pouch so it would be safe in my purse but... this thing is way too chunky!  I was honestly expecting it to look a bit nicer too since its aimed at adult women but it looks just as childish as the finish on the 90s toys.  The construction of the compact left me unsatisfied as well since there really wasn't anything to separate the mirror, powder puff, and powder from one another except for a crummy round sheet of plastic.  That's... not very practical for a functional compact.  I haven't tested the quality of the powder (and I probably won't at this point) but it does smell pretty nice.  On the Premium Bandai website its described as smelling like "princess rose."  I don't really think it smells a thing like a rose but the smell is quite pretty and inoffensive.

Now for the quality of the powder itself... it's pretty mediocre drug store quality but I was expecting that since this item was marketed solely for its packaging.  It's a pretty crappy as far as highlighters are concerned and its filled with small glitter rather than quality mica powder.  It doesn't pick up very well and goes on quite cakey.  It's decent for reducing the look of oil but all in all, the powder is lousy but who actually bought this for the product alone?  The compact is a cute collectible and my classmates in cosmetology school comment on it all the time (and laugh at its size) but if you're looking for a good highlighter, I highly recommend Too Faced's Candelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo.

As for where to buy this compact, as of right now the only place that I know of is on eBay although you will be paying higher than retail prices for it as this is a sold out limited edition item.  If you're a Sailor Moon collector, I recommend it as a piece for your collection.  For those of you who wanted to actually use this compact... I don't really recommend it since it's very impractical.  The next upcoming Sailor Moon anniversary item on my list is the Proplica Crescent Moon wand!  I've been wanting a crescent moon wand my entire childhood and I went on and pre-ordered mine through Ami Ami.  From what I've seen, it looks a lot better than the sought after Sailor Moon World version of the wand and the (now) funny looking 90s toy.  Best of all, it's perfect for cosplay!  I'll finally have a pretty prop for Princess and Queen Serenity. ;__;

Usagi Tsukino's engagement ring (updated version)

Edit 4/31/13:  I am holding a giveaway to win one here!

I've recently updated my Usagi Tsukino (from Sailor Moon) ring replicas.  Now they are on slimmer bands so they're more accurate!  I am of course, selling them in my Etsy store along with various other goodies.

Direct link to the listing can be found here.

Details are similar to the previous version.  The only difference is the band is slimmer.  The jewels are clear cubic zirconia and simulated pink moonstone.  The band is silver-colored copper.  It's an adjustable band so it will be able to fit multiple sizes (usually up to a 10) comfortably.

Because several people have asked me, I will say this again.  You will not be able to find a real diamond ring at the price I'm offering these for!  Genuine diamond rings start at about $800 and those jewels will be small at best and let's not forget the fluctuating prices of gold, silver, and platinum.  My price is cheaper than the going price of the eBay versions and more accurate when compared to a reference picture:

I try my best to keep them at a reasonable since the prices on eBay are downright ridiculous and they aren’t even accurate.  I mean come on, there isn’t a friggin’ “split” in the band in the artwork.  That girl doesn’t even know a thing about jewelry terminology so she’s obviously not making them.  And hers one is nowhere near as “rare” as she claims to even try justifying that $60 price tag. -__-

Now selling: Usagi Tsukino's engagement ring!

Edit 4/31/13:  I am holding a giveaway for one here until April 14th, 2013.

Edit 4/8/12:  The updated version of it can be found here.

I've been working on replicating the engagement ring that Usagi Tsukino (from Sailor Moon) wears in season 5 of the anime and last arc of the manga "Sailor Moon Sailor Stars."  I've created two so far and hope to make more in the future.  Here's a compiled picture:

The ring is made out of clear cubic zirconia, simulated pink moonstone, and silver colored brass.  If you're interested in buying, check out the listing in my Etsy shop!  Much cheaper than those listed on eBay!

Reference image: 

New Sailor Moon wig finished!

I've finished a new Sailor Moon wig commission just the other day and this one turned out even better than the last one!  I used different a different method (which was even more time consuming, but it was safer) and it turned out just wonderful. :)

If you're interested in owning a wig like this one, visit my Etsy store and I can custom make one just for you in any color you'd like!

Custom Sailor Moon wig commissions!

Hello there everyone!  Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been busy with commission work (so life has been a doozy).  After the latest wig commission I've done, I am now offering custom-made Sailor Moon wigs in my Etsy store!  I can do Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, and Queen Serenity.  I can also do Black/Wicked Lady, but that will cost extra due to the materials needed.  In addition to the moon family, I can also do other Sailor Senshi and many other anime and video game characters!  However... I will not do spiky wigs at this time.

If you are interested, check out my Etsy Shop!  More information can be viewed there!

I'm still around!

Hey, everyone!  I'm still around!  Severe lack of updates due to many reasons, like me being ticked off about something that happened, and cosplay work.  Did two wig commissions in two weeks (rush orders) which nearly killed me.  Needless to say, I will not be doing that ever again.  My Serenity dress was finished a while ago!  The only thing I didn't get around to doing were a pair of proper sleeves... I need to play around with resin and/or craft foam and craft foam for that.  That'll be finished at another time.

Anyway, here's a picture from a photoshoot I did in this dress!

For a better view... click on the picture. Lol

Model is me

Photo by roflwaffles

Edited by my friend John Paul

I have more pictures, but I'll upload them when I'm feeling more like myself and not in lots of pain.

Serenity material dump

Last entry I mentioned buying the rest of my materials (not counting the missing 2.4 yards of chiffon required) for this gown, so... photo dump of what I have so far!

Beaded casa organza.  I use this for the cape because I wanted that fancy "magical moon princess" look (and because it was left over from another project I have since abandoned).

What the cape looks like!  It fastens up with a strand of plastic pearls.  The artbook picture didn't have anything to indicate it closes up with anything, so I used pearls.  I think it's a nice touch, though. :)

Top: white casa crepe

Bottom: white casa chiffon

The top fabric is going to be used for the "petticoat" of the gown, while the bottom will be used to go overtop.  The artbooks depict Serenity's gown as "sheer but not sheer" so I went with these materials to get that effect.

The trims and beads for the dress.  The white rope braid trim is going to be used for the three rows of bands on the bodice of the dress.  Since having three random plain bands on a bodice usually looks really stupid in real life, I bought braided rope trim so it'll look more realistic and texturized.  White and gold glass beads will be the pearls... I wanted to use plastic beads because they're light weight, but couldn't find any that didn't have a weird coating on them that'd rub off, ick!  And of course... thread, pins, and needles are what'll put everything together!

White pleather (to make the circle ring things), a whipe invisible zipper, boning, and white glitter casa satin.  Using pleather because it doesn't fray and it's stiff for the rings.  White glitter casa satin because... well... it was left over from another project, looks pretty, is thick, and matches the other fabrics perfectly. lol  And of course, a zipper to close everything up and boning to help the bodice retain its shape.  The bodice is going to have lots of heavy beads, so boning seemed like the best idea.

This is a better shot of the glitter casa satin. :)

The jewelry I made (and a hair comb for a hair comb I still need to make).  The earrings are made of Sculpey, the crystal and gold chain were something I had left over from another abandoned project, so I made them into the imperium silver crystal necklace that shows up in a grand total of one page of the manga. XD  The pearl bracelet was made from part of a skirt that had a random strand of plastic pearls on it.  I took it off, cup the pearls out, and made it into a light weight bracelet.

All of this will be made into this:

So here we are... all the materials and progress I've made on this ballgown so far.  Oh!  And I almost forgot to mention that I have completed the wig and hair clips for this project, which can be found here, here, and here.


So yeah... lots of materials going into this project. XD;;  Everything for the dress was bought at Joann's ('cept the pearls) from the casa collection.  Without coupons, the whole thing would've been astronimical in terms of price, but I bought everything for 50% off the regular price.  Coupons are a life saver!