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. ;__;
