Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Jill Stuart haul and site review

Hi Beauties -

HAPPY **belated** CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Happy year of the Rabbit - wishing you all luck and fortune in 2011! :)


Just thought I would quickly share my Jill Stuart Haul & thoughts on my purchase with Gooddealer.com (review of site and my experience posted below) plus a few bonus teaser swatches!

First the goodies! I received 2 pretty pink bags with the order and a plethora of samples (Lunasol modeling water?, Jill Stuart Cleansing oil and Paul & Joe foundation samples)

Jill Stuart Bag

Love the attention to detail - the Jill Stuart logo on the ribbon - simple and classy!

Jill Stuart bow

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-Below are my purchases-

Jelly Eye Color N in 07, Jewel Flash
*Also purchased in Vintage Decor*


Jill Stuart Jelly Eye N

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Pink eyelash curler adorned with a rhinestone charm


Jill Stuart Eyelash curler

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Fruit Lip Balm in Tint 01


Jill Stuart Fruit lip balm

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Softening Fluid


Jill Stuart Softening Fluid

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Jill Stuart Mix Blush compact in Milky Strawberry
*Spring 2011 collection*


Jill Stuart Mix blush compact

Jill Stuart mix blush

Jill Stuart mix blush Milky strawberry

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Jill Stuart Blush Blossom in Little Anemone
*Spring 2011 collection*


Jill Stuart Blush Blossom

Jill Stuart Blush Blossom Little Anemone close

Jill Stuart Blush Blossom Little Anemone

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Little pink crystal on the included retractable goat-hair brush
*Comes with all compact blushes*

Jill Stuart Blush brush

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I gave the Blush Blossom Duo in Little Anemone a try - and was subsequently blown away!

Apologies for the mega blurry picture, but I thought it turned out kind of neat - you can really see the pop of color on the cheeks!

I used the lighter color as a highlighter and the darker color on the apples of my cheeks

Little anemone

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Although the blush didn't swatch well, it has decent pigmentation, is finely milled, and has a soft shimmer (no glitter) once applied resulting in a look that is lovely and natural when dusted on the cheeks!

Jill Stuart Blush Blossom Little Anemone swatch



The good part: I love every single purchase! The bad part: everything seems too pretty to use. I know it's utterly ridiculous, but I am having a hard time dipping my brushes into anything at all because everything looks so perfect and pristine. *sigh* I'll get over it and I promise I will get around to reviewing and swatching products soon! :)


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...About Gooddealer.com...

I thought I would share my personal experience with this site so just FYI if you intend on using Gooddealer for your Jill Stuart Cosmetics purchases!

Price

I found the prices for Jill Stuart cosmetics are cheaper in Hong Kong vs Japan and the exchange rate is a bit better in terms of USD/HKD vs the USD/Yen. Gooddealer.com was one of the options that I found (see my previous JS post for a larger list of internet options) They should ship to most countries though you might want to send an e-mail if you are unsure about their shipping policy or have questions about customs/duties.

The site -at first glance- looks incredibly shady and the website design could be a bit more user-friendly (they have a tutorial on how to shop the site!) - that being said, I found this site to have the largest selection of products as well as decent pricing*.

*BUT don't be entirely fooled by the too-good-to-be-true pricing - the shipping AND handling fees (yes, they charge you for shipping separate from handling) really add up - they calculate pricing based on weight so the more you buy, the higher the cost. (so much for incentive to buy more, I was trimming down my cart to keep at a reasonable weight!)

Postal fees per weight here

Delivery time/packaging

Overview of their mailing & tracking

I placed my order on January 9th and received my package around January 28th so expect a bit of a wait if you end up ordering.

It came wrapped in green postal wrap (no box) and was securely suspended in what seemed like 10 billion layers of bubble wrap.

Pros

Accepts major credit cards and paypal
Large variety of products
Decent pricing* (see cons for caveat)
Quick access to the latest releases/collections
Securely wrapped - product fully intact
A few product sample 'freebies' & JS bag

Cons

X Package takes awhile to ship
X Website is difficult to navigate
X High Shipping AND handling fees
X No easy way to check tracking of order
X No guarantee that items will actually be in stock (one of my items was canceled after placing the order)
X Long wait time

Would I buy from the site again? Maybe. Still checking out different sites/options. If anyone knows of a good alternative, please share :)

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BTW Ice apocalypse 2011 here in North Texas needs to end! I think this past week has turned me into a workaholic (60 hour work week!) and I am itching to get back to normality.

19 comments:

hidden-freckles said...

i want i want !!!

Kim Axani said...

Thank-you for this post! I've been in love with JS stuff since I started seeing it on different kawaii blogs around .. but never knew where to get it? I'd be like you and scared to use the stuff too! The casing is just too precious looking.
Love your new banner by the way, so cute and kawaii!

Melanie Busby said...

Hi Irene! Everything looks so gorgeous and girly! ^_^

Kisses, Melanie

Elisa ♥ said...

ahhhhhhhh. i love jill stuart products!! it looks so cute =D and pretty !!! i want i want o_o !!

sugar sugar said...

lovely haul dear! :3 i'm loving the blushes! and i do see that the color of the blush is sheer and buildable. :)

Irene said...

@Elizabeth & Elisa - aaah I have been wanting forever and finally caved - I love JS!

@Kim - You changed your blog name! :) Isn't the casing so pretty and princess-like? It would suit you so well!

@BeautymeetsKawaii - Thanks dear, something that I am sure kawaii girls can appreciate ;)

@sugarsugar - I really do love the buildable color - at first I thought I would want something more pigmented, but this way, I can control the color - from work to wow!

Gaby Fauchon said...

Great haul! The packaging look so classy!

Shop N' Chomp said...

OH YEAH, your JS haul pics are here!!! My Friday is now complete. =D

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything! Omg, I especially freaking heart those blushes. *dies* I'm a Gooddealer.com virgin so I really appreciate you listing the pros and cons! As for a rec, don't know if you've shopped from here before and I don't know how the prices compare but I have purchased stuff from http://ichibankao.com/ with no problems. =D

(Babe, thank you SO much for your kind words. *blows kisses* My hubs tells me I'm not funny. WTF does he know ;)

faye lu said...

***eyes twinkle*** JS sooo pretty. thanks for sharing. e-hugs irene i've tagged you in the versatile blogger award xo
http://fayelureview.blogspot.com/2011/02/repunzel-repunzel-let-down-your-hair.html

Purrincup said...

Oh my gosh I love MBD!! Hehe~

http://purrincup.blogspot.com/

Yumiko said...

hey irene,

I hear weather is really cold in TX now. I hope you stay warm and don't work too much. Your haul on JS products just made me drool...LOL ^_^ they are indeed very very pretty to use. Can't wait to see your FOTD with those products.

take cares

Unknown said...

Ah I'm so jealous! I really want to try Jill Stuart cosmetics, but like you said, they're so pricey for those of us located in the US when bought online. They really are too pretty to be used though haha

Elle said...

Thank you for the thorough review! I have fallen in love with JS make up after seeing them here. The packaging is just GORGEOUS. I don't know how I can use it though. :)

I'll come back and check everything out in better detail in a few months because I really shouldn't be buying anything right now (not that I have stuck to this goal lol). Thanks again!

rae630 said...

I love Jill Stuart packaging!!! So princessy! I have a blush and hate to use it cuz its too pretty. lol

Jenni said...

oh what a haul <3!

whoa 8 years is so long :) we should totally go shopping when you visit HK sometime!

you can always find me for the CP :)

Anonymous said...

wow the blush is such a cute pink!! it looks very pretty on you, even if the pic is a bit blurry lol. I agree JS is a bit cheaper in HK than JP!!

aww thanks for your comment its just the camera there :P the camera seems to washes everyone out... i prefer using the dslr for much decent clear pics but the digital cam is so much more convenient haha

The Adventures of a Shopaholic said...

your blog is very cute!!:)

if you want you'll be my follower!!
www.stylestarmjonas.blogspot.com

Roxanne Saynac said...

Wow! I am really in love with the Blush Blossom! I want to get it but it's so expensive.

And the paper bag that the items came in is just too pretty!


xoxo,
Roxanne

http://lacedivory.onsugar.com

Cutie Fishball said...

Nice blog! I just came to your blog searching for JS jelly eye color N for a friend. Have you considered Custom Purchasing from HK? I think in that way all you need to worry about is the paypal fees (5% or so) and you will just need to pay the actual postage....