Oh, Hello, Cutie! The Hello Kitty “The Red Bow Beauty Diaries” Holiday Set Is a Hello Kitty Fangirl’s Dream

Hello Kitty “The Red Bow Beauty Diaries” $25 holiday set

Dear Diary,

I have a confession to make…

I don’t know if the limited edition $25 Hello Kitty “Red Bow Beauty Diaries” holiday kit was made for kids or grownups.

But, uh, I don’t really care.

Is that wrong…?

I love this damned thing! And I don’t give a crap if I’m wearing the same makeup that little Susie is rocking to Brianna’s ninth birthday sleepover because ? and here’s the kicker ? there’s a bonafide letter from Hello Kitty inside the set!

Yeah, the actual kitty HERSELF.

For real though, I get the feels every time I read it, and I actually think it was written directly to me ? Karen from Union City, California.

Or not.

Diary, I think this set was made special for people who grew up loving Hello Kitty, because, truth be told, the makeup isn’t great. I’d say it’s just a step up from the pieces in a little girl’s toy makeup set.

While pigmented, the glitter liners rub off easily, and the lipsticks, gloss and cream eyeshadows are woefully sheer.

As for the pink hair mascara, it feels smooth when I put it on but turns crusty when it dries.

Weird.

Nostalgia is the best thing about this set, which I can get behind, because I’ve been a fiend for Hello Kitty since the ripe old age of 7.

The adorableness is strong in this one… It comes with lots of extras for fans, like a tiny plastic coin purse and nail stickers and a little HK charm and hair tie.

Something tells me that Pat McGrath probably won’t be using these products to create cutting edge runway looks backstage in Milan, but so what, right? Not everything has to be runway ready.

As a sweet, simple trip down memory lane to a time when I kept a journal with a unicorn on the front (it was my first diary ever!) and proudly carried my red Hello Kitty lunchbox to school, this is pure great.

The set contains…

Milk Money coin purseCharmmy hair tie1974 figurine 16 x All Better bandages 2 x All Eyes on Hello Kitty eyeliner appliques 1 pair Supercute accent nail appliques 2 x 0.10 oz XOXO lip glosses in Strawberry Pink, Toffee Nude 2 x 0.14 oz Pretty in Pearl Eyeshadow Sticks in Hot Cocoa, Champagne Rose 2 x 0.14 oz Electric Slide liquid liners in Violet, Royal Blue 2 x 0.12 oz Plush Pout lip balm in Cherry Red, Coral Crush 0.30 oz Pink Streak hair mascara

Swatches from the left: Hair Mascara, Cream eyeshadows, glitter liners, lipglosses and lipsticks

Regularly $49, according to the Sephora website (which seems like too much to me), it’s on sale now for $25.

What do you think, Diary? A fab gift for a Hello Kitty fangirl like me?

Speaking of kitties, in case you glance up and notice a somewhat robust-looking tabby cat in a window wearing a statement necklace and serving some SERIOUS FACE, you’ll know who it is.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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J.J. Colagrande: Bonnaroo 2013 Reigns in the American Dream

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Bonnaroo continues to be the biggest and baddest music festival in the U.S. and remains what should be a mandatory rite-of-passage for all those coming-of-age. Recently concluding its twelfth edition, the producers of Bonnaroo (Superfly Productions) have managed to evolve, perfect and commodify the recipe for American summertime rock-n-roll spirit. Make no mistake, at its roots, Bonnaroo represents the counterculture; however, they have transcended their "underground" roots, branched-out, grown-up, yet still managed to maintain the spirit. This freewheeling festival spirit originated at Woodstock; was carried into the '70s and '80s with the likes of the Grateful Dead, and into the '90s with jam bands like Phish and Widespread Panic. Now the spirit has meshed, almost effortlessly, with mainstream culture, where acts like Paul McCartney, R.Kelly and Bjork can casually share top billing like they are of the same genre.

There are festivals in the U.S. that have captured this spirit; gatherings like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Wakarusa, All Good, Suwannee, Ultra, Camp Bisco, Electric Daisy, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands; but they all must kneel at the mighty altar of Roo for a few reasons.

Location: A four-day festival in the middle of Tennessee, one-hour outside of Nashville, three-hours away from Atlanta, creates the illusion that you are escaping society and reality. It takes that old Timothy Leary adage of turn on, tune in, drop out and plays it like a subtle lullaby at the silent disco. Traveling to a music festival also summons that Easy Rider, On The Road spirit that provokes the wanderlust of youthful spirits, either coming-of-age, or eternally young. Part of the music festival spirit and a hard-earned truth in its world is that the journey is the destination.

You won't find that journey at Lolla, Ultra, Outside Lands or even Coachella.

****

Music may surround the idea of Bonnaroo, but as you pull back the layers of the festival at its inner core you will find diverse culture, not just music. It's more than music but film, fashion, comedy, politics, food, the healing arts, the theater, all represented in a gonzo buffet to diversify a day. Whether catching a movie like 3 Men and a Baby at the Cinema Tent on Father's Day, laughing it up with Daniel Tosh in the Comedy Tent, rolling into Food Truck Ally and running into Man vs. Food Nation's Adam Richman kickin it at the gastroPod with Chef Jeremiah, doing yoga in the morning with some of the country's best instructors, grabbing a brew from the homebrew tent, shopping on Shakedown Street, or saving the world in Planet Roo.

There's so much to say about Bonnaroo. How they've perfected the recipe for modern music festivals. Made it safe, accessible and clean. Their organization, networks, partners, vendor policies, production staff, taxi cabs and shuttles, security and volunteer crew. Really. Tip of the iceberg. There's so much to explore psychologically in the spirit and youthful exuberance of being young in a modern, digital America, of rolling both abandonment and entitlement into one wandering soul. You could fill a novel with this scene. In fact, someone did. My first novel Headz is based on Bonnaroo experiences. That's one thing missing from Roo: a literary lounge, where writers and bibliophiles can gather, like a mini-book fair, but that's a huge digression.

Have to reign in the rhetoric; the spirit has a short attention span...

Follow J.J. Colagrande on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jjcolagrande

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DREAM DATE

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant will sit down with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for a conversation at the Nokia Theatre on Aug. 15 to raise money toward eliminating homelessness in the Los Angeles area.

"Kobe Up Close" will feature the NBA star talking about his career and sharing some of his favorite stories with Kimmel. Tickets for the event range from $25 to $200.

All proceeds will benefit the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, which is partnering with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Sports Spectacular to help underserved communities.

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