It's that time of the year again when Happy Skin launches their holiday collection, and this one is another first for a local cosmetics brand. You might remember that last year's holiday collab was with Disney - it was, by all appearances, impossible to top because that was a historic partnership in the local beauty industry. This 2017, Happy Skin said "hold my tea" and then partnered with no less than one of the most well-loved brands in the world: Sanrio.

The 23-product Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Collection features three of Sanrio's most famous characters namely Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Little Twin Stars. Color makeup include the Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lippie (P599 each and P1,099-P1,299 for sets of two), Liquid Matte Lippie (P699 each and P1,299 for a set of two), and Get Cheeky With Me All Day Hydrating Blush (P899). There are also quite a few shades of the Express Gel Polish (P299 each and P1,299 for a set of five).

A new cleansing product, sponges, and blotting sheets are also available. The Air Touch Sponge (P499) is a 3-way sponge that's part of Happy Skin's permanent collection, but this is packaged in Hello Kitty and My Melody Characters. I think the Air Touch Sponge Duo in Little Twin Stars (P499) is new though, as it contains two mini-sponges that are designed to blend makeup onto tight corners of the face. Another new product, the Make A Clean Sweep Micellar Makeup Wipes (P249), takes Happy Skin's best-selling micellar water formula in a more travel-friendly form. Finally, there are also Charcoal Blotting Sheets (P175 for a pack of 50 sheets) to be had.

Okay, I know that was an info-dump, so take the time to digest it. Done? Let's get to the meat of things.

Happy Skin is a great brand with good products, many of which I love and use regularly. Their marketing strategy has always been brilliant and I have immense admiration for how Jacqe and Rissa (the co-founders) took their company so far in such a short amount of time. They have accomplished so many things that seemed impossible before for a proudly Filipino brand!

That being said, you may notice that there are only a few "new" products in the Sanrio line-up. It's the same with Disney, and it's the same with the other collabs they've done with celebrities. The lipsticks are Happy Skin's bread and butter so they have to keep coming up with new shades which, if you really look at it, are not new at all. I mean, how many nudes, MLBBs, brights, and darks can there possibly be? Even MAC had to literally see out of the box by hiring a tetrachromat (a person who can see more colors than an average human being) for a lipstick collection.

The shades in this collection don't stray far from Happy Skin's existing and past shade line up. They're gorgeous but if you have a few HS lippies already then you may find you already have "dupes" of some of these colors. The formula is the same as past ones, too.

Is this a problem? Yes and no. Yes because more exacting consumers DO want innovative products that they don't have yet. They also want inclusive products for all skin tones. BUT - and here's the but - that's not such a huge segment of Happy Skin's consumer base. I've seen them experiment with new products before (they still do), and I've seen some things simply not do well.

Remember the SS Creme? That was such a great silicone-free foundation and I know it had a fan base. But it was discontinued, so is the Don't Get Mad Get Even Liquid Foundation (I loved this so much). There are a few reasons why that happens but the bottom line is that some products are just not sustainable to make and sell in the long run in any given market.

(Yes there's Rihanna and Fenty with 40 foundation shades but that's really, really expensive and risky to do.)

What works for Happy Skin is coming up with a great story, product, and collaboration behind each and every collection. With Sanrio, they're giving us nostalgia - we're not going to buy because we need a new lipstick (LOL don't me), we're getting one (or three) because we want to have more Sanrio in our life. And that's totally ok! The products work well and come in gorgeous shades so you won't be paying for just the packaging. These make for such great gift items too, just in time for the holidays.

Now I've already reviewed some of these products before, so if you want more details on how they perform, please click the following links:

Let me quickly talk about each product that I have with me!

I have three shades of the Sanrio lippies: Flower Power (in My Melody packaging) is a brick nude crayon that just glides like butter on my lips. It's quite moisturizing, as promised! The liquid lippie in Twinkle Twinkle (Little Twin Stars packaging) is a mauvey pink that works really well for my medium skin tone. The formula of Happy Skin's matte liquid lipsticks are also fairly comfortable and not so drying. My favorite has got to be the liquid lippie in Kitty Cat (Hello Kitty packaging) though. It's a beautiful red that exactly captures the shade of Hello Kitty's classic bow!

I've only tried the My Melody Air Touch Sponge (the pink) so far and I like it. I like the curved shape which makes it easy for me to cover a larger area more quickly. It expands when wet and feels soft and bouncy on my face. I do have to be careful about blending though as it can sheer out the foundation too much.

I'm actually looking forward to trying out the mini-sponges because I've been hunting for something to blend my under eye concealer. This should also be perfect for fine-tuning the coverage in certain areas of the face.

*Happy Skin x Sanrio Express Gel Polish in Purr-fect*

Y'all know I love Happy Skin's nail polish! I'm currently wearing Purr-fect on my tips and I love it! It actually reminds me of an old limited edition NARS nail polish that I had.

The Make A Clean Sweep Micellar Makeup Wipes are new! The packaging is so cute. These are for removing makeup on the go, and I like how gentle this feels on my skin. It can remove thick, water-resistant makeup just as easily as the bottled Make A Clean Sweep Micellar Makeup Cleanser. At P249 the wipes are actually within the range of a drugstore brand (i.e. Cetaphil).

Last but not the least, I've got here the Hello Kitty Charcoal Blotting Sheets. I love this stuff because the sheets are larger than usual and are quite absorbent. This has been my go-to for blotting ever since I tried them a few months back.

And that is that! Are you seeing anything you like? What are you looking forward to getting from the collection?

Below are more photos of the collection and exact product info from the press kit. The Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters collection is now available at happyskincosmetics.com and at Zalora. It will be available in Happy Skin stores and counters starting September 14.

Happy Skin stores are located at U/G Alabang Town Center, 2/F Glorietta 3, 2/F Greenbelt 5, 2/F Power Plant Mall, 2/L SM Aura Premier, 1/F SM Mall of Asia, 1/F Robinsons Place Manila, 2/F Mega Fashion Hall, 2/F Robinsons Magnolia, 1/F UP Town Center, 1/F Trinoma, U/G SM North EDSA, 1/F SM City Clark, 1/F SM City Pampanga, and U/G SM City Cebu.

For a full list of Happy Skin’s counters, visit www.happyskincosmetics.com/stores.

The Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Collection

FACE

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Get Cheeky With Me All-Day Hydrating Blush in Hello Kitty (P899) – This peach powder blush is encased in a convenient compact and comes with a moon brush. Japanese Cherry Blossom Extract in the formula hydrates, while Neem Leaf helps prevent breakouts.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Get Cheeky With Me All-Day Hydrating Blush in My Melody (P899) – This wine-red powder blush comes is enchased in a convenient compact and comes with a moon brush. Japanese Cherry Blossom Extract in the formula hydrates, while Neem Leaf helps prevent breakouts.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Air Touch Sponge in Hello Kitty (P499) – This three-way makeup applicator and blender comes in a punchy red for the Hello Kitty lover.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Air Touch Sponge in My Melody (P499) – This three-way makeup applicator and blender comes in a fun pink to channel My Melody.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Air Touch Sponge Duo in Little Twin Stars (P499) – These two makeup blending sponges can be used for the cheeks and under eye area, and come in two colors—purple and blue—to remind you of Lala and Kiki.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Make A Clean Sweep Micellar Makeup Wipes (P249) – Remove makeup on the go! Each pack contains 25 smooth and durable wipes so you can efficiently cleanse using just one towelette. Every wipe has Aloe Vera to refresh skin and Chamomile to soothe it.
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Skin Perfecting Super Absorbent Charcoal Blotting Sheets (P175) – Each pack contains 50 blotting sheets that effectively picks up both oil and dirt, thanks to a special mattifying powder and oil-absorbing Charcoal.

NAILS

Happy Skin’s revolutionary gel polish delivers the chip-resistant, long-wearing, and super shiny finish that you’re after—without needing a UV lamp! The 10-free formula (free from 10 toxic ingredients) also contains Hydrolyzed Keratin to strengthen nails and Almond Oil to nourish them.

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish in Red Apples (P299) – red

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish in Purr-fect (P299) – deep violet
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish in Peaches & Cream (P299) – peach
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish in Curious Kiki (P299) – light blue
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish in Lala Love (P299) – baby pink
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Express Gel Polish Set of 5 (P1,299) – Get all the Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Express Gel Polishes in one special set!

LIPS

Happy Skin’s cult-favorite lippies—whether in a moisturizing, moisturizing matte, or liquid matte lippie form—promises potent pigment and maximum hydration, so you can wear your favorite color without worrying about dry lips. The moisturizing lippies contain Shea Butter, while the matte variants contain Cupuaçu Butter—both superbly rich lip hydrators.

HELLO KITTY

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie in Hello, Hello Kitty (P599) – apple pie color

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie in Best of Friends (P599) – blushing rose
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Liquid Matte Lippie in Kitty Cat (P699) – cool red
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie Set (P1,099) – Contains Hello Kitty lippies in Hello, Hello Kitty and Best of Friends.

MY MELODY

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lippie in Flower Power (P699) – brick red nude

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lippie in Berry Good (P699) – deep berry
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lippie Set (P1,299) – Contains My Melody lippies in Flower Power and Berry Good.

LITTLE TWIN STARS

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Liquid Matte Lippie in Twinkle Twinkle (P699) – nude honey

Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Liquid Matte Lippie in Star Wand (P699) – deep blush
Happy Skin ♥ Sanrio Characters Shut Up & Kiss Me Liquid Matte Lippie Set (P1,299) – Contains Little Twin Star lippies in Twinkle Twinkle and Star Wand.

Happy Skin collabs with Sanrio for Holiday 2017 (photos + swatches)

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