For a gal who doesn’t look a day over the age of 10, it’s hard to believe that Hello Kitty turned 40 years old this year.

Sephora has been releasing Hello Kitty collections since 2010, and from what I understand, this 40th anniversary collection is their last collab with the Sanrio sweetheart. I have a number of items from past collections, and although the quality isn’t the greatest, the items are super cute and, let’s be honest here, really appeal moreso for the Hello Kitty factor, as opposed to the quality of the product.

The 40th anniversary collection includes an eyeshadow palette, crystal-encrusted handheld mirror (I have the silver one from the inaugural collection), a crystal handheld mirror, nail set, lip balm set, and much more.

Being a Hello Kitty fanatic, I was so excited to receive a few items from the collection, including the Hello Kitty Pop-Up Party Eyeshadow Palette, The Red Bow Diaries set, and Kawaii Nail Set.

Eye look featuring Milk, Celebrate, Apple Pie, Bright, and The Original.

My favourite item is hands-down the eyeshadow palette (C$62, on sale for $39).  Filled with 20 shadows (mattes and shimmers), this box set includes a top that opens up to reveal a pop-up and a drawer that pulls out with the shadows. I have tried the Hello Kitty eyeshadows in the past and thought the quality was alright, so my expectations for this set were low, however, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice these actually turned out.  I feel like the selection of colours isn’t the greatest, but overall, I highly recommend this set if you are a Hello Kitty fan.  The rest of the line is pretty novelty, but the quality of these were a nice surprise.

If you would rather have something more obviously Hello Kitty, take a look at the Kawaii Nail Set, which includes Hello Kitty nail accents and two nail polishes to embrace the HK spirit. Definitely more of a keepsake item, this set includes a nail file, Hello Kitty signature stamper kit, two polishes in red and white, 3D nail rhinestones, 3D tiny apple nail art, three 1974 nail stickers, three accent nail appliqués, all housed in a collectible tin. This set (C$47, on sale for $24) is more of a collector’s item for someone who loves Hello Kitty as opposed to someone who is looking for more quality nail products. The Hello Kitty crystals fell off my nails within a few hours and the polish chipped after a day.

Finally, the most “collector’s item” piece from the set, The Red Bow Beauty Diaries is filled with 15 exclusive Hello Kitty colour cosmetics and collectibles.  The case contains a “message” from Hello Kitty, a Milk Money coin purse, Charmmy hair tie, 1974 figurine, 16 bandages, a pair of accent nail appliqués, two lip glosses in Strawberry Pink and Toffee Nude, two Pretty in Pearl eyeshadow sticks in Hot Cocoa and Champagne Rose, two Electric Slide liquid liners in violet and royal blue, two Plus Pout lip balms in Cherry Red and Coral Crush, and a Pink Streak hair mascara.

I hate to say it, but I do find this set the most useless out of all the offerings from the collection, and this is coming from a huge Hello Kitty fan.  I would only buy this for the most die-hard of die-hard Hello Kitty fan, as not only do the cosmetic items look cheap, but for $33 (sale price, retails regularly for C$65), this just isn’t worth the money in my opinion.  The items are cute (especially the little coin purse, which probably only holds like five dimes), but there are other sets in the collection which are more appealing than this one.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed by the choice of items in this collection.  The showstoppers are definitely the mirrors, especially the handheld one, however, for C$234 is not worth the money in my opinion.  The whole collection is on sale on Sephora online (aside from the handheld mirror – of course!), so if there is something you are interested in, getting it for half off is more appealing than the full price, which to be honest was a bit more expensive than I feel it should be.  With that being said, I do highly recommend the eyeshadow palette if you wanted to pick something up.  I mean after all, she only turns 40 once, right?

Are any 40th anniversary Hello Kitty items on your list?

Please note I was sent these products from PR.  All opinions are my honest own.

Like what you read? Check out these related posts:

• The Holiday Collection: Holt Renfrew Paramount Beauty Bag
• The Holiday Collection: NARS Danmari Cheek Palette
• The Holiday Collection: Coach Wristlet
• The Holiday Collection: Benefit Cosmetics The Big 10