InRed x Jill Stuart

Ever wonder what other strange things makeup addicts do (aside from collecting prodigiously obscene amounts of makeup that no woman will ever be able to use up in one lifetime)? Well, one thing that this makeup addict frequently finds herself doing is stalking Kinokuniya for the latest shipments of Japanese magazines. It being a Japanese bookstore, they actually have a notice board where they put up information on the dates of the next few air and sea shipments and the titles of the magazines that will be coming in each shipment. Aside from picking up my usual beauty magazines like Voce, Biteki, Bea's Up and Maquia, I'm often on the lookout for Japanese women's magazines with cute collectible freebies by brands such as Stila, Paul & Joe, Rebecca Taylor or Jill Stuart.

My target this evening was the magazine InRed, which comes with a pink Jill Stuart coin purse. For me, basically any magazine collectible branded with Jill Stuart sets off clanging "MUST GET!!" alarm bells. Especially since Jill Stuart wallets usually cost upwards of 5000yen. Of course, you can't expect a trinket from a magazine that costs only 630yen to be made of luxurious leather but if they are decently made, they're still a delight to have.

Anyway, that was how I found myself pacing the Japanese magazine section at Kinokuniya this evening for an hour. I got there at 7pm but the sales staff told me that the magazine would only be 'released' at 8pm. (Another very Japanese facet of Kino!) So I hiked over to HMV to check out the British magazines (see, HMV, unlike other bookstores in Singapore, brings in the British fashion mags such as Elle with their freebies, such as tote bags, flip flops, even makeup items, still attached!). UK Elle had a Warehouse tank top (choice of grey, black, dark beige) and Red had a huge tote bag but neither were pretty enough to splurge on. So I went back to Kino and waited patiently until 8pm before approaching the staff again and this time, I finally got my hands on InRed! And of course, after having waited so long to get it, I end up buying TWO copies, rationalising that I might as well get an extra that will make a nice gift since that is one hour of my life that I'm never getting back anyway! Kind of like why makeup addicts buy backups of things like MAC Parrot eyeshadow even though they know they will never be able to use up a single pot of it.

So, here it is in all its shiny pink glory! It turned out to be larger than I expected, bigger than my palm but actually it's not that roomy because it is totally flat on one side and the zip is only on the right edge instead of all around the circumference. The material is quite thin and feels like vinyl, so I'm not sure how much wear and tear it can take. But I love the cute apple design and details such as the small oval piece that's attached to the zip. Was it worth stalking Kino for an hour? You bet!! :-)



My next target? The Paul & Joe silky drawstring pouch that comes with a foundation sample and primer sample in the October issue of Biteki and the Paul & Joe Sister tote bag in the October issue of Spring :-)