This is no slam against the Kimora Lee Simmons Hello Kitty Collection available at Sanrio except for – well, the prices. I thought I’d post some info and photos so you can judge for yourself.

Princess Kitty Charm bracelet $450

The charm bracelet is sterling silver with enamel, 18K rose gold (around the crown) and pink sapphires in the crown. Granted, pink sapphires will raise the price a bit but couldn’t pink tourmaline’s have been used instead? Consider that the charm is done in enamel, no pave stones, no diamonds.

Hello Kitty Princess Kitty enamel ring $450

This is the matching ring. I like the style of the ring, it is positively kawaii but if I purchased the ring and bracelet it would be almost a thousand bucks! YIKES!

Hello Kitty pave flower necklace $1395

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but you will have to PAY for the friendship! This is the diamond pave necklace with accents of rose gold, yellow gold and pink and yellow sapphires. The carat weight is .33 which is nuthin’ really. The chain and settings are 18K white gold however.

Hello Kitty watch $1095

This is a stainless steel watch with diamonds around Hello Kitty’s face and a pink sapphire flower. It has a mother of pearl face and leather band.

Hello Kitty diamond pave ring $1950

The ring is 18K white gold, the diamonds are .60 carats, the bow and nose are yellow gold and the eyes are onyx. She’s cute all right but she’s also almost 2 grand. On the Sanrio site they recommend getting your boyfriend to buy her for you as an engagement ring. Whoa.

Black and white diamond Hello Kitty necklace $25000

Finally here is the priciest Kimora Lee Simmons Hello Kitty design I found. This is 9.2 carats worth of black and white diamonds, 18K white gold, yellow gold, pink sapphires and black and white diamond stations in the chain. This is pricey enough to make Solomon blush (and if you get that reference you are a die-hard Eddie Izzard fan and I love you!).

I loved all the cute Hello Kitty jewelry that Kimora Lee Simmons designed for Sanrio but the prices – yeesh! Too rich for my blood, I mean this is Hello Kitty after all where I had been buying twee little erasers and memo pads for many years. I wasn’t about to start forking over $450 – $1000 for some sterling silver jewelry! I don’t care who put their name on it. I mean, is Kimora Lee Simmons a factor? Does it give you clout to have Kimora Lee Simmons designed Hello Kitty jewelry to show off to people or will they think oh, cute Hello Kitty stuff and not even process it further? That’s my bet. So aside from some cute old Sanrio kiddie jewelry I had purchased about ten years ago – there was no Hello Kitty bling in my future. UNTIL….

QVC! Yes the veritable home shopping channel developed a line of Hello Kitty jewelry in sterling silver with their Diamonique brand of cubic zirconia. The prices ranged from $80 – $180. Last Christmas my family went wild buying Hello Kitty stuff for me.  (Have I mentioned how great my sister-in-law is? I made a wishlist at QVC and she and my brother got me EVERYTHING on it! How awesome are they?)

Here are some of my gifts:

Diamonique Hello Kitty watch.

Hello Kitty Princess pave ring.

Hello Kitty red bow pave ring.

Hello Kitty heart star pave band ring.

Hello Kitty Princess pave pendant necklace.

Hello Kitty pave hoop dangle earrings.

Now the kitties sparkle a-plenty but you have to be careful with the pave band ring since one slight whack and you will have lost stones. Everything else is very durable and I’ve had no problems with anything tho’ I did have to send the pave band ring back for a new one because a couple of stones mysteriously disappeared. I’ve had excellent luck with the new ring they sent so not to worry.

Hello Kitty will be on the QVC channel again on Thursday, September 3 at 2 – 3 am and 7 – 8pm eastern. Otherwise just visit QVC.com and look under jewelry brands for Hello Kitty.

Cosmetics from the MAC Hello Kitty Collection.

I’m including these reviews here even though the collections has been out for a while. I purchased several of the items and just so you know many of them are still available from MAC. Just check out their website and search for Hello Kitty.

Here is what I purchased and my reviews of the goodies:

Hello Kitty Eyeshadow in Hello Dolly(first kit in the photo): the compacts are gorgeous and super adorable. They are solid, a kind of black lacquer plastic and have a decent amount of shadow in them. You will need your own brushes as there are no applicators. They colors look incredibly bold but trust me they go on quite sheer. You could build the color up if you wanted to especially if you used a wet brush to get more of a slick deposit of color but you can actually use these shadows with a light hand for everyday wear. I use the black to line my eyes with a wet eyeliner brush.

Hello Kitty Eyeshadow in Lucky Tom (the second kit in the photo): This kit is more dramatic, definitely more for clubbing and going out at night. You can just go wild with these colors. I especially like the orange and purple with the black as a liner. You can mute everything using the beige color if you like. As with all MAC shadows they are highly pigmented and go on like a dream. Both of these kits are still available at MAC (online) for $38 each and are handily well worth the price since you get four shadows in each kit.

Hello Kitty Lipglass: I have two colors  of the seven that were offered, Nice Kitty (very pink) and She Loves Candy (a mauve-pink). The lipglass cases are sweet (topped with the black and white and pink Hello Kitty graphics), they taste terrific (sweet candy) but they tend to go on a little light and have zero staying power. Plan on re-applying often. I didn’t purchase the limited edition Dazzleglass Dazzlepuss or Kitty Couture gloss, because I thought $28 was a little pricey for lipgloss with a Hello Kitty charm attached. They still have it available however at the MAC online store.

Hello Kitty Lipstick: I purchased the color Strayin’ which is definitely much better than the lipglass for staying power. It is soft and frosty and sweet pink. The case is nicely weighted and graphic and there is plenty of product inside. You could use a lipbrush with this and it would last forever. It is still available online for $14 each.

Hello Kitty Sheer Mystery Powder: I’ll be honest I bought this for the case. The silver compact is encrusted with crystals in the image of the kitteh herself and is too too too cute to pass up. It is the priciest item at $90 but a true collector’s piece. They still have it online too. I will say that I don’t usually use much powder but I found this to provide sheer coverage and it feels weightless on my skin. I had no idea I would end up liking it as much as I did. Plus, oh, the bonus of taking out the compact to check my lipstick or reduce shine – worth every cent!

There are many items from the collection available on ebay for much higher prices than the MAC online store – so don’t be fooled. Check there first to see if they still have the items before you go to ebay. Many of the special items (the cases, bracelet, brush set) are completely sold out and only available on ebay at this point. The powder in the crystal compact is running $40 to $50 more on ebay than you would pay from MAC online. Shop wise!

I’m a total handbag freak and have been buying Hello Kitty handbags for over ten years. I’ve gotten some other pretty kawaii Sanrio characters too (one of my faves was a Bad Batz Maru handbag, it was so groovy, I bought it when I lived in San Francisco at the flagship store there) and just loved the comments I’d get from chicas who would so want to steal my cuteness from me! But there is no need for stealies when you can just go to Sanrio and buy your own handbag (or wallet) of adorableness.

Here are a few of my current favorites:

Cute polka-dot tote bag is bursting with color!

Perfect summer shoulder bag. The colors are so sweet.

Graffiti-like tote that glitters.

Adorable purple bag, there is never enough Pochacco!

Candy sweet cinnamoroll bag - floppy ears, yay!

Toki Doki has the cutest bags of all - this one is pink.

Who doesn't want a Hello Kitty nerd wallet?

Cheap, vinyl and super kawaii - I love My Melody!

More Toki Doki - this is a card case. Nothing cuter.

Except of course for Hello Kitty wearing a doughnut.