Anna Sui Holiday Sweets Gift Set in 02 Sugary Sweet

~ stashy

This was part of the Holiday 2014 limited edition release – I’m only 2 years too late!
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Actually, I found this earlier this year at Winners so it wasn’t like I’d been sitting on this for 2 years! (But it’s been known to happen… 😉 )

The Anna Sui 2014 Holiday collection was called Tempting Sweets and featured 2 of these Sweets Gift Sets:
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The one in the dark case is 01 Sweet Espresso, which contained red and chocolate tones. The 02 Sugary Sweet is the one I got, and has pinks and golden shades.
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The outer box was a bit banged up from where Winners attached the security alarm contraption. At least I was assured that no one had tempered with the contents!
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This set originally retailed for $39 and I got it for $20 at Winners. The packaging and concept are so lovely, I would have gladly paid full price for this! But for some reason, I did not see this in stores back in 2014, or else I would have bought it for sure. The presentation box would have been perfect for gift-giving:
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A gift to myself, that is!  😉  When you open the lid, it reveals 4 little pots that look like little macarons!
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The set contains 4 cream products:
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• Creamy Eye Color (pink lid) in Pink Almond (milky beige pink) and Hazelnut (shimmery tan)
• Creamy Cheek Color (chocolate lid) in Strawberry (milky pink with silver shimmer)
• Moisturizing Lip Color (tan lid) in Pink Cherry (mid-tone cool pink)
• Lip Balm Jelly (white lid) in Clear (transparent gloss with suspended red and pink “blobs”)
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I found the cream eye shadows to be too slick – they tend to slide around on my lids and creased fairly quickly even over a primer. The colours were also quite sheer.  The lip gloss texture is a bit tacky which I didn’t care for, and the colour was a bit too milky for my preference. My favourite item from the set turned out to be the cream blush – it has a silicone texture and blended onto the skin seamlessly and was not sticky (I hate it when my hair sticks to my cheeks with other cream blushes). It also lasted amazingly well on the skin – more than 10 hours after application.  All of the products have the signature Anna Sui rose scent, which I do enjoy. 🙂
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The other product I like is the Lip Balm Jelly, which is very similar to the Anna Sui Jar in Rouge lip tint. In fact, the little pots from this collection are identical to the Jar in Rouge packaging (black lid):
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The Jar in Rouge is a clear lip balm that turns pink when it comes in contact with the warmth of your lips like a mood lipstick (it turns fuchsia on me!)  But, the Lip Balm Jelly from the Sugary Sweet kit is just plain ol’ clear balm – no magic mood tricks here.  It does, however, have 6 dots of colours (red and pink) suspended mid-layer in the jar – I didn’t have the heart to dig into the balm to fish out the blobs of colour for analysis. I assume they will provide a tint to the lips. I’ll just have to wait until I reach that layer to find out! 😛 The balm has the same silky texture as the Jar in Rouge – non-sticky yet long lasting on the lips.

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Detailed ingredient list – click to enlarge.

All of the products are made in Japan, as is typical of Anna Sui beauty products.  Overall, this is a fun set but I only liked 2 of the products – the cream blush and the jelly lip balm.  I’d likely not wear the cream eye shadow or lip colour again – a bit of a waste, really. I should note that I do generally like the quality of Anna Sui products – I plan to post my Anna Sui collection in the new year. 🙂
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Now I’m wondering what to use this box for! Also, I’m quite sad that the Anna Sui beauty line is effectively an online-only brand for me now. I’ve just learned that the brand is being pulled at Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques and replaced with Paul & Joe. Earlier this year, the Hudson’s Bay stopped carrying Anna Sui and the counter space taken over by Teeez. So, there’s no more Anna Sui physical presence in Canada now. 😦 Edited: Apparently, the brand is still stocked at Pharmacie Jean Coutu in Quebec! Thanks Jodi and Sharon for the information! 😀

Last year’s blogmas posts:

Blogmas Day 13: The 12 Days of Purge-mas
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I am rather proud of the little jingle I created! 😆

Blogmas Day 14: Holiday Funnies
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47 thoughts on “Anna Sui Holiday Sweets Gift Set in 02 Sugary Sweet”

    1. I’ve had really good experiences with Anna Sui makeup so far! I love their powder eye shadow and blushes. Too bad these weren’t as good – it’s possible that the holiday sets aren’t as good quality-wise.

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    1. I know, they do a wonderful job with the packaging. I’m not TOO terribly upset it’s being replace by Paul & Joe. I see Anna Sui as the darker more broody older sister to the fun and younger Paul & Joe. 😛

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  4. I find I’ve never been too intrigued by the Anna Sui line – I mean the aesthetic is very cute but somehow it doesn’t do it for me. Shame it’s being pulled from both HBC and SDM, though. I did notice a while back that Well.ca started carrying it. They might still but I guess it’s an online store.

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    1. I’m not sure exactly why I’m drawn to AS stuff – I think it was partly due to the fact that they’re both girly and edgy with the black colour. And, normally I do find the quality to be really good.
      I just had a look at well.ca and they do carry a selection of AS products – a lot appear to be sold out though…

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  7. This is such an interesting brand! I’d never heard of them before coming across your blog, but everything looks so darn cute!
    Such a shame that the eyeshadows and lip color didn’t work, it’s always tricky with cream products

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    1. I have quite a few Anna Sui items. Ever since I visited their stores in Hong Kong, I became interested in the brand. I actually met Anna Sui herself! I plan to do a post on my Anna Sui collection and will post that photo of her! 🙂

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  9. Omg, that packaging!!! The way the products look inside the pots kind of reminds me of products I would use as a teeny-bopper, most likely from Bonne Bell…especially that swirly lip gloss!

    Too bad only two of the products worked out. The cream shadow shades are SUPER pretty, it’s just a shame that they too slick.

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    1. Yes, they do look like teeny bopper makeup. I don’t care… I’ll pretend I’m a teenager. 😛
      I was really hoping the eye shadows would perform well. They looked so pretty when freshly applied but after an hour they were already creasing!

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    1. I have a mini set of her perfumes. I’ve tried just about every perfume she offers but none of them compelled me to invest in a full size bottle. But I do love the packaging so the minis will have to do!

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  16. I will never touch these goodies.. just too pretty to use.. I like cream shadows but not much on cream blushes.. But Anna Sui packaging is beautiful as always.. ❤

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    1. I am a little sad that the pots are no longer perfect now! I might use a hair dryer to smooth over the lip gloss and eye shadow to see if I can get them perfect looking since I’ll never use them again. I don’t typically like cream blushes because they are sticky but not this one! I’m wearing it today and it’s perfect!

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  17. Those little jars are so cute! I’ve always thought their packaging was fun and creative.

    Maybe you can use the box to store samples? Like those tiny perfume samples? I have a few cute MAC boxes that are shaped like that and I keep my perfume samples in them.

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    1. Oh that’s a GREAT idea to use the box to store samples! I have a drawer dedicated to samples right now and I keep forgetting about them. Last year I took the time out to sort my samples according to type, so all moisturizers go into one baggy, all serums into another one. Thanks!

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