Witoxicity

Jelly Pong Pong. How quirky is that name? Susan

Chyi, the founder, says on the website that the name was born from the notion of wanting to invoke the eccentricity that is innate in all of us. The fascination and awe that we arouse simply by being different and perfectly unique.

Those of you who’ve heard of the brand would know that it’s based in London. Jelly Pong Pong used to have a store in Covent Garden but, sadly, it is no more. They are now concentrating their resources on its online presence through its own website and through other online shops like Zalando (updated).

I bought this eyeshadow palette several months back and didn’t really begin to use it till a couple of weeks ago. I really should be punished for this crime of neglect! Well, this palette is really called just Cherry Pie, with a description of “cherry pie-scented eyeshadow palette”.

Taking it literally, I did sniff at the shadows and what do you know? I detected a faint sweet scent!

Here’re my thoughts on this cute palette:

Product
Name: Cherry Pie
Net weight and Price: 6.56g / 0.23oz for £12

According to Jelly Pong Pong
A quartet of eye shadows in wearable, sweet shades of Crust Bronze, Deep Berry, Light Cherry Pink and Cinnamon. Also comes with a superior eye shadow base, formulated with UVA & UVB filters for a protective, long-lasting application.

Bonus : The eye shadows are formulated with jojoba seed oil, vitamin E & aloe vera to nourish the delicate skin around your eyes.

Packaging
Comes packaged in a cute box with some cheerful designs.
The eyeshadow palette itself is quite small, measuring approximately 8.5 x 6 x 1.25 cm. Inside, you will find a mirror, a mini eyeshadow brush and a double-ended sponge tip applicator.

Ingredients
Please click on the image to enlarge.

Contents
The eyeshadow base is in the centre. Encircling it are the four eyeshadows which are essentially matte but with the very slightest hint of shimmer.

Clockwise, from top: Crust Bronze (brown), Deep Berry (dark pink), Light Cherry Pink (very light pink), Cinnamon (orangey brown with a tinge of red)

My Thoughts
Packaging
Hmm, what can I say besides cute? The size of the palette makes it very practical to carry around. It opens and shuts sturdily. I like using the “full-size” mirror and I have no complaints about the applicators. I tend to use the sponge tip applicators more than the brush, by the way.

Eyeshadow base
The eyeshadow base is very soft and creamy. I’ve read that it wasn’t a good base at all but I would have to disagree, partially. I think it’s a decent base. In my case, I didn’t see any creasing after almost six hours of wear (compare eye images right). Granted, the shadows were slightly faded but there was no creasing. However, at the eight-hour mark, the eyeshadow was showing signs of creasing.

Eyeshadows
The eyeshadows are soft and of a slightly creamy consistency. In general, they’ve got good pigmentation but I thought the dark pink of Deep Berry loses its depth very quickly on the eyelid, hence requiring re-application. My favourite colour of the four has got to be Cinnamon. It’s such a curious shade of orange, brown and red mixed together. That’s one shade with character.

Here are three possible looks created with the Cherry Pie shades:

Deep Berry and Light Cherry Pink

Crust Bronze, Deep Berry and Light Cherry Pink

Crust Bronze (the whole lid fold) and Cinnamon

Other products used:
GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliner in Truly Brown
Maybelline Volum’ Express Turbo Boost Waterproof mascara

Final Words
Overall, I love this palette! There really isn’t anything about this palette that irks me. There are only those little issues mentioned above, but nothing annoying.

On the packaging, it says that it’s formulated in Italy and made in Taiwan. I’ve found out that it just means that Jelly Pong Pong’s formulations for the ingredients are done by cosmetic chemists in Italy. These exact formulations are then sent to Taiwan for replication and mass production for retail.

As mentioned above, Jelly Pong Pong now sells online through its Jelly Pong Pong website and websites such as BeautyBoxx and Zalando. On its website, it states that all orders are charged a standard shipping fee of £3.95 to UK and EU destinations, and USD6.95 for USA and Canada. As it wasn’t indicated on the website, I’ve inquired if they also ship to Asia and Australia. Basically, they ship worldwide and shipping charges would be roughly the same as to the US (this is, of course, only an indication).

Jelly Pong Pong products are also available through several country-specific retail stores and also online stores (please check their website for more details). I’ve been informed that they will also soon be available through Urban Outfitters.

Update

In Europe, Jelly Pong Pong can be purchased through websites such as BeautyBoxx and Zalando: UK, Nederland, Germany, Austria.

A little tip: Jelly Pong Pong also offers the Deluxe Gift Bag which contains two full-size products (there are several combinations) and these are priced at £13 per bag. For example, it is possible to get Set C which contains Cherry Pie and the Wakeup Makeup kit for only £13! That’s quite a bargain, if you ask me.

To find out more about this quirky brand, have a look at the Jelly Pong Pong website. There, you’ll find products with the most amazingly decorative packaging and the zaniest names to boot. My Cherry Pie would be considered quite “normal” in comparison.

Let’s revisit an old friend today. Some of you might remember KOH Rain Forest. It was my first ever KOH nail polish acquired at a time when my relationship with nail polish hadn't reached addictive proportions yet and when nail art stamping was about as foreign to me as Greek is.

I thought it would be nice to shine the spotlight on it again but this time, with a different look: matt. On its own, Rain Forest is a glossy medium green with yellow undertones. Pictured left is a comparison between Rain Forest on its own, and Rain Forest with a matt top coat (surely you can tell which one's which).

KOH has finally released its version of a matt top coat, naming it simply KOH Matt!. This is what KOH says on the packaging (excerpts):

The top coat has a matt effect on any nail polish colour and creates a protective layer, shielding the nail polish from scratches, chipping and flaking.....It has been enriched with bamboo extract and vitamin E for improvement of the nail condition.

KOH Matt retails for €19.95 and it's housed in a 10ml bottle. Note: KOH Matt was sent to me by KOH to try out. KOH Rain Forest was my own purchase.

Now, I've come to the conclusion that green isn't a much loved nail polish colour and neither is matt a favourite finish. Combine both together and I’m beginning to wonder what you might think! To me, Rain Forest on its own is like a glammed up golden army green, which I do like. The mattified Rain Forest loses its glamorous gloss and some of the yellow undertones but consequently, it becomes a very subdued, nonchalant and unpretentious green. I actually like the matt version even more. If you’re not that into green or feel too self-conscious, I’d recommend applying a matt top coat and suddenly, it becomes very wearable and is much easier on the eye.

Next, I did

some stamping on it. The image used is from the Fauxnad image plate T05 from Chez Delaney and the polish was a yellow Konad stamping polish. With the dull lustre of the mattified Rain Forest and the thin lines of the image, the end results were very subtle. I’m not very sure what plant the image is. It looks like an innocent plant but I do wonder if it’s actually hemp! All images were taken in daylight.

Just for the record, I wore this for five days (I don't usually leave polish on for so long). I thought this matt top coat was pretty hardy against scratches. Chipping began on the fifth day.

Anyway, this is what I came up with: