My Trip to Target: Jemma Kidd, NP Set, and Pixi

Last week my friend Van asked me if I tried Jemma Kidd and NP Set from Target yet and it set me to an impromptu trip to the House of Tarjei to find out about these new brands. It turned out to be an interesting trip with me, myself, and a camera.

On Saturday of the Labor Day weekend, I set my foot out to the wild wild world and head straight to Target. Since the camera function in my cellphone sucks does not perform the way I wanted, I had to drag with me the not-so-perfect camera to the store, hiding it in my bag. In my mind, I prepared if Target security guards caught me then I would just snapped as many pictures as I could and ran for my life. Doing that may risk my chances to shop at Target afterward and you know I *heart* Target very much.

Within last week Target introduced 3 makeup brands to its stores: JK Jemma Kidd, NP Set, and Pixi. Now, Pixi has already been sold at Sephora for a while, their products at Target are the same as at Sephora, and so are the prices. NP Set probably is a more affordable line from Napoleon Perdis, whose products are on sale right now at Sephora. From what I heard, Mr. Perdis is a famous Australian makeup artist whose foundation has been rave at the Down Under. However, Sephora chose not to sell his products anymore and he probably needs a new place. Jemma Kidd's line is invading the U.S through Target and this is the first attempt of hers to reach out to consumers from the other side of the pond.

First stop: JK Jemma Kidd collection

The display is very front and central so anybody can see

The one thing these collections have in common is they both have products for eyes, lips, face, as well as brushes and accesories. Plus Target provides Q-tips and tissues for customers to use on testers, the first in drugstore makeup history. I snapped as many pictures as I could and swatched as many colors as I could at the same time while watching for security guards. I bet some shoppers thought I was insane or something.

I was very impressed with the pigmentation of JK Jemma Kidd's products. I swatched some eyeshadow colors and these colors are very hip, bright, and cheerful. The pigmentation is great. Jemma Kidd is the sister of supermodel Judie Kidd. She was a model herself until she found out her passion as a makeup artist. Currently she is the owner of the London Makeup School and also a countess. Talk about makeup royalty!

The eyeshadow swatch I did in a hurry out of fear of being caught snapping picture!

As much as I'm impressed of the quality of her eyeshadows, they are $18 USD a piece! That's $3.50 more than a MAC eye shadow. That's ridiculously overpriced for something sold at Target! I also tried a color adaptable lip gloss and it turned my lips into the most fuschia color I've ever seen in my life! While the lip gloss was moist, the color was so ridiculous that I would never used.


The highlight of JK Jemma Kidd collection is the pro tools set ($35 USD).


This set has 4 brushes housed in a cute brush roll: a mini kabuki brush, a blending brush, an eyeshadow brush, and an eyeliner brush. Compared to brushes from NP Set and Pixi, this brush set is soft and cuts the same way as MAC brushes. However, the brushes in the set are not versatile enough to be used everyday.


My bottom line:

• The good: the brush set ($35 USD) is soft and the mini kabuki brush is very cute!
• The bad: that color adaptable lip gloss I tried. Please do not even think of trying it in store, the color is really horrendous!
• The ugly: the price! $18 USD per eyeshadow, are you kidding me Jemma Kidd?

Collection #2: NP Set


Compared to JK Jemma Kidd and Pixi, NP Set's collection is much paler in term of color and quantity. Perhaps as Napoleon Perdis is known for his foundation, Set targets more on that aspect with different types of foundation, lip and foundation primers.

NP Set display and Pix display

I played with the powder foundations for a bit and they are really finely milled. Also, they blended well on my skin. Compared to the Napoleon Perdis line sold at Sephora, the price of NP Set is about half, which sets it around $15-30 USD neighborhood per product. I tested the foundation primer a little bit and was not so happy with it: my skin did not feel smoother after being primed and the primer is sparkly. For my oily skin, I'd better steer clear away from it unless I wanted to look like a disco ball.


However, I was interested in the loose dust duos:

A quick swatch
(L-R): Korea, duo I forgot the name, and South Africa

The duos are very pigmented and sparkly which I like. However, at $28 USD per duo, I felt like being robbed. Did Napoleon Perdis know that Victoria's Secret sells their Beauty Rush eyeshadows at 5 for $20 USD?


My bottom line:

• The good: the foundation that is very finely milled and blends well.
• The bad: the foundation primer which has shimmers and the brush set that is poorly made.
• The ugly: the price of those loose shadow duos is insane!

Last stop: Pixi


Perhaps Pixi is my most favorite line out of the three. It has enough colors to satisfy those color cravers like myself while maintaining reasonable prices. On top of that, their products are well-pigmented and more practical to use. Unlike the other two lines, I have some couple of favorite products in mind:

Lumi Lux eye palette ($38 USD)

This eye palette has 20 eyeshadows divided into 2 groups: pastelles (on top) and primary colors (at bottom). This palette is a must-have for the eyeshadow palette collectors and also convenient enough to pack when you travel. Moreover, the packaging is really beautifully done.

Pixi eye beauty kit (28 USD)

If you want a smaller eyeshadow palette or a concealer kit, these kits are for you. Each of them cost less than 2 single MAC eyeshadows and the pigmentations are good enough. Moreover, the colors are cordinated so you can have many looks out of a kit.

Pixi bronze booster (21 USD)

I particularly love the color on the right as it's a shimmering peachy pink color that's perfect as a blush. Moreover, it is really gorgeous to use on your skin. If you go to Target, give it a try!


My bottom line:

• The good: Lumi Lux eyeshadow palette FTW!
• The bad: the brush set looks very scratchy and poorly made. I would not buy that set at all! Sonia Kasuk brushes are much better.
• The ugly: maybe the price is not really friendly toward Target shoppers.

To make space for these collection, Target got rid of Iman cosmetic products. Last week when I talked to Kia at Yummy411, she mentioned that Target never put Iman products on sale. Immediately I sensed something was wrong and my trip just proved that. Iman cosmetics, I will miss you and your very pigmented eyeshadows! Also, Almay got its second class citizen status when the whole line is moved to the location between the sale bin and NYC! It made me sad to see changes like this happened and I sincerely hope Target made the right choice to introduce these three lines.


That's all folks! I made my way out of Target without security guards chasing my tail. Please send me some love because I risked myself for y'all! That's how crazy dedicated I am to this whole blogging thing. If you have any requests or want me to check out a product for you, feel free to let me know via comment or email. If it's something I'm within reach, I would be more than glad to help you out.


Take care and see you soon!
Your Makeup Blogger

P.S: If you like my blog, please subscribe to my feed. Thanks a lot!