Japanese release date: October 2013
International release date: None
Website: http://www.creerbeaute.co.jp/
The Miracle Romance Nail Collection is a modern day spin-off of the 90’s Crystal Star Henshin wands which first appear in the Sailor Moon R arc. While the wands in the anime and manga served solely for transformation purposes, the toys were turned into nail polishes. It is theorized by fans that the reason the Sailor Senshi’s nails are painted during their anime transformation, only to be covered by their gloves, was to sell merchandise. Further proof in this can be found when the Outer Sailor Senshi are introduced. Their transformations include lip stick instead of nail polish, and the toy versions of their wands are lip glosses instead of nail polish.
The images above show the animated versions of the wands, the toys made in the 90’s (the wands with actual handles), and the nail polishes released in 2013 (short polishes in the box).
Initial fan reactions to these nail polishes were positive… until they seen the price tags. These retailed for 5000 yen, or about $50 USD from the P-Bandai site. Of course, to turn a profit, stores that purchased and resold these from P-Bandai listed them anywhere from $65 USD to $140 USD, making them not really worth the effort, and dropping desire for these from most international fans.
On top of that, many retailers refused to mail these to North American countries as their alcohol content was too high for certain regulations. Many fans had their parcels shipped back to the store they came from once they hit customs. I shipped mine EMS, and since customs did not search the package I did not have any issues shipping it. Alternatively, I am in Canada and I am not sure if my regulations are the same as the ones in the US.
Advertising
These have appeared in magazines, and I believe in various fliers advertising P-Bandai items, but fans really done the job for these. There really isn’t much to say about the advertising on these. They were included in an invite only event in Japan for the initial unveiling of the Miracle Romance line. Attendees got to see each of the announced products in person (compact, nail polish, nail stickers (which were announced later that week), and the eyeliners), as well as try some of them in areas where there were ladies applying the nail polish, and stickers.
For the most part though, they were relatively silent.
Packaging
This slip cover was a WONDERFUL surprise. It’s so pretty and delicate.
The slip cover pulls off to reveal a lovely case that shows off each of the bottles, and a lovely Senshi and Miracle Romance inspired design on 2 opposing corners. The roses and bows are very reminiscent of both the Crystal Star compact packaging, as well as the eyeliners, but I love how they change colour and represent each of the girls.
The back of the slip cover includes ingredient listings and all of the usual warnings, as well as the TOEI sticker, 20th Anniversary Sailor Moon logo, and Miracle Romance logo.
One of the lovely touches with this packaging is that the polishes don’t slide out of the box. The window panel lifts up.
WARNING: When pulling out the nail polish do so gently to avoid hurting the package. Lift from the lower midsection of the bottles, and when the bottoms lift out, slide out the lids. The lids are hidden under the openings in the tray.
Assembly and Fit
One would assume that nail polish doesn’t really have much to assemble. Well… you’d be wrong. Technically you probably shouldn’t pull these apart, but I’m assuming that you can in the case that you run the nail polish out and manage to find a refill that fits.
If you can find a bottle that matches these then you’ll have no problem using these and being able to replace them. I suppose you could also refill the bottle after cleaning it out. To remove the bottle just lift up on the bottle while holding the plastic piece. It will feel loose, but won’t slide out all that easily. DON’T DO THIS unless you HAVE too. You risk breaking the plastic if you pull it out wrong.
The star also comes off as a ring. It’s small, and not particularly wearable on probably most North American adult fingers, but it’s plastic, cheap, and meant for the lid anyway, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Bottles – Sculpt and Paint
The bottles are super cute and detailed, maybe even slightly more than the actual artwork. I have no complaints with the bottles. They’re small, but size appropriate for what they are. The gold paint is nice and clean. The lids match most of the nail paint colours (the lids are SLIGHTLY bolder than the in-bottle paint).
There are some seam lines on the plastic casings which are kind of ugly. For the product they’re relatively ignorable, but for the price tag and a P-Bandai/CreerBeaute product they should have tried much harder.
The backs are plain.
The bottom of the containers have a sticker (detailed shot below) most likely detailing ingredients in each piece, as well as copyright. There is also a small sticker on the back of the glass bottles as well.
Nail Polish
The actual polish itself is much runnier than any typical North American nail polish I’ve ever purchased. While the colours appear bold after drying on the paper towel, I assume that it would be difficult to get a solid layer when painting on nails where it is easier for the liquid to run. When shaking the bottles to mix the polish before sampling I did not hear a mixing ball inside, so I recommend shaking them really well before use.
Overall
Another fine collectors piece from P-Bandai and the Miracle Romance line. These are most definitely display pieces as the polish appears low quality, and the bottles don’t even contain a mixing ball. Too add to that, the bottles are tiny, and not particularly readily available if one of them becomes your favourite shade (assuming they haven’t used a pre-existing shade they sell cheaper in Japan).
This is a maybe piece. If you are hell bent on collecting all of the Miracle Romance line then I say go for it! If not, and your iffy about the purchase, your collection will do just fine without it. If you’re still not convinced, whether you like the polish or not, these pieces look lovely on display.
Sailor Moon Collection 