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Magnificent Manicure Kit
When I was in high school, chemistry class was a real drag. I barely passed. The lab smelled terrible and the experiments we did scared the living daylights out of me. Bunsen burners are scary people; admit it.
However, if chemistry had been made relevant to me, I might have had a different opinion about it. Enter the Magnificent Manicure Kit.
Named one of the best toys of the year, I can definitely see why. My husband, who happens to have a degree in chemistry, jumped right on board with this fancy toy. The girls spent an hour, sitting at a table, mixing things and creating their very own manicure materials including fragranced lotion and buffing cream.
When all was said and done, they had learned a bit about cosmetic chemistry and they both had beautiful nails to show for it. And, even better, the husband had helped them. While the "experimental" part is actually pretty simple, the girls couldn't help but feel like they could now get jobs at Clinique Cosmetics.
The toy completed occupied them and they actually learned something too. How often does that happen at the same time? While using the Magnificent Manicure Kit, kids will be able to make their hands silky with crystal mud, get to soak hands in a sea-salt scrub, create their own custom scented lotion, and buff and shine their nails. It's like a little kid spa in a box.
If I had to find a negative, it's that you can only do it once. I mean, sure you can give yourself manicures, but the actual mixing and making only happens one time. The girls enjoyed that part so much that it would have been nice if they could have had some options for future play, maybe several different scented lotions or something along those lines.
The manicure kit is for ages 8 and up, but with strict supervision, I'm sure younger kids could potentially enjoy it as well. The kit retails for about $18 and you can find it everywhere from Big Box retailers to small creative toy outlets online. The maker of this kit? Elmers of all people; you know, the glue people. How about that.
BBM gives the Magnificent Manicure Kit a. . .
Sonicare for Kids
This is a compensated review from Sonicare for Kids and BlogHer.
I'll be honest. I always thought that the people who spent mucho dinero on toothbrushes that came in a box were insane. I mean, the dentist gives you a free one every six months. What did I need with one of those crazy Sonicare toothbrushes. More so, why would my kids ever need one?
People, Sonicare has made me a believer.
At first I was worried about whether or not my kids would go for it. Sonicare for Kids does not come shaped like a princess or a mermaid. It does have interchangeable panels for the front of it, but they're definitely more generic than your grocery store toothbrush. I wasn't sure I could get my girls to switch.
However, when it came, it was red and my girls liked that right away. It also came with two different toothbrush heads which was perfect considering one was for 4 year olds and the other was for bigger kids, 8+. My girls are easily able to tell their toothbrush head apart since one is red and the other is blue. They quickly learned how to pop their toothbrush head onto the Sonicare and get busy.
Right away, I fell in love with the Sonicare for Kids and it's special feature to make kids brush longer. Every minute, for four minutes, the toothbrush plays a little part of a song. When you complete the entire time, it plays the entire little tune. We went from brushing for only seconds to brushing for the full time overnight and I know that will make a big difference in their oral health.
The toothbrush comes with two settings and the girls can easily turn the toothbrush on with their recommended intensity by themselves. I thought it would take some time to get used to the Sonicare for Kids, but it has become a wonderful addition to our family and the girls' brushing routine.
I can speak for myself on this issue, as I also received a Sonicare FlexCare to try. It is like visiting the dentist every single day, twice a day and it's amazing. The clean that you get from it is completely unlike any other toothbrush I have ever tried. My teeth feel silky, the way they do when you leave the dentist. In fact, when I visited the dentist last week and told them we're using Sonicare's now, they were thrilled! They said they notice a big difference in their patients who use Sonicare's.
My only criticisms of the toothbrush are that one needs to be really careful with little ones. The toothbrush head for my 4-year old doesn't stay on the way it did when we got it. She says she didn't drop it or anything, but whatever held the head on tightly doesn't work anymore. Now we have to hold it on until we get a new toothbrush head. My only other criticism is that the Sonicare is pretty intense and one needs to make sure that when you turn it on, the toothbrush is in your mouth! If not, the spray from the toothpaste is going to make cleaning your vanity a daily thing. I happened to spray myself in the eye the first day I used it; but people, let me just tell you that you only make that mistake once. This shouldn't be a reason to prevent you from getting one yourself.
A Sonicare for Kids starter package starts at around $69.99. The package comes with two brush heads, three interchangeable plates for when your kids get bored with the looks of the toothbrush, a plug-in charger and complete instructions. You can find brush head replacements for around $21.99 for a package of two. A Sonicare for Kids toothbrush would make a great Christmas gift for kids.
I never understood why people would spend so much money on a toothbrush, but I now know that the family and I will be life-long converts. Thank you Sonicare and BlogHer for the opportunity to review these wonderful products!
You don't have to be a BlogHer reviewer though, to try the Sonicare. You can enter for one of eight chances to win a $100 Visa card or a Sonicare prize package below. You can also check out the other reviews simply by going here.
If you'd like more information, directly from Sonicare, please click here.
Contest Rules:
To enter to win a $100 Visa card, leave me a comment below and tell me "How do you handle your kids' dental hygiene?" – or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. (PST) 10/15/2009 and will end 5:00 p.m. (PST) 11/15/2009. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.
Rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
- This giveaway is open to US-residents, 18 years of age or older
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
- You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
- Please see the official rules here.
Winners will be chosen with this random generator. There are eight reviewers which means you have eight chances to win a $100 Visa card so you can buy your own Sonicare for Kids. And, there's also the Sonicare prize pack. Visit the link above for the complete round-up! Good luck!
BBM gives the Sonicare for Kids. . .
Getting Rave Reviews
BlogHer Review
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