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.