Time for another round of reviews on my Amazon purchases. Whooo-weeee!
Magnetic Tiles
I am telling every parent I know about these; in my opinion, they are the best value-for-money toy, hands down, for ages 4 and up. Our Houston friends’ kids had these, and the entire junior cohort (ages 4-7, mixed gender) played with them constantly during our visit. I actually love playing with them as well – insert joke about my maturity level here – which is a bonus because I can’t say that about at least 80% of my kids’ toys. They are way more fun than regular building blocks, and you can build much cooler structures and 3D objects with them. I think they are great for stimulating imagination, and teaching kids about geometry.
The original brand, MagnaTiles, is very pricey. On Amazon, a 100-piece set retails for about $170CAD. A hundred pieces might sound like a lot, but you need at least double that to really get creative/adventurous. I did some research and found this much cheaper version; the reviews suggested that they were just as good as the MagnaTiles and, in my experience, that is actually the case – they seem identical, looks- and quality-wise. These cost under $70CAD for a 100-piece set; 32-piece packs are about $30CAD. Still not inexpensive, but the tiles seem pretty sturdy and I expect my kids will be playing with them for a while. They also take up less space to pack up when not in use as compared to regular blocks, which is a bonus. My house has a tendency to look like a toy graveyard at the best of times.
Mario Badescu Rose Water Facial Spray
This is one of those bougie skin care things that no one actually needs, but I saw Samantha Irby post a photo of it on her Instagram, and I am susceptible to the influence of women I want to be friends with, okay? I also have a vague threshold of about $25 for impulse/useless buys, and this cost just under than on Amazon, so. It was bought.
Was it any good? Well, yeah. It feels really nice. I still maintain that it’s not something you need, and I can’t speak to its magical, skin-transforming powers because my skin is having none of that transformation business at this point – but! – it’s a nice little pick-me-up if you’re into that sort of thing. I would say it’s akin to a sheet mask, minus the looking like a drugstore version of a serial killer part.
Edited to add: I bought the large size, which naturally I can’t find as of my writing of this post, and I think it will likely last at least 2-3 months. When I was in Phoenix, I found the small size (linked above) for $5 at Nordstrom Rack, so I purchased the purple and green versions as well. I’m basically addicted to the spraying action at this point. Fawncy!
Pom Pom Maker
This is another item that might have a very niche audience, but I had to mention it because I get a kick out of it. I initially found this on Amazon while looking for something else related to my knitting adventures, and I bought it in hopes that I would, someday, successfully knit a beanie. Beanie + pom-pom = legit hat. That, and the fact this gadget cost under $20CAD, was the extent of the thought process that went into this purchase.
Once I figured out the instructions – which were almost certainly written by a non-native English speaker – the thing was pretty easy to use and does make a decent-looking pom pom. I have only used the largest size so far, but I plan to dive into pom crafts at some point.
Have you found some cool bargains or gadgets on Amazon (or elsewhere) lately? Share everything in the comments 🙂
Thanks for suggesting the less expensive MagnaTiles. I was trying to figure out what to get my oldest nephew for his birthday. I think he’ll love them.
I hope he loves them!!
I keep seeing the Magnatiles on Eva Chen’s (former editor in chief of Lucky’s) instagram, and her kids seem to love them! They seem like a very cool toy, and of course, a more affordable version is a good thing.
I’ve previously used the Mario Badescu face spray, I didn’t realize they had other colors/variations. I didn’t end up getting much use out of it though, I think I preferred sheet masks for my slight moisture boost.
There’s a lavender (purple) and a cucumber (green). I think they’re pretty interchangeable, lol! I just like to spray – feels so fancy 😂
Magnatiles are such an expensive toy! This is maybe two yrs ago though, but at that time I ordered two sets of 30 for $30 each for my nephew from amazon.ca. This was actually less expensive than I could find on amazon.com (I’m in the states)! For me, after the exchange I considered it ‘a deal’ compared to buying here, for ‘brand name’ I guess. I think these toys have good re-sale value when it’s time to part with them too. I wanted to buy other brands, but I end up reading a handful of bad reviews and then get completely turned off. The power of reviews…
My kids love magnatiles and our preschool has them so my oldest keeps asking when we’ll get a light table to use with them like at school. Ha, sorry kid. We recently got some magnetic people to go with them and that’s been fun. https://www.amazon.com/Pythagoras-Magnets-Magnetic-Figures-Set/dp/B071FYYVSF/ And if you’re looking for kid book recommendations, the Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus series have been great. And EB White’s Trumpet of the Swan was a big hit, although FYI there is a swan being injured, but not fatally, by a gun near the end.
Thanks for the reccs!!