THE GOOD
> The package is really elegant, well presented and organized.
>
The set contains 72 colored pencils plus a complimentary brush, with
enough diversity of colors to do coloring and work on shadows and
mid-tones.
> OK as coloring pencils.
> The tiny coloring Fantasy Dream is really beautiful.
> Good priced for the amount of colors you get.
THE NOT SO GOOD
>
These are watercolor pencils, but once you apply water, the color is
barely there. I expected, for sure, the color to dilute and be less
vibrant once it becomes watercolor, but the dilution of the color was
dramatic, like the pigment doesn't hold much with the water because the
pigment is not good.
> The brush doesn't help much with the water-coloring, as the color didn't spread well, the bristles hold too
much water and there aren't enough bristles in it for the water to be
more evenly distributed.
> Color chart on the box doesn't match
the pencil colors in the box. Also, there are discrepancies in the
numbering on the pencils, with some of the numbers missing or just
wrongly numbered.
> The color trays arrived with the colors all
mixed up as per my photo, not color organized, so I had to spend an
hour organizing the pencils properly.
> Bad quality pencil body and lead that break and bristle easily, like just getting the pencil out of the grip.
>
The holding tray is made of plastic, and the grips where the pencils
are held, tend not to be stable, so once I get one out, others pop up on
their own.
OVERALL
This is a good set for just coloring, not
so much if you want professional watercolor pencils. Quality of the
pencils overall is average and they're easily breakable.
Let
me tell you, the Cosmic Pink colour you see in the pictures and the
colour you get on the nails is quite different. The bottle looks a bit
purpleish or cherry-ish, but it is not. This is a very girly, festive
and Cinderella-ish pink. I guess the glitter bits distort the colour in
the photos because even in the photos of my hands, the colour doesn't
look as prettier as in real life .
The polish spreads easily and
evenly. One coat is nice enough and has decent coverage, but two coats
make perfection. Despite the glitter, one coat dries off quickly
This
polish has a rugged textured finish not a smooth one, which can be
expected from any glittery polish. It smoothes out a bit with a clear
top coat, but the textured finish won't disappear despite this. Beware,
as with any glittery polish, it takes a bit of more effort to remove it.
The polish chips off but not overly so, so a new spot application is
enough as the polish is thick enough to cover the spot without needed of
a full coat.
This is a travel-size tiny size (see my photo
beside an average polish bottle), and, this being the case, it's a bit
pricey for what it is. This explains the four stars not the five. On the
other hand, as I have small hands, I find this sizing perfect for my
DIY manicure and the brush is perfect for my nails size.
The brand is vegan and cruelty free, something that's really important to me. This is my first Mavala polish, and I will repeat.
Very good quality flexible kitchen silicone lollipop molds in vibrant colors. The package contains 8 molds with its correspondents sticks, plus an extra spare stick. The first impression is that these would be a bit too wobbly to hold anything upright in the fridge. However, after using them, there is no issue, whether the mold is empty or full. They do what they're supposed to do. As the silicone is flexible, it's super-easy to remove the ice-cream from the mold by putting each individual mold under running warm water for like 5 seconds, and the ice-cream comes up in one piece and very easily. The sticks don't break or deform with use. Super-easy to clean, too.
Overall,this
is a good beautiful percolator that makes good coffee, but it has a
design issue and it's the messiest coffee maker I own.
THE GOOD STUFF
> Beautiful, trendy and elegant, this caffettiera looks great anywhere.
> Plenty of capacity. I don't use it for espresso but for my daily milk coffee, yet it gets me three generous cups.
> Despite the size, this percolator is quite light.
>
The handle is comfortable and has a comfy grip. Also, as the handle is
off the percolator body of the, it doesn't heat up as much as other
stove coffee makers.
> The silicone seal is quite tight and allows
perfect percolation. I've found that this is really important, as I own
other stove coffee makers, and the seal is the culprit for the bad
quality of the coffee as the water doesn't go through the coffee
properly.
> The spout pours beautifully.
> The upper body rolls on the lower body without difficulty, without getting stuck and without having to force it.
> Easy to clean, just wash it out with clean water; that's it. Despite the dripping, the white coating is not stained.
>
The ethical/charitable scope of the company is something important to
me. I've spent my money on a caffettiera that funds Grosche's Safe Water
Project. Also, the company is carbon neutral, environmentally friendly,
it's managed by women, and ticks all the ticks you want companies with a
social conscience to tick on.
NOT SO GOOD.
> Aluminum, not stainless steel, which I would expect for the price I paid for this coffee maker.
>
If you put the stove burner a bit high, the coffee will spit out
profusely. That happened to me the first time I used it and, it dripped
over the caffettiera itself, and all over my stove and bench even though
the upper container wasn't even super full. I learned the lesson, now I
put it on a medium heat and no problem.
> If the container is
full of water, like below the screwing ridge and on or over the valve,
the coffee will still spit out and drip all over the stove and kitchen
bench. No inner line mark to indicate maximum height of water allowable.
You have to learn the lesson by trial and error.
> You have to
wait for the percolator to cool down so the spitting inside has
finished; otherwise, you'll get a mess in your kitchen as the inner
spout is too big and, as it keeps spitting coffee not only inside but
also outside. This is a design problem. I don't have this problem with
other similar percolators, as I prepare the coffee and pour it
immediately without a mess. So, this one is quite annoying.
> You
can call it Milano, you can point to the made-in-Italy vale and mention
Italy many times, but except for the valve this is a made-in-China
product as per the box (see my photo).
I've
been using OPI An Affair in Red Square for several years now and it's
my fav red shade on the nail polish stratosphere. OPI is also one of my
fav nail polish brands. Yet, there are some issues with this specific
shade that I want to mention:
> This shade is one of the thickest
OPI polishes I own, and I own many. One coat over a base coat and under
a top coat suffices to have full coverage and to look spectacular.
>
Two coats of the polish look great, but, when I apply two coats, the
polish takes a lot of time to dry off (more than other OPI shades) and
it tends to smudge easily even when it's almost dry.
> This shade
polish starts to thicken when the bottle it's mid way, in a way that
makes it difficult to apply without resorting to adding acetone to
clarify it.
> This being the case, and despite this being of one
those polishes that I always have in my beauty case, it is pricey,
because I usually bin the bottle midway.
> This red, as most red
shades, chips easily, that's why I reserve the second coat for when my
nails are totally dry but I need to cover the chipping.
Beyond that, this is just a classy wonderful red that never goes out of fashion and I never get tired of.
If you, like me, have a sour teeth, skittles will make you soar to the sour. I love the crunchy coating, the chewy core, the fun colors and, most importantly, their level of sourness. The flavors in the package are lemon, orange, strawberry, green apple and grape. The flavors are very good and they taste of what they are meant to taste plus the sour punch. The initial coating is sweet, although not overly so, and the sourness comes after you chew them.
On the flip side of things, these lollies are loaded with artificial colors and thickeners, so that's why I buy these now and then to appease my sour yearning.
The package size and amount of skittles in it are considerable for the price, so this is good value for money.
This is a good solid tamper, quite heavy for the size. The base and handle can be unscrewed, so I can replace the handle for something different in the future if I feel like it; like a metallic colored handle or a wooden handle. The size is a bit odd for the two stove coffee makers I have, as it's a cm large for one, and a cm short for the other. However, I use it no problem with the latter, while I use the handle flat top as press with my small cafetiere.
