- Thursday, August 25, 2016 11:14 AM
- DisneyDan
Hello everyone,
This week we were very fortunate to be sent some brand new Tsum Tsum products
from the folks at Scentco Inc.
Included in the package were two packs of five different pencils, two writing pens, a pack of five colouring "gel crayons", and six plastic keychain Tsums characters.
I guess the clue is in the name, but Scentco Inc products feature smells, varying from fruits to candies.
First of all, let's take a look at the keychain Tsum characters.
The Stitch Tsum is blueberry scented, but to me is more blueberry muffin than the fruit itself. Olaf is marshmallow scented and indeed does smell like marshmallows. Winnie the Pooh is supposed to be honey, but I couldn't really figure out what it was supposed to be. Minnie Mouse is strawberry scented and to me is more like a fizzy strawberry lemonade. Buzz Lightyear is grape, and again, like Minnie Mouse, is more like a soda version rather than fruity. Finally Dumbo is meant to be cotton candy scented, but I really couldn't get much from him at all, sadly.
The size of these characters is not too much bigger than the mini plush Tsums, but of course they are plastic, which makes them a little bulkier. I probably wouldn't carry them around on my keys, but they are a cute idea for kids backpacks and bags, etc.
Next, let's look at the colouring pencils. For demonstration purposes I took a photo of the red one, which is cherry scented. Again, think cherry soda rather than the fruit. The yellow one is cupcake, and actually does smell like a cupcake. The purple one, again, is grape, and I would say grape soda. The pink one is meant top be strawberry, but I couldn't really figure out what I thought it was. The blue one is cotton candy, but again, I couldn't really get that from smelling it.
I tested the pencils on paper, and they work pretty well. The colours are nice and they have a soft muted tone to them. The only slight criticism I have is that the Tsum design isn't on the pencil, but instead on a sticker around the top, which by all accounts, is pretty cheap and easily peels off.
Next, we come to the regular writing pencils. The smells and according fruit/sweet colours are the same as the colouring pencils. For the most part they do smell just like the colouring pencils, except the cupcake one seemed to be a little off somehow. I wrote my name a couple of times to try them out, and I would say they are ok for writing notes and things at home, but I wouldn't use them as school pencils as they seem to be a little dark and scratchy. They also suffer from the peeling sticker affliction the colouring pencils have.
The colouring gel crayons are interesting. They are really thick and blunt. Again, the colours and scents match the above products, with no real variation in how I feel about the smells. As a colouring tool, they are pretty fun. They aren't much good if you want to do fine art work, but as a good way for really young kids to explore their creative side, they are nice. For your information, you have to twist the top end of the crayon once it becomes too blunt to use, to drop down the fresh stuff hidden inside the pen.
Finally we come to the writing pens. I say writing pens, but really, you can't do any real work with them because they are coloured and have glitter in them. They are fun though! We had the blue and pink ones sent to us. The blue one is marshmallow, and smells like marshmallow. The pink one is bubblegum and I guess I could say it smells a little like that Hubba Bubba stuff you could find at cash registers in the 1990s (maybe they even still make it!). They are a little scratchy, but the colours are nice and the glitter makes your writing very sparkly.
You may have noticed that the pens and pencils all come in individual cylindrical containers, which have Tsum stickers on them too. It's a cute idea, and I suppose kids could use them for something else afterwards. If nothing else, I suppose they stop your pencil case from smelling like cupcakes and soda!
All of the pencils are also made from recycled newspaper, which is a nice environmentally friendly touch.
Over all, I would say this isn't a bad range. The gel crayons are my favourite items, followed by the writing pens.
Have a great day everyone,
Dan.