Yes before I even try to justify this latest purchase I have to admit that I was completely sucked in by my children, which is what resulted in me buying them in the first place.

You see it was a deal, but we parents should know better.

Rule no: 1 never negotiate with children and Rule no: 2 never negotiate with children, it will always end badly and always for the parents.  Do you think they teach them it at school?   Maybe it’s a class that the teachers don’t tell us about as parents, you know that secret Hey Kids Don’t tell Mum and Dad’ about this class.  The Art Of Out Smarting Your Parents. It could be every teacher’s revenge on us parents.

Seriously my ten year old will be able to forge a very successful career in International Terrorism Negotiation when she gets older and I am sure I will be immensely proud later on in life as to where she acquired her skills.  But just right now it’s very expensive.

So, what exactly, after my somewhat pathetic excuse for shelling out unnecessary money, did I buy?

Well they are called Zhu Zhu Pets and are the latest in must have toys and accessories for today’s most discerning buyers, aka our children.  According to them, these are simply ‘must haves’ and the ‘coolest toys’ I think this how they were described to me.   To be fair, they are very cool and I can go as far to say that if you did turn out to be the girl at the party to give these as a gift, you may very well be the popular one there.

They are a collection of small hamsters that once the battery is in, race around and bump into to everything, make funny noises and then change direction.  They come with a huge range of accessories as you can only imagine and you can actually build  them a place to hang out.  This includes a spiral slide and ramp, a wheel and tunnel (this is particularly cute), a fun house and there is the garage for when you aren’t using the car so you can park it. Seriously, you can put them inside the car and drive around in that, hilarious.

“Zhu Zhu Pets™ hamsters are truly unlike anything on the market,” says Jeremy Kirk-Smith, CEO, Planet Fun Ltd. “They’re smart and interactive but also have the adorable qualities of a real pet with unique personalities and comic behaviour.”

Zhu Zhu Pets™ drive around in little cars, zip up ramps and spin down slides, run in their hamster wheels, and get into all sorts of crazy situations. Their artificial intelligence even allows them to know what room of their hamster habitat they are in. They make toilet-flushing or teeth-brushing sounds when they enter the bathroom, and sleeping noises and alarm-clock sounds when they go into their bedroom.   Hard to believe I know, but they do all this, I have seen it.

Parents beware, once you start you are then on the very slippery slope to buying all the outfits and extra Zhu Zhu pets which can set you back quite a bit. But these truly some of the coolest toys I have seen lately and can highly recommend them.

Available:  Toy World, The Warehouse, Farmers, Kmart

Price: Varies from store to store, I have found however buying online at the The Warehouse they are cheaper.

Starter Set        $48.99

Outfits              $10.39

Hamsters          $19.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So rule of thumb with these types of Sales is not to expect anything but go and have a look, you may get lucky and find a bargain.  Generally it’s all the stock they need to move on but at 75%  even 50% it’s still a bargain.

One Week Only Nationwide

  

After my scathing review of the Lancome Vibrating Mascara I did a few months ago, you would think that I wouldn’t go near them again now would you?  But in my quest to save you all money, and to spend mine, I have bought the new Maybelline Pulse Perfection just so I could compare it to its more expensive rival.

Well once again I am struggling with the whole vibrating thing, I mean it just really seems superfluous. That’s a big word isn’t it, but you know what I mean, it’s just useless really, more there for show.  Just another thing to allow them to charge you more for trying to be different.  I just don’t think this kind of different is that great.   I mean give us a new formula that goes on in one go and magically disappears at the end of the day, I don’t know, something else, but not vibrating.  It’s next to useless.

Not being a vibrating expert of course, I have been told that there are apparently better ways to spend your money if you are after something to vibrate.

But I also want to be completely fair when it comes to this Mascara because it does have one really big advantage over its rival and I mean BIG advantage, price.

It’s about half the price of the Lancome one and really pretty much the same.  I have both of them in my make-up bag at the moment and the only difference would have to the formula of the Lancome one.  It’s definitely easier to apply but it’s not enough of a difference to warrant the price.

If you still want to give a vibrating Mascara a go, then buy this one - for the price it’s a really good deal compared to the Lancome one.

I still say for lush lashes it’s hard to go past the Loreal Beauty Tubes.  Check out my blog for more information.

Available:  where all Maybelline is stocked, Farmers

Price: $29.95