#SURE its super crispy and colors are PRETTY and vibrant BUT AT WHAT COST (the cost of my brain not being used to any minor changes)

[bennidraws]

yeehaw 🤠

full ADULT ver

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Yume Twins May 18

See, I’m already making progress. It’s been a while since I’ve done two reviews in such a close span... hasn’t it?

Theme of the month: (U・x・U) Pom-Pom Sunshine

Before we get into this, I thought It’d be kinda fun to look over the description of this months box to help get a feel for the theme. It does play a large role in judging and I usually don’t elaborate upon it outside of name. Keep in mind that I took out the non-important stuff.

“What does Pompompurin and sunshine have in common? They both have a kawaii pastel yellow color! Pompompurin also loves going out and enjoying the outdoors making the most of his day. In this box, you can find many cute yellow items that represent May’s nice weathers and Pompompurin!“

Not to be a downer but I don’t like yellow.

But the point is not to judge the box on it’s color choices but its content, so please keep that paragraph above in mind.

Contest & Yume Prize

As usual, we have a contest featuring some very randomly chosen Sailor Moon facial masks, earbuds, and a puzzle. I’m not complaining though, who doesn’t like Sailor Moon? 

The Yume Prize caters more towards the theme however, which I do appreciate. They usually do pretty good with that. Although, without sounding like a brat, I don’t see how this stuff can cost over 500 dollars other than the high quality being on a name brand product that belongs to its brand; you know, like if you find a toy at an official Disney store, it’s probably going to cost more than like it’s Walmart Disney toy variant?

In fact I can guarantee it because one of my favorite bloggers did a comparison on them a few times....  

Kawaii Culture

I really should be including this more often, so here it is now :3 May’s Kawaii Culture celebrates the very first permanent Pokemon Cafe in Nihonboshi Tokyo back in March. You can shop for Pokemon-themed goods like accessories, toys, figurines, and even get some cute themed food.

Okay! So let’s get along with the review shall we?

Pompompurin Roll Cushion

The second of 3 Sanrio Roll within Yume Twins, last month we got My Melody in the easter-themed box, and next month we’ll get the third and final one of the set. You’ll have to wait for that review to see who it is-  but in the mean time feel free to guess or think up an answer. I wish the image within the booklet didn’t spoil each one though because the shapes made them very obvious. There wasn’t a surprise element for us who subscribe to it.

As I mentioned in the prior box, I love these cute Sanrio, tube-like tsum tsum cushions. They’re so cute and soft.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

These are very simplified, but well made roll plush/cushions. Comfortable enough to snuggle with and use for the head or to rest a limb on. They even go full out with details... by that I mean they included his button.

and by button I mean... button; you know, typical Pompompurin inclusion. If they didn’t want people to know it was there they wouldn’t put it <3<

Kawaii Leisure Sheet

Ironically I just reviewed one of these in the Doki Doki April box. I think this one may be a bit bigger, I didn’t think to compare the two to see like I probably should have. Anyway... as a rehash of DDAB’s sheet, this sheet is for activities you would probably down sitting down outside. The bottom half has a thin layer of Styrofoam, while the top is textured (I assume to wash off dirt or stains).

This game in four styles, featuring Rilakkuma, My Melody, and 2 different Sumikko Gurashi. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Rilakkuma is always cute and I love this design! It feels so.. spring-to-summer vibey. But I also feel like this could work in the fall too. The mat is thin, but it still feels comfortable sitting down on. It could also probably work for several other things, like putting shoes on, or as a plate mat for a room or something. If I was going to the park or on a picnic or something I’d probably bring it.

Japanese Canvas Tote Bag

A mini-tote bag made in India that apparently costs 1,000 yen. It’s not very big but it gets the job done no problem and offers a lot of space. It also has an inner-pocket, which I like because I hate bags that have no storage compartments and just make a mess you need to waste five minutes digging through. There was 5 designs, including this one, two with cats, and two with sumo wrestlers.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

For a bag to get in one of these boxes I’m actually pretty impressed by it. It’s extremely well made and you can fit necessities and more in it, so it’s very practical for all sorts of occasions. I also like the simplistic and colorfully repetitive design, it makes me feel happy.

Cafe Holographic Stickers

I love sparkles, and food stickers! I got pretty excited seeing this in the box, you can see just how holographic the packaging is alone. There are 6 types (Honey toast, a drink, pancakes, a frappe, cheesecake or fruit tart, and a donut), 8 for each. There is also 2 large stickers with a design based on the front of the package.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

First I want to say adore this packaging. It’s so sparkly and shiny, and I just think it’s really cute looking with the cafe items covering the front and back. I like the variety and the stickers are like average stickers, but they do have that holo that everyone loves and makes everything better~

Taiyaki Squishy

Everyone’s favorite item in these boxes (I assume anyway), a squishy! Taiyaki is a baked pastry filled with things like red bean paste or chocolate. They’re super-popular and can be available fresh (which seem more cake/dough-like from what I’ve seen) or crispy pre-packaged ones (which I’ve tried before and really liked).

This was available in strawberry, chocolate, regular, matcha, and... white. Sorry, I’m not sure what a white one would be. It’s like they knew I wouldn’t be a fan of the Yellow color theme for May and gave me my favorite color to appease that.

I know that isn’t really the case, but it’s ironic isn’t it?

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥  

It’s very cute, and I’m happy I got this strawberry-colored one. But I did notice mine has some air bubbles in the rubber/fabric (?), and around the mouth the coloring is lacking. What really killed it for me though, is the fact that it smells like body odor. I have no idea why it would, it’s been in the box and the box doesn’t stink. The inside of the box actually smells good...

Oh, and if you’re curious its a like a... 8 out of 10 in terms of rising speed. It’s quick but not instant.

Chick Kitchen Spoon

This is our final item of the box, and also the featured one. It’s an adorable chick-themed spoon perfect for stirring soups and sauces, scooping rice, tossing a salad, etc. It’s feet are removable- I assume for easier holding and washing.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love cute kitchen items, so I instantly took to this one. It’s pretty much like any other large spoon you’d have for making foods, but it’s just unique in design- so there isn’t actually much I can say about it. I do like that it stands though, because I hate laying spoons down on various surfaces and either making a mess or worrying over germs and having to get a whole new one.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4 out of 5. I liked everything enough, I’m not sure what of it I’ll actually end up using because for me personally, it kinda feels like this is one of those “put it aside and come back to it“ boxes. I didn’t instantly say “I’m gonna put that out right away!“, except for the chick spoon for obvious reasons.

Price - 5 out of 5. Unlike the past two boxes I feel like this one was definitely worth the price we pay for them. Two items were small, in comparison to having a bunch of small and cheap items.

Quality - 4.5 out of 5. Everything is spot-on, nicely detailed, etc. I’m only marking this down because of that smelly Taiyaki squishy.

Theme - 2.5 out of 5. The theme was yellow, and two of our pre-picked non-randomized items were indeed yellow. By some dumb luck one of my items is mostly yellow. But two ended up being multicolored, and one was pink (but had a yellowish one in the set). Another portion was pompompurin, who could have been represented more, as well as sunshine, a summery vibe I honestly didn’t feel with this box outside of the vibrant color.

Total Rank: 15/16 out of 20 Cuties. Lately I’ve had complex and uncertain feelings about boxes, but with this one I felt like I liked it more/better even if it left me without that excitement that I look for in a new box.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Leisure Sheet -  Not only did I feel like this embraced the theme the best, but in general it’s just a super-kawaii design!

2. Cafe Holographic Stickers - I was quickly won over by the sparkly, shiny rainbowness of the packaging- plus the stickers are cute. 

3. Pompompurin Roll - Very cute and squishy-soft, but generic Pompompurin you know?

4. Tote - A repetitive and simple bonsai plant design, but it’s charming.  

5. Chick Spoon - It’s cute but in a generic sense to me, so I thought the other items were much cuter.

6. Taiyaki Squishy - It’s a stinky, but still kind of cute squishy. And Pink, so...

Alrighty, we’ve come to another end of a review. Wasn’t so bad was it? Next will be the usual NMNL, followed by Kira Kira crate. I’m hoping to get those both done within the next few days to try to get myself back on track of posting more often- especially since I got so behind >3<

But if anyone sticks it out with me and continues reading then I’m happy. So until next time stay warmly pompompurin cute!

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat June 20

Alright, so I mentioned in the previous post that I had been doing some more thinking. I know I sound like a broken record, but I was hoping this may fix things. But for anyone new, lately I haven’t been extremely happy with this box. The new booklet art is cute, the items aren’t bad- but besides some changes/decisions I really don’t approve of, a lot of items I get are repeats. Now, they’re usually not bad, and this box doesn’t guarantee new items all the time either. But considering the price raise, sometimes the items don’t exactly feel worth it to me...

Anyway, to save time I plan on cutting out anything old in these reviews. I won’t even be including pictures, like I used to. I’d rather my reviews be interesting, and fun, or at least try to be, so they will only be focusing on the items new to me and what I think about them.

“Thanks to our family’s awesome support and love we’ve made it this far, and we’re not stopping now! We’re inviting you to enjoy some Japanese birthday party treats with us at TokytoTreat’s 5th Birthday Party!“

For this month the Lucky Treat featured all sorts of fun, colorful Nintendo character products! While the prize for the month was based around Rilakkuma. The special page in back of the booklet talks about Japanese birthday parties.

Fanta Premium Grape

Our drink this month was a premium grape fanta, by premium they mean its made with fresh grapes turned into a puree within 24 hours of harvest to ensure its freshness. So it’s more like grape juice, rather then soda.

♥

Okay, so... either this is supposed to be wine-like (is that why it’s premium??) or because I had it for nearly a year, it fermented into wine. I’m not really sure which. I was pretty confused, and the book doesn’t mention anything on it.

Mike Popcorn & Sakura Oreos

(Ignore the Black Thunder, I’ve already reviewed it. My decision above was made ages after I took these pics.)

What was fun this month was that rather then everyone get the same popcorn mix, there was 3 different ones we could get; caramel, milk tea, and banana smoothie. I’m so thankful I got caramel, and if you know me then you’ll know why ;P besides the fact that I obsessively love caramel.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It was super yummy, and I love how the bag was resealable. They remained fresh for about a week, I was surprised I had them last that long. They made me really crave more caramel corn, so I went out and bought some (and unicorn popcorn, it’s fruity and delicious!).

- - - - -

These sakura Oreo’s came in a cute little box, in three cute little packs. I usually don’t see things like that around here. What we call “Oreo Thins“ around here, they call Crispy it looks like. I have to admit, I never wanted a thin oreo because to me, without all that cream they can’t be that good right?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I was wrong big time. These were amazing~ Even with less cream, it was still flavorful. The sakura itself actually tasted like cherries, which I didn’t mind at all, in fact I wish it tasted like that more often. They made me want to actually try the thin Oreo’s some time.

Lemon Squid Snack & Matcha Cookie

I feel a little confused by these snacks, because they feel familiar to me but I don’t believe we’ve had them before. Our first is a crunchy, dried squid snack, which is popular among adults in Japan. You get one bag-length piece, or if you’re like me it’s broke up into multiple pieces. That just happens now and then.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This will probably sound very strange, because I mean, squid is sort of acquired I think. Like sushi, and seaweed. I actually don’t like eating squid, nor have I ever actually done it before outside of a few snacks like this, or jerky. But this was actually pretty tasty, I can see why adults like it :D it had a lemon, slightly peppery taste, and it reminded me a lot of a taste from the restraunt Long John Silvers. 

- - - -

Meanwhile... this cookie was less-than impressive. You can tell in the package it was pretty demolished. Everything else was fine so I’m not really sure what happened to these two.

♥ ♥

The heart shape its supposed to be in is really cute, but the flavor was pretty unremarkable to me. It had a Japanese-ish flavor as they described, but it didn’t really do anything for me.

Marshmallow Dice, Chibi Maru Chocolate, & Pudding Marshmallow

Okay so... we’ve had the chibi maru before, but I don’t believe we’ve had it in this format before. I love their fun, vibrant packaging and colors. Essentially they’re just M&Ms.

- - - -

I also think we’ve had this pudding marshmallow before, but I couldn’t exactly remember, so we’ll cover it again. It reminds me of a baby daifuku, and features a fluffy custard/pudding cream filling.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It was so fluffy and soft, and the filling was really yummy~

- - - -

Our last item is this... basically, a marshmallow cube in a dice package. That’s it. But I love marshmallows, so I really didn’t mind! It was old and pretty hard by the time I got to it, but it was still edible.

Long Sakeru Gummy & Long Gum Mini Soda

I believe we’ve had this gum before so let’s just focus on the more impressive item, the one that was so hard to open that it took me forever to tear the packaging apart and eat it >3> This special gummy was available in orange or grape flavor (which we did have before in a smaller package, like a year or so back), and it is 50cm long!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I prefer the grape flavor, but the orange is also really good. It’s soft and chewy, and it’s kind of fun to play with too. Not only is it really bendy and a bit stretchy, but you can even peel it apart and make it look like spaghetti, or hair strands.

Grape Ball & Marukawa Grape Gum

Okay, so... I don’t know what happened to the picture. But basically the grape ball is a super-cute, small half-jello. We’ve gotten a green one before, and this one is grape.

The other item are grape spherical gum balls that come in a cute little box, which we’ve also seen before I’m pretty sure. They’re popular in Japan with kids and adults.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

They were both delicious bite-size grape sweets. The gum flavor lasts about 4 minutes per-gumball, and I loved its soft and smooth texture.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

This review feels super small to me, compared to the massive walls of text I used to have to write for it.

Content - 3.5 out of 5. Everything was super-yummy overall, and I liked the items. Two of them were a bit broken up but it didn’t have any lasting effects on my opinion or anything. If anything, it’s the drink that was kind of meh, but that’s most-likely my own fault for keeping it as long as I did.

Theme - 3 out of 5. I love the birthday theme (I also love birthday cake as a flavor), however, while I get the concept of them including items you can like... sorta get from a birthday, I wish they had used more birthday-ish flavors. You know, like ice cream, vanilla/chocolate, strawberries, include some actual snack cakes or more cream-filled things, etc.

Total Rank: 6.5 out of 10. They picked good items and I really liked them (I was also happy to see something else besides kit kats)! I wish they had focused more on birthday flavors -namely the cake itself- though, and a handful of the items were smaller scale/tiny/single portioned, which sort of felt like a waste when you take into consideration the cost of the box.