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cutiecrates · 2 months

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Bear Lip Balms

I have some game reviews planned, but while I work on those I wanted to make a post on these cuties :3

My mom gets addicted to those online websites that get really popular for a while until the next one comes out, they sell Asian goods for cheap prices but you never know what the quality will be like until you get them. For her it was Wish, and then she moved on to Temu. I like to browse for cute, practical items but this was an impulse buy.

The target product user for these are children, but that wasn't going to stop me.

Each bear is its own flavor: Honey Peach, Apple, Orange, Blueberry, Lemon and Grape.

Initially, my plan was to just buy 1. Then it turned into buying 1 of each color variant... and then I ended up buying the whole set.

I really like how their chains match the color of the bear. They can be removed, or flipped around if you wanted.

The lip balm itself has a paw shape and etching on it. It's very cute and feels buttery smooth.

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In case someone was curious, here is my ranking from worst-best:

6. Orange - I really like citrus-scents, so this one was disappointing. When I opened it, I barely smelled anything- it reminded me of a very light, creamy/milky-orange. I used it for a day just to make sure my nose wasn't being wonky, or maybe it had residue keeping the scent in. But no.

5. Apple - like green apple candy. It's also pretty light, but it's at least there.

4. Blueberry - The lightness of this one is comparable to the apple one. It's another creamy/milky scent that reminded me of berry-flavored yogurt. It's not like the normal blueberry taste/scent of lip product I'm more familiar with.

3. Lemon - stronger than the last three, but still fairly light. It reminds me a lot of a lemon lip gloss I used to really like.

2. Grape - I really like grape things, so this one ended up being my favorite of the set. The only reason why I'm marking it 2nd was because the taste of it is lighter than the scent.

Honey Peach - I had a hard time choosing between this one and grape as my most favorite. The scent on this one is strong, as is its taste; it reminds me of peach tea. I don't like honey, but I really can't notice it, unless that's the tea part I'm picking up.

The quality of the product itself is nice. It feels good and moisturizes my lips. I would recommend it to someone whose looking for a cute, easy to apply lip balm they can carry around. If the scent matters then you know how I ranked them. But if you just want a cute product that does what it is supposed to do, or you collect them, then pick your favorite one.

#cutie reviews #lip balm

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cutiecrates · 2 months

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Game Review: Nyakori's Rabbit Doll (no/minor spoilers, minor blood)

I wanted to start my "cute game review" series with a disclaimer. I play a wide range of video games, and games that appeal to me usually have a cute aesthetic/appearance, and what I view as cute might not not be viewed the same way as others. I want to talk about cute games, but I'd like to also like about some other games too now and then.

For example, I decided to make my first review on an rpgmaker horror I saw while browsing Steam. There's a handful of people I watch who play these types of games on Youtube and they never played or even mentioned this one, so I gave it a shot because it looked too cute to pass up!

"One evening, Nyarutoru wakes up to find Nyakori and her rabbit doll have gone missing. While searching for her sister, Toru is led to a mysterious home. She runs into Kori, but someone has stolen her rabbit doll, forcing the two girls to go deeper into the large building to reclaim it. Along the way, Toru realizes that Kori isn't acting like herself…"

Nyakori's Rabbit Doll plays like a typical Rpgmaker/point and click game (you can even play it like one, this game offers mouse and touch control). The goal is to get from point A to point Z by interacting with the environment to look for new items, clues or puzzles while keeping Toru out of harm's way.

The majority of the game takes place inside this building, with one section late-game taking place outside of it. However, the locations all vary and this game features all sorts of "flavor text" that make it a lot of fun to click on everything and see what it says. Some of it is obvious (like a basket might just say "basket"), but others might lead to a remark from the character. There is also text for inventory items, some of which provide hints or alludes to something else:

Dialogue/Text

You might have noticed on the Steam page or the corner of my images, the game's title is written in Chinese. Well, that's because this game was originally Chinese, which is probably evident with the grammar and spelling being all over the place.

I noticed at the beginning of the game it's fine, and there are a lot of places where the text is good. But then it seems like as the game continues, it starts to become more apparent.

Expect to see the word "wired" a few times. It's supposed to be weird, which they do spell right a few times, which further confused me...

There is this also glaring example, which pops up a lot:

You'll see it every time you get a new item. I want to assume this was just an oversight, but they translated the item names so I don't know what to make of it.

Even the Steam page is full of grammar issues, but I will say that it's not enough to hinder the game. It's still clear enough to figure out what to do or what was going on.

Difficulty

It's not really difficult at all.

It offers several save points and an autosave feature (optional), the 3 "mini-games" have an easy option if you fail it once and beats it for you (and this doesn't penalize you at all). There are also tips and hints in the form of text throughout the game, either provided by talking to Kori, observation, looking at items in the inventory or using the "cursed cat food". Supposedly, using it too many times does something? I don't know what because I kept using it in a separate file and nothing happened. But I didn't feel like replaying the game through a fourth time in a short time span, so I stopped after a half hour.

This game is extremely forgiving if you let it be. Any death I triggered was basically because of my own curiosity, it was very rarely due to messing up. There are a couple of cheap deaths but they weren't abundant, so I didn't really feel annoyed by them.

There was only one, real thing that I got stuck with during the game:

At an early point you come across this mirror that depicts a number. A few rooms later, a box asks for it. To some people the numbers might obviously be 8010. But for me... it went like this:

"I clearly see the 0... is the first number an 8? It looks like an 8 but it kinda looks like it could be a weird 5...or an S? That makes no sense. That third number looks like a 4... is that last number a 0 or 9?"

I kept getting it wrong. I tried entering all sorts of combinations and even flipping the number order. I couldn't get it, the numbers were too hard for me to make out. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I had to look it up.

I'm not even sure if the puzzle was necessary to get the true ending. It just led to some extra scene and dialogue.

Horror

This game feels like a light-horror.

It provides a creepy atmosphere which brought to mind The Witches House while I played it, but the music itself isn't scary, even when it stops and switches to general ambience. It overall made me feel lonely, not scared or on edge.

The blood and gore is there (at times liberally), but it never came off as being "too much/forced/shoe-horned in for the sake of a cheap scare". The game doesn't even load with a warning screen like some of the others do, nor were there anyway noisy, in-your-face jump scares.

There were things that startled me because they were unexpected, but I never felt scared playing this.

What I disliked

There was very few things I disliked about this game, but I believe that these are smaller issues based on my own thought process that won't interfere with everyone's experience.

One being the mini-games I mentioned. All 3 are themed around controlling Toru a certain way until you beat it. But each one plays differently. They were short and sweet and didn't overstay their welcome, which I like.

My problem with them is that the game doesn't necessarily tell you what to do. You're thrown into a mini-game and you got seconds to figure it out before you get killed and have to restart. There is a little bit of vague text around each game, but I couldn't tell what they wanted from me without some trial-and-error.

What negates the issue with this, as I mentioned is that the game offers to help you. I had to have the game beat the 2nd one for me because I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I understood what to do after watching the game do it for me, but it too me 3 and 1/2 play-throughs of this game to finally beat it.

The only other thing I felt worth mentioning was the Kori interaction sections. You have to keep watching and talking to her until you can move on. You can't do certain things until she's in a specific spot/room, and the only way you would know this is if you just happen to see her do something, or opened the "cursed cat food".

This isn't really a big deal, I like talking to NPC in games so I tend to talk to everyone multiple times out of habit now. But it did get me stuck when I first played the game because I didn't realize it was a necessity- and I know there are people who don't care much for chatting up NPCs or playing the waiting game. These areas didn't last long though, which kept it from being a chore.

Oh, there was also the "developers room" after you beat the game. I love learning about unique trivia related to the game or what the makers of it went through. But here it felt kind of pointless. There wasn't anything to really look at, and you only learn one or two things.

What I liked

The art style! It's so cute and there are a lot of pretty scenes. This game has a lot of unique elements to it, it doesn't feel like the older rpgmaker games that featured generic text boxes and images, character rpg stats, etc (not that I'm saying those are bad). From head-to-toe, they fully embraced making this game as cute as could be!

Another thing I liked about the game is that the rooms are all unique and look really nice. They feel like they should be there. They aren't empty or pointless, nearly every room serves a purpose.

One of my favorite things is taking the time to backtrack to past areas. Some of them have trivial changes (or added death scenes), or feature additional content you may not have seen the first time. For example, here's one room during my first visit:

This is the same room after I returned a while later, notice the paintbrush on the floor and tilted picture (the one canvas gets knocked over too, but I came back too early for that when I was getting the picture). There is also a death you can trigger, but if you possess a specific item, you can avoid it.

There are also some extra cutscenes/dialogue you can find by observing certain things repeatedly. Playing as Kori also changes certain events, as does having her in the room with you when you observe certain things as Toru. There are a few items both girls can obtain too, and they have different dialogue for it. You can even skip one puzzle entirely by activating a hidden room you can find if you backtrack to a specific spot.

I love these additional elements x3 they show that the game has more depth to it than what's on the surface. Its beneficial to seek these things out because they offer more insight to the plot and characters.

Ending

In terms of endings, there are 4. The true ending, the normal ending, and 2 bad endings. According to Steam, the 2nd bad ending is the least obtained one, while the True Ending was the second least. But honestly, I got the true ending on my first playthrough. I'm not good at these games (I got the Platinum ending in Pocket Mirror), so I'm convinced it was just dumb luck that I happened to do the right things.

I replayed the game twice more to knowingly make the wrong decisions to get the 2nd bad and Normal endings. The 1st bad ending is the one everyone probably sees at least once, because it occurs earlier in the game and it's more like an extended death scene. You aren't locked out of getting the other endings or finishing the game if you trigger it. On top of that, I think you're required to go into the room it occurs (under certain conditions) to reach the True Ending.

I want to avoid saying anything too spoilery, so I didn't want to exactly go over everything to get said endings. But I liked each one, they gave good exposition to the overall plot and felt like they made sense.

Other Stuff

The length of the game on average is probably a couple of hours. Even when I replayed it knowing what to do, where to take shortcuts, it still took me around the same length of time.

There are 7 achievements in total for the game. 4 are in the base game, while the other 3 (one of which is a hidden achievement) is in the DLC story.

You probably noticed it in the very first image, but there is separate, purchasable DLC for this game! It's an after-story that offers more insight to the story, 2 more endings and some alternative gameplay.

I don't have it yet, because while I did buy this game a year or so ago, I only just recently replayed and beat the entire thing. I do plan on buying it though, and I'll probably make a separate post on it.

Conclusion

I really, really like this game. The art makes it a pleasing experience to the eye while the characters and mystery of the plot encourage you to keep guiding Toru to the end to find out what's going on. It's a fun and forgiving game, perfect for people who want a more relaxed, horror rpgmaker experience. I think it'd be a good choice for someone whose new to these types of games and wants to build their way up to the scarier/harder/more intense ones.

The more I played this game, the more it reminded me a lot of The Witches House. Numerous things made me think about it, like the room match puzzle, and how Toru's menu image changed after I triggered a specific death (I thought THAT was the cat food curse, until I realized why I couldn't progress at that specific part). This game is newer, so it might have taken inspiration from that one. I know a lot of rpgmaker games draw comparisons and influence in other ones.

I'm really glad I gave this game a chance, especially because I didn't know what to expect going in. I love a lot about it and even the things that I didn't like never made me want to quit playing. It's also very cheap, as is the DLC. You can even buy them in a bundle.

It is lacking in polish, but I'm willing to overlook it when the game itself plays very well and I enjoyed the experience.

Um.... thanks for listening to me ramble for a while. I hope if anything this review encourages you to check it out, here's a link to the Steam page if you're interested.

I'd love to do more of these, and I do have an idea for my next 2 reviews, but if you have any sort of recommendations for a cute game, or even rpgmaker games, feel free to let me know.

Until next time~

#cutie reviews #review #nyakori's rabbit doll #rpg maker horror

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cutiecrates · 2 months

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Long time no see

Uh, hello. I'm not even sure if anyone will see this post, but I didn't want anyone who actually viewed this place to think something bad happened, I didn't intend on abandoning this place. For some, strange reason Tumblr quit working on my laptop. It wouldn't let me log in or load pages to try to figure out what happened, nothing.

Well, a couple months ago I got a brand new laptop. Which thankfully is working :3

Uh... I feel like the blog is kinda dead at this point, unfortunately. I do still get subscription boxes, but I have cut back on them. I kinda miss doing those specific reviews, but I never thought I was particularly any good at them either. I'd still like to have a blog though. So, my plan is to just re-tool this one. I'd like to give cute video game reviews a try! I've been wanting to do that for a while now, and in between I'd like to show-off the figurines and stuff I win through the online crane machine websites like Toreba and Tokyo Catch.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm not really sure when I'll make a full, brand new post other than this one, since I'm still figuring out what I want to do. I'd like to rename this blog to fit the new theme/vibe, but cutiegames was taken, so I'll need to think up something else.

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: Sakuraco September 21

“As the highest and most iconic mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji’s image appears nationwide, including on the packaging of sweets and snacks. Although it may tower over the prefectures of Shizuoka and Yamanashi, it does not overshadow the prestigious reputation of the local fruits and tea.“

Here is our monthly tea with a Mt. Fuji bowl, featuring the sakura flower-shaped bottom that we’ve seen before. It’s so cute!

Awase Fruits Jelly

I tend to save the jelly for last but this time, I thought I would try something different. It’s a lot like a fruits jelly we got a few months ago, but instead of a grape, we got a cherry this time :D the jelly itself is apple flavored.

I wasn’t a huge fan of our last fruits jelly like this, but this one was pretty good! It tasted like a very light apple juice, and the mikan/orange tasted normal. The cherry was really sweet, like those in mixed fruit cans- it also had a pit, which they don’t mention. I was assuming there would be one, so I managed to avoid biting it.

Senbei: Kokeshi Doll, Edamame and Almond Mochi

Isn’t this cute? For these three little snacks -that we get 2 of- they prepared them in a little bag for us this month, not only is that a practical way of storing the smaller items we get, but it would be a fun way to bring some snacks along.

The edamame senbei is made from combining ground edamame and eggs, then when fully evaporated they get rolled into the dough, then lightly toasted. The flavor itself isn’t extremely appealing to me. I like edamame, but the taste reminds me more of a salty ice cream cone.

The flower packaged senbei is more what I’m familiar with. Its combined with almonds in gluttonous rice dough, then baked. It tasted more like rice than the previous one did, and it was more salty.

Our last one is the doll; composed of a coated peanut for the head, the body is soy sauce senbei. I hate peanuts, and the coating is just plain, with a hint of salt.

Soy sauce-flavored senbei or Japanese snacks are usually my favorite. But this one had a bit of a taste, like it was burnt or something. I think the almond senbei was probably my favorite.

Miso Arare & Ototo Soy Sauce Chips

These snacks tasted more like what I expect from soy sauce senbei. It’s actually miso flavored, but it has a soybean sauce in it which may or may not have played a part in the taste I was getting. Arare are rice snacks, a lot like senbei I think. I really, REALLY liked these!

(That’s why there is only a few left by the time I took this picture <3<)

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Our other snack here, is made from okara, soybean pulp that is a bi-product of the tofu making process. It was flavored with sardines; which I picked up on right away. I hated these, no offense to anyone who likes fish or made this product. I couldn’t even eat one.

Uji Matcha Tiramisu Baumkuchen & Castella Roll Cake

This month, we got 2 cake products. The baumkuchen is cream-flavored, like tiramisu, but instead of coffee, green tea is its flavor partner. The cake was very soft, to the point of crumbling a bit when being pulled apart. Overall the green tea flavor is very strong, the inner-cream layer was much lighter. There is a very faint hint of alcohol.

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The roll cake has a basic sort of flavor, but it was very sweet and fluffy. The buttercream frosting had little flavor in comparison, but it went very well with the overall sweetness of the cake itself. I really liked it. It would be delicious with tea or coffee.

Kabocha Pudding Bread & White Peach Milk Manju

With the bun we had in September failing to impress me, I didn’t have my hopes up for this one. However, this one actually tasted pretty good. It was soft and fluffy, and its flavor, rather than pumpkin or pudding, reminded me a lot of something but I can’t remember right now- I keep thinking pretzels, or pancakes. I enjoyed it.

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Manju is a steamed dough snack/sweet filled with cream or beans usually. This one is specifically made with pureed white peach :3 it was very delicious and sweet, without being cloyingly so. For some reason it was giving me “doughy peach pop-tart“ vibes.

Grape Chocolate Crunch & Red Fuji Cookies

We get 2 of these, like the pack of mini-senbei snacks from earlier. First up was this unique-looking chocolate snack, made from toasted cornflakes and covered in a white chocolate infused with grapes.

I don’t know why but grape chocolate sounds like a weird concept, but it tasted really good. You pretty much only taste a bit of grape sweetness. The crunchiness of the snack is lovely too.

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This cute cookie next to it is made from almonds and chocolate. The icing on top is very light pink, and flavored like strawberries. The cookie itself wasn’t very sweet, while the icing was a little, together they work well.

Green Tea Leaf Cookies & Dacquoise

Green tea is making a comeback with this pair, we have these small, cute, swirled butter cookies made using whole tea leaf. It’s soft and on the powdery, fall apart side. The green tea flavoring isn’t overwhelmingly strong, so if you don’t like it or are new to it, this may be a good item to try; but there is a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

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Our other item was extremely light and airy, the texture reminded me so much of a macaron. The green tea cream between the layers was rich, but not overly sweet. This was one of my most favorite snacks in the box.

Kinako Mochi & Ajishirabe Senbei

This is a common snack item I feel, mochi is made from gluttonous rice that has been pounded to form a sticky, stretchy, chewy texture. Kinako is soybean powder with a nutty flavor, it reminds me a lot peanut butter. However, what makes this specific set less-common is that in each mochi, there is a bit of red bean.

It was kind of messy to eat these because of the powdery coating, but they tasted okay. I think I would have liked them more without the red bean filling.

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Our last item is fairly basic and simple, again featuring a salted senbei. I feel like we’ve had this before, for some reason it looks really familiar to me. However, I’m not 100% sure. I like senbei like this though, they’re crispy and usually have a lovely coating, the type you would want to lick off before eating it.

#sakuraco #cutie reviews

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: Sakuraco September 21

Welcome! I’m here today with the Sakuraco review from September. I wanted to get this up last month when I got the box, but you know, stuff happened.

Before I get started I wanted to show everyone what I recently won from TokyoCatch:

I was so sad, in the Pokemon collection they also had a Snorlax and Vulpix- but I think I missed vulpix because I didn’t see it appear on the website and it is my favorite Pokemon. But I am happy with what I did win :3

“Tokyo is home to a plethora of festivals, where communities come together to celebrate traditions that have been in place for centuries. An integral part of the experience is the food stalls that sell delicious treats to be enjoyed while strolling under the glow of the lanterns and whilst watching the fireworks display.”

This is our dish for the month, which I paired with the tea we got, and a snack that anyone who reads my Tokyo Treat reviews may recognize. I considered it a repeat so I wasn’t planning on reviewing it, but I will say -for anyone unfamiliar- that they taste very yummy. They are little crunchy rice puffs with a sweet soy sauce glaze.

Meanwhile, the tea.... I didn’t like it. It smelled like really strong green tea, which was yummy, but the taste itself was extremely bitter and nasty. I assume I did something wrong, but heck if I know what.

Melonpan & Festival Castella Bites

When foreigners think of Japan, one of the most iconic snacks to try is the melonpan, or melon bread. It’s a bread that is shaped like a melon with a sweet cookie-esque crust. However, the common misconception is that melonpan is flavored like melon, but unless its specifically stated, it’s not.

When we got this, I kept thinking “this looks like a regular bun I’d buy from the store“. It was also fairly plain in taste, made from a combination of brown rice and wheat, and within the dough was melon custard folded in. Unfortunately I felt like the flavor was a bit too light for my taste.

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Next up are some adorable castella (baked little pieces of dough that come in a variety of shapes), look how sweet the little seal is!

They are vegatarian friendly and made with egg, wheat, soy, dairy, and orange products. Oddly enough, I couldn’t taste any orange in these. They were pretty plain too, but with a bit of an eggy-milk taste.

Kobayashi Mentaiko Beans & Shrimp and Sesame Age Mochi

Next up are two crunchy-crispy, savory snacks. For the first time in this box we get a spicy snack, the mentaiko beans. Mentaiko is spicy cod roe, or eggs, for anyone who might not be familiar with the term.

Thankfully these don’t taste like fish. They reminded me a lot of these spicy peanuts I used to be really into a few years ago. As much as I hate peanuts, the coating made them bearable for me. The spice on these isn’t too bad, but the more of them you eat the stronger it gets. They like to attack the back of the throat when you swallow them.

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Now, if you like fishy/shrimp flavors you would probably like this other snack more. I enjoy rice snacks, but the fishy taste is a bit of a turn off for me. The crunchiness was nice because the inside stayed a bit soft, so they weren’t too hard.

Ukai Senbei & Kaminari Ginger Okoshi

This senbei (crispy/crunchy rice snack) is more on the sweet side, featuring a bird branding. Its flavor is fairly simple and light, you get a hint of sweetness. It reminded me a lot of a waffle cone.

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kaminari-okashi is a sweet that’s been around since the Edo period. It’s considered to be a lucky charm for moving house. It contains rice, peanuts, ginger, and sesame.

Okay, so... I know this is going to sound weird. But for some reason while chewing this, I kept thinking that it tasted like barbecue sauce. I don’t know why. I didn’t hate it, but it isn’t actually sweet or anything. I liked its unique texture.

Tiramisu Baumkuchen & Roppo Manju

I loved trying baumkuchen for the first time! This month, the baumkuchen we got was tiramisu flavor, meaning coffee and buttery cream was combined to create it. It’s a delicious little cake that goes well with coffee, cocoa, milk, etc. I love to sort of pull it apart a little as I eat, to really take in the several layers making it up.

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The roppo (six-sided, like a dice or cube) manju is made from high quality wheat flour, then filled with red beans. I’m not a really big fan of red bean (or any bean with that texture really), but I actually really liked this one :D it tasted more like brown sugar or maple to me. The shape of it is also really cute, isn’t it?

Sweet Potato Sachi Steamed Cake, Ginger Cinnamon Candy & Banana Manju

Inspired by the popular chocolate banana one can enjoy during a festival, these manju was made from a sweet egg dough wrapped around a mixture of white bean and banana filling.

As much as I dislike banana (mainly the artificial flavor, which this had), I didn’t really hate this one. It was sweet and the soft, dough texture was very pleasant.

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The sweet potato item meanwhile, made me truly believe it was probably going to be included in the August box, which featured sweet potatoes. It was a lot like the manju, but it was very doughy and a bit squishy in comparison. It wasn’t very sweet, so it had a nice, earthy flavor to compliment the sweeter ones.

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Our last item in the pic was one I was a bit... concerned for. Besides gingerbread men and ginger ale, I’m not a big fan of ginger. My mom loves it (especially the pickled kind that comes with sushi, I hate it so much). But I tried to stay open-minded, and I’m very glad I did! All you really taste is the cinnamon, but it’s on the lighter side, so it’s not spicy or anything. It has a hint of sweetness. I really liked these.

Hanabi Jelly & Spring Water Utage Jelly

Our final items of the box are another pair of jellies :3 I’ve also been having fun trying these out as of late. The texture is completely different from things like jello around here, and the flavors are unique; they’re also so pretty to look at!

The hanabi jelly is inspired by the fireworks held during the festival, and features many fruit juices: apple, orange, green plum, grapefruit, raspberry, and melon. However... it actually only tasted like pears (maybe apple?) to me. It was still plenty tasty though, and I kept finding myself distracted staring at the little beads.

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Also by Gifu, this jelly is made from natural spring water and green apples. This one seems plain in comparison to the hanabi jelly, but I really liked its flavor too, it was like green apple candy.

♥ Opinion ♥

I really liked the theme of this one :3 so far all the themes had been really fun and interesting, but this one was nice for those of us who can’t attend the festivals held in Japan. The flavors and writing in the booklet help convey the image of walking through a stall-filled path wearing a cute kimono or comfy clothing, eating lots of snacks, and finishing the night with some colorful fireworks before heading home for a good nights rest~

At least, that’s how I felt :P Anyway, I plan on getting the October box review actually posted this month. Hopefully within the next couple of days or this week, so bye bye for now!

#cutie reviews #sakuraco

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: NMNL July 20

That awkward feeling when you realized you put April instead of June in your previous NMNL box from seven months ago and spent fifteen minutes trying to find it.

So, we just found out we may actually be forced to move for real this time. The owner wants their reality working daughter-in-law to look at our place and they plan on renovating/selling it. They will be coming on Wednesday and we’re having trouble finding an affordable, spacious, one story home that allows pets in case we have to leave. We found one place, that’s sort of a work-in-progress, but we won’t know if it’ll stay available by the time we may need it.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do, and it’s really stressing us out. My birthday is on Friday, but I decided to sort of... pretend its not there, so that we can hang onto whatever money we have.

In other news, I just discovered KiraKira Crate was discontinued. I couldn’t find out anything about when/why though, I assume I wasn’t the only one unhappy with the change they made to the box- but it makes me feel sad because I really enjoyed it up until that point.

(yes, that is a bushy kitty tail next to the picture. You’ll be seeing little bits of him throughout the pictures.)

“We’ve curated a Japanese & Korean beauty box for you with fruity summer vibes, including skincare to beat the heat and makeup products in cute & vibrant summer colors. Everything comes in adorable fruity packaging or with irresistible fruity fragrances!“

Glam Gift & Contest

This month’s horoscope is “which fruit matches your star sign?“

Aries - Apple

Taurus - Orange

Gemini - Grape

Cancer - Blueberry

Leo - Banana

Virgo - Pear

Libra - Cherry

Scorpio - Blackberry

Sagittarius - Watermelon

Capricorn - Strawberry

Aquarius - Passion Fruit

Pisces - Raspberry

Which one are you guys? :3 Mine is Libra, so I’d have cherry. My favorite fruit is strawberry, but I like cherries too!

Mystery Japanese Beauty Tool

First up, we got a cute mystery cosmetics holding item. These could range from various bags and pouches to containers of different types, and they seemed to mainly feature various Sanrio characters.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

A lot of the possible items are repeats from past boxes, but in a case like this I don’t mind it very much because it’s a practical storage item. Who doesn’t need more of those?

Moisture Hand Jelly

A long time viewer may recognize this item, because I’ve gotten a few of them from this box and KiraKira. These are jelly lotions made by Pure Smile, a brand I usually enjoy.

Scents include: Cassis and Cherry Blossom, La France and Savon (pear), and Muscat Grape and Plumeria. I think by now I’ve had one of each of these scents.

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I would recommend these. They smell amazing, leave little residue and are non-sticky (as long as you don’t use too much), soak in fairly quick, and make your hands feel smooth and soft. The texture when you apply the lotion initially feels a bit strange, like powder mixed with jelly?

Fruity Face Pack & Point Pack

During summer it’s very important to take care of our skin. If you get a sunburn, some packs like this can actually help with the moisturizing and cooling process. Our face pack was available in strawberry or peach.

This was actually the reason why this review got put off for some time. Summer wasn’t kind to my allergies, and with my nose and eyes constantly giving me grief, I wasn’t sure using the face pack would irritate it or not. So I had to wait for a day when I didn’t feel sick.

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It smelled very good, but I can’t quite recall the exact strawberry scent since its been a good while since I used it. It was also cooling, which felt really nice.

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The other pack is equally cute! Point packs are nice because you can pretty much put them anywhere besides your face, and they don’t feel like as much as a hassle as face masks can sometimes.

This was available in kiwi, strawberry, and lemon.

The scent of this product wasn’t my favorite. This will probably sound strange, but it reminded me of like... lettuce, rather then fruit or a sweet/tart lemon. I couldn’t stand it. But the product itself was fine.

Strawberry Milk Soap

This is another item I’m familiar with, a few years ago I had this soap and some bath powders. It sorta feels a little generic when you look at it doesn’t it? Its scent also strikes me as a generic creamy strawberry lotion scent, but I still like it, and it’s really cute!

Juicy Face Mist

I love things like this when I’m out and about during summer, they make your skin feel refreshed and cooled down, and usually smell really good.

For this box, we could get the peach-themed and scented spray, or this one that I got, tapioca, which is actually fruity-scented.

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I love this scent, it’s like a faint-fruit, floral perfume. The mist/spray is very strong, and it soaks into the skin very well. It’s not sticky or anything, and it does feel freshened up.

Lip Cream & 16 Brand Fruit Chew Lipstick

Our last two items are both lip products. Our first is is this adorably packaged lip cream that smoothly glides over your lips as a separate product, or as a base for lipsticks. It was available in cherry, peach, soda, or unicorn flavor/themed.

What exactly is Unicorn flavor you ask?

Well, it tastes like nothing, or vaguely like my old wood-shop class in middle school.

♥ ♥

There’s no denying that the packaging is very, very cute! I love unicorns, and the clear product with glitter is very pretty. Originally it was purple hued but its since faded to clear, a bit gold-ish? If they all taste like this, then I don’t know if it would be worth it, because my lips do feel nice after using it. But if you like flavor you won’t be getting it from unicorn.

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Next is this equally cute packaged, special edition lipstick, which comes in a bag resembling Skittles. There was 4 possible options: coral guava, orange grapefruit, strawberry, or pink peach. However, when I look at mine, it says red berry all over its packaging and the tube itself. So... I’m not really sure what went wrong there.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

These are scented lipsticks, and it smells really good ♥ the color is pretty too, even though I’m not very confident in wearing vibrant shades like this, I like it enough to try to use it now and then. It applies very smooth and evenly.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4 out of 5. I really liked the items we got, even considering that we got a couple of duplicates (but to be fair, they were from a really long time ago so to most people they were probably new). I did mark down for the yucky lemon scent, and the weird lip cream though.

Theme: 5 out of 5. The fruit theme was clearly there x3 I love food themed items, so I had a lot of fun with this one, I wish they would have included some more unique items though, to go even stronger with the theme. Like maybe something actually fruit-shaped?

Total Rank: 8.5 out of 10. I enjoyed this box and found it t be fun, I also really liked the drawing they did for the cover. The contents were colorful and cute, lots of pleasant (and some questinable) scents, they all worked great.

Alrighty, up next I’ll be covering the newest GachaGacha Crate, followed by September and October Sakuraco boxes! Stay tuned~

#nmnl #cutie reviews #nomakenolife

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Updates

I’m sorry I haven’t been around much as of late. It wasn’t intentional, which I know I always say but its the truth. I had every intention of cranking out a bunch of reviews but these past few months hadn’t been the kindest to me. If it wasn’t the summer weather and my allergies making me miserable (the pollen was horrible), there’s been unnecessary drama within my family and its taking what little in me I still had, on top of several other trivial things.

In this time I have come to a decision with an issue regarding one of my subscriptions. I decided to cancel TokyoTreat; I also decided not to do the reviews on the box I still had, with the exception of the Halloween box, as I’ll still be getting that one before the cancellation kicks in. I still plan on continuing my reviews with the other brands, which brings up my next bit of news.

YumeTwins is updating the branding again!

Isn’t this new box design adorable?

With this new update, the box intends on introducing brand new YumeTwins originally designed content through various types of merchandise. There will also be more collaborative items between YumeTwins and various brands, a 16-page monthly booklet, special box designs on top of the redesign seen above, and boxes curated to specific characters or series moreso than before.

As expected, there will be a raise in price; but its not that bad. Instead of paying 35.00 the box will now be 37.50.

We can expect to see the brand new YumeTwins in November! If everything goes well then I’ll be reviewing it when I get it, so stay tuned if you’re excited for that!

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: YumeTwins July 20

I wasn’t planning on doing more then one review today, as I didn’t know when I’d get the other one done. But since I had to dig out these July boxes from last year I thought I may as well try to get another one in :3 I’m doing alright, I don’t feel sick or anything. I’ll be busy tomorrow as I mentioned the other day so I may not get any done then, but I’ll try to resume on Tuesday.

“Whether you’re studying, working from home, or enjoying hobbies like gaming or art, your desk space has a big impact on your mood and concentration. This month, we aim to help you optimize the area around your computer so that you can have the best success in reaching for your goals!“

Yume Prize

To go with the practicality theme and mention of gaming, we have a box of Animal Crossing themed goods one lucky subscriber could win!

Meanwhile, the photo contest included prizes from Demon Slayer. The feature page gave us some tips and tricks to decorate the workspace using the items from the box; such as personalizing items or cheery pick-me-ups.

Mystery Plushie

Our first item is actually one I got before, from a year ago. YumeTwins did this intentionally though, their goal was to bring up plush sent in prior boxes so that new and old subscribers had a chance to get them. I’m probably not the only person who had odds against them :P

Anyway it’s not a big deal, I’ll just re-sell it or give it to someone else.

In terms of the plush itself, it’s very cute and well-stuffed. The detail on it is nice too.

Pocket Surprise Towel

These are folding towels you can hang around and un-fold to use, which makes them very handy for keeping around the desk or other small spaces. The head part is where the towel itself is stored. The booklet suggests them being handy for things like wiping fingers after snacks... but uh... would I be the only person who would feel bad doing that looking at that face?

Imagine eating something greasy or cheesy...

But you can also use it for other things too surely, like just drying the hands, or maybe wiping up a little dust or spilled drink/water.

Splatoon x Sanrio Cup

For some reason this feels like a weird crossover, but I still like the concept. The cups are really cute, colorful, and fun to look at. Besides using them for drinks, they could also come in handy if you just want to use it on the desk to store things, like pens or other tools.

Animal Crossing Decal Stickers

Next up is this fun sticker that would be really fun to put on the laptop or something else, just to spruce it up a little or basic you really like animal crossing. There was a variety of 8 different designs/characters we could get, and they are made out of durable vinyl to ensure they last a long time.

Sanrio Round Mousepad

Our last item was this cute mousepad, available with either My Melody or Gudetama. You could use it to hold items or just like a normal mousepad, or even just set it there for decoration. The designs are bright and colorful (although my lighting at the time makes it a bit hard to tell), I think they would be really fun if you enjoy Sanrio.

At the time I haven’t been using a mousepad, since I’m usually not at a desk or table when I use my laptop. But I’ll keep it nearby, so if for some reason I am I’ll have it ready!

♥ Cutie Opinions ♥

Content - 4 out of 5. I like the items we got, I understand why they included a repeat item in the box after reading the description, but I’m still marking it down because it feels sort of... wrong to me. For a workspace, something like a squishy or some little toy would probably be better then a big plushie.

Theme: 3 out of 5. I get the theme and I really like how they included some game-based items, sorta going with the “play“ theme. But for some reason I’m not feeling entirely sold on the theme other. I’m not really sure how to explain it though.

Total Rank: 7 out of 10 Cuties. I was delighted to return to Sanrio and video game characters after those past Ghibli-centered boxes. I like Ghibli and all but I much more prefer Hello Kitty to Totoro. I like the items and I like the theme since it provides me with some cute items I can use practically, although I keep feeling like they could have improved it in some way...

#yumetwins #sanrio merchandise #animal crossing merchandise

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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DokiDoki Crate June 20

Oh gosh, it’s almost been half a year since my last DokiDoki Crate review! I really didn’t think it’s been that long. I really did stray off course didn’t I? Well, I’m going to try making sure that doesn’t happen again. With this review, we’ll be moving onto the July boxes from last year, and I’m trying to try to start getting back on pace again.

”We are bringing the cool ocean waves and summer breeze to you in this month’s Summer Splash crate. Even though the weather is getting warmer, these items are sure to keep you nice and chill through the start of the season.”

Suteki Crate

In keeping with this cooling theme, these items are based around sumikko gurashi, Sirotan, and Cinnamoroll.

The Photo Contest prize for this month is a PomPomPurin hooded towel.

Cooling Pillow

My picture makes this look a lot bigger then it actually is... I think.

These pillows are designed with a special fabric to keep the user from feeling discomfort during those hot, stuffy days by feeling cooler longer, and re-cooling quickly after use. They feature various marine animal prints.

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A long time back I used to sleep using miniature pillows, so this reminded me of them a bit. I hate it when my pillows warm up and I have a tendency to flip/toss them around to find the comfort spot again, especially during a hot, sticky summer day. This is even nice just to squeeze and hold onto, the two fabrics feel really nice in the hands.

Sanrio Ice Pack

Next up is another, very practical item. But this one is good for several reasons, not just dealing with summer weather. You could either get this one, or a full-body version of Cinnamoroll. I already have 2 cinnamoroll ones, but I wouldn’t have minded adding a new one to the “collection“.

These are all also those really fun, bead-filled ones. I love squishing those around~

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I mean it probably goes without saying, I love ice packs.

Sumikko Gurashi Crystal Canister

I was a bit lazy with this one, I didn’t feel like dealing with the hassle of unboxing it. I have one or two other versions I’ve gotten in past boxes, they look exactly the same as they do on the box.

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I love crystal-ish items like these, and I especially like that we got this ocean one during summer, it’s perfect! Just looking at it makes me think of icy, cool water or drink, or popsicles and I feel better.

Aquatic Animal Neck Pouch

I regret forgetting this was in here, this would have come in handy when I went to the fleamarket last month. Anyway, these mochi-esque cuties come in various iconic sea animal designs x3 I really like my seal, they’re so cute ♥

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It’s really fun to squish and squeeze, and I love how the strap is actually for the neck. For some reason shoulder strap purses don’t like to stay up for me. I’ll definitely be bringing it with me when I return to the fleamarket next month, or maybe in October.

Sumikko Gurashi Tote

Another handy item and water resistant, featuring a cute pattern of all the Sumikko and a pastel color scheme.

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I really don’t have much to say about this one, I feel like it speaks for itself.

Opinions

Content - 4.5 out of 5. When I did the last review I worried over how the “balance" of item size was. This month’s box was really good in that department, I also really liked the items and thought they were so cute! Very practical too, as I mentioned, none of these really feel like summer-exclusive items, so I like that I can keep using them.

Theme: 5 out of 5. Only one of the items didn’t feel summery to me, that would be the tote bag. You can use it for things in summer, so while it lacks the water/summery vibe of everything else, I don’t feel like it really hurts anything either. The theme itself is spot-on for the summer weather.

Total Rank: 10 out of 10 Cuties. I was a bit iffy over the previous month’s box and unsure of how I really felt about it. But I really like this one. I can’t wait to see what’s up for July and August if we’re already covering summer in this one.

#dokidokicrate #sumikko gurashi

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Gacha Gacha Crate August 21

I was hoping to get back onto the track I was on a while ago, but I received this box earlier this week. I’ll be doing my DokiDoki Crate review afterwards as long as everything goes alright. I’d like to get it done by tomorrow night at the latest, since I will be busy on Monday.

This month, the booklet discusses the technique in which toys have a textured, furry touch. This is called Flocking.

My Hero Academia Pop-Up Phone Handle

Ironic that I finally get one of these things, and it ends up being for a series I’m not a big fan of. I don’t dislike it or anything, I like the concept and the characters are interesting, but my friend is more of a fan of it. Anyway, looking at it still the detailing is nice, the colors are bold and vibrant, and it is kind of cute.

Sumikko Gurashi Terrarium

This item is very cute and fun looking, but it isn’t as easy to make look nice as it does in the booklet or pamphlet picture. I like the texturing of the grass the figures sit on.

Mini Tomica Car & Cheering Pokemon

Okay so... while this isn’t the sort of capsule toy or collectable I’d want, I have to admit it’s a little fun to roll around and push. The wheels glide across various surfaces and it’s very smooth.

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Our other item is this adorably cheery Pokemon. More specifically its Pikachu, with pom-pom! These Pokemon figurines we always get would be wonderful for collectors, or someone who wanted to make a display or just play with them. The detailing on the figure is simple, but nice. The only thing is that there is an obvious seam around the neck (it’s more noticeable in person) that the booklet probably blurs because when you look at it, it’s not visible.

Pokemon Light Projector

This fun little gadget would be a must for any Pokemon fan :D or anyone who likes collecting Pokeballs. There was a variety of them, each with its own project-able Pokemon:

What makes this fun is that you can make the Pokemon as big or tiny as you want by moving the Pokeball closer and away from the surface. I’d love a whole set of these~

Hanging Animals

Our last item is the reason for the flocking explanation in the booklet. I like flocked figures, so I kinda wish maybe they gave us a couple others this month. Anyway, this is a keychain series, where the little animal is literately handing from the chain in various ways. It’s so cute x3 mine has a tiny little issue with its flocking on a paw, but it’s not extremely noticeable.

#gachagachacrate

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: Sakuraco August 21

For anyone curious, the lipid testing went fine. It’s really nothing if you’ve had blood work done before. I saw my doctor on Tuesday since he was worried over the inflammation the tests found and we modified my medicine a bit. I have to go see him again next month and get more blood work done between now and then, but everything is essentially fine.

August is the peak of summer heat in Japan, which is why the crystal clear beaches of Okinawa are a favorite getaway. We are pleased to share the specialties of these beautiful islands in this month’s box- tropical fruits, brown sugar, and purple sweet potato

Here’s our kitchen item for this month, a lovely red and black plastic bowl based on those you would usually see in various Asian settings, usually used for things like rice and soup.

Kogane Shikuwasa Manju & Brown Sugar Manju.

First up we have 2 manju, both made with milk, soy, egg, and wheat. They also both come from Marukiyo Confectionery. The lighter colored manju features Shikuwasa oranges with red bean paste to create a sweet, sour, and rich flavor. Meanwhile, the other manju is filled with a brown sugar paste.

Both sweets were soft and chewy,with a fluffy soft filling. I really like how they were so similar, but had such vast difference in tastes :3 the citrusy one was sweet and light, while the brown sugar was a bit heavier and maybe a bit more sweeter, but in a savory kind way.

Beni Imao Tart & Pie

As you can see, the filling of both of these snacks are purple sweet potato. When I originally heard of it, I was very perplexed, but intrigued. Even now it still seems to feel unusual for me, even though I’ve had it a few times before in various forms, and it pretty much tastes like any other potato. It’s such a pretty shade of purple though~

Anyway, these taste about the same. The opened tart is the one I prefer overall, because besides visually looking more interesting, I like how fluffy and thick the cream is. The other one is pretty good too, but I just didn’t like it as much.

Brown Sugar Shisa Candy & Yuzu Monaka

Here we have an instance of putting two items together that are complete opposites. We have some little semi-hard candies made from brown sugar, featuring a chibi versions of the Shisa, a mythological guardian lion said to bring in good spirits. On the inside of the candy is a softer center.

As cute as these are to look at, I wasn’t a big fan of these. For the first few minutes I didn’t mind the flavor, and I like brown sugar- but for some reason the longer I kept it in my mouth the more I wanted to spit it out. I did finish the candy, but I’ve yet to want to try another.

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Next up is a Monaka, filled completely with white bean paste and yuzu fruit. The wafer features a cute, lemon sliced open lemon design on both sides. It has that bean-ish texture with a smooth, sweet lemon flavor. It’s not overpowering or sour, but I felt like after a few bites, I didn’t want anymore of it. So it took me a few separate snack sessions to finish it.

Issa Cracker & Snow Salt Chinsuko

Now we have two, small wrapped snacks; one of it which is adorably beach ready :D These were two snacks I really liked, and luckily we got 2 of each in the box!

The snow salt Chinsuko is a thick, delicious shortbread cookie with a sugary, very lightly salted texture and flavoring. It’s sweet and crumbles in the mouth when bitten into ♥ I love cookies and this didn’t fail to please. I feel like this one would be a sure-fire people pleaser.

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These senbei crackers are made from rice, then its covered in finely chopped, powdery-like seaweed. For additional fun, they have a printed message on them written in some white product. I really like seaweed, and rice, so I enjoyed it very much. The senbei was a bit sweet, which I didn’t expect initially but I thought it was good, and the seaweed flavoring wasn’t salty or very strong. So for people who don’t like seaweed, this could be worth a bite at the very least.

Also... doesn’t it kinda look like a carpet or a welcome mat? Or is it just me?

Kombu Arare Crackers & Mini Salted Tofu Chips

This rice snack comes with three flavors: seaweed, shrimp, and soy sauce. These were really good, I love soy sauce flavored snacks and those were good, but I felt like the shrimp and seaweed flavors could have been a bit stronger. There was also a light after-taste I’m not very crazy about..

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I like tofu but i don’t believe I’ve tried it in this form before. They remind me a lot of something I’ve had before, but I can’t exactly remember what that was. They don’t have too much of a flavor so it might feel a little plain to some people, but I didn’t exactly mind it either. You could even add them to things like a salad, or eat them with a little sauce if you wanted.

Red Bean Manju & Sata Andagi Beni Imo Doughnuts

We actually did have another manju item. However, this one isn’t too different from anything we’ve had before. Typical red bean flavoring, and the outside was the same as the other two manju. But, this one came in a 3-pack and they’re small, so I like the snacking capabilities behind it. You could pick one up to go or bring the whole bag along.

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Doughnuts or doughnut hole? What would you call this one?

Apple and mango Melange Jelly & Shikuwasa Jelly

Our last two items are a pair of refreshing jellies. One is made from a combination of mango and apple, the other is Shikuwasa lemon. Both had a lovely, soft, jiggly texture, but I only really liked the shikuwasa. It’s lemon flavor was very refreshing, but the other one vaguely tasted a little like tomato, like the one from July. I couldn’t get over the taste to finish it.

♥ Opinion ♥

This box was like a combination of light and sweet, but heavy and savory, and a bit fresh. I enjoyed the contents of the box with the exception of the jelly and the tea (which I forgot to get a picture of, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t anything special). I feel like I preferred July’s box to this one, but I thought it was still really good.

#sakuraco

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Gacha Gacha Crate July 21

Here I am :D I actually wasn’t planning on writing this up right now, but I needed a distraction. I got papers to do lipid blood work from the doctor, which means I had to fast for it. Fasting, if you’re unfamiliar with the term means no food or drink after so late in the evening. In some cases, things like water, clear liquids, black coffee are allowed, but for this exact thing I’m allowed nothing.

That’s not too bad because it’s not healthy to eat late anyway, but I didn’t get an opportunity to eat (a lot of stuff came up after a small/early dinner around 4:30pm) prior to midnight. Of course I got hungry before I finally fell asleep around 3:00 am, and when I woke up at 5:30 am I was still hungry.

I have two more hours to go before I can get it done. I have a migraine.

Jar Tote Bags

This is perfect for this time of the year, when you can get out to go shopping or just want to bring some little things with you. It comes in 6 popular condiments in Japan, from seaweed paste (I believe it is anyway), ginger or some other pickled vegetables, kimchee base, something resembling garlic, and this one, which might be chili oil? The size/length is very similar to a tissue box, so it’s a decent size.

I like the taste of chili oil, but it’s so hard to find around here so I don’t get to have it very often. I also think this is really cute, I love food-ish items and accessories.

Vending Machines

Our next item is a cute little sort of interactive prop, a vending machine based on the unique, fun ones you’ll find in Japan. It also includes this piece to put in and remove the small included pieces. The buttons can be pressed, and the little door on the bottom works too.

I believe this one is based on the Nestle brand.

Cable Sitter Birds

A simple but very adorable little friend has come to protect the cables. There was 8 possible variants, each with wonderful painted detail.

Pokemon Swimming Figures

Next up is this cute little figurine series featuring pikachu, the three starters from Sword/Shield, and... the one I got, whose name I always forget. I think it’s really cute but I just can’t remember its name. Also, the Pokemon doesn’t come attached to the floating tube, you have to assemble the piece itself.

Besides a few little messy paint markings, I think the detail on this one is pretty good. It’s really cute for a summer figurine.

Moni Moni Mochi Animals

I’ve really missed seeing squishy in the box as of late x3 I love them so much, especially these cuties! Perfect for summer, we have some aquatic friends to join us.

While they are all adorable and I love my otter, I really really wish I could have gotten the fourth one on the list. It has a name but a lot of things call it a sea butterfly or sea angel. Next to seahorses and sharks, I love these cute little things. Plus look at it, it just looks cool.

Festival Fishing Game

Our last item is one we’ve actually seen before! However, I actually didn’t mind it very much because while i like my pink one from last time, i really wanted one with a little animal or cute shape, so I'm very happy I got a different one this time.

These are fun little gachapon that, as you can see, come with a little piece you attach to the base, which will make it spin around. You fill it with water and use the little wand to pick up the items. Then you place them into the bowl.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

I really like how this one included some summery gacha! We don’t usually get themes for this box, but they usually find a way to include the current holiday or season, which I enjoy. We did get a repeat gacha, but it still ended up being a new one for me, so i’m happy about this.

In comparison to the last two I think i liked this one the best. I can’t wait to see what August’s box will have!

In other news, my migraine is gone. I also may be able to get my blood work done sooner then I thought!

#gachagachacrate #pokemon gacha

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: Sakuraco July 21

It’s so hard to focus on work in Summer, between the heat and wanting to get out to enjoy myself (and focus on getting things back in shape around here, and appointments) I haven’t felt much motivation lately. I had planned on working on this during the weekend, but for some reason things were acting weird and I couldn’t.

After this review, I’ll be posting my GachaGacha July box, and the August Sakuraco. As long as things keep working right, it’ll hopefully be within the next few days.

“Naturally the cool climate of Japan’s most northern island, Hokkaido, makes it perfect for a summer getaway. Famed for its beautiful lavender fields and unforgettable cuisine - it’s a wonderland for summer discovery.“

For this month the booklet talks about Hokkaido and one of its food makers, Hokushin. Along with Kibi Dango, Yubari Melon, and Hokkaido’s beautiful lavender.

Peach Matcha Tea

Sorry, no pic for this one, but there are more below!

This tea is the perfect way to shoo out the summer fatigue, with a mix between the acidic and fruity peach and the smooth bitterness of matcha. It can be served hot or cold, and because I was feeling adventurous and usually don’t make iced tea (unless its lemon that is) I decided to try that. I’m very glad I did because it tasted wonderful :3 you get the exact lightness of peach with a hint of matcha in the background, and it was such a pretty light green color~

Rum Raisin & Melon Soft Sand

(Our kitchen accessory for this month is the plate you see the sweets on.)

The sable cookie beloved by sweets lovers who like raisins (like me, but not my mom :P), it’s very soft and chewy, with two types of raisins dipped in rum and then baked to a light gold.

You know, I’ve never tried anything rum raisin before, so this was a bit exciting. It’s very yummy and I liked it since it wasn’t overly filled with them. i like raisins but I’m not in love with them, and as a house with cats, we pretty much forbid raisins here. I tend to worry anytime we get some, or when the neighbor bakes raisin cookies.

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Our next item is the first example of the melon-themed goods in the box, composed of two thin monaka wafers with a fun, leafy design and text, and filled with a layer of melon cream. Since you can’t see it in the picture, the cream was light green colored, like a honeydew. It’s the only melon thing in the box this color, everything else was orange, so it was a little bit disorienting to see.

Soft sand it isn’t, it’s very crispy-crunchy, but the cream inside is soft and sweet. It tasted a lot like honeydew.

Grilled Corn Senbei & Butter Mochi Senbei

Senbei are crispy, light, airy rice snacks that come in a wide variety of flavors. If you’ve been on this blog before then you’ll recognize them right away. The smaller, yellower senbei is made from sweetcorn grown in Hokkaido and roasted with soy sauce x3 I love Japanese corn snacks, and their soy sauce, so this was the best of both worlds!

Both were produced by the same company, Iwatsuka Confectionary located in Niigata.

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Our other senbei, the bigger, milky-looking one was made from powdered buttermilk, honey, regular milk, and kinako (a sweet roasted soybean powder) to create a sweet partner for the other one.

Okina Dorayaki & Hearty Age Mochi

We’ve all seen Dorayaki on this blog before, I honestly have nothing new or interesting to say about it. Our other snack is a bit more exciting though, fried little pieces of rice made from three types of natural salt and kelp. Their savory flavor will stand out against all the sweetness in the box.

I enjoyed the snack, but it has a sort-of grease flavor that I didn’t find as pleasant as eating it. It left a residue/texture in my mouth that I didn’t like.

Kibi Dango & Milk Mochi

Oh boy, here we go again with two matching snacks :D also produced by the same company, Tengudo takarabune in Hokkaido. Not only that, but now that I know the clear wrapping is an edible product known as oblaat, it’s a bit embarrassing not to have known that sooner. . .

Anyway, dango and mochi are a lot a like, if you didn’t know that already. Especially these types, which share about the same color, texture, etc. You can eat it whole or cut it into squares, both are guaranteed to a chewy delight~

The smaller of the two, the kibi dango was a bit on the generic sweet side, but I really like it. The larger, milk mochi on the other hand tastes very delicious, like a sweetened, creamy milk. It reminded me a lot of a cow tail, a chewy caramel candy with milk cream inside.

Yubari Melon Cream Sandwich Cookies & Milk Cheesecake

And we’re back to melon, this time it’s the delicious Yubari Melon. Which was born in Yubari, Hokkaido in 1957, when farmers cross-bred them trying to preserve their way of life. At their highest quality they are considered to be a very precious, luxurious gift representing a new start, such as marriage or moving into a new home. Some come out so well that they can even be auctioned and can be sold for a really high price!

This sandwich consists of two butter-scented galette cookies with a thick layer of melon cream on the inside, with a speckling of small melon pieces. The cookie was a bit on the harder side, but the cream was lightly sweet and very fluffy~

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I was very excited about this next one for 2 reasons: cheesecake is my most favorite food, and because look at it, it’s a bready-cake with actual cheese looking pieces in it! I love cheese, and cake, so I figured either way it’d be a win-win!

A soft, spongy milk cake with little hunks of cheese mixed into the dough to create a balance of sweet richness. The cheese bits confused me a little initially, because they taste like actual cheese pieces, rather then a sweet creamy cheese like one might expect. It was very good though, I’d highly recommend it if you ever see it. I’d love for the box to include more bready/cake items like this x3

Yubari Melon Jelly & Melon Mochi

We’re down to our last 2 items of the box. First up is this fun-looking jelly made from Yubari Melon... which as sad as it makes me to say, I actually really didn’t like it. I love melon and all, but for some strange, bizarre reason it tasted like tomato. I have no idea why, but that’s immediately what my mind kept coming up with, and if you’re new to this blog, I don’t like tomatoes. Ketchup is fine, tomato-flavored vegetable chips are fine, but don’t ask me to eat an actual tomato (which is funny because my dad loves them). The texture reminded me so much of an actual tomato that I couldn’t even finish it.

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This particular mochi is made from a melon puree, with white chocolate cream inside.

Thankfully, this item fared much better. It was probably in my top 3 for favorites of the box for its amazing cantaloupe flavor that I look forward to eating every summer~

Opinions

Content - 5 out of 5. The only item I didn’t like was the jelly, but I feel like other people probably liked it, and it was still really fun to try. I even liked the tea, which is rare, and the little plate serving piece we got was cute too.

Theme: 5 out of 5. I’m not really sure how Hokkaido is in the summer, but this box definitely felt summery to me. It was very refreshing, the flavors really did a good job of picking me up whenever I was trying/finishing them.

Total Rank: 10 out of 10 Cuties. I liked this box a lot more then the previous box, I’m very excited for the August box, which oddly enough I got very early (about a week ago now I think). I looked through it but I’ve patiently been waiting to really explore it.

#cutie reviews #sakuraco

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Gacha Gacha Crate May 21

I feel like a big idiot, I basically thought I misnamed one of my posts because I’ve done it before. But then it turns out it was actually right, this is the May box. Somehow it got mixed in with the pile of the ones I had to sort and dispose of. I just found it and realized that I had yet to post this one :P

Anyway, this is just going to be a quick picture blog. I’m in a bit of a hurry but I wanted to get this up. Tomorrow I’m going to try posting the June Sakuraco review!

(I don’t have a picture here like normal, for some reason I couldn’t get it to work.)

Back to the Future keychain

Kirby Figurine

Sumikko Gurashi Watch

Anpanman Popper

Arcade Game keychain

Sanrio Character Clips

#gachagachacrate

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Gacha Gacha Crate June 21

I think I accidentally titled the previous GGC review as April, instead of May. Again <_<

Sorry for not posting as intended, it’s so hard to stay motivated during summer. Especially when it’s so hot, or when you can be out of the house having fun.

Pokemon Charms

First up is this fun little cellphone charm, which could either consist of three basic posed pokemon, or two attacking pokemon x3 I was happy to get this one, since this was my Sword starter, and I was just finishing replaying it at the time I got this capsule.

The detailing on it is really good for such a small figure, as you can tell by the size between it and my fingers. I only found one spot that was a bit messy/missing paint, but I was very impressed overall.

Wind Up Pikachu

Now we have a bigger Pokemon, this time a super-cute Pikachu toy you assemble and wind up to play with. Besides regular Pika, there is also a girl version, one with a hat, and one that’s a ditto transformed into Pikachu.

Kirby Figurines

I couldn’t resist playing around a little bit with this next one, a collection of various power-up Kirby, and a muscled Dedede. I got the artist kirby, but there was also spider kirby, cleaning kirby, and a kirby with a large heart.

The detailing is simple but very cute and bright. I really like it.

Digimon Hugcot Cable Huggers

Besides Pokemon, I grew up with Digimon and its really cheesy dub. At the time I didn’t realize just how silly it was until I got a lot older, and I was obsessed. I had a fair amount of merchandise from it, including figurines, digital pets, video games, stationery, a plush Gatomon I took with me to elementary school. Biyomon was my favorite, until Gatomon showed up, but I still liked her second so I’m okay with getting this one.

It’s another really small figurine, but again the painted details are great.

Pikman Charms

As an avid video game enthusiast, I’m perfectly fine with this boxes contents this month. Next up is an adorable charm-chain of pikman! It’s hard to see, but each Pikman has a different shaped topper, one is the budding leaf, then the bulb, and lastly the flower. These are so cute, I’d love to use this one on something.

Now, I’ve only played the first two games, so I’m not super-familiar with this one... You could get it, the original red, blue, and yellow (I love the yellow ones ears x3), or the small pink pixie-looking one, which is also really cute. I was also a big fan of the albino ones from the second game.

Attack on Titan Rubber Keychain

Our last item is this cute rubber stamp-style keychain. There was 8 characters available, and while I know more about the earlier stuff of the series, I haven’t kept up with it at all. I was more into the School AU spin-off they did a while back, the actual series is a bit too much for me.

These types of keychains are hard to execute poorly. By that I mean they always look really nice, and adorable!

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

I had some mixed feelings with this box, I hate to always complain so much but I should be honest right?

The items were all very cute and colorful, which I liked. I love video games and anime/manga, so I like that too. But this one felt kind of... boring. Everything was either a figure or charm, the only real difference one was the wind up Pikachu, and even then it’s still a figure. I mean to be honest most gachapon are, which is fine, but seeing how creative and unique they can be makes me want to see those ones, you know?

#gachagacha #gachagachacrate #pokemon gachapon #kirby gachapon

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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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.

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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!).

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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!

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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.

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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.

#cutie reviews #tokyotreat

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cutiecrates · 3 years

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Cutie Reviews: Sakuraco June 21

I’ve been having trouble with my laptop again and I’ve already written this three times trying to post it. I also got really addicted to a game series I’m severely behind on. . .

Anyway, in this time I did come up with what I think is a crucial decision regarding one of my subscriptions. But I’ll go over that in the next post. For now I’m going to try to hurry up with this one because I’m ready to move on. I’ll just be going over my opinions and including pictures.

Here are the extras from past boxes we got this month:

Azuki Dorayaki & Komachi Chestnut Pie

This was a typical dorayaki, the pancakey outside was soft and fluffy. What made it interesting was the mix of beans they put into the filling, but it pretty much tastes like any other. I’m not big on azuki bean flavors, but I didn’t hate it.

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The chestnut pie had a soft, flaky outside but the filling inside was like... a condensed powder, I want to say. It was a crumbly and overall really dry. I’m not familiar with chestnut flavors, but this was kind of good.

Fresh Orange Cake, Salt Yokan, & Cocoa and Orange Fruit Tart

The cake contains traces of alcohol but I didn’t notice it like I normally would. It was soft and delicious, it tasted refreshing too. There was orange peel in the cake too, and it tasted sweet. I really like the texture it had.

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The yokan (a jelly sweet usually made from bean or fruit and served in a tube-ish shape) was really cute. It had a slit in the wrapper to just pop off the top part of the packaging, and when you squeeze the lower half it pops right out! The taste wasn’t too unique or anything, it was basically anko with a... salt-ish flavor? Like it didn’t taste like straight up salt, but a flavoring? I love the texture though.

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I’ve only really had a couple my whole life, but they’re so delicious~ It’s been an aspiration of mine as someone who wants to be a good baker to learn how to make them. Anyway, I couldn’t get over how cute and small this one looks. It also tastes really good! The shell itself didn’t have much flavor but it went well with the slight bitterness of the chocolate filling, which kind of reminded me of a brownie in texture. It has small orange chunks in it for added freshness, it also tasted yummy.

Plum & Wasabi Okaki & SakuSaku Seaweed Rice Cracker

I’ve expressed this before, but while I like plum (the normal sweet fruity plum, the sour taste of pickled plums isn’t too bad though), I’m not big on wasabi. This also includes peanuts, which I hate strongly. BUT, in saying that, this wasn’t terrible. The wasabi wasn’t overwhelmingly strong so there was no discomfort, and the peanuts... I pretty much gave those to my mom, who is the complete opposite of me and loves peanuts. I did eat a couple though, and with the wasabi flavor of the bigger pieces, it wasn’t unbearable.

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This might sound silly if you don’t know me very well, but as much as I hate peanuts I love seaweed snacks! I don’t really know why, but I just do. There’s something about it that’s addictive to me, especially when paired with rice! What makes this rice cracker fun is that rather then in whole pieces, the rice was broken up in tiny bits. The seaweed is also applied to the rice as a thick powder, so as soon as it enters your mouth the entire thing dissolves. It was really good!

Summer Citrus Monaka & Uji Matha Cake

Monaka have been in just about every box we’ve gotten thus far in this brand, but I don’t mind. I adored the sweetened soy sauce ones we got last month~

This month the monaka is inspired by the citrus fruit, with the outside designed to resemble a sliced one. The Hyuganatsu citrus fruit jelly was very thick inside, combined with white anko. It had a mild sweet-tartness, which was pretty good, although I only really wanted half of it. That felt like enough for me.

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It’s funny because back when I first started getting these boxes I really, really hated green tea. I still don’t favor it by any means, but I can tolerate it better now, and sometimes I actually enjoy it. This cake was like a spongy bread, and it was delicious. I didn’t even mind the sprinkling of red beans on top because they tasted pretty good with the green tea flavor.

Matcha Infused Genmaicha Tea

Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the tea we got this month. It wasn’t bad or anything, but I’m not a big tea drinker. I’ve never been, I don’t really get the “hype” behind it. I try to, but besides a couple of types, I just can’t drink it. Which is the only downside to this box for me XD I’m pretty sure we’re only getting tea drinks in it. . .

Hojicha Warabi Mochi & Matcha Taiyaki

We got a couple of this mochi/jelly-esque snacks this month, perfect for that refreshing vibe. This one is flavored by one of the few tea’s I actually do like, Hojicha, and it includes kinako powder (its grounded up roasted soybean, it has a earthy, peanut buttery taste to me).

It was kind of weird eating something like this and it having a tea flavor, but I really enjoyed it after a few bites. The kinako powder always puts it right over the top for me~

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I believe this is the first time I’ve ever had a taiyaki-type thing with matcha flavoring. I knew about it, but I never tried it before, so this was kind of interesting. Like the dorayaki, the taiyaki/fish was soft an fluffy, but it didn’t have much flavor. The pasty filling inside tasted good, I think I liked it about the same as the cake.

Mochi Azuki Jelly

Hm.... this one I was kinda concerned over. It’s very pretty looking, with its perfectly clear base, two mochi/rice cakes inside, and the thickly applied beans around the top. The jelly had a faint flavor, I’m not really sure of what but I liked it, and the mochi inside was chewy and fun... but as I said, I don’t like red beans/azuki much, so I wish there was less on top. The texture was sort of off-putting to me, but at the same time, I didn’t mind it?

Summer Fruits Jelly

I was so excited to get to try this one out! Like the mochi jelly above it’s perfectly clear, like glass, and has a couple pieces of fruit inside. It’s so pretty to look at~

However, I kind of wish it was better. By that I mean, the jelly had a taste I wasn’t extremely into. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t a fan of it.. I want to say it kind of reminded me of pear? But I love pears, so I don’t think that’s right. The fruits were pretty much permeated by the jelly flavor so they didn’t really stand out, but I did enjoy getting to try it.

Opinions

Content - 5 out of 5. I had a couple of items I was sort of meh about, but I didn’t hate anything. We got fun, unique items and I was so happy not to see any of them feature sakura/cherry blossoms. No offense to anyone who likes them, I enjoy them too, but I was happy to have a change.

Theme: 3.5 out of 5. I’m not a big fan of summer, so refreshing and fruity is right up my alley. I wish they had included more citrus though, considering its specially mentioned in the name and all.

Total Rank: 8 out of 10 Cuties. If I had any complaints, I’d say I wasn’t big on the extra’s they threw it. They don’t have anything to do with the theme itself (I could be wrong though), but they weren’t items I was really fond of, because the one plum sweet we got.

#sakuraco #cutie reviews

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