Primpin' and Pimpin' with the Olsen Twins
Written: Apr 16 '03 (Updated Apr 17 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: it has a plug, it gets hot, it has an on/off switch
Cons: it's an Olsen Twin product - need I say more
The Bottom Line: Yet another useless Mary Kate and Ashley product I bought (when will I learn?) If you want spiral curls this isn't the way to get them.
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| ned1's Full Review: Conair Mary Kate and Ashley Spiral Iron |
Daddy when I grow up I want to look just like an Olsen Twin! Well Veruca Salt now you can because thanks to Conair and the Olsen Twins constant need for more cash you can have bouncy spiral curls just like Mary Kate, or is it Ashley - I always get them confused - it's so hard to tell - after all one is the cute one, the other one is just the sister.
Goodness gracious as if shopping at Wal-Mart weren't bad enough (no I'm not a snob, mine is just filthy and the aisles are cluttered with junk), now I have to look at the Olsen Twins as I turn every corner.
There they are in the toy aisle - Mary Kate and Ashley dolls; there they are in DVD section - shoving their faces on another direct to DVD fiasco; there are they in linens -putting their name and faces on sheets, towels and shams (hey if you get these for your son at least he can say he slept with the Olsen Twins); there they are in foundation garments, so your little angel can cross her heart with the Olsen Twins.
I think they can also be found in books, music, electronics, clothing and makeup. Is it my imagination, or are they even worse than Kathy Lee? I'm still waiting for them to appear in certain aisles on products I would actually buy if it had their face on them - want a hint "Mr. Whipple, please don't squeeze the Olsen Twins." I'd also like to feel summer fresh with Mary Kate and Ashley.
Anyhow, imagine my horror last summer when I was waiting an hour in line at Wal-Mart to buy my stuff. My oldest starts wandering and comes back to me with that stupid grin that can only mean one thing - Even though I'm a teenager and I hate the fact that you exist, I will pretend to love you long enough to have you buy me some stupid overpriced item I don't need - come on, you have to know that look.
Beaten down by the fact that I'd never thought I'd escape the grime and stale air of the Wal-Mart, I said, "Yes you hate me, and what is it you need?" Then I said, "Will you actually die without it, and are you prepared to back up that threat if I say no." I should have added, "If it's an Olsen Twin product don't even bother asking."
Lovey gives me a fake kiss and bounds off to get that which she is destined to die without. She comes back with this contraption in her hand and says, "blah blah blah, effort in my appearance, blah blah blah hair will look nice this year, blah blah blah please." (see I listen as well as she does). My one eyebrow went up and I said, "and you can't do that with a regular curling iron because?" As luck would have it, it was my turn to pay so she won (this time) I said, "Chuck it on the pile and you'd better use it."
As soon as she got home she had to bust this out of the package and give it a whirl, or should I say spiral curl.
Like I said my initial reaction to this product was, "Huh? Why are the Olsen Twins endorsing this? Does anyone actually believe they do their own hair?" I'm sure when they wake up each morning all they have to do is yell, "Makeup" and "Hair" and the professionals come running out of the closet. My second reaction was, "What a bogus product." I've been making spiral curls for years with a regular curling iron and never had an issue.
My final reaction/thought was, "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid." Me, not the product! I mean between the videos, DVDs, dolls and CDs, I think I have sent at least one of them through college - did I really need to give them more money. If so I need to get credit in their next book, "How to Count Your Millions with the Olsen Twins." I mean every time I buy something I feel like Pimp Master Mom - the evil go-between between the Olsen Twins and the real world, as if my forking out cash for their products means I like them (eewww, now I need a shower).
So anyhow being that this is the first electronic Olsen Twin device we own, I was a bit leery, but since it is made by Conair, I felt a bit better (as if there was an ounce of quality behind it). Being that it's a Conair product, let me also say for about three dollars less you can buy the exact same spiral curler without the Olsen Twin logo slapped on it - that one is called the Special Styles Spiral Iron, Model CD18BC.
So what does this promise and does it measure up?
Specially designed to create tiny ringlets for long hairstyles. Yep, with lots of practice you too can make spiral curls with this device. Of course by the time you master the curls the Olsen Twins will have decided that spiral curls are out and you'll have to get their new hair contraption.
Basically this is a curling iron with a metal guide wound around the pole of the curling iron. This acts as a guide for you to spin your hair around. You need to section your hair, make sure each section isn't too big and begin wrapping. You can do the exact same thing with a normal curling iron by just wrapping your hair around the same way.
25 percent longer barrel is specially designed for longer hair.
Can we define "long" hair? My daughter had hair all the way down her back (before she chopped it off, donated it to charity and dyed it pink - sniff sniff). No matter how I sectioned it, I could not get this thing to make spiral curls in her hair. The best I got it to do was make it look like there was a small dent in each strand - like I had slammed her damp hair in the door and made her stand there until it dried.
My hair is down to my mid back, and when I am "lucky" enough to have her curl my hair, we can have "success" but it does take between 60 to 90 minutes to do the whole head (you have to redo many of the curls. Heck yeah I want to look like an Olsen Twin, but who has that much free time?
Besides the time factor, there is another downside to my daughter doing my hair - once she's done and I slap on some Olsen Twin makeup and squeeze into that training bra, I am constantly mistaken for an Olsen Twin - "Mary Kate can I have your autograph?" "Ashley, where's Mary Kate?" "Do you still have a brother for Sale?" Who needs to be hassled like that?
Built-in counter rest. Duh!! I thought it might be useful to not have the rest and burn the countertop. I do find this styling device to be top heavy and it seems to tip off the rest a lot.
Ready dot. Who really needs that? By the time I listen to a few of their greatest hits this thing is heated up and ready to go (for those of you who don't have the CDs, it takes about 5 minutes (or $5,000 in Olsen Twin time).
Tangle-free swivel cord. This is helpful to have and could actually be a bit longer. We find it's best to sit and style, because it takes so long and my old legs can't stand up that long. Maybe it's me and I just have a giant melon head, but a few more inches to the cord would be helpful. In fact, I find it hard to believe that many people could use this on the back of their head without burning themselves (maybe the Olsen Twins need to put out Aloe Vera and Band-Aids).
Cool tip. The tip stays cool so you can hold it as you guide your hair through the iron.
High/low/off switch. This styler doesn't turn off on it's own, so if you don't have a maid like the Olsen Twins, you will need to remember to unplug it or turn it off.
It has two heat settings low and high. Low doesn't seem to work that well (it gets about as hot as Mary Kate does when she doesn't get to play the "cute" one). Hot is the setting we use all the time and is about as hot as Ashley gets when she has to play the sporty (after all she is the "cute one".
Overall with or without the Olsen Twin logo on it, I don't think this is the greatest product out there. It has a big learning curve and if you have lots of hair, it takes a long time to use. I also think you don't really need it, people were making spiral curls long before this product existed and they seemed to manage just fine. This doesn't work well on very long hair, and get a clue using this will not help you look like an Olsen Twin (and why you'd want to, I'll never know).
If you have a deep desire to give the Olsen Twins more cash and have spiral curls, buy a regular curling iron and mail the Olsen Twins the 3-dollar profit they would have made off of this - that way you both can be happy.
Recommended:
No
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Member: Nancy
Location: in the Barbie aisle
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Off to Basel (1/21) - in search of Swiss Miss Barbie - back (1/26)
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