Preamble
Last Christmas, I racked my brains, trying to decide what to purchase my three year old niece, Victoria. She's a very headstrong little girl (unusual in our family) and her tastes in toys seemed to be very fickle during this time period.

One of the things I had noticed about her was that she was taking more of an interest in girlie things. She loved playing with her baby dolls, dressing them up and feeding them. She also loved to dress up in big girl clothes, accessorizing with the right shoes and the right jewelry.

When I was her age, I don't ever remember there being a vanity for little girls so believe me when I tell you that I wasn't looking for this product.

How Did You Find This?
While I was shopping for my niece, I was also shopping for my 5 year old nephew. It's been awhile since I had been out in the stores so what I did was do a search on a couple of manufacturers of toys that I have a lot of trust and good experience with. One of those manufacturers is Little Tikes.

Did you know that Little Tikes is part of the Rubbermaid family? Isn't that cool? It probably explains why their products are so durable.

Anyway, I took a look at their toys by searching through their toy finder. That's how I found this vanity.

Features
The front of the off white fashion vanity has a mirror, a holder for the cosmetics, and a drawer where she can place things that don't fit nicely into the holders. The vanity comes with play nail polish, lipstick, hair dryer, and a comb.

When she pulls up any of those accessories, the vanity talks to her. Your hair is beautiful, That's a pretty color. The voice sounds like an older sister - it's not scary at all.

By the way, you can turn off the voice if it annoys you.

The vanity comes with a hot pink chair/stool that is sturdy enough for a grown woman to sit on (but I wouldn't recommend that - your knees will cramp up).

On the back is a full length mirror, so of course, she can model her clothes privately before revealing all to the world. There are various compartments where clothing and other accessories can be stored.

The mirrors, by the way, are not glass. They are made from some sort of material that I don't know the name of :).

If You Build It, They Will Come
I'm pretty much a loser in the assembly department. If something has to be assembled, I would rather pay someone else to do it. Luckily for me, this was one of the easiest things to put together. Took me a total of 20 minutes mostly because I was hunting for pieces that had landed on the carpet in multiple places. Note: Keep all small children away from the parts until fully assembled.

You probably figured out that if there's some voice, that must mean batteries are needed. Yup. Keep around a hearty supply of AA batteries. This takes 3 at a time. I can't really comment on how often the batteries have to be changed. Victoria goes through stages where she plays with this all of the time, and then doesn't touch it for days.

How Much Space You'll Lose
If you're cramped for space, it's probably pretty important that you understand that this pup is about three feet high and two feet wide. Why is this important? Because once you put it together, believe me, you're not going to take it apart. It remains as a permanent fixture in your home.

A Special Feature
This may sound silly, but one of the features Victoria's parents appreciate is the voice that reminds her to pop back one of the accessories when she has left it out of its holder for a period of time. In a small way, it's teaching her some responsibility while at the same time, it's keeping this entire vanity in one piece.

Wear and Tear
Five months later, the vanity is still in terrific shape. What's nice about the material of the vanity is that it's virtually all plastic and easy to wipe down. Even when Victoria has drawn on her mirror with her mommy's lipstick, there has been no problem with removing it.

Another thing to let you know is that the entire vanity is pretty sturdy. You don't really need to worry about your little girl knocking it over. Or if she does, there's no sharp edges to cause injury.

The Price
At this age, I find that it is very difficult for children to stay interested in the same toy for a long period of time. I have to admit that the price tag worried me because I really hate buying something that doesn't get played with after the first "new" day.

Last Christmas, I found this on sale through the JCPenney online store for $49.99. It's currently listed at amazon for $59.99. If you are interested in this, I would definitely hold out for the sale price!

Verdict
Victoria gets a lot of enjoyment out of her talking fashion vanity. Some times, she pulls it into her parents bedroom and gets dressed there, just like her parents do in the bathroom. I think the cutest scenario I see her do is when she pretends to be the mom and her baby dolls are the little girls. She lines them all up and instructs them to watch her as she fixes her face and gets dressed.

If you've not picked up on my enthusiasm for this piece of toy equipment, let me make myself clear. I am thrilled that I took a chance and purchased this for Victoria. She has enojyed it for five solid months which may not sound like a long time to you but for kids with finicky playing habits and short attention spans, it's a small eternity.

If you're little girl is into pretend play or if you have a niece or granddaughter who thinks pretending to put on makeup is fun, I highly recommend that you purchase this toy. It will provide hours of entertainment.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years