Craze Sensations ASMR 4 Pack Review

Reviewed by Hannah Chan

With three children in the house, of course messy play happens on a regular basis and the criteria for messy play often include what sounds the medium makes. You tube is full of *satisfying* videos at the moment, filled with people making sounds and showing visually pleasing mediums….sand, water, people slicing soap, so of course when I saw that this pack was targeted for this of course I was intrigued.

ASMR is a feeling, a tingly brain feeling which often occurs when you see something soothing or calming, like watching videos of domino runs and playing with something soft like foam slime or sand. Craze sensations have attempted to combine as many aspects as they can in their little pots of satisfaction. In some cases they have hit the nail on the head, and on others not so much unfortunately although for the price and the amount of time it kept the little ones entertained it isn’t too bad (unless you don’t like unnecessary plastic waste) in which case this probably isn’t the product for you.

The pack itself looks fun and inviting, the use of colours certainly draws people in as do the pictures of people using their hands on the slime and foam. I asked the children what they though and the responses I got were, “It looks cool,” and “I want to see which ones we have got.” All in excited tones which was what I was hoping for.  In the pack there are 4 yogurt pot style trays, each with a medium – foam, slime, sand, and something to mix with them like beads or little cubes of foam.

Of the four, the first was a yellow sand with tiny silver pieces, a bit like cut up straws. The sand was bright and smelled amazing, just like fruity sweets. The smell lasted the whole week so they get a thumbs up for that one, actually the sand was the least played with at first by the children but ended up being the last one standing by the end of the week so it became my favourite.

The second was a pink foamy slime, with little cubes of foam to mix in. Unfortunately the cubes completely disappeared into the slime and added no benefit after they were mixed in and they couldn’t be taken out again, but the foam was lovely and smooth and smelled like marshmallows.

The third box was a foam/bead slime with little coloured pieces of straws. This made the best sounds, crackling and popping. It was the most fun at first, however after a days play by a five year old it became thick and hard to work with. Even though at the end of seven days it wasn’t solid it could no longer be stretched without snapping straight away and made no sounds after a few days.

The last box was a blue slime. It’s not a sticky, wet slime which was brilliant as I am not a fan of having it stuck to clothes etc. This had tiny little beads which went in, but didn’t stick so kept falling out as the slime got drier. Unfortunately even though the children loved it and it smelled like blueberries, it only lasted two days and it went hard very quickly.

Over all if you’re looking for something to keep the kids quiet for a couple of hours, this certainly does the trick and hits those ASMR boxes. If you’re looking for something to last then this probably isn’t it.

The fact that there are twelve combinations to collect is fun as the children did want to see what else there was and we will certainly have a look, but you don’t know which you are going to get which I suppose is good for a company point of view but not from a parent point of view as it’ll probably cost you a lot more to collect them all as they are more expensive to buy separately than in a multipack.

The little plastic trays they come in can be recycled which is fab, but the mediums themselves cannot be so if you’re environmentally conscious they’re going to end up in landfill. The lids also do not stay on the trays and are not air tight so if you want them to last longer I suggest something airtight with a proper lid. I was surprised they didn’t put proper lids on the trays to be honest.

Over all I give this 3 out of 5 stars. The children did love the combinations and they did keep them occupied for a while. They loved the mixing and the adding of the beads and straws. They ticked the ASMR boxes and over all at £9.99 they were good value for money.

It lost a star because it didn’t come with a way to stop them from going dry straight away and another because they were un-usable after just days, and cannot be recycled.  Saying that though, my son is very sensory, and is always fidgeting, drawn to certain textures. So I feel these are great for children to help them feel calm, to help with processing feelings and to help them concentrate. As a tool for children with additional needs this could work very well and the perfect thing to get out of your bag in an emergency. They are very portable before they have been opened, so can be great for hospital visits and journeys (if you don’t mind a little mess). Just remember to take something out with you to store it in afterwards as the trays are a little useless after the film is peeled off. From an Easter point of view too, they will last longer than chocolate and provide more entertainment.

Rating: 3/5

RRP: £9.99

This product can be purchased from Smyths Toys here.