Rainbow High Make Your Own Shimmer Tattoo Set Review

Reviewed by Kathryn Harrison

I have two daughters aged 5 and 10. With this age gap it can be hard to find activities they both enjoy, however they both enjoy applying temporary tattoos and are both big fans of a bit of glitter so the Rainbow High Make Your Own Shimmer Tattoo Set seemed like it would be ideal for both of them!

The set is contained in a small box, around A5 size, before opening the rainbow coloured box you can see two pots of shimmer and a few of the tattoo straps. Also on the box there is an image of one of the characters from the popular TV show Rainbow High.

When we opened the box we were disappointed to find that one of the shimmer pots had a loose lid and there was silver shimmer all over the inside of the box. Thankfully the pots do seem to hold a lot so there was still lots of shimmer for making the tattoos. Also inside the box was a tube of cosmetic glue, a brush and behind the strip of tattoo stencils we could see from the outside there was another strip meaning all together there are 8 stencils. On the back of the box there are instructions telling you how to create the shimmer tattoos.

First of all you use the brush to apply an even layer of the cosmetic glue. I’m not sure what the glue is made of but it had the consistency of hair gel and appeared to have a slight sparkle to it before adding the shimmer. Once you’ve applied the glue the next step was to peel the backing off then press your stencil down onto the glue. We cut the stencil strip into individual tattoos to make this easier. The next step was to add the shimmer. The instructions say to do this by using your finger to dip into the shimmer pot then putting the shimmer over the stencil and glue. This was quite a messy task and there was shimmer everywhere! Especially on the finger that had been used to pat it on. It also wasn’t the most precise way of doing it, despite us waiting a few seconds after applying the glue to patting on the shimmer like the instructions said, we found the shimmer went everywhere. It seemed to go under the stencil as well as over the sides meaning that once the stencil was removed there wasn’t a very clear definition to the tattoo. It was particularly apparent on the more detailed stencils such as the butterfly or the letters. It was hard to make out what they were supposed to be other than patches of silver or gold glitter.

We applied the tattoos to my girls forearms and wrists as suggested on the box. The tattoos very quickly brushed off as they played which was upsetting for them. After around an hour all the tattoos had mostly rubbed off. It felt like they came off as quickly as it took to apply them.

Overall we were quite disappointed with this set, the idea is great and we have used similar kits that work brilliantly but this one just didn’t. It was messy to apply and the tattoos didn’t last. My girls have been using the glue on its own and then adding the shimmer without using the stencils so it’s not a complete waste but not the intended purpose.

As a stocking filler present I think a lot of children would be happy to receive this, especially if they’re fans of the TV show, but I wouldn’t expect the set to last past the new year. It would however add a festive sparkle to your home as the shimmer spreads all over the place!

Rating: 2/5

RRP: £15

This product can be purchased from Superdrug here.