Character Options' The Zelfs review

I have a question for all you children of the eighties - what do these remind you of ? Yes, you got it in one - Trollz ! Remember them? Well, this new breed of long haired colourful creatures are called The Zelfs and the Madhouse Mini-testers were over the moon when a few of them took up residence at The Madhouse !

Well, they may have made me get all nostalgic for the toys of my childhood but The Zelfs are actually a brand new product from Character Options this summer. The official blurb says : "The Zelfs live in an enchanted garden full of surprises called Zardenia. They dwell in different fabitats tucked all over the garden...in the trees, mounds of rocks and even dark corners. They attend Zardenias School of Rock Garden and swap convo at Witchbrew Bistro. Love your Zelf and they’ll share their special powers. Each Zelf is totally unique and has a special power that only shines when they are loved. They’re cute, they’re friendly and each has their own personality, which is echoed in its intricate body art and shock of coloured hair that girls will be able to style in their own hair raising fashion!"

The good news is, they won't necessarily cost you a fortune. You can buy small pencil topper dolls called Lil’ Zelfs at the pocket money price of £1.99. These come in the little plant pots that you can see around the box that the big Zelf is in. There are already 36 different ones to collect, including matt, glitter & pearl finishes, and that's just series 1, with many more to come, I'm sure ! It's way too early to start thinking about stocking fillers but they're something to remember when Christmas eventually rolls around !

There are also 12 medium size dolls available (RRP £5.99), including the super rare Miss Clover Zelf, plus large Zelfs (RRP £9.99) with their special glow in the dark, metallic or glitter finishes. Zelf fans will also love the Venus Fly Trap Spin Salon playset (£19.99) which can be used with the medium sized Zelfs and which includes an exclusive Zelf ‘Tessa’ who sits in the Venus styling chair where her bright mane is groomed into a crazy Zelf hair style.

I remember how hugely popular the Trollz were when I was a child, and they didn't even have playsets or special finishes, so I know that these will be on a lot of Christmas wishlists this year.

In celebration of this great new brand, there’s also a one-off  magazine called Girls Love Zelfs. We’ve been sent an advanced copy to check out but it will be available in the next two weeks at all good magazine sellers, including supermarkets. With its 36 pages full of Zelf activities, it will keep the kids busy for hours and inform them all about this new Zelf world. What’s more it has a free Zelf and two other gifts on the cover and a free poster inside, so it's a great way to start your Zelf collection

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : from £1.99 - £9.99 for the dolls

for more information : http://www.character-online.com/products/The-Zelfs/

Disclosure : I received some Zelfs in order to write an honest review.

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