Limited Edition Stars and Stripes Cranberry Ginger Ale -

Cranberry Ginger Ale - Dollar Tree

I was at Dollar Tree grabbing holiday giftbags, (because if you're paying more than a dollar for a giftbag, you're insane,), and I spotted giant bottles of soda. They're like 2.5 Liters and only a dollar, so you know it's not the best quality, but they'll do in a pinch when you're having cheap at-home birthday party in the 90's. Anyway, I was going to walk right by them, when I noticed a limited edition flavor.

Since when has that been a thing? I was intrigued, and it was only a dollar, so let's see if it's any good! (At the very least it should make for a fun season-appropriate post.)

Ice Cream Candy Canes, For a Dollar...I'm Skeptical - Coldstone Creamery Candy Canes

Coldstone Candy Canes - Dollar Tree

Another Dollar Tree find, I grabbed these because I thought they looked pretty, and for only a dollar, why not? 

Right away the packaging is questionable. Sure, we have Coldstone logos that are legit, but the packaging and design are done in a way that the logo on the bottom left of the package is obscured by the packaging itself. Not a great sign in terms of quality.  

Inside you get 6 candy canes, two of each flavor. 

The flavors are: Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Our Strawberry Blonde, and Birthday Cake Remix. All classic Coldstone Creamery flavors.  

Bon Bon BUMMER - Black Tongue Lollipops

Black Tongue Lollipops - Dollar Tree

I grabbed these at the Dollar Tree because they reminded me of the Tongue Painter gumballs my teacher used to use as incentives for good behavior back in the 90's. Did anyone else's teacher create a fake currency that could be earned inside their classroom and used to purchase candy, pencils, or free "No homework" passes? Or was that just me? (Also, my fellow 90's Jersey kids, no one else did fluoride rinses in their classrooms. That was a weird program think that only happened to us!)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to try some candy and paint my tongue black but I was wrong. So, so wrong.  

 

Watch the video above to see what happens, or keep reading below for the written post and close-ups. 

Ghost-less Ghostly Gummies?

Haribo Ghostly Gummies - The Dollar Tree

Mischief night is upon us, which is apparently a New Jersey-specific term for what the rest of the nation calls, "Devil's Night." Kind of strange that the home of the Jersey Devil would miss the opportunity for a devilish holiday tie-in, but that mystery'll have to wait.
(Wait, Vermont and New Hampshire call it, "Cabbage Night?" What's the deal with that?)

Today's mystery is...why are there no red gummies in this bag? 

Cotton Candy (Unicorn) Milkshakes!

Frozen Bean Cotton Candy Frozen Drink Mix - Walmart .99 cents

The days are shorter, the temperature is dropping, and Pumpkin-pocalypse 2017 has invaded the grocery store shelves. If there was ever a time for a (denial-laced) summery unicorn-themed cotton candy milkshake, it's now. 

Today's post is part two of my Frozen Bean drink mix trilogy. We started with plain ol' Cookies n' Cream and now we've moved on to fabulous cotton candy.

Grab your cozy denial-blankets, ignore all adult responsibilities, and marvel at my decorative paper unicorn straw, as we sail off into a sugar-induced unicorn hallucination. 

Peeps Freezer Pops - Five Below : The Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Peeps Freezer Pops - Five Below : The Gallery, Philadelphia, PA  

I almost didn’t buy these, but my sister insisted, and I’m really glad she did. (In case you’re wondering, the little Peep toys came from the dollar store a few years ago. They light up! Like a rave!)

Everything is inside a bright yellow cardboard box, similar to the packaging for original Peeps. Unlike the marshmallow variety, which has white polka dots, this box has cyan dots with little Peep images scattered throughout. This design fits in with the rest of the Peeps line, and I really like the colorful layout.

Caramel Apple Pops - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Caramel Apple Pops - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Tootsie’s packaging designs desperately need an overhaul. Just look at this bag.

This layout is a mess of green, tan, and red-violet. The garish combination of colors and semi-retro look aren’t working for me at all. Thankfully the individual candy wrappers inside are much more palatable. The Tootsie company seems to be staying afloat due to the quality of their products and nostalgia, and it’s good to have a great product, but I think they should try to revamp their plastic bags with a completely throw-back retro design. Embrace the nostalgia and try to create something a little more aesthetically pleasing. (Or at the very least lose the red-violet purple color.)

Cinnabon Cream of Wheat - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Cinnabon Cream of Wheat - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Cream of Wheat is one of my favorite breakfast items. It sticks to the ribs and warms you up. (Especially on cold rainy days.)

The box design is pretty busy for an American product. There are swirls, logos, photos, and splashes of text everywhere. The colors are a nice mash up of the two brand identities, the Cinnabon blue and Cream of Wheat’s blue text work nicely together. Although there is a lot going on, I think it works.

When cooked, there is a lovely cinnamon sugar aroma. The scent doesn’t remind me of a cinnamon bun, just plain old cinnamon.

Does this taste like Cinnabon pastry? No. It just kinda tastes like normal Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and sugar mixed in. It’s yummy, but I could easily make this myself.

I like the idea of having flavored Cream of Wheat, but this was a bit of a let down. I expected more than just cinnamon and sugar mixed in. I would pass on these in the future and just mix up my own.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Nintento 3-DEES Fruit Snacks - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Nintento 3-DEES Fruit Snacks - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Remember THESE sweet-tart-like Nintendo candies? Well there are 3-D gummy ones too!

The package design is a bright Mario-red with large images of Nintendo characters. Overall, the design focuses on the characters and not the candy, which is typical for a novelty product. People are buying this because it’s Nintendo, not necessarily for the candy or it’s flavor.
Ignore the packaging, just look at these gummy shapes! The figures are surprisingly detailed and they can even stand up on their own! (Which is great for photos.)

Tootsie Fruit Rolls - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Tootsie Fruit Rolls - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Unlike my other dollarstore reviews, this is a candy I know I’ll enjoy. I don’t know too many people who buy or enjoy  Fruity Toostie Rolls, so this might be a new candy for some of you. (Although I remember these being pretty popular in the 90’s.)

I am not a fan of the overall plastic bag design, it’s obnoxiously bright and busy, but I do like the colorful individual wrappers. The Tootsie Roll company seems like it’s in a design rut. It seems like they want to keep their nostalgic look, but they are evolving as a company with new flavors and products. I think they either new to go completely retro, or move forward with a new design. They have a great product, but rehashing their old font with bright colors isn’t working.

Skinny Cow Peanut Butter Creme Chocolates - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Skinny Cow Peanut Butter Creme Chocolates - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

(I bought the Key Lime Coconut Patties as the same time.)

I bought these from the dollar store because I recognized them from a review on Candy Blog. (One of my favorite foodie sites.) For some reason I remembered these getting a really favorable review, so I grabbed a package.

I have had skinny Cow products before, and while I liked the product, I hated the logo. It’s just plain creepy. A humanized cow with an hourglass figure wrapped in measuring tape? Combine that image with the slightly suggestive pose and you have a decent amount of nightmare fuel. (This pose actually reminds me of Molly Ringwald’s from The Breakfast Club.) Logo aside, this design has a decent layout. Personally, I would tweak the sizing of the text and make everything a little bit larger, but the placement allows the design to flow nicely.

Key Lime Coconut Patties - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Key Lime Coconut Patties - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Put the lime in the coconut and dip it all in chocolate! I saw this at the dollar store check out and I thought it might be interesting because I love these flavors. (I just don’t know how successful they would be when combined into a candy.)

The plastic packaging features an overall lime-green color scheme with a hibiscus flower print in the background. Piled on top of that, are images of palm trees, limes, coconuts, chocolate, and the coconut-candy-bar product itself. The design is busy, but graphically I think it works. I feel like the fonts and typography are where things gets a little iffy. The text choices makes this product look cheap. (Then again I got this at a dollar store, so you get what you pay for.)

AZ Arizona Energy Drink - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

AZ Arizona Energy Drink - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

I VERY rarely use energy drinks, but right now I have a psych paper, two finals, and a summer practicum observation course all at the same time! I just don’t have enough energy to keep going and get everything done, so I resorted to an energy drink to give me the boost I needed. (I didn’t even know that Arizona made energy drinks.)

Typically, Arizona cans are tall and colorful. This design has more of an urban-graffitii feel, and it doesn’t match any other product in the Arizona line. I don’t feel like this design was very well thought out, because the can doesn’t even say what flavor this drink is. The ingredients list mango and other fruits, as well as a laundry list of chemicals that I can’t even pronounce. While I like the idea of an Arizona energy drink, I think this can needs a bit more design work and information.

Palmer’s Giant Cake Batter Cup - Dollar General: Cinnaminson, NJ

Palmer’s Giant Cake Batter Cup - Dollar General: Cinnaminson, NJ

I knew this was going to be a risky treat. It could either be really yummy… or just as disgusting as those Cupcake Bites.

The packaging is a soft lavender color which is actually quite lovely, but the art is pretty bad. I am not a fan of those creepy children in the bottom corner, the design would have been much stronger without them. 

Jelly Belly - Belly Flops - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ

Jelly Belly - Belly Flops - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ 

This is a product I never knew existed! "Belly Flops" are irregularly shaped/colored/flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans that are packaged and sold.

I really like that the company had some fun with this packaging. On the front of the package there is a pool of misshapen jelly beans that the mascot is belly flopping into, and on the back there is a disclaimer about the irregular candy inside.

As expected, the jelly beans vary in size and shape/ Even though they look a bit off, a lot of my favorite flavors were in this bag. (Orange Creamsicle, Dr. Pepper, toasted marshmallow, and juicy pear.)  The only flavors that seemed a bit off were the cinnamon and red-fruit jelly beans. It tastes like a few of them were mixed up during the panning process. (Some red jelly beans tasted like cinnamon on the outside with a fruity center and vice versa.)

Overall, these beans tasted great, they just looked a little wonky. If you’re looking for a quirky candy treat this Easter, try some Belly Flops. 

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Nintendo Candies - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ

Nintendo Candies - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ

Since I don’t have the main package, tonight’s post is a mini review on this novelty Nintendo product. Originally I wasn’t going to do one on this, but I was so impressed by the detail in these candies I decided to do one anyway.