Trunki Travel Toybox Review

What's that you say? A toybox, by Trunki? The children's travel specialists? Tell me more!... Lara is now the proud owner of a vibrant blue Trunki Travel Toybox to accompany her bright pink Trunki suitcase and, as you can see, she's loving it!

The Trunki Travel Toybox is the kind of product you didn't really know you needed until you tried it and then realised you couldn't live without it. Why would I need a travel toybox? But then, when I thought back to the contents of my own suitcase (and Lara's Trunki suitcase) earlier this year, I realised that it was 25% Lara's belongings... books, crayons, jigsaws, cuddly toys. All of these things I pack into my bag every time we go and stay away for the night (and every time we go and visit Lara's grandparents). Lara now has her own handy toybox that I can put everything in to and then tidily place in the boot of the car when we go on our travels.



The Trunki toybox is not quite square but square enough that it takes up a sensible space wherever you store it. Our Trunki toybox lives in the main living room most of the time and Lara is free to take her toys in and out of it whenever she chooses. Lara regularly packs all of her toys away in it and then puts the lid on.... waits 5 minutes and then takes the lid off, and unpacks the box. Toddlers!!!



The thing Lara loves most about the Trunki is that she can sit on it and I won't tell her off! It is designed for sitting on. Turn the box over and the wheels on the lid mean that your toddler can scootle around until their heart's content. Lara likes to scootle in the living room and the garden but scootling on the grass is not that effective. I'm pretty certain that Lara would LOVE it if I bought her a matching toybox – there is a nifty loop whereby you can string more than one Trunki toybox together and then scootle around like a little train.



I like the concept of the Trunki travel toybox but I think there are one or two practicalities that have been overlooked, which is surprising from Trunki who normally have all these things covered. I'd like to see the attachment mechanism for multiple boxes to be built in – perhaps they could clip together. I also think the lid is too fiddly for little toddler hands. I always have to help Lara close the box and I don't think I would trust the lid to stay closed if I were travelling in public with it. I think it looks great, it is incredibly useful but... it is just a box on wheels at the end of the day. A gorgeously shaped, brightly coloured, tactile box on wheels that my toddler LOVES!

Maclaren Baby - Beginning... Range: Did you know they made smellies as well as pushchairs!

I love smellies. I don't tend to splash my cash on clothes or music or other such vices, but I do allow myself to splurge when it comes to skincare products. Organic, non-organic, big brands, small secret brands... you name it, I love it! I love trying out new products and occasionally I find a gem that I'll stick with for years (perhaps always?).

When I first became pregnant and I discovered the whole world of mummy-beauty products, I was given two travel packs of Maclaren beauty products – one for me, and one for baby. Maclaren, being best known for their pushchairs, is a big baby brand and I didn't expect anything less than the highest quality of their cosmetics, even though its not really their forte.

The Beginning... Range contains around 13 products and several gift sets. The products are all made from organic, natural ingredients and they are designed to take advantage of the properties of aromatherapy essential oils. The travel sets contain trial-sized versions of a number of the products.

All of the products smell heavenly and make you want to put them to use straight away but as with most essential-oil products, you have to use them quickly once opened or else the oils loose their potency. I only received trial-sized bottles of each product and found that in most cases, I couldn't use them up fast enough and that their fragrance disappeared over time, leaving them smelling a bit carboardy. I can't imagine ever requiring a full-sized version of most of their products. I used the 'Alleviating Leg Lotion' during the final days of pregnancy, and their 'Balancing Facial Mist' during the first stages of labour but I wasn't wowed.

Their baby products are more of a winner for me. I used the 'Cocooning Massage Oil' for my first forays into the world of baby massage but I have since come across cheaper, basic oils that perform just as well. My absolute favourite product from both travel sets has to be the 'Absorbing Dusting Powder' which is a talcum powder alternative. It is made from corn starch, kaolin, lavender and tea tree and is an incredibly fine powder. I use it often during nappy changes and after a bath and a little powder goes a long way.

The dusting powder is the only product from their range that I felt strongly enough about to buy the full-sized version. It probably explains why this product recently won an award for 'Best Organic Baby Product' at the Natural and Organic Awards 2009. Because it is not liquid-based it keeps for a lot longer than the other products, and due to the tiny amount you need to use, it seems like good value for money (even though it costs 10p a gram).

All of the individual products can be bought online and most of them cost £15 (there are a few exceptions, for instance a soap for £8! and a candle for £25!!). The site is easy to navigate and the purchasing process is easy, although I got the impression from the emails I received, that they don't deal with very many orders through that route... it seemed just a shade unprofessional.

In summary, the products, although scrumptious for a short amount of time, don't feel like good value for money and as a set of high-end organic, holistic pampering products, I'm not convinced how well they sit within the Maclaren brand.