From My Vanity

Beauty, Skincare, and a bit of Lifestyle

Get ready for hours of fun with Iello’s new game, Steam Park! (Game Review)

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I’ve really been looking forward to bringing this review to y’all. I’ve never done a review for a family game, but there’s always a first time for everything, right? 🙂 Let me know if you like the idea of me reviewing family games and I’ll be sure to repeat them in the future. My family loves big group games, so we have a ton in our game closet. 🙂

Okay, so board game publisher Iello (stands for yellow) sent me their new, robot-themed game called Steam Park
 to try out with my family.

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

HEADING FULL-STEAM INTO FUN!

In this management game you’ll have to build your own gigantic, coal-powered amusement park and make it the largest and most profitable in the region. By constructing the three-dimensional, beautifully designed rides, you will see your park grow right before your eyes.
But as owners of those fantastic steam park, building attractions won’t be enough: you’ll also need to manage your employees, invest in advertising in order to attract and please the different kinds of guests visiting your park, and, above all, keep the dirt you park produces under strict control!
Choose your strategy well! Build Stands to attract more Visitors, or Toilets to keep the Dirt under control. Whatever decision you take, take it quickly: the less time you spend planning, the more time you’ll have to maintain you Park.
Thanks to a clever, original action-choosing mechanic, winning a game of Steam Park is as much a matter of being the best… as of being the fastest! 
My Review…
First Impression…
I wasn’t sure what to expect in this game. While they company had a very fun description of the game, I wasn’t sure exactly how you’d play the game. I was really excited when it finally game in and I immediately began reading the instructions. 
The theme park rides you build!
I give Iello two big thumbs up on the way they wrote their instructions. It was so personable and fun! And some of the way’s they explained things was down-right funny. For example:

One of the players…will have the task of giving and receiving components and money on behalf of the bank for the other players (no, this player can’t steal money from the bank. This isn’t that home-wrecking game in which you have to make your relatives broke and desperate).

As a matter of fact, once a die is placed on the Pig board, it can’t be touched again until the actions phase. If you “inadvertently” change the result “by accident” on purpose, please know that you are a bad person, and we pity you, you despicable game-spirit-ruining cheater.

Who can help but chuckle as you read that?! My sister and I were having a lot of fun reading through the short instructions manual and finding more humorous instructions. What a way to spice up a game — and I loved it!
All the pieces, before we popped them
out and put them together
Packaging/Quality…
The box and all the different pieces inside are made from really thick, sturdy material. No flimsy paper items that will rip, crease, or dissolve when accidentally got wet! The material is really durable and will no doubt last for years — even with my rough-on-games family. 🙂 That earned Steam Park
 another big thumbs up from me!
Playing the Game…
It was SO much fun! At the beginning of the game you get a little plot of land to build your steam park on, and the name of the game is to make enough rides and have enough visitors to earn you the most money out of the other players — and the game only lasts 6 phases! 
From left to right – Rea, myself, Julia, and Jessica
All set up for our first game!
I will admit that it took us all a couple phases before we completely understood how it worked. But by the end of the 6 phases, we all had a good grasp on the name of the game and were ready to start the game over and begin in earnest as more experienced players. 🙂 Everyone loves this game — from my 8 year old sister all the way up to the adults in the house. For the first several weeks, my sisters played this game almost daily — and even now, a month after I got it in the mail, it’s still a popular game that the girls pick out. And I anticipate it being popular for years to come. 🙂
Some of the other items you
use when you play
Major Likes…
As I’ve already said, I love the way they wrote out the instructions for this game. It’s really humorous and totally tickles my funny bone. 🙂 I also really like that the game only lasts 6 phases. It helps it from not dragging out too long, like some popular group games (*cough* Monopoly *cough*). I like that Steam Park
 is different and unique — as I said earlier, my family has a ton of games, but we’ve never played a game like this one before.
Major Dislikes…
There really isn’t anything big that I dislike about the game. If there was one thing, it would be that some of the game pieces are kind of ‘dark’. The whole game has that feel to it, really, but some of the pieces have sculls on them and some kind of octopus-looking creature coming out of the window. Depending on your preference, you might like or dislike this aspect of the game. For myself, I don’t really think of it anymore.
Final Thoughts…
I thoroughly enjoy playing Steam Park
! All the aspects of the game that are important to me — quality of pieces, point of the game, and  overall appearance — got a big thumbs up from me. And it’s just plain fun to play! I would say that if you enjoy spending nights playing games, Steam Park
 is definitely one you should invest in. It will last forever and give you hours of fun and memories as you try to battle each other for the biggest theme park!
Places to find Iello…

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Mia Mariu is releasing a new line of perfume! (Review & Giveaway)

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It’s a new week and I’ve got some great posts scheduled for this week. I hope you stay tuned. 🙂 Don’t forget, my End-of-the-Year giveaway is almost over — get your entries in before the 16th! And make sure you stick through till the end of this post…as there’s a new giveaway! 😉

For today, I’ve got a perfume review for you. I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed perfume on here before for y’all. Let me know if you like these kinds of reviews and I’ll be sure to repeat them in the future. 🙂

Cosmetic company, Mia Mariu, sent me a women’s fragrance from their new perfume line. The fragrance is called Magia.

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

“enchanting, flirty, sensual…deliciously unforgettable” 

This deliciously flirtatious fragrance invigorates the senses, creates a mood and sets the scene for unforgettable fun, romance and pleasure. With a medley of juicy strawberry, mandarin, peach and pear that play sweetly atop dewy blooms of jasmine, plum, magnolia and flirty frangipani; makes the perfect playmate and ideal soul mate for smooth and sensual base notes of rich vanilla, musk, tonka bean and warm and enchanting golden amber.

My Review…

The Packaging…
The fragrance is packaged in a very simplistic and sophisticated way. As you can see from the picture, it’s just a clear, glass bottle with a square lid and the Mia Mariu name brand on it along with the fragrance name. All the lettering is in pink, which makes for a very cute and girly bottle. I think it’s pretty! The lid doesn’t snap on very tightly, but it is pretty secure…as long as you don’t pick the bottle up by the lid. This bottle is 1.7 oz, which is a fairly good size for a perfume. All in all, I was very satisfied with the packaging.

The Fragrance…
I am terrible at describing scents (which is why I made sure to add the fragrance description above for your benefit), but the Magia is a lovely smell! I’m always leery of getting a fragrance online, because I don’t know if I’ll like it — I have to physically smell it. I’m the type of person who likes light, floral scents with maybe some touches of citrus in them, so it’s always hard for me to order fragrances online. If you are similar to me in your fragrance preferences, then let me highly encourage you to purchase this fragrance! It is a delightful scent! Definitely reminds me of a floral scent, but I can get the hint of the citrus-y side of it, too. Mia Mariu has come out with a perfect blend that will thrill many women!

Major Likes & Dislikes…
Well, my major like is that I love the scent! (Haha, that’s pretty important in a fragrance, huh? 😉 I love wearing this and, as you can see in the pictures I took, I’ve put a pretty decent dent in this bottle already. The lasting power of Magia is awesome — I can spritz my wrist in the morning, and several hours later in the afternoon I can still smell it on my wrist. The nozzle of the bottle kind of spritzs out a lot for one area, but that might just be my preference. But that’s really the only dislike that I can think of — which isn’t a big problem, in my opinion. 🙂

Final Thoughts…
Magia is a wonderful fragrance that will delight and please a wide variety of women. The fragrance does a great job of clinging to your skin and the scent will last for hours. I don’t know what more you could ask for in a fragrance! 🙂 Mia Mariu did a fabulous job in creating this perfume and I look forward to what they bring to their fragrance line next!

For those who are not aware, along with Magia, they have three other fragrances — two, of which, are for guys! 🙂

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


The Giveaway…

Mia Mariu has kindle offered to sponsor a giveaway! I am so excited that one of you will be able to try out their new perfume for themselves! The winner will be able to choose from three of their fragrances in their MM line — MM Aqua for Men, MM Caoba for Men, and MM Magia for Women.

Below are the rules to enter this giveaway and, as always, the Rafflecopter is how I will keep track of entries. 🙂 

Rules: This giveaway is only open to GFC follower of Legacy of a Writer, so be sure you are a follower! There are many chances to earn extra entries, so be sure to come back every day to take advantage of them. 🙂 This giveaway will run for three weeks, ending at midnight on Monday, February 3rd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway