Hello everyone!
Sorry for the silence, I got the flu last week and have had no energy nor time to blog in a lil' while. But today I will do a review for a store that sells acrylic jewellery in all shapes, colors and sizes and it's very useful for cosplayers and costumers alike!
Allstarco contacted me during summer asking if I wanted to review their products and after a quick check online I decided to accept the offer, thinking that this review could be useful for a lot of people out there who lack the materials or skills to cast their own resin gems etc and are looking to just buy them ready-made!
Let's do this~
Kindly note that the items I'm reviewing in this post were sponsored, for review purposes, by Allstarco but that all opinions and text is my own. I never compromise my honesty regardless of if I paid for the products with my own money or not.
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| My order arrived like this, nice and simple. |
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| Package contents. |
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| Color chart! |
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| So many pretty colors... ~ |
Allstarco sells a whole lot of acrylic gems with different fastening methods (sew-on, glue on, self-adhesive) and in a myriad of different colors, shapes and sixes! Their products range from plastic rhinestones, gems and diamonds to studs, cabochons and specialized tools and accessories like stud setters etc. You're almost certain to find what you might need for your costume, in other words. I was honestly really positively surprised by the amount of variation, it shows the dedication and knowledge of the needs of the creative and crafting communities – there's even a category for extra-large cosplay gems!
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| The diamond packs. |
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| The round "pirate treasure" packs. |
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| The octagon "pirate treasure" packs. |
Here's a list below of the items I ordered, along with links to the product pages:
Quality: The quality is as one might expect of plastic gems in general, nothing ultra amazing but seem durable and certainly fun for parties and games. The gems are pretty lightweight and look cool, they shine nicely when the light hits them (I love sparkly things!) but I sadly didn't manage to capture this effect well on the camera for some reason – they look a lot nicer in person, I promise! Especially the red ones were really hard to photograph and look more dull and dark than what they actually are.
I don't think that the gems feel cheap but rather affordable for the price. I did notice though that they are not in mint condition by any means; there's visible surface scratches on pretty much every gemstone (possibly from rubbing againt each other?) but it's nothing that really bothers me that much personally. There might also be imperfections such as small air bubbles trapped within the gems or various marks and snags from the production. Again, this kind of damage does not bother me in this particular case as it's minor and not super visible, unless you look closely or the light hits a certain way to reveal the imperfections.
The visibility of the gems is generally good and clear, as in that when you look through/into the plastic it doesn't seem overly dim, blurry or dirty. It's not crystal clear but clear enough to still look valuable, if that makes sense. xD Sure that these acrylic gems still look fake, especially when compared to real gemstones because these gems are obviously plastic, but you get the point.
I couldn't find the information on the site but I asked through mail and was told that most of the products are made in Canada, which gets a thumb up from me. But some of the newer products (I don't know which ones are concerned) have moved production to Asia because of the cost, most likely to China.
Product close-up images below, all photos taken by me outdoors:
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| 5mm clear diamonds. |
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| 12mm clear diamonds |
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| 20mm clear diamonds. |
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| Blue round "pirate jewels". |
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| Red round "pirate jewels". |
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| Amber octagon "pirate jewels". |
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| Green octagon "pirate jewels". |
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| Purple octagon "pirate jewels". |
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That's about all I had to say for this review about Allstarco, based on my experiences and impressions! Below's some quick grades and summary for the lazier readers.
Quality ★★★☆☆
Price ★★★★☆
Value ★★★★☆
Shipping ★★★★★
Customer service ★★★★★
Summary: Allstarco is a Canada based specialty online store with a focus on all kinds of acrylic gems for cosplay, costuming (including live-action roleplay) and crafting projects. There's a huge sortiment of shapes, sizes, colors and styles and at generally affordable prices too. Allstarco carries rhinestones, studs, acrylic gems, cabochons etc and even stick-on gems for your face! If your next cosplay is from Sailor Moon, Steven Universe, League of Legends or even Fortnite and you are stuck on the gem part then give Allstarco a shot, odds are they have what you need! And even if you aren't a costumer you can have use of their products for things like wedding decorations, table scatters, parties and games with kids, Halloween, school projects and much more! Only your imagination is the limit. I'm surprised I did not know of them before this, especially as I've several times had the thought of "okay so where the heck can I get a gem like that?" lol.
Use exclusive discount coupon 20SHIROSAMURAI for 20% off on your purchase!
I
also feel a need to state a small disclaimer and say that I am very well aware that, as a blogger
and reviewer, that I'm more likely to be given better service than average. But based on
this collaboration and the products that I received I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Allstarco. I will surely keep them in mind for future projects as it's great to know that there's a dedicated store for crafters and cosplayers out there that focuses on filling all your gem needs, in one place.
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Thank you for reading. Thank you Allstarco for this opportunity!
~ Shiro Samurai out.
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