Monday, June 3, 2013

Princess Grace Bowtique: Review and Giveaway (Closed)


My daughter's hair, much like its owner, has a mind of its own.


We usually just let it do its thang 'cause, well, she's a toddler and at this age she can get away with it. ;)  But occasionally I do try to clean things up for daycare, for a special occasion, or when it's clear the unruly strands are beginning to irk her. Historically I've tended toward standard piggies secured with those teeny little elastics but then, a couple months ago at a play group, I spotted a gal about S' age sporting the most adorable flowered headband. Aha, I thought, now that's a stylish AND practical way to tame those toddler tresses - I must score me some of those! I turned to Etsy and a quick search led me to Princess Grace Bowtique, a shop based in Toronto, Ontario which offers a wide variety of hand-made baby, toddler and girl hair accessories: no slip hair clips, hair bows, felt hair clips, headbands and flowers.


The owner is an active mom of three - two older boys and (as you likely guessed!) a little princess - the shop's namesake! Princess Grace models her mom's lovely creations, and the two boys help test out colour combinations for new items to sell. When I contacted the owner about reviewing a selection of her products on my own little wild-haired child, she was game and sent me a generous assortment of headbands, no slip hair clips and specialty felt clips.


I received three headbands (two satin and one lace), each one adorned with a purty jewelled flower in a different colour and style.


Each of the bands is stretchy enough to fit from baby to adult. (In fact, my hubby helpfully agreed to try on the purple lace one and, indeed, there was room to spare. Of course I snapped a pic but in the interest of remaining married I'll refrain from posting it here. ;) The flowers are all constructed well and firmly affixed to their bands, so they should have some good longevity.

I also received two sets of no slip hair clips (flower and ladybug designs) and two specialty felt clips (princess crown and blue jewelled flower designs).



All of these clips feature 1 3/4" partially-lined "alligator" style closures, and are lined with silicone no-slip grips to help them stay in place. All ribbon ends have been heat sealed to prevent fraying.


Now for the fun but challenging part - getting my own super-active princess to model the whole set! Naturally, as a 2-year-old, she's not a fan of sitting still nor does she love stuff going into her hair. As such, it took several sessions, but I finally managed to capture her in all her new bling!

First, a few comments on usability. I find the clips the easier of the two accessory types to secure in place; the alligator style (IMO) is vastly superior to the snap style found on most commercially-available clips as it allows you to basically apply and remove a clip with one hand, it's gentler on your little one and it's easier to get a snug fit. The no slip grip strip (try saying that 10x fast!) certainly keeps things in place through lots of active play, however it does surrender pretty easily to yanky little hands, which is good as this prevents rippage. The headbands are a bit trickier to get in the right spot with li'l one's hair smoothed down properly; distraction definitely helped here! Once in place, however, they stay put very well.

Alright, it's slideshow time!

Yellow flowered headband - love this style and colour on her!



Pink headband with white flower - I do find this flower a bit on the large side for her but overall still quite precious!



Rope flower hair clips - love these! Girly but not over-the-top, and she's a "pink girl" so they coordinate well with most of her outfits.


Ladybug hair clips - very cute and more casual. I like sending her to daycare in these....


...and look! Still in place after a fun-filled morning playing at the park!


Blue jewelled flower felt clip - one of the more sophisticated items we received.


Can we say "2 going on 22"??! *tear*


Purple lace headband - got her to model this one after bath time by enticing her with a bribe to stay up a bit later. ;) Her hair's always extra curly when she gets out of the tub, which added to the utter adorableness of this shot!


Princess crown felt flip - admittedly, neither my daughter nor I are the biggest fans of this piece. I think it's too big and chunky for S' fine hair and (as you can see) she wasn't the most thrilled to show it off either. I could see it looking pretty cute on a gal with thicker, coarser hair, though!


All in all, I'm very happy with the package of hair accessories we received from Princess Grace Bowtique - they're pretty, stylish, practical (the clips in particular) and appear to be very well made. Browsing through the shop, there are many more styles that would look great on our daughter, so a future shopping trip to add to her collection may be in store! :)


Buy It:

Head over to Princess Grace Bowtique to purchase some sweet hair accessories for your own little princess(es)! For a limited time, use the special discount code M2M20 and receive 20% off your order! Note that the shop will be closed for most of July and August, so get those orders in stat!! (Note: Etsy policies apply to all purchases.)


Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win $20 to spend at Princess Grace Bowtique - good toward products and shipping charges. Open to CAN/US.

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Princess Grace Bowtique.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample items free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.

25 comments:

  1. I love chevron stripes! http://www.etsy.com/listing/128677133/rainbow-chevron-barrettes-gift-set-no?ref=shop_home_feat

    I also liked the Pink Fabric Pony Buttons - unique! http://www.etsy.com/listing/101827085/pink-fabric-ponytail-buttons-hair-ties?ref=shop_home_active

    ReplyDelete
  2. http://www.etsy.com/listing/100330397/pink-baby-hair-bows-no-slip-grip?ref=shop_home_active

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  3. Black Satin headband with flower
    Tracey M

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  4. I love the Hair Clips in Turquoise and Pink - No Slip Grip. SO CUTE!!!!!
    BTW Your daughter is a DOLL!!!!
    CGruning at aol dot (com)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought this set was really cute and would match almost anything. http://ca.etsy.com/listing/128677133/rainbow-chevron-barrettes-gift-set-no?ref=shop_home_feat

    ReplyDelete
  6. I thought this set was really cute. http://ca.etsy.com/listing/128677133/rainbow-chevron-barrettes-gift-set-no?ref=shop_home_feat

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this headband
    http://ca.etsy.com/listing/67973302/satin-baby-headband-with-satin-and-pearl?ref=shop_home_active
    jjak2003 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pig Felt Hair Clip - Pink - No Slip Grip

    ReplyDelete
  9. http://www.etsy.com/listing/128713048/pink-crochet-butterflies-hair-clips?ref=shop_home_feat
    My rafflecopter name is Julie G.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really like the Gray and Black Flower Crochet Headband


    http://www.etsy.com/listing/101985112/gray-and-black-flower-crochet-heaband?ref=shop_home_active

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the satin headbands with bows or flowers. Here's one of my faves: http://ca.etsy.com/listing/98792659/navy-blue-satin-flower-headband-baby?ref=shop_home_active

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really like the party dots and the rainbow chevron clips! :)

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  13. They are all so cute.
    If I have to choose I would chose Pink Crochet Butterflies Hair Clips.

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  14. my pink-obsessed daughter would love this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/100309339/hot-pink-lace-headband-with-pearl?ref=shop_home_active

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the swirl ribbon patterned ribbon and the satin headbands!

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  16. I love the Blue Crochet Newsboy Visor Beanie Hat
    http://ca.etsy.com/listing/101825397/blue-crochet-newsboy-visor-beanie-hat?ref=shop_home_active
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  17. My daughters would love this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/87348938/pig-felt-hair-clip-pink-no-slip-grip?ref=shop_home_active.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Too cute! I love the Purple Satin Headband with Purple Hair Bow

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  19. I love these glitter bow clips, I'd pick silver and red!

    http://ca.etsy.com/listing/120257974/glitter-bow-hair-clips-choose-two?ref=shop_home_active

    demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I really like this green headband: http://ca.etsy.com/listing/60677078/butterfly-headband-light-green-lace?ref=shop_home_active

    P.S. My daughters name is Grace too so I love this even more! :)
    jbang0331 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh how fun! I just found out the gender of my baby, so this giveaway excites me! :)

    A couple of my favorite items in the shop are,

    Ivory Newborn Headband
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/57556358/infant-baby-ivory-headband-with-hair-bow?ref=shop_home_active

    and

    The Pink Chevron Clips
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/130884000/pink-chevron-hair-clips-no-slip?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=pink%2Bchevron

    seasidesmitten@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I like the Baby Toddler Hair Clips - Satin Flowers in Ivory and Pink - No Slip Hair clips.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oops...forgot link http://ca.etsy.com/listing/59943205/baby-toddler-hair-clips-satin-flowers-in?ref=shop_home_active

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sock Monkey Felt Hair Clip Barrette - No Slip Grip is super cute!

    ReplyDelete