I know I say cheap, but it actually isn't for what you get: $2 for 30g of product vs. $2-3 (with a Michael's coupon) for 57g of Sculpey at Michael's, so you're actually paying more for less product here.
It says made in Japan, so I'm assuming you can only get this in Canada through Daiso (or Oomomo) and the package says it takes about 3 days to dry for a sphere of 0.39" - which leads me to think that this is an air dry clay, and it was. I always thought "polymer clay" means that you need to bake it in order for it to harden, so I'm not sure what defines a polymer clay anymore - perhaps this clay is made of plastics/same type of material as Sculpey/FIMO clays? Which I highly doubt because they are the furthest thing away from Sculpey in terms of performance!!
The stock at Oomomo varies - the first time I went to their First Markham Place location, they had lavender, mint and white colors but the second time, they had only two pieces of light yellow. I grabbed one of each to test out and I was thinking of making marshmallows with them because the colors looked pretty.
Well... let me tell you, those marshmallows didn't turn out so well. I didn't take any photos of the clay in action because I think the coloured clays had some small air leaks (maybe due to people squishing the packages at the store) and it was kind of tough to work with. I perhaps could've added some water to it (as I saw someone doing in some tutorials on Youtube) but basically I had to work quickly so the clay wouldn't crack and crumble because it dries rather fast. The white color clay behaved totally different though - it was much more moist and elastic and was better to work with than the coloured ones. I also noticed that the coloured clays didn't fill up the package entirely and had quite a bit of head space - whereas the white clay was filled all the way to the edges and clung to the packaging - perhaps a manufacturing flaw?
In the end I made a bunch of random things to turn into charms... I hope it'll turn out well because I had to come up with ideas on the spot because I had to use up all the clay. That's the one thing I don't like about air dry clays - I never figured out how to store the remaining portions so that it doesn't dry out over time. That's how I ended up wasting the resin clays I've bought in the past because I'd end up using so little each time. With polymer clay, I've literally used the same piece of clay for 5 years and it was still good. Sometimes I'm not feeling inspired to make anything and I end up not using the clay for a while so that's why I tend not to reach for air dry clays.... except I wanted to try this because it's a small amount.
Overall, this "polymer clay" from Daiso/Oomomo performs nothing like actual polymer clays like Sculpey or FIMO, but most closely resembles Grace resin clay - very stretchy and dries to a hard waterproof, translucent, slightly flexible and matte finish. Fun to work with however and doesn't pick up dust or fingerprints as easily. But because it's very elastic, it's not good at holding small details and textures like Sculpey.
I would use this for specific projects or items that require these properties but I'm happier sticking with my Sculpey! I hope this has been a helpful review for those who are curious about this clay. I know Daiso has a few other clays and resin too, but judging from this, they're better off for one-time crafters. Save your money and get actual polymer clay! Or just get the white one to play around with. I didn't try mixing any pigments into it however since I read a review that it turned too sticky and unworkable with the addition of acrylic paint. I have plans to paint over these with acrylics anyway so I didn't bother.
Anyway - this is it for my short review! I hope to share the finished products soon once they are all fully dry!
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