Review: FinFun Mariana's Tidal Teal Mermaid Tail

Now that Summer is over, I can finally review my new tail skin: FinFun Mariana's Tidal Teal tail. 

Yeah, call me childish, but I have been reading the Mermaiden Tales that come up every once in a while at the Finfriends website.  I LOVED Scarlett's story and personality.  As a fan, I wanted to buy a Scarlet Red tail, but I did not really see myself in a red tail, even though it was gorgeous.  When her story took the turn it took, and she became Mariana, I wanted her new tail.

So this Summer I bought it as a gift to myself.  As always, buying at FinFun is easy.  I picked the Adult M size, chose the cheapest international shipping option, paid with Paypal and waited for it to arrive, as I was hoping I could take it with me for my holidays.  I think it took about a week, and it arrived in perfect conditions, in a sealed envelope, inside a plastic bag - no organza blue bag anymore - and with a Mermaidens sticker as gift.

The size is spot on, and let me tell you, it is GORGEOUS!  The tail itself has no front and back - same design on both sides - and it features the Mermaiden logo in the right fin tip (on both sides); I find it cool, it looks like a mermaid tatoo (!).  Now it has a smooth transition between the body of the tail and the fluke - no seam like in my Barracuda tail - and the colors are shades of blue, turquoise, and a bit of green and white.

Transition between tail and fluke - flawless!

Scales detail

As you can see it makes quite an statement!

The one thing that got my attention is the new reinforced tail tips.  I had seen a video on their website where they talk about this.  I was skeptical, until I saw my new tail had the new tips.  Mind you, none of my tails had ever had holes in their tips, but it is because I am totally paranoid over not scratching them anywhere.  That being said, I noticed the new tips are stronger, because they are covered in a kind of hard plastic (I don't really know what it is, but it feels like plastic to the touch).  Even though they stand out on land, they are invisible once in water.  With them, putting on and getting out the monofin is harder, but I would venture to say they really make the tips stronger.  The only bad thing I have to say about them is that they do not have drainage holes (like silicone tails use to have on their flukes), and so the water tends to accumulate in them when hung to dry.

See the white Mermaiden logo and the new reinforced tail tips

One of the good things about this tail is that it is longer, or has a new, different fluke pattern, than my Barracuda tail, and my Magictail monofin now is completely covered by the fabric - no white cover showing in the front or the back (yay!).

Regarding people's reactions, everybody said that it has a more vibrant color than my blue Magictail skin, and that the design is prettier.  It became everyone's favorite, and I find that it is competing hard with my blue Magictail in my heart - I am torn between the two.

Looking forward to using it next Summer!

New Mermaid Academy in Spain

A new Mermaid Academy has opened its doors in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands):

Gran Canaria Mermaids Swimming Academy

If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

First underwater video!

We are back from our holidays in Peñíscola, and here is my first underwater video, shot with our new aquatic camera.

I hope you enjoy it!

Update on the Magictail Monofin

As I mentioned in the previous post, my Magictail monofin broke.  Here are some pics of the fracture line:

As you can see, the fracture is very small, but I guess it will get bigger if I still keep on using it.  I will, just to see what happens.

Here is a YouTube video, doing a comparison between the old one and the new one:

The new Magictail in the pool, and new job!

Last week I went to my local swimming pool to use the Arielle Magictail for the first time.  I had a wondeful time; Mercedes, a swimming teacher, was there, and she took pictures and videos of me with the tail with her cell phone, and she was nice enough to share them with me:

You can see the seaweed top made by Raven of Merbella Studios

She was delighted when I showed her how to make bubble rings; she said she would like to teach their students how to do them:

I hate that they make swimmers use swim caps; the do not match well with my mermaid persona....  But later Mercedes and I took pictures of us together, and also the life saver, Ricardo, wanted to have one with me.  We have been having great weather these days in Spain, so it is a delight to go swimming.  Now I cannot do it as frequently as I would like, because I HAVE A JOB!!

I am working in the same hospital as hubby, even in the same floor, but with a reumatologist that is researching rheumatoid arthritis.  I started on March, and I am so happy with the job and with my co-workers.  It is wonderful to be back in the working force, although I miss a bit the free time I used to have.  Blog posts will begin to be less frequent, and the shop cannot have as many things as it had before, for the lack of time.  The great thing is the check that I get at the end of the month!

My next post will be a review of the seaweed top, and some notes about the Magictail monofin; also, some advice to take care of your Magictail skins.

See you soon, and happy Easter to all of you that observe the day; to the rest, have a wonderful Sunday!

Another visit to the pool

So today I went again for a swim at the town pool.  

It was almost empty, I spent all the time alone in my lane, just swimming up and down.  No kids today.  

But I had two staff members coming to check out my mermaid tail.  One of them asked if she could take pictures, and we chatted a bit about how I began to swim like this.  They had never seen, or even heard of, mermaid tails and I referred them to YouTube for videos.

A good thing is, I was not very tired when I finished my session; I mean, my core and leg muscles were a bit sore, but my lungs and diafragm were not tired after all the breath holding, which I found very rewarding.  Last week I was able to swim all the pool lenght in one breath, which was also exhilarating.  Must try that again tomorrow.  Almost 8 years without swimming can put a strain in your lung capacity.  Mine used to be great, but not anymore.  I am trying to improve on that...

And, remember I put pearls on my toes?  They were fine after one hour of swimming with the monofin on, which was great.  I will be doing the mermaid scale manicure again this week, sans the pearls.  Hubby does not really like them.