Cotton Candy Lucky Charms

Name: Cotton Candy Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Every new year, the cereal manufacturers release a bunch of new flavors all at once. It's usually the biggest cereal haul of the year. This year, it took me until Easter to review them all. Then I had a short break; but it wasn't long before the summer flavors hit the shelves. I had just finished a box of Lucky Charms with JUMBO Rainbows over the break, so I wasn't too keen on getting another one - just with JUMBO Unicorns this time - so soon. But then I saw this cereal. How could I pass it up?

Cotton candy is a pretty creative flavor for cereal. (Although what is the flavor of cotton candy, besides just "sugar"?). I love the concept and presentation of this cereal, which is a good thematic match for this brand. And I like that they incorporated unicorns into the theme - with three new marshmallows! (Although they just recolored their manes).

Upon opening the box, you get an unmistakable whiff of cotton candy. But the appearance of this cereal leaves something to be desired. Traditionally, cotton candy comes in pink and blue (which are the colors that most remind me of Pride - being that it's June - since I lean more toward the trans end of the rainbow). How delightful would that have been? But instead we get a speckled purple that's so dark, it almost looks brown.

How does it taste? It's not quite like biting into a puff of cotton candy. The flavor is subtler than I would have imagined (I guess you could say it's light and ephemeral, like cotton candy itself); after the first bite, you mostly just taste the oats. Granted, I like Lucky Charms even plain, and the whole vibe of this cereal makes me happy. But since I'm not blown away by the cotton candy flavor, I'm only going to rate it two bowls and not three.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Deep purple, but otherwise kinda plain.

Strawberry Lucky Charms

Name: Strawberry Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I had just missed Fruity Lucky Charms around the time that I started this blog, but this tie-in with the new Super Mario Galaxy movie reminds me of that cereal. I like how putting Mario on the front of the box opposite Lucky emphasizes how much Lucky's green outfit makes him look like Luigi.

The oat pieces are coated in a pretty pink layer of strawberry flavoring - which would have made them the perfect base for my Pixie Charms fantasy cereal. However, the "galactic marshmallows" just look like swirled blue, red, and green lemons. Apparently, General Mills didn't learn with their Galactic Lucky Charms that as cool a concept as space is, you really can't effectively represent something as nebulous as a "galaxy" in the form of a dehydrated marshmallow bit.

The small yellow stars, on the other hand, look great. (As cool as the unicorns and rainbows are, it's a testament to the importance of simplicity when it comes to marshmallow design). There are stars of all different colors drawn on the side of the box - I think the cereal would have looked better if they had ditched all the other marshmallows and just focused on the stars. Anyway, it's a lot better than the last Super Mario cereal I tried - you can't go wrong with Lucky Charms - and even better still with fresh strawberries cut up into it!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Purple like an overcast sky - every stargazer's worst nightmare.

Rainbow Sprinkles Lucky Charms

Name: Rainbow Sprinkles Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: With every cereal I review, I become a more seasoned critic. But it can also feel like I'm repeating myself sometimes. This is a birthday cake flavored version of Lucky Charms - and my opinion on birthday cake is well-documented. It's colorful, but it's not one of my favorite flavors. And this version of Lucky Charms isn't even that pretty (although I like the fading gradient on the front of the box). The "confetti sprinkle pieces" are not just underwhelming - they're downright disappointing! You can barely see them. With a corn rather than oat base (much like Honey Clovers), the cereal pieces resemble yellow cake. Apparently, the debut of JUMBO Rainbows drained the charm's teleportation power, because you can follow a maze on the back of this box to help Lucky recharge his rainbow charm. You won't be surprised to learn that this isn't the best version of Lucky Charms I've tried. It's prefectly edible, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Grey as a storm cloud, and tastes a bit like frosting.

Lucky Charms JUMBO Rainbows

Name: Lucky Charms Jumbo Rainbows
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: While it's as good an excuse as any to have a [Giant Size] box of Lucky Charms, I doubted whether having jumbo rainbow marshmallows was enough of a reason to give this cereal its own review. My opinion on Lucky Charms (which is one of my lifelong favorites) is well-documented, so the only thing in question is what effect, if any, these jumbo marshmallows have on my experience of eating it.

"Wherever you dream to go, it's possible with Lucky's jumbo rainbow!" Since the regular rainbow charm already gives Lucky the power to teleport, I'm interpreting the jumbo charm to give Lucky the power to teleport to places he's never been before (to boldly go...). Unless the idea is that he can teleport to fantastical places located in the realm of pure imagination? General Mills, please clarify.

Anyway, it's a pretty superficial modification - every once in a while, you'll get a bite with a larger marshmallow. It's not the best, but also not the worst novelty marshmallow I've seen in Lucky Charms. The size difference does disrupt the cereal's uniformity somewhat, so I don't expect it'll stick around (do they ever?). But it is nice to dig into the cereal and get a stronger impression of "rainbows!" than usual.

For better or worse (your mileage may vary), General Mills has managed to emphasize rainbows with this cereal, without tying it to gay pride. I support gay pride (and silence on this issue can speak volumes in this day and age); but I also recognize that, as a meteorological phenomenon, rainbows aren't intrinsically gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I believe they deserve to maintain a life outside of gay pride, too.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Blue-grey and marshmallow-y (like the sky after it rains).

Lucky Charms

Name: Lucky Charms
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: As novelty variations of classic cereals go, there are a lot of versions of Lucky Charms that simply feature the superficial addition of a new marshmallow (few of which ever stick around) - so I've basically already reviewed this cereal many times over. To reiterate, it's fairly plain, but it's the best marshmallow-based cereal on the market, as the plain oat pieces allow the marshmallows to shine, instead just being an add-on. (It's like the difference between the cherry on top of a sundae, and a cherry pie). I was recently looking through my baby book, and I noted that my favorite food was listed as Lucky Charms. So it makes sense that this is one of my favorite cereals. After all, I've been eating it for a long time.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Marshmallow-y!

Kelce Mix

Name: Kelce Mix
Variation: Reese's Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I have no idea who "Kelce" is, or why he's important enough to have a cereal named after him. Frankly, I don't care. The less said about those two ugly mugs staring back at me from the front of the box, the better. Now, the cereal - this is a truly intriguing mix of three cereals I like, with very different flavors: cinnamon, marshmallow, and peanut butter & chocolate. The instant I saw it in the store, I wanted to see how it all tastes together. Notwithstanding my recent Monster Combos, I haven't had a good cereal mix since Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX! So let's dig in.

Right out of the box, this cereal presents a visual cohesion that belies the varied nature of its components. It's all shades of tan and light brown, with the marshmallows providing a nice pop of color. It's a surreal phenomenon, but I can identify the flavors of each of the individual cereals if I focus on them. Together, the taste is not unpleasant - though I feel like it could use more marshmallows. It's not as good as any of the cereals individually (I don't think it would satisfy a craving for any particular one), but the sheer audacity of combining them all together makes you feel like a bit of a maverick for eating it. I'm not going to say I love it, but I definitely like it. This has certainly been one of the more memorable cereal experiments I've tried this year.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Carries hints of the various flavors, but altogether relatively plain.

Chocolatey Chocolate Lucky Charms

Name: Chocolatey Chocolate Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I was pretty surprised when I saw this new version of Chocolate Lucky Charms on the shelf. Not only is it chocolate, but it's chocolatey chocolate! I thought, "how different could it be?" But, you know I had to try it. It has a combination of regular Lucky Charms marshmallows, and new chocolate-flavored marshmallows. Honestly, I suspect it's just a slightly rebranded version of Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows that we saw last fall, which is pretty much the same thing. It's basically what you would get if you mixed Chocolate Lucky Charms with Count Chocula. I should love it - and I do like it - but at this point I feel like we're just retreading old ground. And I actually miss the bright colors of Lucky Charms' original marshmallows.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Chocolatey, but not as chocolatey as Cocoa Puffs.

Berry Swirl Lucky Charms

Name: Berry Swirl Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: This year's new Berry Swirl Lucky Charms would seem to be our replacement for long lost Fruity Lucky Charms, and it looks like an upgraded model! Not only are there new berry marshmallows - and mmm, they're almost juicy! - but the "oat" pieces (I noticed with interest that this version of Lucky Charms uses a corn base) are vibrantly colored in rainbow shades, as if you'd added Lucky Charms marshmallows to a bowl of Trix. It's the most colorful cereal since Fruity Pebbles! And while it's not quite as fruity-flavored as that cereal (although I like it better than Berry Pebbles), it is noticeably fruity. Like a bit of sunshine at the end of the rainbow, this cereal is poised to brighten your mornings. I predict it will be popular.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Pink, and mildly berry-flavored.

Lucky Charms Hidden Dragon

Name: Lucky Charms Hidden Dragon Reveals in Milk
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Check it out - Lucky's new charm gives him the power "to reveal what is hidden"! (Now there's a great power). I have mixed feelings about the appearance of the new marshmallows. Dry, they have a multi-colored, speckled look that effectively imitates the pattern of dragons' eggs (as if that were a real thing). But they do have a tendency to look just like messier versions of the unicorn marshmallow. The way they change color in milk (the white parts dissolve to reveal more color) is cool, but they don't change shape, so it's not like you can't tell what you're gonna get. I like the vibrant colors (the green eggs and the red and yellow flames look great), but I fear the dragons might suffer from the same problem as Galactic Lucky Charms' marshmallows did, in simply being too busy.

I've also seen boxes without the hidden reveal.

Nonetheless, it's a great concept for this cereal. And it tastes just like regular Lucky Charms, so there's no gamble there. That said, I'm a little disappointed that Magic Gems are already nowhere to be seen. What's the point of getting new marshmallows if none of them stick around? And how many different marshmallows does this cereal need, anyway? But I guess that's the nature of the novelty market...

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mildly oat-y and sweet.

Chocolate Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows

Name: Chocolate Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I knew Carmella Creeper was coming before she arrived on shelves, but I was surprised to find Lucky Charms with a new Halloween version of its cereal this year. I imagine it's poised to compete with Kellogg's Chocolate Frosted Flakes with Spooky Marshmallows - which I saw conspicuously missing from the store where I picked this box up, even though they had both Froot Loops and Apple Jacks with Spooky Marshmallows (albeit on the back end display of the aisle - did Kellogg's lose some bids with the marketing guild this year?).

Functionally, this is just Chocolate Lucky Charms like we've seen before, but with an even wider array of marshmallows. I do believe these Haunted Marshmallows are the same ones you can find in Count Chocula. Obviously, I love it - and the marketing is fun. The back of the box humorously features Lucky dressed up as a unicorn, and a unicorn dressed up as Lucky! But isn't the Halloween cereal market already pretty saturated as it is?

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mildly chocolatey.

Just Magical Marshmallows

Name: Just Magical Marshmallows
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Just Magical Marshmallows is available in eight different packages, highlighting each of Lucky's standard charms, with a cheesy limerick on each one, describing the featured charm's magical power. For reference, hearts bring things to life, stars give the power of flight, horseshoes can speed up time, clovers grant good fortune, blue moons give the power of invisibility, unicorns add color to the world, rainbows allow you to teleport, and red balloons can make things float. If you could have only one, which power would you choose? I bought a bag featuring the unicorn based on aesthetics, but invisibility is usually my power of choice.

Anyway, I'm sure this product is meant to be used as a mix-in or a topping, but I read about a promotion where they released boxes of Lucky Charms that were nothing but marshmallows, and I felt left out. So this is my big chance! Besides, when I opened Lucky Charms S'mores, the box was top-loaded with marshmallows, and those first couple of bowls were really good. Let's dig in!

It's like the best bowl of Lucky Charms you've ever eaten! Marshmallows - and nothing but marshmallows - in every bite! It's like Oops! All Berries, but for Lucky Charms instead of Cap'n Crunch! In all seriousness, though, it's just too much marshmallow. I actually find I'm missing the regular pieces (as bland as they are), just to act as a contrast. The concept is quite alluring, but I'm not THAT much of a hedonist... Still, these marshmallow packs are useful. They can even make a box of Frosted Flakes halfway palatable!

Rating: 🥣 as a cereal, but 🥣🥣🥣 as a mix-in or topping
Leftover Milk: Marshmallow-y, to say the least.

Lucky Charms & Cocoa Puffs Minis

It was a fun surprise when I walked into stores this spring and discovered that General Mills had expanded its Minis lineup (initially launched last fall) to include Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs. Of course I had to try them!

Name: Lucky Charms Minis
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Trix may have been the most visually impressive of the Minis cereals, but Lucky Charms is the most structurally interesting, given that it has both mini puffs AND mini marshmallows (which are positively adorable!). The puffs give it more of a crunch than regular Lucky Charms (with a texture that is perhaps more akin to Marshmallow Clusters or Honey Clovers), but I'm afraid the marshmallows have not benefitted from this cereal being put under the shrink ray, as the balance has shifted subtly away from them. Still, it's a decent facsimile of the original cereal. Not an improvement, once again, but a fun novelty nonetheless.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: I detect notes of marshmallow and corn.

Name: Cocoa Puffs Minis
Variation: Cocoa Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: This is one of the more straightforward of the Minis cereals - like Reese's Puffs without the peanut butter. The only difference from the regular cereal is that the puffs have shrunk! It has a really good cocoa flavor, and I like the crisp crunchiness of the mini puffs; which, again, you have a tendency to want to shovel into your mouth. It's not flashy, but I think that, along with Trix (which IS flashy), I think this is one of the cereals that has benefitted most from the Minis treatment.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Tastes like a chocolate syrup milkshake!

Once again, the backs of these boxes contain punch-out additions to the mini kitchens we've built before - adding an art room and a game room to our mini cereal mansion. And, because I did it last time, these two cereals taste great together, too! (It's basically Chocolate Lucky Charms Minis). I think these two were a worthy addition to the Minis lineup - I'm glad they expanded it. Come fall, will there be Cookie Crisp and Honey Nut Cheerios Minis on the shelves? I'd like to see that!

Lucky Charms S'mores

Name: Lucky Charms S'mores
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Although this could simply be considered Chocolate Lucky Charms with graham crackers added (it also has S'mores marshmallows, in addition to the usual Lucky Charms marshmallows), it holds considerably more promise than CinnaGraham Toast Crunch because Chocolate Lucky Charms has two things Cinnamon Toast Crunch doesn't have - chocolate and marshmallows. Which are the two other thirds of a S'more. So really, this is a combination of Chocolate Lucky Charms and Honey Maid S'mores (not Kellogg's Smorz, because that cereal has chocolate-covered graham crackers), which are two of my favorite cereals. Which of the two it tastes more like really just depends on the combination of ingredients in your bowl (my box was top-loaded with marshmallows). Either way, I love it! I wonder what they'll put graham crackers in next year. Marshmallow Cocoa Pebbles would be a good choice.

The picture on the back of the box is pretty.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Could be a little more flavorful.

Chocolate Lucky Charms

Name: Chocolate Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I already love Lucky Charms, and my favorite cereals tend to be chocolate with marshmallows, so really, this is a no-brainer. If there's any flaw with Lucky Charms, it's that the regular pieces are so dull (although I maintain that the balance between those pieces and the marshmallows is what defines the classic cereal), so making them chocolate is an obvious choice. This cereal should be as ubiquitous as chocolate versions of other classics (e.g., Chocolate Toast Crunch, Cocoa Krispies, Cocoa Pebbles), but you don't see it as often, do you? This is a limited edition that was released for St. Patrick's Day, so it has clovers, coins, and pots of gold for marshmallows. The milk leftover is not the most chocolatey I've tasted, but it's enough to make it worth drinking!

Also available with the standard complement of marshmallows.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Mildly chocolatey.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX!

Name: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX!
Variation: Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Two cereals that I already love, together in one box? Obviously, the flavors of each individual cereal will be appreciated, but how well do they go together? You can't just throw any two flavors together and expect them to mesh. My verdict? I think it works, but it's not inventing any new, unforgettable combination. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces add some variety to the plainness of Lucky Charms' non-marshmallow pieces, and the marshmallows add some variety to the sameness of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces. I think the predominant flavor is Lucky Charms, with a hint of cinnamon here and there, but the texture of the toast pieces definitely makes it feel like a different cereal than Lucky Charms. I like it. I'd eat it again. But I don't think I'll be mixing these two cereals together myself at home any time soon. Love to try some other mixes, though. I know they're out there.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Cinna-marshmallowy.

Lucky Charms Magic Gems

Name: Lucky Charms Magic Gems
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Lucky Charms introduces a new marshmallow! Taste-wise, it's the Lucky Charms you're used to, so my rating is going to hinge on how I like the new marshmallow. And unlike the "galaxy" marshmallows in Galactic Lucky Charms, which were vague and overly complicated, the magic gem is not only simple and visually appealing (I love the diamond-like rainbow "sparkles"), but thematically a brilliant addition to Lucky's charms. Whether or not it maintains its scarcity remains to be seen, but I for one would welcome it joining the regular lineup.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Only slightly marshmallow-y.

Lucky Charms Honey Clovers

Name: Lucky Charms Honey Clovers
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Here's an intriguing concept - Lucky Charms, but where the plain pieces are flavored with honey. I think there's a lot of similarity between this cereal and Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters, as the Honey Clovers add a crunchiness to the cereal, but they don't seem as bulky as the Marshmallow Clusters (which is a plus in my book). The difference is, of course, the honey flavor. I keep expecting these honey cereals to be extra sweet, but it's actually more of an earthy flavor. No wonder it's frequently paired with nuts. Anyway, this cereal is pretty good.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: A faint hint of honey.

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters

Name: Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: So this is basically Lucky Charms, but with the plain pieces replaced with marshmallow-coated clusters - kind of like mini Rice Krispies treats. Let's be honest, it's a pretty great idea. I mean, Lucky Charms is all about the marshmallows, right? And the plain pieces in regular Lucky Charms are nothing to write home about. But while the marshmallow clusters are crunchy (even in milk!), they border on being too big and hard to chew. In regular Lucky Charms, the plain pieces set off the marshmallows in a perfect balance that I feel is being upset here. Don't get me wrong, this cereal tastes good, but I feel like it's not living up to its full potential.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Plain.

Galactic Lucky Charms

Name: Galactic Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I originally spotted this novel edition of Lucky Charms last summer with a Space Jam promotion. I was prepared to post it as a flashback, then I spied some more boxes in Target recently. It tastes just like regular Lucky Charms - which would normally earn it a rating of three bowls. However, as much as I love the subject of space, I'm not impressed with the look of the new marshmallows. The appeal of Lucky Charms' marshmallows is their simplicity and recognizability. These "galaxy" shapes are too vague - dare I say, nebulous? - and the multi-colored approach just looks busy. Therefore, I'm docking one bowl from the rating because, although I would buy it on occasion just for the novelty, I don't feel that the new marshmallows add anything substantial to the original cereal.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Plain.

Lucky Charms Magic Clovers

Name: Lucky Charms Magic Clovers
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Magic Clovers is basically Lucky Charms' Halloween Crunch - it tastes just like the regular cereal, but it turns the milk green! The difference is merely cosmetic, but in a way that's fun. With the marshmallow shapes restricted to gold coins, four leaf clovers, and pots of gold, this is the perfect cereal to eat around St. Patrick's Day. I make a point to grab a box every year.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Plain, but green!