Shopkins Li'l Secrets by Moose Toys

Thank you so much for all of the words of comfort and affirmation in the last review.  I love this community.  You guys keep me sane.  As if things in the world weren't explosive enough already, Andy and I spent the last week thinking about whether or not we should move to another state.  We'd like to be closer to our kids, and as nice as New Jersey is, it doesn't really feel like home.  So that's a whole thing.  I'm actually on a train right now, headed back to New Jersey after looking at a house that we're considering.

Being on the train gives me an excellent chance to finish up this review, though!  It's been in the works for too long.  Back in November, when I reviewed Polly Pocket, I got an anonymous comment encouraging me to look at the Shopkins Li'l Secrets.  These are discontinued miniature playset toys with the same basic idea as the Polly Pocket compacts--but with a locking mechanism feature on the cover.  Sounds pretty cool, right?  I thought so.  I purchased a few Li'l Secrets sets right after reading that comment, and have been eager to investigate ever since!

Shopkins Li'l Secrets by Moose Toys, 2018.

I'm very grateful to whoever suggested these toys, because I hadn't thought much about Shopkins since 2014, when I reviewed some of the food figures:

Shopkins D'lish Donut (2014).

I also reviewed a Li'l Shoppie doll, Rainbow Kate, in 2016:

Shopkins Shoppie, Rainbow Kate.

Shopkins are no longer being made, but they had a good decade-long run: from 2013 until 2023.  The Li'l Secrets came out in 2018, and stuck around for four waves or "seasons."

Today I'm going to be looking at three Li'l Secrets sets, and these are basically the ones I could find on eBay for reasonable prices.  One of them is a large Season One combination lock, and the other two are Season Three bag tag key locks:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets lock sets.

Each set comes with a folding compact-like lock, and a mini doll called a Teeny Shoppie.

I'll look at the smaller locks first, even though they came out later (in 2019).  I'm not sure what the original retail price on these sets was, but they can still be found on the secondary market for under $10.  I got mine for just over $5 without shipping.

The first set is called Le Sweet Petite Café:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets Le Sweet Petite Café (2019).

It comes inside a small plastic box with cardboard decorations on the back and at the bottom:

The cardboard on the back has cartoon pictures of the Teeny Shoppies, and some photographs of the actual locks.  Unfortunately, there's a sticker covering one of the photos:

I peeled the sticker off, and underneath there's just a picture of a lock hanging on a backpack:

We weren't missing much.

Inside the box, I found a Teeny Shoppie doll, a keyring, a key, and the lock itself:

The packaging says there's supposed to be a collector's guide as well, but somehow I missed that.  It must have been stored at the bottom of the box and thrown away by accident.  And now I'm on a train and can't look for it.

The Teeny Shoppie who comes with this set is called Macy Macaron.  She's just over 1 inch tall, with a medium skin tone, pastel purple hair, and huge painted eyes:

Macy is wearing a painted outfit that consists of a turquoise crop top, a purple skirt, yellow tights, and pink shoes.  My doll has a big smudge of yellow paint on her purple skirt.

Here she is from the side:

I love that she has a tiny molded nose!

In back, her hair has a lot of short, molded curls:

These dolls are similar to the original Polly Pocket in that they have a single joint at the waist that allows them to sit.

Macy Macaron appeared several times in the regular Shopkins line.  She was in the Happy Places group that I reviewed in 2016:

And also in Series Eight, with rooted hair:

She was part of a Food Fair gift set as well:

I think it's interesting how all of the versions of this character look quite different from one another.  I like the Happy Places doll best, with her cute blue hair and macaron skirt.

The main attraction of this set is the keychain, with its intriguing lock and key:

Why do I find locks so fascinating?

The keychain has a little plastic Eiffel Tower on one side

Très bien.

And a pink and blue plastic key on the other side:

Incroyable!

The key chain can be separated from the lock, which is nice because all of that dangling stuff is cumbersome:

The lock is pink and yellow with molded hearts on top and a big keyhole on the front:

I wasn't sure right away what the shape of this lock is supposed to be.  It looks a lot like a pink cheeseburger, but from the side it's pretty clear that it's a macaron:

Makes more sense than a cheeseburger.

I was excited to see how the lock and key mechanism would work, but the lock opens even without the key:

That's disappointing.

The lid opens up to reveal a tiny little scene:

How cute!

On the top, there's a sticker with a picture of a Parisian café:

And the bottom has molded components that look like they're from the same café:

There's a baby blue floor with molded cobblestones.  The paint job on the cobblestones isn't great.  There's also a big comfy chair, a round table with some pink dishes, and a yellow fold-down tray with a pink printed macaron design.

The yellow tray folds up to reveal a molded pattern underneath:

There's no painted detail on this side, but the molded shapes look like a stack of macarons with some floating hearts all around.

Macy can sit in the big blue chair:

Or she can stand securely in a circular depression in the cobblestones:

There's not a lot going on inside this lock, but it's so tiny, what did I expect?  Maybe I thought there'd be some three dimensional elements on the top half, like with the Polly Pocket sets.  But for the price and size, it's fine.  And Macy can be stored inside the lock with no trouble.

The other bag tag set that I found on eBay is the Burger Bite Diner.  It's in the shape of an actual cheeseburger:

Like the café, this comes with a Teeny Shoppie, a keychain, a key, and a lock:

This Shoppie has ketchup red hair and is named Chelsea Cheeseburger:

Just like my Cheeseburger Chelsea!

Remember me?

Anyway, Chelsea Cheeseburger is wearing a yellow dress with red boots that match her hair.  She even has a tiny cheeseburger on her green headband:

Love it.

From the back you can see that her hair is molded into long pigtails with sausage curls at the bottom:

There's a Happy Places version of Chelsea who's really cute...although those McDonald's colors are a bit on the nose:

I don't like her yellow eyes, either.

She has a similar outfit (and headband!) to the Teeny version.  I'm not aware of any other sets that include Chelsea.

The keychain decoration for this set is a bag of French fries:

Somehow, that makes me hungry.

And the key has a drink cup design:

Or I think that's what it is.

I really like the shape of the lock.  It has so much more detail that the macaron, with molded and painted tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese on top of the burger:

The back is all yellow, with molded copyright details:

Like the first set, this lock opens to reveal a sticker scene on the top, and some three dimensional decorations on the bottom:

The sticker scene shows the counter of a restaurant, with a soda fountain, a milkshake maker, and some cups.  Behind that, there are framed pictures of food on the wall:

Now I'm even hungrier.

The bottom of the lock has a fold-down table flanked by two red booths.  Opposite that, there's a low teal counter with some small items on it:

Chelsea can't sit at the table very well.  Her legs are too thick to fit underneath.  I guess it's a good thing that the table can hinge up and down!

When the table is folded all of the way up, it reveals a molded jukebox, which is clever:

The low counter isn't as interesting as the table.  First of all, it's way out of scale with the other things in the space, and too small for Chelsea.

I also can't really tell what the objects on the counter are supposed to be.  The yellow thing on the far left might be a toaster with a mug next to it?  And maybe the red knobs represent a sink?  But what are the circular things on the counter and floor?  Did somebody drop their plates??

Here's Chelsea standing in the indented area in the middle of the floor.  She looks happy to be there:

I like the Chelsea doll in this set, and the design of the lock's exterior is detailed and easily recognizable.  But the interior could be better.  It's cool that the table flips up into a jukebox, but it's too bad that Chelsea can't sit at the table.  I also think the counter is way too small and a bit obscure.  I wish the designers had put something else in that space.

To give you an idea of how small these locks are, here's a comparison to a Polly Pocket ring box:

A Polly Pocket ring box with Shopkins Li'l Secrets bag tags on either side.

It's no wonder that the Polly Pocket set can fit so much more in-scale detail; it's twice as big!

A Polly Pocket ring box with Shopkins Li'l Secrets bag tags on either side.

Here's a look at one of the Shopkins locks on top of a classic Polly Pocket compact:

And I thought the Polly compacts were small!

In this context, a lot of my earlier critiques of the locks feel petty.  There's just not much space to work with here.

Even though Polly's compacts are much larger than the Shopkins locks, Polly herself is smaller than the Teeny Shoppies:

From left: Chelsea Cheeseburger, Polly Pocket, and Macy Macaron

The dolls are very clearly inspired by Polly, though, with their size and design.  I suppose they had to be a bit bigger to accommodate those huge eyes!

After looking at these two sets, I was extremely curious to see how the other locks in the series made use of the tiny available space.  In the absence of a collector's sheet, I turned to promotional photos to get my answers.

First up is the Precious Perfumery:

This comes with Jascenta, who is winking!  It's hard to see what's gong on inside the lock, but I think the structure on the right is a display case that opens and closes.

Next is the Blossom Sushi Eatery, with Sara Sushi:

This one is pretty to look at, and I love Sara's white hair.  I also like how the sushi plate moves along the counter!  That's an excellent detail, and a great use of space.  But the clasps on that chair are frightening.

There's also a vet clinic, Tiny Paws Vet, that I wish I'd been able to find on eBay:

However, it doesn't look like there's much to do with this set.  There's a cute purple bunny on the exam table, at least.

The only other set I found is the Delish Donut Shop with Donatina:

This has another interactive track element, but I don't now what it is.  Is it a shopping cart?  A cash register on wheels?  I'm confused.  But the peaceful outdoor scene with a swan is nice...and yet not relevant to a donut shop at all.  Maybe she's selling donuts outside?  That makes sense.

These little lock sets are cute, and it's fun to see all of the different ways in which that tiny space can be utilized.

But I was most excited about opening up this next toy.  It's a larger lock playset from Season One.  It's called Pretty Paws, and has a pet store theme, kind-of like the modern Hedgehog Café Polly Pocket set that I reviewed a few months ago:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets Pretty Paws playset.

This is roughly the size of a traditional Polly Pocket compact, and it looks like it has a real combination lock mechanism on the front.  It comes with a Teeny Shoppie doll and also a miniature Shopkin, which is fun.  And apparently there's a secret map inside, too!

I found this new-in-box set on eBay for around $34, which is fairly typical for this particular lock.  Other sets are more expensive.

These toys have unusual packaging.  There's a plastic shell that houses the playset, with a rectangular section that sticks out to display the secret map.  At the top, there's a cardboard square with a lot of pictures and advertisements:

The back side of the cardboard shows six different sets, including the one I bought:

There's also a section of text that says, "will you get a SPECIAL FINISH secret lock?  Glitter?  Pearlescent?  Fluffy? Metallic?"  So I gather there are some rare versions of the mini Shopkins.

On the back of the plastic shell, there's another cardboard section that describes how the secret map works:

It looks like I'll have to find some Shopkins hidden in a picture, then do a little scratch-off to reveal the code.  Cool!

Here's everything that was in the package:

The lock and a foil bag.

The lock itself has three spinning dials on the front, and I knew right away that they really work, because this thing will not open unless the correct combination is dialed in:

Inside the foil bag, I found a collector's sheet and the secret map:

The collector's sheet is long and skinny and shows the different sets that were available during Season One:

The top of the sheet has another description of the secret map concept, and teases the presence of those special finishes:

Underneath that, there's a description of the So Sweet Candy set.  This one shows up on eBay a lot, and looks fun:

Here's the promotional photo for So Sweet Candy so that you can see some of the interior details better:

I like the bubblegum machine on the top and the slide that connects the levels!

There's also a Donut Stop with Donatina (again):

In the promotional photo, I like the counter area in the top section:

It looks like that blue counter front might open?  I can't tell what's going on with the bottom half, though.

Next on the sheet is the set that I bought, Pretty Paws:

My set comes with a Teeny Shoppie named Bell.  And Bell comes with a pet bone named Buddy Bone.  It appears that Buddy Bone can be either regular or have a special fluffy finish.  A fluffy dog bone in real life is probably moldy, so I'm not sure how to feel about that.

The last set on this side of the sheet is Pretty Petals, with a Daisy Petals doll:

I really like Daisy's pets, especially Hannah Hibiscus!  And Daisy is the only one who has two possible pets.

In the promotional photo, Daisy comes with Hannah Hibiscus...and she's also winking:

She also has a large garden shed that opens, which I think would be fun to play with.

On the back of the sheet, there are two more sets, and some "coming soon" placeholders:

The advertised sets are Great Bakes Cupcakes with Jessicake, and Make Up Salon with Lippy Lulu:

I've always liked Jessicake's name.  It's cute and clever.  I also like her blue hair.

Here's the promotional photo for Great Bakes Cupcakes:

The bottom level has a cute table and a cupcake that might open up, but why is there a huge mixer in the top section?  That's just filling space, and can't really be played with.

Here's the Makeup Salon:

So many things look out of scale here.  And while it's cool that there's a real mirror, I can't handle metallic gold these days.

Of these, I like the candy shop because of that bubblegum machine and slide, and I like the flower store because of the garden shed and Hannah Hibiscus.  But the Pretty Paws pet shop was my first choice, so let's see what it looks like inside!

I unfolded the secret map so that I could figure out my code.  This looks more like a Where's Waldo scene than a map:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets secret map.

In the upper right hand corner there are three specific Shopkins pets.  We have to find these in the crowded picture:

A strawberry, Buddy Bone, and a little red thing.

Here's the left side of the picture so that you can scan it:

And here's the right side:

The picture is fun to look at, and I enjoy seek-and-find games like this.  But the pets are actually quite easy to find, simply because they're covered with a scratch-off coating.  Actually, many of the characters are covered with a coating--not just the ones we need for this specific lock.  So that adds a bit to the challenge, I suppose.

I found the little strawberry on the far left side, and scratched it off:

I see a yellow paw print!

I found the little red thing in the middle, near the purple lock:

That looks like a pink bow tie.

And I found Buddy Bone at the bottom, in the agility course.  But when I tried to scratch off that coating...

I scratched off the whole top layer of paper.  So I have no idea what the symbol is.

That's okay, though.  If we know two of the symbols, we can cycle through the third dial until the lock opens.

I found the yellow paw print and the pink bow tie...

And then I moved the blue dial into each position until I heard a click!  The correct symbol is--not surprisingly--the dog bone:

The dials have stickers on them, and a few of the stickers are already peeling off.  This set would become quite frustrating if all of the pictures were gone!

But after getting everything into the right place, voilà!  The lock opened:

Here's a glimpse at the interior:

It looks like there's a lot to explore, which is awesome.

Bell and Buddy Bone were loose inside, protected by a small plastic bag.  Here they are out of the bag:

Bell is cute, with dark purple hair and a red and green dress.  It looks like she has yellow bells in her hair, too?

From the back, I can see molded bells in her hair, but they're not painted yellow:

Are they walnuts?

Buddy Bone looks fuzzy to me, with that molded texture.  So is that a "special texture," or is he just bumpy?  Looking around online, I think fuzzy means flocked, so I didn't get a special finish.  Sorry, Buddy.  You might not be special, but you're also not moldy.

At first I wasn't sure how Bell is relevant to this playset.  Like, all of the other characters fit the theme of their set pretty well.  But what does a bell have to do with a pet store?  I looked more closely at the cartoon version of Bell on the collector's sheet:

And now I get it!  The bells in her hair are like bells on a cat collar.  It's a little obscure, but makes sense.  

With the larger version of Bell, the theme is clearer.  It took me a while to find any pictures of this doll, though, because her full name is apparently Isabell, not Bell.  Isabell is cute, and I love her cat umbrella:

I understand Teeny Shoppie Bell's outfit better now, too, after seeing this photo.

Speaking of the Teeny Bell, my doll comes apart at her waist joint a bit too easily, so I had to keep snapping her legs back on:

Keep it together, Bell.

Now let's take a look at the interior of the Pretty Paws shop!

On the top, there's a room with a cage, a bathtub, a cat tree, and a fluffy blue circular thing that's either a wheel or a bed:

The cage has doors that open to reveal a decorative background that includes a bird swing:

The cage is huge, though.  So even Bell can fit inside!

A cage that size is a little creepy and medieval, but whatever.

I love that the cage has doors that open, but it's such a large feature!  It would make more sense if there was a bird-related Shopkin in this set.

The bathtub has molded bubbles all around it and a yellow shower at one end:

There's some purple paint smudged onto the pink areas of the tub, which doesn't look great.

Because of the pet shop theme, I assume that this bathtub is meant to bathe pets...but there's also an indentation to hold Bell in place under the shower.  I had a hard time maneuvering her into that spot, but she can lounge in the tub comfortably as well:

My best guess about the blue thing in the corner is that it's a wheel.  My cats have a wheel with a felted interior.  But it would make a cozy bed, too:

Buddy Bone sure thinks so!

The cat tree is the simplest feature on this level, with a solid interior and a few shelves off to one side where a pet could perch.  There's also a little indentation in the floor to hold Bell in place.  I especially like the fish tank decoration at the top:

A cat tree with a fish tank feature is an excellent idea for cats...but a less excellent idea for the poor fish!

Buddy Bone looks worried about it:

Maybe fish like to eat dog bones?

On the lower level, there are three distinct areas for pets:

The fanciest feature is a little dog house with a sliding track mechanism that allows a pet to move in and out

This is Buddy Bone's favorite place to play:

Opposite the dog house, there's an area with some food and a fire hydrant:

Don't pee where you eat, folks.

The area at the back has a yellow slide and a little bed with a peg to hold Buddy:

This is a fun space for everyone!

There are a lot of little areas where I can position Bell and Buddy, especially on the lower level:

No offense to Buddy, but I think if there had been more pets included with this set, or even more mini pets available to purchase, it would have been a much better concept.

For some size perspective, here's the Pretty Paws lock next to a traditional Polly Pocket compact:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets lock (left) and Polly Pocket compact (right).

From what I can tell online, each Shopkins lock has its own unique color--just like the Polly Pocket compacts.

Here are both sets in their open position:

Shopkins Li'l Secrets lock (left) and Polly Pocket compact (right).

The biggest difference I see is that the Shopkins set has fewer, larger elements inside.  There are also more interactive items.  But the Polly Pocket set still amazes me with how it manages to create a true dollhouse feel, with fluid movement from one area to the next, and everything in scale with Polly herself.

These locks can't top the original Polly Pocket, but I actually like them better than some of the modern Polly Pocket sets, mostly because of their small, manageable size.  I feel like the modern Polly sets keep getting bigger and bigger.

Anyway, I've only scratched the surface of the Shopkins Li'l Secrets world, but from what I've seen, the smaller locks are cute little novelties, with collectible tiny dolls:

And the larger lock sets are toys that I can imagine kids playing with and enjoying, with the added fun of having a real locking mechanism and a secret code to crack during the unboxing experience:

Bottom line?  I had to squeeze this review in between my frantic traveling adventures and a post that I'd like to get done in time for Valentine's Day, so please forgive me if I was less thorough than I should have been.

I had such a fun time with Polly Pocket a few months ago, it was a real treat to find a new kind of toy with many of the same elements.  I also enjoyed revisiting the Shopkins, which is a brand that I haven't thought about much over the past ten years.

One of the fun things about Shopkins Shoppies dolls is the range of characters, with their distinctive themes, brightly colored hair and outfits, and creatively silly names.  Kids and collectors can choose a favorite character based on any number of different traits.  For example, back in 2016, I really enjoyed Rainbow Kate because of her coloring, but I'd love to have Jessicake because of her name, and Isabell because of her cat theme.  It's also neat how these characters appear throughout different waves of products, and with different styles of doll.  I imagine that when the Li'l Secrets started to come out in 2018, people were eagerly waiting to see if there would be a miniature version of their favorite character.  Things like this are great hooks for collectors, and something that the world of Polly Pocket doesn't really have.  So, even without considering the fun of the locks themselves, the Li'l Secrets dolls are a valuable addition to the franchise.

And the locks themselves are pretty fun!  The smaller locks feel more like creative ways to house the mini dolls, rather than sets that will get a significant amount of play.  But the scenes are impressive given their tiny size.  Of the two smaller sets that I looked at, I prefer the Burger Bite Diner.  I love the detailed design on the surface of the lock, and the fact that the table flips up to reveal a jukebox.  It's a bummer that the key and lock mechanism is only for show, and I wish the paint application was better.  But given the price point, the sets are still compelling.

The larger Pretty Paws lock set is the most interesting of the products I bought.  Not only does it include a cute miniature Shoppie, but there's a tiny Shopkin pet, too.  I enjoyed the process of discovering the secret code for my lock, even though I scratched too vigorously and ruined one of the symbols.  I'd worry that if the secret map was lost, the combination could be forgotten.  However, in the age of the internet, this kind of information is easily recovered.  A more valid concern is that the combination stickers might peel off and be lost over time.  Once the combination is entered, the lock opens to reveal a cute mini pet store.  This has similar appeal to a Polly Pocket compact, but with larger elements and less overall artistry and charm.  There are several interactive areas within the set, and a variety of places for the figures to stand.  The slide, dog house, and bird cage are especially fun, but the bird cage takes up a lot of room for a set that doesn't include an actual bird.  For me, these sets are less appealing than the original or Collector's series Polly Pocket compacts, but they're more engaging than some of the larger, modern Polly Pocket products.

Thank you once again to whoever took the time to comment about these toys.  I've had a wonderful time exploring some of the different options, and reacquainting myself with the addictively collectible world of the Shopkins.