Life in the Dreamhouse "Raquelle"--A Guest Review!

Back when I reviewed Life in the Dreamhouse Midge, I mentioned that my second favorite doll in this series is Raquelle.  Raquelle has a smirky half-smile that gives her a unique (strong!) personality among the Barbie lineup.  My fondness for Raquelle made me especially happy to hear from Kayleigh, a fellow doll collector who was interested in writing a guest review of this doll.

Kayleigh has a wide range of doll interests--most of which overlap with my own.  She enjoys Barbie, Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Store dolls, Bratzillaz, J-Dolls, and Moxie Teenz.  Life in the Dreamhouse Raquelle is her all-time favorite doll.

Kayleigh's wonderfully thorough review of Raquelle includes a comparison to the 2012 Raquelle "Clutch" Fashionista doll.  I'd like to thank Kayleigh for all of her hard work and enthusiasm, and turn the rest of the post over to her!

Life in the Dreamhouse "Raquelle" (redressed).

Hey guys!  This is Kayleigh.  I am very excited about this review. There will be a transition though, as I took pictures of this doll for a review when I first got her, then took a break and decided to start again ten months later. 

I will be doing a comparison to Raquelle from Clutch Wave 1, and there will be lots of random pictures at the end, too. So, let’s get started!

As you can tell, Raquelle dolls aren't happy about other Raquelle dolls arriving!

Here are the front and back of the box:

And here's a close-up of Raquelle's (very short) description:

I don’t watch the web series, so this description doesn’t mean much to me. [Emily says: I want to see the webisode where Raquelle wears that disguise!]

This is what the box looks like after the outer layer is removed:

Get me out already! 

And this is what the back of the box looks like:

There isn’t a lot of plastic holding her in, which is nice. It only took about five minutes to de-box her, and I only had to use scissors for the silly plastic ties. 

Here’s what Raquelle looks like completely de-boxed with all of her accessories:

Um...I still have rubber bands on me!  Get them off!

And here’s a close-up of her:

I insist that you remove these rubber bands now!

After removing her rubber bands, Raquelle is finally ready for her close-up.

Aren't I pretty?

Raquelle has a beautiful face, and I think it’s one of the prettiest doll faces I’ve ever seen. Her eyes are almond-shaped, caramel brown, and almost catlike. Both eyebrows are raised, but her left one is raised higher. She has dark eye makeup and rooted eyelashes. Her lipstick is a medium pink shade, and her mouth is molded into a smirk. I love the fact that her face is asymmetrical. It allows for many different expressions that I can’t usually see on other dolls. 

For example, the left side of her face is very sweet and happy:

   

While the right side of her face is meaner and has more of a sly smirk: 

   

Her hair hangs down to her lower back. It looks greasy in these photos, but it’s actually very soft and silky. I’ve put her hair up into intricate up-dos, and they look great on her. The hair has held up well, actually.

Now on to Raquelle’s outfit. Her necklace is gold-colored, and has three strands of beads. On the left side, there’s a black bow. I’m not very impressed with this necklace. I also don’t like how it’s a different shade than the jacket.

Semi-charmed necklace.

Her belt is bronze-colored, and it’s designed to look like there are two belts crossing over each other. There are also molded studs on the belt. It’s an okay accessory, and it matches the jacket, at least.

Her shoes are red high heels. They’re nondescript and fall off easily, but they add a splash of color to this otherwise monochrome outfit.

The jacket is a tight, bronze-colored bolero with ¾ sleeves. It looks pretty good on her, and the sewn details are nice.  It does restricts her articulation, though.  Here's a picture of the jacket from the side on the doll:

And here’s a photo of the jacket off the doll:

Even though some of the details are great, it feels thin and cheap on the inside. I’m pretty sure that this material doesn’t fray easily, though.

Her purse is bronze-colored and plastic. It has a very long strap and some molded details that attempt to make it look like it’s made out of fabric:

I'm not plastic!  I , uh, just look like it, that's all. 

There are some buckles near the center and a buckle hanging off the bottom. I don’t like this purse very much. The fact that it doesn’t open isn’t the deal breaker with me (I’ve used some purses that didn’t open with certain outfits, and they looked great), but in this case, I feel like it should have opened. It also would have been better with some painted details.

And now we’re getting to the main piece of this outfit: the “dress,” which consists of a white tank top sewn to a sparkly skirt. I am very disappointed in this piece. I wish the tank top could have been separate, since I’m in desperate need of plain white tops for my Barbies. The top does reveal a torso joint, which is great news for the many Barbie collectors who like articulation. 


Here’s a picture of the tank top:

There's still a crease from the plastic tie, ten months after I got it.

The skirt isn’t much better than the top. It’s actually kind-of pretty, but it’s really delicate. It’s been snagged on the Velcro so many times. I’m worried about the durability of this piece around little kids.

This picture shows more detail in the skirt (and a lot of snags, most likely).

Finally, we get to the leggings. They’re my favorite piece. They feel great, they offer contrast with the red on the bottom, and the elastic is a nice departure from most Barbie clothing. Here’s a picture of them on Raquelle:

And a picture of them off Raquelle from the front (left) and back (right):

Overall, I’m not a huge fan of this outfit. All of the pieces are good quality and feel nice, but this outfit doesn’t do it for me: it’s too monochrome. I’m glad it’s not covered in pink glitter, but the pieces aren’t versatile enough for me. Just making the tank top and the skirt separate would have added a lot of versatility. I feel like the plastic accessories were an afterthought, especially the necklace and the purse. 

Anyway, here’s Raquelle nude:

This is awkward...

She has 12 points of articulation. I really enjoy the torso joint. Even though it doesn’t have tons of movement, I still like having the extra joint. I didn’t add any size comparison photos because I don’t think I would be able to get all my dolls to stand upright on my humble photo set. And I didn’t want to strip any of my two J-Dolls out of their elaborate outfits. So, for size comparison, Raquelle’s 11 ½ inches tall, or 27 cm (you can see pictures of the articulated Barbie body in the Midge review, too).

Put some clothes on me!

Okay, Raquelle, we’re getting to the second outfit now.

The second outfit is a short party dress. It actually kind of reminds me of a flamenco dress, but with a modern twist. The ruffled sleeve and bust are made out of a shimmery black fabric, while the rest of the dress is made of red fabric with sparkly stars.

I’m glad that the pattern is continued on the back of the dress. Most Barbie clothes are half-prints, but this is a nice departure.

Here’s the dress paired with the red shoes. It looks great on Raquelle, and she likes it. So much so, in fact, that she decided to do a dance!

I can dance better than Liv or Bratzillaz!

The bad thing about this dress is the length and the neckline. Her breasts always try to slip out of the dress, and she risks showing her underwear.

I can’t fix the slipping problem, but if you put the pair of leggings underneath, it adds some modesty. I personally think that it looks weird (tights would look better), but this is just for anyone who doesn’t like the ultra-short length.

I think the second dress is much better quality than the $2-3 Barbie dresses that you can get. The colors aren’t weird, it’s not a half-print, and the fabrics used are fairly soft. It’s a pretty awesome little dress.

Overall, Life in the Dreamhouse Raquelle is a great doll. She has lots of character in her face, her hair is good, her clothes are nice quality (even if they aren’t to my taste), and she has the Fashionista body with the most articulation of any Barbie doll. I think that she and all the other Life in the Dreamhouse dolls (I have almost all of them) are worth the $13-16.

But this review isn’t finished yet!

This is my Raquelle from the first Fashionista Clutch wave. 

Hello! Yay! I'm famous!

I got her on Christmas 2012, and I intended to use her as a body donor for my Fallen Angel Stardoll. It turned out that her skin tone didn’t match, and I liked her too much to use her as a donor. I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of her alongside Life in the Dreamhouse Raquelle. 

So from this point on, I’ll be referring to Clutch wave 1 Raquelle as "Clutch Raquelle," and Life in the Dreamhouse Raquelle as "Dreamhouse Raquelle."

Note: Clutch Raquelle’s pictures are always on the left, and Dreamhouse Raquelle’s pictures are always on the right:

As you can see, their screenings are very different. In this case, Clutch Raquelle looks vacant and much younger than Dreamhouse Raquelle. Clutch Raquelle’s eyes are a pretty hazel shade, but Dreamhouse’s eyes are prettier. Clutch Raquelle’s eyebrows start to look too light in comparison to Dreamhouse Raquelle’s, and her lipstick shade is very light compared to Dreamhouse Raquelle’s lipstick shade. One thing I do like about Clutch Raquelle’s makeup is her eye makeup. The winged style makes Dreamhouse Raquelle’s eye makeup look smeared on. But overall, I prefer Dreamhouse Raquelle’s facial screening, particularly because the makeup is lighter.

Here's a comparison of the hair:

It’s hard to tell in this picture, but Clutch Raquelle’s hair is very thin and rough. It’s probably rough because I used a plastic brush on it for so long until I got a good brush, but it doesn’t feel nice. Her pink streaks are cute, but they make her look bad with outfits that don’t have pink in them. I can’t style her hair because it’s so thin, and the length is restricting. Dreamhouse Raquelle’s hair is very nice, on the other hand. I’ve never had problems styling her hair. There are some thin spots, but they are easy to hide. The length is perfect, as well, and the lack of colored streaks makes her look good in almost anything. The only complaints I have about it is that flyaways get caught in her rooted eyelashes, and it sometimes can be frustrating to braid. Dreamhouse Raquelle has the best hair.

Note: When I’m comparing clothing, Dreamhouse Raquelle’s jacket and belt will not be included, as Clutch Raquelle doesn’t have a jacket or belt. Also, Dreamhouse’s “dress” will be compared with Clutch Raquelle’s top.

Here are the two dolls' necklaces:

I’ve used Clutch Raquelle’s necklace with many outfits. It feels brittle, but I’ve been careful with it. I also think it’s prettier than Dreamhouse Raquelle’s. Clutch Raquelle wins the necklace category.

Here are the two tops, with Cluth Raquelle first:

And Dreamhouse Raquelle:

Clutch Raquelle’s top is pretty insane. It reminds me of glam rock and 80’s fashions. I really don’t like the hot pink color, as pink is not one of my favorite colors. But I like the unusual sleeves. What I don’t like is the fact that you have to tie it around the neck. There’s not enough ribbon, and it’s hard to tie. Also, the knot comes undone as soon as you try to brush the hair. Dreamhouse Raquelle’s top isn’t really a top at all. But it’s simple if the skirt is excluded, it feels nice, and there are no silly ribbons to tie. So while both Raquelles have nice tops, Dreamhouse Raquelle’s top is the nicest.

Here are the two purses:

I love Clutch Raquelle’s purse! I’m a musician (a clarinetist, to be exact), and this purse makes me happy. The only thing I don’t like about it is the four black keys. Real pianos have black keys in patterns of two and three, and they repeat each octave, like this:

I had to get that out of my system. But otherwise, the purse is adorable and it goes with a lot of outfits. I’ve already stated my opinion on Dreamhouse Raquelle’s purse, namely that I don’t like it at all. So the winner of the purse category is Clutch Raquelle.

Here are the pants/leggings:

Clutch Raquelle’s pants are faux leather with silver fabric on the side. They’re very tight. They look great, but this is what happens when she tries to sit down:

Oooh.  Not good.

This happens with many Barbie pants, but these pants are especially bad. Dreamhouse Raquelle’s leggings are flattering, simple, attractive, and they only do this when she sits down:

Better.

The fact that the seat of the leggings are hidden when she sits down makes it less embarrassing. Dreamhouse Raquelle’s leggings are the best.

Here are Clutch Raquelle's shoes:

And Dreamhouse Raquelle's shoes:

The shoes are hard to judge. Clutch Raquelle’s shoes are very detailed, and I’ve used them with a lot of outfits. Nevertheless, Dreamhouse Raquelle’s shoes are equally versatile, even though I haven’t used them with very many outfits (yet). Both pairs fall off a lot, as well. Overall, both pairs of shoes are great.

Here are the two Raquelles together:

Both Raquelles have the same body, even though it looks like there is a color difference (there isn’t). However, there are some comparisons of note:  I’ve had Clutch Raquelle for a year and a half, and she can’t hold poses well anymore. When I hold her body horizontally, her arms fall back like this:

 Floppy Clutch Raquelle.

I might have to get another Dreamhouse Raquelle as a body donor for her. It’s that bad. 

However, I’ve heard that Mattel made the joints tighter with the Dreamhouse Barbies. I’ve have Dreamhouse Raquelle for ten months, and she poses as well as the day I got her:

Stiff-as-a-board Dreamhouse Raquelle.

Overall, I like both Raquelles. But I like Dreamhouse Raquelle better. I don’t want to offend Clutch Raquelle fans, because she’s a gorgeous doll, and she wears some outfits much better than Dreamhouse Raquelle. I have two main reasons for liking Dreamhouse Raquelle better. There are many more, but these two reasons sum up why she is such an awesome doll.

First of all, Dreamhouse Raquelle is more mature looking. Clutch Raquelle looks like a teenager, one who likes a lot of current fashion trends and who wears a lot of makeup. But Dreamhouse Raquelle looks like she’s somewhere in her 20’s, who has realized the mistakes she made back in her teenage years and will never go back. I really like this dynamic, actually. It makes for some awesome time-travelling scenarios. But really, I prefer more mature-looking dolls. I’ve never really liked baby dolls or child dolls, and my favorites are usually the adult dolls.

Finally, Dreamhouse Raquelle is basically my idea of a perfect doll. Before I got Dreamhouse Raquelle, I was writing about what I liked about Clutch Raquelle. Back then, I mentioned that my ideal Raquelle doll would have a versatile expression, longer, softer hair without any streaks, and the same articulated body. When I found out about Dreamhouse Raquelle, I didn’t like her at first. But then I got her, and I fell in love. And I’ve been like that every day ever since.

I have lots of pictures of Dreamhouse Raquelle trying on different outfits, and I did an outdoor photo shoot with her. I thought I’d share the pictures in this review. Enjoy!

First, this is some fabric from my mom’s fabric stash. I thought it would look nice on her and make a good cape.

Here's Raquelle in Dreamhouse Midge's second outfit:

This is my favorite outfit for Raquelle:

It's the Barbie Basics Look 01 (Collection 003) chiffon swim top.  It’s so simple, yet so edgy.

In addition, I had to show off the shoes that’s she wearing. They’re my favorite pair, and I love how fancy they look.

Best. Barbie. Shoes. Ever.

Moreover, this is the same outfit, but it doesn’t break real-life dress codes now:

I’m pretty sure this is a My Scene dress, but it looks like it was made for Raquelle. The fabric feels great, too:

 Here's Raquelle wearing pieces from the Barbie Fashionista sailing outfit pack:

Last, here are the pictures from my outdoor photo shoot:

I think an angel fell in my backyard!

I decided to make some wings for her, because...why not?

She decided to fly into a tree:

 And now you can see that I tried to make these wings articulated, but it didn’t work out.

Then Raquelle got sick of the wings, so told me to take them off.

The dress is handmade by my mom. It’s actually on backwards. It’s supposed to have a deep v-neck, but I found that the tape on the wings sticks to vinyl better than to fabric.

I know that Raquelle in the web series hates the outdoors, but my Raquelle loves the outdoors:

She looks kind of like Snow White in this picture, actually. She just needs some red in her outfit somewhere.

Clover is such a pretty flower. But I actually found a wild strawberry and thought it would make a cute (red!) prop:

Can I eat it?

Now she looks like Snow White:

The strawberry made a good decoration for her dress.

She has such pretty hands.

Here's Raquelle doing some exploring...

A mysterious structure stands in the distance...

I really like this picture. And I’ll give you a hint as to what the mysterious structure is: after taking this picture, I had to walk away because a honeybee thought I got too close to its territory. And if you look closely, you might see another clue...

(My dad and I are beekeepers).

 I hope you enjoyed my review!

Raquelle isn't scare of honeybees.

Varroa mites are a different matter, though....

(Inside joke for beekeepers!)

This is Emily again...after Kayleigh sent me this review, she sent a few pictures of her dolls as a thank-you.  I love these pictures, and so I asked Kayleigh for permission to share them with you so that you can see the rest of her great collection:

Who are all of these dolls?  Kayleigh has identified all of them for you, starting from the row in the back (the one with the American Girl doll) and moving from left to right.

Back Row: Barbie Fashionistas 1^st Wave Hottie/Cutie Ken, Barbie Fashionistas Rainbow Wave 1 Teresa, Hearts 4 Hearts Lauryce, 2013 Disney Store Merida, Monster High Skelita Calaveras, American Girl My American Girl #24, Bratzillaz Meyganna Broomstix (aka "Frizzhead"), Moxie Teenz Gavin, Moxie Teenz 1^st wave Bijou, Barbie Fashionistas Clutch Wave 1 Raquelle,

Barbie Fashionistas Rainbow Wave 1 Ryan.

Second Row: Liv Making Waves Hayden, J-Doll Avenue Kleber, Monster High Twyla (with her pet rabbit), J-Doll Rue de Belleville, Monster High Black Carpet Lagoona Blue.

Third Row: Ever After High Hunter Huntsman, 2012 Disney Store Rapunzel, Barbie Dreamhouse Nikki, Barbie Dreamhouse Summer, Barbie Dreamhouse Midge, Barbie Dreamhouse Raquelle, Barbie Dreamhouse Teresa, Barbie Glam Luxe Style Wave 1 Barbie (Denim), 2013 Disney Store Pocahontas, Bratzillaz Fianna Fins (and Ripple), Ever After High Cerise Hood.

Fourth Row: Monster High Catty Noir, Monster High Robecca Steam, Ever After High Apple White.

Bye!