A Short Tale of Two Henriettes

Way back in September of 2013, Kidz 'n' Cats released a special limited edition doll, Henriette, who could be ordered with a variety of hair and eye combinations.  I fell in love with Henriette's face mold (I liked it much better than the Evita mold I already owned) and figured it was the perfect chance to order a Kidz doll with exactly the coloring I wanted.  I actually ended up ordering two of these dolls because...well, because I couldn't make up my mind between two different variations and also because I got caught up in the potential collectibility of the dolls given their limited release (300 pieces) and unique customization feature.

Only now, as I'm getting the two dolls ready for eBay, did I bother to de-box one of them and tell the story of disappointment that surrounded both of their arrivals.

Kidz 'n' Cats Henriette, $176.

Henriette was offered with three different eye colors and three different wigs.  That makes nine possible dolls.

Here's a snippet from one of the ads:

I found the gray-green eye color to be the most detailed and realistic.  It was also the most popular eye choice, at least from what I could tell as I tracked the dolls' sales.  I was tempted by that eye color paired with dark hair, and also a blonde-haired, brown-eyed girl like my niece's Grace doll.

I ended up pre-ordering a gray-green/brown doll from Samantha's Dolls and a brown/blonde doll from The Toy Shoppe (utilizing their AMC monthly payment plan).  I ordered both dolls in September of 2013, hoping they'd arrive in time to be a Christmas present.

By mid December, I still hadn't heard anything from either shop, so I sent a few inquiries.  Apparently the dolls were experiencing some weather-related delays during their trans-Atlantic journey, and might not arrive in time for the holidays.

My Samantha's Dolls doll arrived in late December.  I can't quite remember if it was in time for Christmas, but I think it was.  She arrived in a scruffy-looking box and had come loose from many of her box ties.  All I did for this picture was remove the plastic lid from the box.  Otherwise, this is exactly how she looked on the day she arrived:

It looked for all the world like this Henriette had been removed from her box and played with. Her purse was on her shoulder (not attached to the backdrop) and her certificate was turned around backwards.  Her feet were completely free from their wire ties, and the cable tie around her neck was ripped out of the cardboard.  

Meanwhile, my doll from the Toy Shoppe didn't show up at all in December.  In mid January, I emailed to see what was going on and was told that the dolls had been damaged during shipment and had been sent back to Germany for repairs.  By April 2014, the dolls were headed to the United States for the second time, and I think I got my Henriette in May or June of that year--six months after I'd received the Samantha's doll.  

This Henriette looked much better on initial inspection, with all of her ties intact and her purse and certificate neatly positioned in the box:

The wrinkled zip-top bag that's holding the purse isn't very classy, but at least the purse was secured.

Here's a little comparison of the different presentations:

Because the blonde doll is still technically mint in box, I'm not going to remove her for photographs.  Let's take a quick look at her, though:

I really love the blonde hair and brown eye combination.  This coloring reminds me of both my niece and my niece's lovely Kidz 'n' Cats Grace doll.

I'm not crazy about the lip color, though:

It's way too pink and looks carelessly applied:

The lip paint might seem like a minor detail, but the color really cheapens the overall appearance of the doll.  And it was clearly an avoidable error--compare the color to my other Henriette's (much more translucent and natural) lips:

This doll also has two scratches on her chin.  The one on the right is deeper and more noticeable than the one on the left:

The worst flaw is the hairline crack that this Henriette has in her left eye, though:

Here's a closer look without the black arrows:

As hard as this crack is to photograph, it's pretty obvious in real life.

A broken eye seriously reduces the value of this doll.  She's certainly not worth her original $180 price.  I know I could have sent Henriette back to The Toy Shoppe back in 2014 with no issues, and I should have done exactly that.  However, at the time, I was tired of dealing with the delays and hassles of this doll's arrival, and figured I would use her for a review some day.  As it turned out, my emotions paralyzed me from doing anything, and I simply pushed her to the back of the shelf for five years.

Let's take a closer look at the Samantha's Dolls version of Henriette:

I find it very strange that this doll came with her purse on her shoulder.  There are little holes on the side of the box where the pure is supposed to be displayed, but they don't look like they've ever been used.  To be fair, the plastic zip bag that was holding the other Henriette's purse didn't look great, either.

One problem with the purse being free to swing around it that it has heavy metal decorations that could easily scuff Henriette's hands or face:

Her face looked ok, although I did notice a few shiny areas and something funny about her eyelashes: 

The booklet that come with Henriette was positioned backwards and was slipping off of its sticky mount:

It was super easy to de-box Henriette since her legs were already free and the cable tie around her neck wasn't doing anything except keeping the purse attached:

Here she is:

She's really lovely, although that scarf tends to stick up and get in the way of her face.

This doll has some shiny areas on her cheeks and eyebrows and one yellow stain on her left cheek:

Also, her eyelashes are mismatched.  One is auburn (her right eye) and the other is dark brown:

Here's a better look:

I did call to report this to Samantha's, but they told me it would be easiest to just fix it myself.  I agreed.

The eye are a gorgeous color.  They remind me of outer space.  

Henriette's left eye has a lot of glue residue around it and something that might be a crack along the outer edge at the bottom.  I can't tell if this is a crack or just some more glue:

Even if it's a crack, it's not as obvious as the crack on the blonde doll's eye.

Little flaws aside, I think this Henriette is gorgeous.  I took her scarf off so that I could get a clearer picture of her head:

She has some poseability, but her joints are fairly stiff for the most part.  This allows her to stand on her own in several different poses.  Here she is walking with her purse:

The purse is a cute little microsuede pouch that's decorated with sequins and a ball chain:

The chain is accented with a tarnished heart charm:

One of the best features of this doll is her wig.  It's silky and smooth with a gorgeous sheen and a rich, deep brown color.  My pictures don't do it justice:

I also love how Henriette can pose better than most 18-inch dolls.

Despite her flaws, I've had several moments of hesitation about selling this cutie now that she's out of her box.

I took her outside to see if I could get some photos that show off her actual coloring a little better:

This photo shows the richness of her brown hair and the beauty of her eyes...it also makes that yellow stain on her face stand out, though:

Against the plain backdrop of my deck stairs, I got the best representation of Henriette's coloring (and sweetness!):

I found it interesting how the two doll stores--The Toy Shoppe and Samantha's Dolls--handled the complications surrounding this doll's shipment.  The Toy Shoppe took responsibility for the sloppy packaging and had the dolls fixed up before they made it into collectors' homes.  The doll I ordered looked good in her box, but was significantly delayed.  This approach probably disrupted many holiday gift-giving plans.  At the other extreme, Samantha's Dolls shipped the dolls out just as they were, which created a really disappointing initial impression...but at least they arrived on time.

I've also noticed that The Toy Shoppe no longer carries the Kidz 'n' Cats line while Samantha's Dolls does.  The Toy Shoppe does carry the full line of Sonja Hartman's Kruselings, though, which are a much better deal!

I have a lot of respect for The Toy Shoppe's careful customer service and attention to detail in this matter.  But the strange thing is, both dolls have fairly equivalent defects.  In fact the Samantha's Henriette's defects bother me the least.  The blonde doll's cracked eye and facial scratches are things I cannot fix.  In the end, it was mostly a cosmetic difference in how the dolls were presented, and this is the kind of thing that doesn't matter much over time.

I like Henriette quite a lot, but after this fiasco and after seeing the poor quality of the Kidz 'n' Cats mini doll, Annie, I--like The Toy Shoppe--am done with this brand.