Mini Amigas by Paola Reina

The Doll-a-Day project (and also tax season...) kept me from starting a new full-length review this week, so I decided to take the opportunity to pull out the last of my photos from St. John and see if I could make a short post from those.  I took quite a few dolls with me on that trip, most of them for Lena's Spring Break series or the Mermaid reviews, but there were two more stowaways that I've been meaning to share with you.  They are both 8-inch Mini Amigas from Paola Reina, who I purchased last July when I wrote my Las Amigas update.

Mini Amigas David, by Paola Reina, $40.

Revisiting Paola Reina's Las Amigas...and a knockoff

Today's review grew out of two different things that have been kicking around in my head recently.  First of all, Paola Reina added new joints to some of their Las Amigas dolls and, as you can imagine, I got really excited about this development.  As soon as I heard the news, I purchased a beautiful-looking redheaded Las Amigas doll with the new articulation.  However, I ended up being disappointed by that doll, so I did a quick review on Patreon and then sold her.  The upside is that in the process of researching that doll, I discovered about six other traditional Las Amigas girls that I love!  I bought two of those six, and they'll appear in this post. 

The second thing that happened was that my friend Arin drew my attention to a collection of Las Amigas lookalikes that are being sold on Amazon.  For some reason I'm always fascinated by knockoffs, even though I should probably be offended by them.  I was eager to see what these imposters look like up close, and so I purchased one...and then purchased another authentic Las Amigas doll who I thought would offer a good comparison.  Both of these girls will appear in this review, too.

I've written about Paola Reina dolls many times before (including a review of a Ruth Treffeisen doll who is equivalent to a Las Amigas), but I couldn't resist the chance to revisit this charming brand.  And there's even more going on in the Paola Reina world than I have time or resources to write about today.  For example, there are now 8-inch Mini Amigas that are completely adorable and will have to make an appearance here at some point in the future, and also a lot of boy characters who melt my heart.  For now, though, let's start with this standard-size Las Amigas girl, Dasha, and her gorgeously freckled face:

Las Amigas Dasha by Paola Reina, $71.

Soy Tu "Amor" by Paola Reina

When my lovely 23.6" Las Reinas de Paola doll, Marta, arrived from Spain last March, she actually had a small traveling companion.  Making the intercontinental journey with Marta was "Amor," my favorite doll from Paola Reina's 15.7" Soy Tu play doll collection.

Many things have happened since Amor's arrival in March, including the grand opening of the Paola Reina America online store.  Now a wonderful variety of Paola Reina dolls are readily available in the United States and Canada.  The other thing that has happened--mostly in the last two weeks, is that I've gotten the first glimpse of new leaves and blooming flowers here in Maine.  After months of patient waiting, Amor is finally ready for her introduction amidst the vibrant colors of early spring:

Soy Tu doll "Amor" by Paola Reina, $79.99

"Marta" from the Las Reinas de Paola collection by Paola Reina

I know many of you have been curious about which doll I had to set aside during my ridiculously busy week, and so I am thrilled to finally be able to introduce Marta, a 23.6" vinyl play doll from Paola Reina's "Las Reinas de Paola" collection.  With Marta, I feel like I am reviewing a doll from a brand new company, even though Paola Reina has been making play dolls for almost twenty years.  The reason the company feels new is that, up until this year, the Spanish-made Paola Reina dolls were not easily available in North America.  Fortunately, Paola Reina America has been established as the North American distributor for these dolls, and so we will start to see them available for sale in shops all across the continent.  The dolls will also be available directly from the Paola Reina America website soon.

I was fortunate enough to be able to do some early shopping at Paola Reina America, and my dolls were shipped to me directly from Spain.  I think this is the first official perk I have enjoyed as a doll reviewer, and I am extraordinarily grateful.  I must have spent over an hour on the website choosing which dolls to buy, and I probably changed my mind five times.  I ended up with two dolls, and I don't think I they're the ones anyone would have expected me to pick (no redheads!).  Of the two, I want to show you Marta first, because her size and coloring made a very strong impression on me from the moment she came out of her shipping box.

"Marta" from the Paola Reina "Las Reinas de Paola" collection.