This is a Wildflower doll, Fawn, who I never had the chance to share back when I first got her. She, Kate, and Tara are among my very favorite dolls. I hope it will be possible to buy another one of these treasures some day, but the Etsy shop is currently closed.
I hope everyone--whether you celebrate Thanksgiving today or not--is having a great day! I'm very thankful for all of you. :)
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| Wildflower doll, Fawn. |
I'm back, as promised, to follow up on my previous review of Rainbow High dolls. It's been really fun to read through the comments on the last post. I love hearing about everyone's personal reactions and interactions with these dolls! It's also neat to learn that many of the Rainbow High fashions are based on iconic outfits from the real fashion world. Thank you for this revelation, WigglyWogglyWaffles, I had no idea! Although Sheryl's outfit did look familiar (Sév filled me in that it's one of Cher's outfits in the movie Clueless). It'll be fun to look at the dolls through this lens from now on--to see if I can identify any of their copycat fashions.
I'm reviewing a second Rainbow High doll in this post because it's always nice to look at two examples from a certain doll line, just to make sure any flaws or highlights aren't flukes. I chose one of the newest dolls I could find for this addendum because I figured there'd be some interest in her, and also because she's presumably a good representation of the current level of quality.
Meet Vanessa Tempo:
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| Rainbow High's Vanessa Tempo, $49.99. |
One of the things I'm doing over on Patreon is giving my Patrons a chance to weigh in on what review they want to see next. Two weeks ago, they picked this Rainbow High girl over a different play doll. The vote was extremely close, though, so the other doll will probably get her review soon. I'm happy that this review won, because I've been extremely curious about the Rainbow High brand for several months now.
When I was taking a break from doll reviews and putting all of my energy into My Twinn restorations, I rarely visited any kind of toy store. This is highly unusual for me, since I get a huge amount of happiness from just being around toys. But something happened about a month before I started writing here again: I was at Target looking for a game in the electronics section, and I found myself wandering into the adjacent toy aisles, unable to resist the pull.
I didn't give all of the toys the scrutiny they deserved on that day, but I did a broad sweep of the doll sections to see what was new. The one thing I saw that stuck in my head was the Rainbow High collection. The Rainbow High dolls were displayed opposite the L.O.L. toys, and I found the cohesive color schemes of the Rainbow High characters to be a soothing and attractive contrast to the neon chaos of the L.O.L. shelves. Each Rainbow High character has clothing and hair that match, and so looking at all of the dolls together is like looking at a big rainbow. It's very seductive. And of course I'm always roped in by dolls with interesting eyes and nice articulation. I almost bought a doll on the spot--I really wanted to see what the articulation was like--but told myself it was silly since I wasn't doing reviews anymore.
As you can imagine, as soon as I decided to write reviews again, the first thing I did was scoot back to Target and buy a Rainbow High doll! Here's the one I picked:
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| Rainbow High's Georgia Bloom, $27.99. |
I can't believe that we're almost a week away from Thanksgiving. It just won't sink into my brain. Part of the problem is the weather here in New Jersey. For example, yesterday I was walking in the sun in a tee shirt, and then a few hours later there was a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm! In mid-November! It still feels so much like summer to me. It feels like Christmas when I go into Target, though. The toy aisles are packed with stuff, and holiday trimmings are filling up the rest of the store. Even though I'm in a perpetual state of confusion about what time of year it is, I've been enjoying my research missions to Target more than usual with all of the new stock!
During one of my recent trips to Target I focused on looking at what surprise-themed toys are available these days. There are a lot of them! I picked a few of my favorites to share with you over the coming months, and right at the top of my list is an old favorite: the Li'l Woodzeez.
Li'l Woodzeez continue to stand out to me because of the high cuteness factor and low price. They're still selling the adorable Tickle Your Tastebuds bakery play set (seemingly unchanged from the one I reviewed in 2012) for the same $20 price. And I picked up this whole collection of surprises for $11:
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| Li'l Woodzeez Mini Acorn House Surprise ($4.99) and two Surprise Babeez ($2.99 each). |
I'd like to start with a huge thank you to my very first Patrons! I am so honored that you would pitch in and help me with my re-invented dream for this blog. I'm enjoying the Patreon site, and think we can have some fun over there. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, I've just launched a new Patreon page where you can pitch in a few bucks per month to help the future of the blog. It's also a place where you can chat and even help me figure out what to review next. Please consider joining us!
Today's post is a follow-up to my review of the Barbie Looks male characters. Some of the background and deeper thoughts about this line can be found in that review. I still feel regret that I didn't include Model #1 (Nina) in this review, since she's very beautiful and would have added to the fun, but the three characters I bought kept me plenty busy. They are a delightful and diverse trio:
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| Barbie Signature Looks dolls from left: Model #2, Model #6, and Model #3. |
Before I start talking about the Barbie Looks dolls, I want to mention a new development that I hope will keep the blog sustainable: I'm on Patreon! Many of you suggested that I start a Patreon page a few years ago. I was too silly to take that advice then, but I've seen the light. You can find my page here, and it's also linked in the right hand column. A few dollars a month from you would make a huge difference to me. This will also add some new ways for us to connect, and you might even get a discount in my store! I love my work, but I need to not loose huge amounts of money be more savvy about the business side of things. I'm excited to get my first patron!
With that out of the way, we can move on to the fun part of this post! As many of you know, I was enthralled by the Barbie Made to Move dolls when they first came out. With all of the dolls I sold or gave away during the last few years, I've kept my Made to Move girls. They have extraordinary articulation for their price point, and I also think they're very attractive. During the process of getting back up-to-speed with recent doll developments, I was delighted to discover that Mattel has expanded their highly-articulated offerings to include petite dolls, curvy dolls, tall dolls, and male dolls! Dude!
Today I'll review the two highly-articulated male model dolls in the Barbie Looks collection, and then in a few days I'll showcase three of the female dolls from the same line. I've had a lot of fun with this group!
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| Barbie Looks Model #5 (left) and Model #4 (right). |
