BEST OF 2020

In the Rainbow High Facebook group I'm part of, I saw a link to a Youtube video of 20 minutes of some guy complaining about the worst doll disappointments of 2020. Like the doll world needs more negativity. Ugh. Why waste so much time on that? I don't get it. 

So I'm doing my part to put some positivity out there as we bring this year to an end. 

This post is going to contain a favorite doll/toy/non-CB and a favorite Charlie Bear for each month of this year. 

First up for January, I had to go with Fantasy Friends Luna Eclipse. Hairdorables Series 4 had just came out and Saige almost made my pick, but this girl has been front and center on my coffee table since I got her, and I adore her. It has to be her. 

For January's CB, I'm choosing Jill. 

I didn't get very many in January, but I did get Dan and Jill to go alongside Anke. If you'd told me my favorite of those three would end up being pink Jill, I wouldn't have believed you, yet here we are. I need to give all three of those more attention. 

February's doll was a little difficult, but I just had to go with Hairdorables Series 4's So Extra Emily. Phoebe was another contender and so was LOL OMG Angles. I love both of them, but I love Emily more. 

Emily is really refreshing because we are currently in this trend of big-eyed dolls. We've been stuck in it for years, but they used to be better at having varied eye shapes. My Scene Nolee and Bratz Jade and Kumi still had big eyes, but were also clearly East Asian. Yet you don't see that with lines like LOL, Shoppies or the more recent Rainbow High. They all have the same eyes. So I was thrilled to see Hairdorables break that mold and make an obviously Asian girl with beautiful big eyes that weren't the same as the other girls in the line. 

February's CB is also purple! 

This is the sweet Angel Cake. She, Eleanor and Roman were my odd-furred bears from the 2019 collection. I do love Roman to pieces, but Angel Cake ended up being my favorite of the three. She's just a little bit more cuddly for some reason. 

March's doll is a clear choice: my boxed vintage Jetta from the Jem line. 

I went to a doll show on March 7th and then to goth night that same day. Those would be the last big events I'd attend all year, because right after that, I got sick and by the time I was well, we were in the early phases of covid. 

Jetta is my all-time favorite Jem character, so to have a boxed doll of her has been something I've wanted for decades. It's so nice to finally have her and I got her for a fab price, too. 

 

March's bear is the beautiful, rich orange Satsuma. 

Satsuma is an older bear that I had to import from the UK. He was probably the last or one of the last international packages I'd get at that time of the year, because covid. 

April was slim-picking for dolls, so my non-CB spot is going to...a different type of bear. 

Ariel is a Kaycee Bears. They're way more limited edition than Charlie Bears. I got super lucky in April and managed to get Ariel and a dragon named Idris for $75 each on ebay, which was really way below their retail prices. Especially for the dragon! 

Idris was almost my pick here, but Ariel won out because she's a bit more cuddly. 

Can you tell I love orange? I really love orange.

My CB spot for April goes to Rea the binturong. I adore binturongs. 

I very rarely buy CB twins, but I ended up with two Reas because it just happened that way and I love both. 

I got way more vintage SSC and vintage-themed SSC this year than I ever expected. 

I've wanted Party Pleaser Plum for a long time and finally caved and got her in May. 

May's CB is the glorious König. 

I wasn't sure I'd want a plain tiger. I lean more toward the unusual animals or odd colors, like Dandy the white lion and Clock the silver lion, but König was too good to be missed. 

June's non-CB pick is Gregory Ghost from Bananas Bunch 3. I bought so many damn Bananas trying to get this guy only to constantly fail. So when a full case of Bunch 3 showed up on ebay for next to nothing, I went for it...and got 3 Gregorys! 

He's one of the coffee table chosen ones. 

Danuta was one of my unplanned CBs. I had Marisa on pre-order, but Danuta looked rather dull in promo photos. It wasn't until she came out in Australia that we got a good look at all her lovely colors and I added her to my pre-orders. 

I was immediately drawn to this odd-eyed girl when I chose my bear and she's so gorgeous. She's definitely the sleeper CB of the year and one of my favorites all-around. 

Oh, man, July is loaded with great dolls. Cave Club, the first Rainbow High. I almost picked Roaralai. I almost picked Sunny. I almost picked OMG Chillax (Dreamy Bones). 

But I HAD to pick my girl Luna. 

I only got 3 CBs in July, so Baby Bam (Anniversary Bamboozle) was a pretty easy choice.  

August is about as bad as July with too many choices. Hairdorables Series 5 arrived and killed it. Masquerade Queen Willow here is the one that demanded to be chosen, but Masquerade Phoebe put up a fight. So did Prom Perfect Hairmazing Neila. 

I'm breaking my rules by allowing two to step forward for August, but I simply could not choose between Willow and Zombies 2 Wynter. I looooooooooooooooove Wynter. 

August's CB is the darling Bambino. This little guy is a bit smaller than my ideal cuddler, but because he's almost completely that ultra soft tyber fur, he's actually one I've gone back to time and again for sleepytime cuddles.

September's toy is the darling Sightseeing Alien from Cloudees Series 3. 

Very close runner up is Itty Bitty Prettys Spice. I really almost picked her. 

September's CB is Peach Cobbler, one of only two bears I've bought from local stockists.

October's doll is Raisin Cane from the Altaya SSC remake line. 

I always wanted a Raisin doll!

October also had the Series 2 Fantasy Friends so Raisin beat out them for this spot. It was close though. 

I only got 3 CBs in October and none of them is jumping out at me, so my handmade Mermista and Soundwave from etsy are taking the spot instead. 

Gah, I love these two. 

November's doll is the wild and crazy Bashley, the completely unexpected addition to the Cave Club line. 

I cheated with the dolls one month, so I'm cheating with the bears, too. There are two November picks. 

First is Lee. Lee was an unexpected love. I knew I liked him when I chose him, but he beat out both other new arrivals and ended up being one of my few chosen bears that went on vacation with me. 

And second is Carousel, my lovely big boy. He was one of my top most wanted from the entire year and he did not disappoint one bit. 

I got some great dolls in December, but it's still an easy pick for favorite: Karma!

The CB is also easy: Roger!

SO CUTE.

That was fun. I need to remember to do this every year.

REVIEW: Hello Kitty & Friends Éclair/Hello Kitty and Jazzlyn/Badtz-Maru

 

I've got a couple more Hello Kitty dolls for us to take a quick look at. 

This is Éclair, who pairs with Hello Kitty, so I think we can assume she's the main character. 

She's cute. Slightly less bright pink hair than Stylie. 

Still not sure we needed two with pink hair. Why not red hair for Éclair? Maybe because the bow is red? Eh, let them both be red. 

I really do love the faces on these girls. 

Then we've got Jazzlyn, who made it out a bit early. I wasn't supposed to get her until the first week of January. 

Definitely my favorite. But then so is Badtz-Maru.

I tried to give her a sassier pose. Not easy with nothing but basic articulation, but I think it comes across anyway. 

I love the overall dress and the black tee with the little cutout. 

 

I'm tempted to get another to redress. I just adore her face.

Gymberly is the only one not out yet. Amazon says she'll arrive between the 8th and 16th.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: 2003 Integrity Toys Off the Hook Dayle

Well, this review has been a long time coming. I've wanted one of these dolls for a couple years at least, but I kept missing out on the lower-priced ones. If I was going to pay bigger bucks, I wanted to at least start with Dayle, who's my favorite. 

I didn't get my preferred version of Dayle with the pigtails, but I was happy enough to get this ponytail version as one of my Christmas gifts. 

Off the Hook is a line from 2003, produced by Integrity Toys, who did a lot more with playline back then instead of just focusing on their elitist "high fashion" lines. 

I don't remember if I ever saw these in stores. I think I would have bought some if I did. 

Here's all her stuff: red top, white jacket, denim skirt, undies, shoes, drawstring purse, comb/brush combo.

These were touted as being able to fit 11.5" fashion doll outfits while also being able to pose.

Everything is extremely pin-uppy. 

The legs have no knee joints. They're hard plastic and only move at the hips, but they're molded in different poses, which is cool. 

She's got a tiny jointed waist and very large boobs. Definitely pin-up. 

Then her arms are soft and bendable, like the bodies on the Winx Club dolls would be. Yet her hands are hard plastic with articulated wrists. 

The overall proportions are really odd. Big boobs, practically no hips, skinny legs. Definitely not the type of body you'd see in today's more body diverse lines. Not that there's anything wrong it it. Just pointing out that this is really dated.

Points for having two different hand molds. 

Here you can get an idea of the molded legs. 

The shirt is also something I don't think a modern line would get away with. There's no lining in it, so that's her skin showing through all its holes.

I love the vintagey shoes.

The arms aren't really attractive bare, so I'm glad she comes with the jacket. 

I adore the faces on this line!

I may work on her hair or I may let it go. I'm not sure yet.

One more face shot. 

I definitely want more of this line now. There are 4 total characters. Dayle here is the redhead and Reese is blonde. Neve (often called Neue thanks to an odd font) is black and Toya is Latina. There seem to be 2 versions of each girl produced. They're not easy to find and not cheap unless you get lucky. Sigh!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Hello Kitty & Friends Stylie/My Melody

Got my first Hello Kitty & Friends doll today! I pre-ordered all 4, but only Stylie has shipped so far.

 

These are $14.99 on Amazon. 

This line is definitely not for the articulation or quality snobs. I don't mind basic with lesser quality as long as the design is something I don't already have on my shelves. 

Stylie has only the most basic articulation: neck, shoulders, hips. 

Her hair isn't the best quality. It's nylon, I think, but not the worst nylon ever. It's okay. 

The tiny My Melody is really cute.

I got this line because I love their adorable little faces. I think she's super cute. 

The outfit is pretty basic. The skirt's fabric layer is attached to the clear vinyl. 

The shoes are enormous! 

I like the waves in her hair. I'm not going to condition it because I don't want them to go away. 

She's just really cute. Love the pink they used for her hair. 

And a quick size shot. I'll have to take another with those giant shoes off. I think she'd still be a little taller than the Cave Club though. 

Overall, I think she's a very cute, unique, basic doll. I don't think these are worth $14.99 though. Maybe $12.99 at most? (She says as if she's not going to pay whatever to get more new characters if they come out.)

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Ruby Red Fashion Friends Holiday Bella

I've had this girl for a bit now, but I thought she'd be perfect to open on Christmas Eve.

This is Bella from the Ruby Red Fashion Friends holiday line. 

I had the blue-eyed Bella exclusive, which was just the regular Bella with blue eyes, but I sold her a few months ago. This girl has the same gorgeous blue eyes, so it's like she's back, but way better. 

I'm a sucker for short hair, so I was immediately drawn to this girl. The stock photos were very misleading though. She looked much paler and her hair was either black or so dark brown that it looked black. 

I wasn't fussed about her having Bella's typical skintone. That's the one my first Bella had. No problem. But I wasn't happy at all about her having medium brown hair instead of the darker color. 

Bella has these fantastic colors on the underside of her hair and a darker top layer would have made them pop way more. 

So many colors!

The detailing on her dress is AMAZING. 

The fabrics are nice and soft, too. Very luxurious.

Giant butt bow. Love it. 

The skirt has so many layers!

She also has some serious soles on her shoes. I've never seen anything like these.

They definitely get points for being the most unique holiday fancy shoes I've ever seen. 

She also comes with a headband and little gloves. I don't care for the gloves. They're cute, but I feel like they're just too much that close to the sleeves. Maybe they'd be better without the sleeves, but those are so pretty that I'm not taking them off. 

She also comes with a cute wreath! 

I was initially disappointed by the lighter hair, but I really love her a lot this way, too. She's just so cute! Hanna was my "Ramona" doll before, but I think Bella is my new Ramona. Her hair is more accurate to the character and I could totally see Ramona getting all those colors put in. 

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep her in the holiday dress permanently or look for a custom outfit that's a bit edgier. Something to suit that wild hair. I do like this though. I'm actually tempted to get Sara or Maya to also have the blue version of the holiday dress...

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.