MONTH IN REVIEW: END OF 2022 + JANUARY 2023

Well, I planned on making this only January and then I realized I'd missed a few arrivals from November and December. 

This whole post is Charlie Bears, so if they don't interest you, everything else I got was reviewed already. 

I didn't plan on getting the Birthday Bear for this year. The look of the bear is always a secret. I got the one for 2016, but never got another blind-bought since. (I had the one for 2018 after I knew what she looked like, but I've since sold her.) I dunno why I got the whim this year, but I did, and the bear is a mini version of popular Tyber plush Black Forest Gateaux. He's adorable. 

Cherish is a rarity: a mohair whim purchase. I loved this design and when Valerie had some available, I ordered one, along with Carenza and Trifle. He's a completely different style to the few mohairs I own, and I love the brown and purple color combo. 

Sweet-faced Carenza was another whim. I wasn't interested in her initially, but after seeing some of Valerie's, I saw a couple I liked. This is the face that won out. 

Trifle is a bear I liked the design of but didn't pre-order. I asked to be added to Valerie's list but had to wait for others to pick first. I wanted this one in particular and while she does have some defects, she's perfect to me. I'm not as picky as other collectors, so bears like this are made for me. When she arrived, I totally fell for her. She's incredibly cuddly and even got to join my vacation crew this year. 

The above were all late November arrivals. Magda here I bought from Valerie's post-Black Friday sale, but she didn't ship her until I came back from vacation, so she arrived in mid-December. 

Magda is one I've had my eye on for months and the sale was the perfect opportunity to finally buy her. She's a soft, biscuity color and surprisingly cuddly. 

Galileo is a design I really liked but didn't pre-order. I knew I'd need just the right face if I did decide I wanted him. I saw this guy on ebay and he was on sale, so I bought him. 

I don't have a lot of gigglers, the bears with the open mouths, so he's a nice addition to that small group. He's also absolutely darling and so soft! 

Oh, Paul! I love Christine Pike's few bear designs, all of which were done in the early years. I've wanted him for years and got him for an absolute steal price of $25 because he's missing his tags. 

He's SO CUTE. What a chonk. 

Beautiful Chester is a tree kangaroo, an animal I've been hoping Bearhouse would do for ages. He's even Tyber partially! He's my favorite Bearhouse this year so far and he's gotten lots of cuddles since his arrival in late December. 

These final three are my January buys.

Little Pander was a QVC purchase. I liked him because he reminds me of Phantom, an enormous 26" older bear that I wanted but could never justify at that size. 

Garibaldi was one of my preorders. He arrived yesterday. He's a lovely patchwork bear that goes nicely with his sister, Battenburg. I'm so happy I got my first choice. I love the face on this one. 

Newton was another unplanned guy. When I first saw owner pics, I wasn't interested, but then a couple people had cute ones. I've been watching the preorder albums like a hawk, waiting for more of mine to appear, so I kept seeing him there and ended up picking out which one I'd adopt if I got him. When Garibaldi was the only one of my four preorders to be photographed in the most recent batch, Newton ended up hitching a ride here with him and I have zero regrets. He's right up there with Kirsteen and Trifle in my unexpected loves of 2022 category. He's big and chunky, but not overly huge. His poofy fur makes him a great cuddler. Hes just all around a fantastic bear and I think he's pretty underrated. People tend to overlook him in favor of Einstein and Galileo (get the name grouping?) because he's not a giggler and they are.  

All right, that catches us up. Welcome to 2023.

FOR SALE: Gorjuss & Jasmine Becket-Griffith Adventure in Oz

I'm parting with some of my slightly larger dolls. 

First up are four Gorjuss dolls produced by Paola Reina. 

These do not come with their boxes. Also, these are old photos, so if you want new ones, please let me know. 

Bluebird's Proposal

$75

Ruby

$75

White Rabbit

$100

On Top of the World

$50

Then we've got Ashton Drake's Adventures in Oz line designed by Jasmine Becket-Griffith. 

These still have their outer boxes, but I removed the cardboard liner and papers. These did go through the hurricane with me, so if you don't want the boxes, please let me know. The dolls look fine. 

Dorothy

$100

Scarecrow

$100

Cowardly Lion

$100

Tin Man

$100

I would do $275 on the entire set of four. 

As always, feel free to make offers. Prices do not include shipping. 

REVIEW: Hairmazing Gift Set

I went to Walmart by work after my shift, hoping to find some Aphmau stuff, but they were sold out. I did find the Hairmazing gift set on sale for $9 though! I didn't take any pics in the box, because I wasn't sure I was going to review it, and this is obviously not a full review, but I wanted to show how much use I got out of those pieces. 

It redressed six dolls (the one in the middle is the one that comes with the set). 

The set is sadly not for the curvy dolls, but I liked this animal skirt and thought it would be cute on her. I had to snip the back a little to get it on her and it does not close, but her top holds it in place nicely. They should do a curvy doll gift set next. 

Doll: Single-packed casual line curvy blonde

Outfit: Daisy top is from her stock. Rainbow purse and animal skirt are from the gift set. Blue shoes are from the curly brunette casual line doll. 

This poor girl finally gets some love. I always liked her, but she got overshadowed by others. 

Doll: Original 7-pack ballerina

Outfit: All pieces from the gift set. I love that bag and the shoes. Great color. I wasn't sure I was going to like the skirt and the cherry top, but this looks surprisingly cute on her. 

And this girl is finally in something cuter. 

Doll: Single-packed casual line curly brunette

Outfit: Everything is from the gift set. I love the red shoes and the heart purse. 

This lovely doll is finally getting an outfit that makes her extra gorgeous. 

Doll: Current 7-pack 

Outfit: Pink sheer top and dress are from the gift pack. The shoes are from the casual line doll with the smiley face tee. 

This doll was lovely in her simple top and shorts, but she's even better in this dress.

Doll: Single-packed casual with purple streaks

Outfit: The dress is from the gift set. The shoes are from her stock outfit. 

This is the doll that comes with the gift set in the outfit she wears in the box. It's too pretty to change. I was surprised how much I loved this doll once I deboxed her, but she really is lovely. She's one of my faves now. 

And finally, my ultimate fave. This is the second one of this design that I bought specifically to redress and then she's been sitting around for months waiting for me to find the right clothes. 

Doll: Single-packed swim line brunette with blue streaks

Outfit: Everything is from the gift set. The top is connected to the suspenders, so this is all one piece. The gold shoes are boots. The orange purse is spectacular. 

Not Shown But Also in the Gift Set: 3 tiaras, a bunch of hangers, and one pink top with black squiggles

Ending with my faves. 

If you get the chance, get over to Walmart and check clearance for this set. It's online, but it's $15 instead of the $9 I paid, so it might be cheaper in stores. 

I hope to see more from Hairmazing this year!

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Shadow High Series 2 Zooey Electra

Man, I have been slow with this one! Poor Electra was one of the dolls trapped in my Amazon package hub for almost a week. She was the last thing I deboxed. Had to wait her turn behind all the Disney ILYs. Then she had her gel removal salon time and I actually took her review pics several days ago, but I've been focusing on reading a lot and kept forgetting to write this. But here we are. 

Her comb and stand are more of a blue. Interesting and pretty. 

I love the laptop. 

And her phone, too. 

Electra is into Novi Stars, which in case you haven't heard of it, was a small line of alien dolls made by MGAE (of course). They were one of the MH competitors, though their lack of articulation is likely what killed them. It's sad because the later designs were amazing! I had to import several of them from Russia many years ago. The line was ahead of its time and I wish they'd bring it back. 

In her basic pieces after her salon time. 

Again, the Novi Stars shirt. I wish they'd varied the designs more. All three images feature the same character: Mimi Merize.

With her cute skirt and shoes back on.

She's gorgeous. 

I love all the patches. 

I'm not a fan of puffy coats at all, but this suits her. 

She's also one of the only cases where I'm leaving the socks on. I love these iridescent socks and they look cute with the unusual shoes. 

Earrings back on and she's got her phone and laptop. 

Her final look is her entire outfit. It all works well together. 

Honestly, the only thing I don't like about her is her first name. I always want to pronounce that Zoo-ey, not like Zoe. So mine will just be called Electra. 

I like her a lot and I think she's the fan favorite of the series, but she's my third in line behind Moni and Glitch. Moni is just perfection and I adore Glitch because of her character and darker aesthetic. Electra is certainly beautiful though! I regret not taking pics of her with my Novis. I'll have to do that eventually. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Disney ILY 4Ever Ariel and Jasmine fan dolls, Jasmine and Aurora outfit packs

The Ariel and Jasmine fan dolls are easiest to review together, because I've got them overlapping a lot of pieces. 

The Ariel fan here was my initial favorite from the line. Sadly, mine appears to look the goofiest in photos. I don't notice it as much in person. Sigh. I think I'll check her out in Target once they finally get them in and see if I can find one with more perfect eyes. She's not off that much but something about her mold just cannot handle any wonk. 

She is one of the ones that had gel, so she got it washed out. I'm not a big fan of her hair quality. She might get boil treated eventually. 

I usually hate those silly hair knots, but I don't completely hate it on her. 

I like all of her stock except the pants. Ariel isn't exactly known for wearing pink in her mermaid form, so I wish they'd gone with more greens for this outfit. 

Love the details on the hoodie. 

Forgot I did take a photo of the entire stock. 

Sigh. I'm struggling with my allergies today and they're making my head fuzzy. 

Love her necklace. She has my favorite necklace by far. 

This is surprisingly cute. My plan for an Ariel fan doll is to get her fashion pack and combine bits. It's just not a high priority, because I'll need another doll to wear it. Likely another of this girl. She does look good in these colors. 

Her food item.

Okay, now we'll jump to Jasmine. 

Another gelled girl that had to have it washed out. 

Her hair is neat and curly, though one side is tighter than the other. Alas. 

Stock. 

I think the little purple thing is a notebook? Mine is really hard to open and I don't want to break it. 

Love this tee. One of the best clothing items in the entire line. 

Do not love this shirt, but don't hate it as much as I thought I would. 

Do love the sandals. 

Her purse is one of the few without a fabric strap, but the chain is fine in rubber. 

Food item. 

Here's the Jasmine outfit.

Out of the box. 

Y'know, the little handheld accessories like the clutch annoy me, because they're not even trying to make ways for the dolls to hold them. They fail compared to other lines that way. 

This is fun on. 

But I had other plans. My favorite doll needs to wear my favorite princess. 

So she's got the tee, bracelet and purse from the stock, combined with the pants, shoes, bracelet, necklace and scrunchy from the outfit pack. 

Love it. 

This doll is still my favorite. Even with her expression and her hairstyle that I usually don't like. She just makes me happy. 

Now what would look best on our blonde doll?

How about the Aurora pack?

The Aurora, Belle and Cinderella packs are the strongest ones for me, though none of the others I have are disappointing in any way. 

I love whoever came up with this totally Mal outfit. 

The fishnets are not a separate piece. Just thought I'd note that. 

This was not my favorite doll, but she rocks in this outfit. 

So cute. It makes me love her. 

The headband even works, even though I didn't want to take her stock hair out of its little mini Jasmine ponytail. 

I like the clear plastic bag, though I'm not sure if it's a tote or a shopping bag. 

She comes with a concert ticket, so maybe a merch bag. 

So yeah, final look for her is just the entire Aurora pack. 

Very happy with these girls overall. They were a lot of fun to open and redress. A lot of good details here. I would like to see improvements in the bodies and the hair quality. I'd also love to see some body diversity and I want them to go nuts with diversity in general. Lots of different skintone and hair combos already and I want that to continue. 

I did come up with some names while playing around with them. 

These two are cousins: Diana and Bianca. 

Diana's name just popped into my head. No Wonder Woman connection. Or mythology. I've liked the name for eons, because I had a friend named Diana when I was in kindergarten.

Bianca I thought of because of Snow White. I played around with other stuff, but she just yelled at me that her name was Bianca, dammit, and to move on to naming someone else. 

BFFs Mika and Sumitha. 

Mika came from the Meeko shirt. I never claimed to be great at names. 

Sumitha is an old YA series character. I was trying for book names for everyone but gave up pretty quickly. 

And our couple, Janelle and Violet. 

Janelle, as I explained in her review, is from the Truly Devious book series. 

I actually came up with Violet when I originally planned to put this doll in the Aurora outfit. Just thinking of all the purple going on here. She also reminds me a smidge of Piper Perabo's Violet from Coyote Ugly. The amusing thing is that Janelle's partner in Truly Devious is named Vi, so pairing these two was obvious. 

It honestly is weird having to name dolls. I'm so used to character-based lines these days. It's been forever since I had to name a doll that wasn't an American Girl. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.