NEWS: IMC Toys' VIP Hair Academy

This first official link to a VIP Hair Academy doll has been found on Amazon.de. I totally forgot about this line. 

IMC Toys are most know for their VIP Dogs (and Cats) and the Cry Babies line with their accompanying BFFs. 

While I do like the VIP Pets a lot, I've never bought a Cry Babies BFF because they suffer from next level sameness. Almost all of them are white. There are maybe two with brown eyes. And so far, both series have used the same color schemes with minor variances. The entire first series uses only white, pink, pale yellow, blue (mostly pastel), purple (mostly lavender), and a hint of black on the dalmatian girl. The second series uses the same colors except there's no black, one girl has a neon yellow jacket, and the strawberry girl has red (or dark pink?) shoes with tiny green bows. They're adorable dolls, but they're so boring theme-wise. Unless you like pastel, I guess. Then you'd love these. 

So the Cry Babies are frustrating, but VIP Pets are usually quite good at having a wide array of colors. Being that these Hair Academy dolls are part of the VIP Pets world, I expected the same. 

Nope. They went the Cry Babies route. 

The one on the right is one of the better ones. She at least knows red exists. I like her makeup and her hair colors are more unusual. You don't typically see pink, red, blonde and blue together. I like her hairstyle, too. The bangs flatter the big-eyed face. I hate the headband and braid earrings, but that's fixable. I'm also not really feeling overalls as a full garment, but I do prefer them to most of the others' outfits. I'd get this one. From what I remember, I think she's a deluxe version of one of the four girls. Probably the pinky one next to her, as they both have freckles and the same eye color. Neon girl has freckles, but I'm pretty sure her eyes are green, and the left two have blue eyes. 

Moving on to the pink one. Well, she's pink. Pink and mint green isn't a bad color combo. Certainly been done a lot before, but it's better than others. I don't hate her outfit, though I certainly don't love it either. An easy one to skip.

Then we've got the ambiguous tan girl in the middle. I actually really like her doll. The hair colors complement her nicely and I like her makeup. Definitely love her boots! They're awesome. But I absolutely cannot stand that outfit! It's the worst one of the five. I hope these fit other clothes because she needs saving. 

Neon girl is probably my fave. Not shocking. If I can't have goth, dark jewel tones, red, or orange, I'll take neon next. 80s kid. She's the only one whose earrings I like. I like the vinyl outfit. The pawprints on her and tan girl make me wonder if they're training to be groomers. Not that you'd wear anything like these outfits to groom. I love all her hair colors. Looks like dark pink, light pink, chartreuse and maybe blonde mixed with the chartreuse on the hidden pigtail? 

And then we have Mia, the girl in the listing. You can see pics of all she comes with on Youloveit and follow the link to the original listing. I'm not posting all the accessory pics. 

Oh, poor Mia. She not only has 80s bangs but they look lopsided. I'm also sick of the one black girl in the line so often getting the purple hair. Shana rocked that look in the 80s, but that doesn't mean it has to be the go to. Mia would have been cute in any of the color schemes the white girls have. I like her outfit okay. It's nice to see multiple fabrics, though I'm not a big fan of the fraying on the skirt. Her shoes are bland, and I would have given her pink instead of the neon girl or overalls girl. Neon could have had chartreuse and overalls red. I want to like her. Her skintone is gorgeous in the boxed pic. And she has brown eyes! But I just can't with those bangs. 

So yeah, those are the first series VIP Hair Academy. The four on the right should be the regular line and overalls is deluxe. I'm pretty sure I'm remembering that right. I think the dolls are really pretty and show promise, but I want to see way more diversity in future lines. 

PHOTO CREDITS: IMC Toys promos from Amazon.de. 

Welcome to Wetmore Forest

Let's take a mermaid break, shall we?

I recently got back into Wetmore Forest. I've had two figures and four plush since October 2020, but I got the bug to collect more when I rearranged the plush around my bed a couple weeks ago. I'll do a post on the plush eventually, but for now, I'm going to show all the figures. 

It wasn't my intention to collect the entire line, but someone on Mercari had almost all of them for a fabulous price, so I said why not? 

This is Tumblebee. He's my favorite. I have his jumbo-sized plush. I think I meant to get his regular figure and never got around to it. So these are the regular, spring, fall and winter versions of Tumblebee. The winter figures were sold in a set of six and they're one of the only items that's a little pricier. They're flocked! The regular one is my fave, followed by fall. 

Next up is Butterhorn. All of them are going to be in the same order: regular, spring, fall, winter. 

Butterhorn is one of the few where I really love all four figures. I like the coloring on them all and the little smiles on spring and fall. Fall is my favorite overall. 

Chester McFreckle. (Some of them have surnames.)

For Chester, I like the pink spring one best and then the winter, but I do like them all. 

The regular blue Snuggletooth is one of the two I've had for years. I have the larger plush of him, too. (Canonically, Snuggletooth is female, but mine are male.) 

I love all of these. The bright colors of the spring. The lovely fall tones. The winter gray stripes. Fall is my favorite though. 

Here's Picklez. Poor Picklez might be my least fave of the main six, but I still like him. I think I like the winter one best, though the pinky-purple spring one is growing on me a lot. 

And the last of the original six character is Bugsy Wingnut. The regular purple version is the other one I've had for years. 

My favorite is the fuzzy winter one. He's darker than he looks in the photo. 

Series 2 gave us a bunch of new characters, but only with one version of each (mostly). 

These guys are Grumble, Magnus Twistknot (I guess he's the bad guy), Mulch, and Angus Knucklebark. 

The Slog on the left there is the one with the chase figure. The Slog itself is the same in both packs (I only kept one), but the "grub" he comes with varies. The one on the left is the regular, the more hidden one on the right is the chase. 

Then we've got the elder, Sapwood Mossbottom, then Smoots and Liverwort. 

I'm not much of a Funko collector, but these guys are really fun and of course I adore the plushies, too.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

UPDATE: Just Play's Little Mermaid mini plush

I've got an update on the Just Play mini plush!

First, I got my two from my shipped online order...and got two Ariels AGAIN. This time though, I was able to pop the tops open to see the hair and I knew they were her. I tried to do that on my first ones, but they weren't budging, so it's possible some are wrapped more tightly than others. But all you have to do is squeeze and the top of the shell will open a bit. You can check the hair and then close it back up if it's a double. 

So how did Perla and Indira join Ariel? I was able to do another pickup order from my Target! And this time, I got two I needed. I think they're pulling from the same case, but I also returned my double Ariels, so I can't do another pickup because you know damn well those Ariels will keep haunting me. 

I'm waiting to find these in stores to get the other four sisters. No more pickups. I wanted these two most anyway. 

So there are no codes on these. They all have the same numbers by the barcodes. But you don't need them because you can hair peek. 

Ariel is the only one with reddish-brown hair. With Perla, I saw the blue stitching detail and with Indira, her gold stitching is visible. Karina and Caspia should be easy to tell, while Tamika and Mala have a headband and tiara so those should be visible. 

Second update is that there is another set of mini plush with NINE characters instead of seven. The additional two are Triton and Ursula. The Target ones clearly say seven. I'm not sure where the set of nine is sold. I'm hoping Walmart so I have a good chance of them being put out on shelves.

REVIEW: Mattel Little Mermaid Sisters figure set

The sisters figures arrived from Target this evening. 

I love these. As much as I love the original sisters, the colors and translucent materials used on these is far better than the plain tails of the originals. 

Standing them is predictably difficult, so these aren't the best pics. 

Caspia and Indira

Karina, Mala and Tamika

Perla and Ariel

Everyone seated. 

I like Tamika best of these, followed by Perla and surprisingly, Caspia.

This is definitely worth buying. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Mattel Little Mermaid Ultimate Sisters 7-Pack

I have been waiting for these ladies for what feels like ages!

I think this is the second largest doll set I've ever gotten. The Ralph Breaks the Internet princesses are the only bigger one I can think of. 

These dolls are all gorgeous and well worth the $100 price point. 

I'm going to show them in the order they're packaged in. 

So this is Caspia. 

I thought she'd be my least fave aside from Ariel, but she's quite pretty in person. 

Caspia is the fifth sister, if you follow the order in the Guide to Merfolk book. I know Mala is eldest and she's first in order, so I'm guessing that's what they were going for. 

Caspia rules the Apneic Sea. 

She's described as selfless and a little bit reclusive. She values knowledge and is very protective of coral. 

The stunning Indira. 

Seriously, she's way gorgeous. 

Indira is the fourth sister and rules the Brinedive Sea. She's described as generous, empathetic and kind, but also an excellent diplomat and skilled debater. 

In Against the Tide, which I really need to get back to reading, Indira and Caspia are inseparable. 

This is my #1 girl. I love every single bit of Perla's design. 

She's an incredibly striking doll. 

Love how they did her hair. 

Perla is the sixth sister, so she's the one right before Ariel. In Against the Tide, she's the one Ariel talks to most. 

Perla rules the Piton Sea. She's described as charismatic, thoughtful, and good-natured.

Karina is the one who looks like she'd be my fave, but no. She's more middle of the pack. 

She's pretty, just less standout unique than several others. 

Karina is third oldest. She rules the dark, icy Saithe Sea. Karina is described as the most reclusive, the most decisive, and gifted with animals. 

I decided to take pics as I sat the doll I'd just finished reviewing down next to another. 

I really want to love Mala, but she's my least fave other than Ariel. The actress and doll are gorgeous, but I'm just not feeling this color scheme. 

Her face is so pretty, but the colors. I think it's because there have simply been too many pink mermaid dolls. Something about the ruffles and colors and the little headband feels like it's been done before. 

Mala is the eldest and rules the Chaine Sea. She is the most fearless of the bunch, strong, intrepid, and apparently has a good sense of humor, too. 

The semi-warmer-toned sisters. 

This is my favorite after Perla. Tamika is STUNNING. 

I think she has the best top and tail design. 

Beautiful but slightly hard to take pics of. Her eyes kept catching the flash. 

Tamika is the second oldest and rules the Fracus Sea. She's described as tactical and ruling with an iron fist, both a mighty warrior and a fierce ruler. 

In Against the Tide, Tamika hasn't been seen since their mother's death, so I'm intrigued by her story. I really need to go read that. 

These three look awesome together. 

And finally, Ariel. 

Compared to the others, she is a bit of an odd mer out. I didn't mind the slightly oversized, cartoony eyes when she was by herself, but next to all her sisters with their more regular proportions, she's a tad out of place. 

Ariel is the seventh and youngest of Triton's daughters. She rules the Carinae Sea. She's described as spirited, sensitive, and very interested in the human world. 

Forgive the BEGoths down there, but this was the only way to get a photo of all seven without them tipping over. 

The tails have pretty good articulation and I think these overall are very well-done. I love all the different colors and fin styles. The hair is decent quality. These are great dolls for the price. I can only imagine what they would have cost with elbow and wrist articulation like I'm sure some people will complain about. Their face sculpts are lovely. I'm so happy to have them! Now I just need to go read more about them. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Jakks' Petite Little Mermaid Tamika & Caspia

Tamika and Caspia arrived from Walmart today. 

I'm combining their reviews into one, because I have fewer pics than I had with Mala. 

I love Tamika. She's probably my second favorite of the sisters. 

Beautiful!

Then we've got Caspia.

She's cute. 

A bit different colors than the larger Caspia doll. 

And here are all three! Tamika is definitely my fave.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Barbie Fashionistas NDSS doll

Barbie did a collaboration with the National Down Syndrome Society to develop this lovely addition to the Fashionistas line. 

I've been excited to add this girl to my shelves ever since we first saw promo pics of her. 

I got mine from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLJRQNPB

She is currently sold out, which makes me happy, because it means she's doing well. 

Target also has a listing (also sold out):

https://www.target.com/p/barbie-fashionistas-doll-with-down-syndrome-wearing-floral-dress/-/A-87840824

The new cardboard Fashionistas packaging is easy to open. 

She's so adorable! 

These are called ankle foot orthotics (AFOs). 

I'm not saying much, because I've been planning on putting this link here:

https://ndss.org/news/barbie-introduces-its-first-doll-down-syndrome

This is a great article on how much work and research went into this doll. She has a completely new face and body sculpt, designed with input from a medical professional. 

I absolutely love her and she got an excellent spot on my Fashionistas shelf, beside some of my faves.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.