REVIEW: Plushie Dreadfuls Latte Lapins

 

I've seen Plushie Dreadfuls advertised a lot, but this set of Latte Lapins was the first to make me say "I need these as soon as they're available." I got notified that they were in stock and thankfully, there was a sale when I ordered. They're a smidge pricey at $45 each, but you do get a very nicely made tote bag with each one, so I get it. And they're also some sort of super soft fabric that probably isn't quite Charlie Bears-level tyber, but it feels damn close. They're supposedly 21" tall with their ears stretched up above them, so ten inches-ish seated. 

I'm pretty sure Matcha was the first one to grab my attention. I love the shades of green and all the embroidered details. 

Americano is probably my favorite. Gee, wonder why. I love the slashes through the eyes.

I am a sucker for medium to dark brown bunny plush, so I had to have Mocha. Mocha has embroidered details on his ears, unlike the first two. 

And finally, Caramel. I almost didn't order her, but I'm glad I did. I love all her swirls. She has markings on both eyes as well as her arms, legs and ears, so she's the most detailed of the four. 

I've got my eye on one of the mushroom bunnies next.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

TOP BEARRIVALS OF 2023

My sleep schedule is all screwy, so here I am awake after a failed attempt at sleep that turned into a mini nap instead. I thought I'd do a fun list of my favorite bears of the year. I tried for a Top 10, but blew past that pretty quickly. So no numbers involved. Only favorite cuddles. 

This list isn't in order of faves. It's chronological, as I'm using my bear blog as a reference. 

So first up is Newton. He was a 2022 bear, but I received him in January 2023. Not one from my preorder list, but I kept seeing him in my stockists sales albums and ended up bringing this guy home. He turned into a chunky cuddly favorite. 

I'm so happy I got this version of Mr. Twist with more red on his face. The random fabric bears are always so different.

He's a cuddly guy, too. 

Edgar the woolly mammoth was a huge fan favorite from the 2022 collection. He's adorable. Maybe not the most cuddly guy I own, but he makes up for it in uniqueness and cuteness. 

I've gotten a lot of the older bears on my want list, so I bought very few this past year. It took me a few years to finally get a Marzipan (he was from 2013) and he was worth the wait. That face! He's super soft, too. 

I do not cuddle Hayley enough and I need to work on that. It's harder to cuddle the big bears when I have two dogs that vie for my attention. I've bought big ones before, but they don't tend to stick around. I really love my Hayley though, so I'm glad I gave her a QVC-style audition. (I buy bears I'm unsure of from QVC, because they have the easiest return option.)

I LOVE HOUSTON. This enormous shoebill stork is one of the Bearhouse collection that permanently lives on my bed. He is glorious. 

Adorable baby mammoth Tusk just had to be included. 

 

My gorgeous and different Higgledys. I love them both. (Okay, the red-faced one a little bit more, but still, love them both.)

Carnival was one of my not-quite-preorders. These are bears that I like, but maybe I want to see owner pics or I'm not sure I can afford so many in one quarter. I fell in love with this one and was shocked when he was still remaining after the people who had preordered had chosen. So I snatched him right up. I think he's my sleeper fave from 2023, like Newton was for 2022. I love him more than several I actually preordered. 

The beautiful Yannie was a must have from the 2023 Secret Collection. Dana was my most wanted, but she ended up not looking much like her promo pics, so Yannie became my fave. Glorious, super soft tyber and lovely colors. And those big round ears!

Ugh, Night Owl is so sweet. I love him. 

OMG, Kevin. Yes, sometimes I hear his name in my head like the Home Alone Mom shouts it. Kevin didn't even make it to my maybe list, so I was surprised when I saw the ones my Australian stockist got in and decided I needed him. I added him to my preorders after that. Then when my stockist got hers in, I ended up choosing this guy over a more traditionally cute one. Kevin looks like a disgruntled professor or a mogwai or something. I know I just said Carnival was my 2023 sleeper, but I'm changing that. It's Kevin. 

Ah, orange. My favorite color that isn't black. Yeah, yeah, Halloween colors, so predictable. I don't care. There are barely any orange bears, so Harvest Moon was an instant fave from the 2023 collection. Well worth waiting most of the year for. She's stunning. Even though she's apparently grumpy about it. 

Oh, my baby! I adore Bonfire Toffee. If I had to pick a single favorite from 2023, it's him. He arrived just in time to go on vacation with me this year. Super cuddly. Great colors. Sweetest face. 

Tardy the sloth was very appropriately extremely tardy, considering we didn't get him until December and he was supposed to be out in spring. He was worth waiting for. December really had the best arrivals. 

We'll end with the beautiful Smog. I love these colors!

Annnnnnd I'm still not sleepy. Alas. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Jakks Pacific Disney ILY Cruella

Cruella finally came in stock on Amazon! 

I'm really happy Jakks is continuing their painted eyes series of ILY dolls. The body is far superior to the inset eye version, and they're better with diversity, too. 

The upcoming Rapunzel and Minnie dolls both look great. (Not clothes-wise so much, but definitely doll-wise.)

Tops. 

The furry one has non-furry material at the back. 

Coat. 

Bottoms. 

Shoes. 

Purses.

Sunglasses, necklace and ring. 

Fresh out of the box, she doesn't have gel, but she does certainly have some box hair! 

Let's fix that. 

Side note: I love the gray panties. You hardly ever see gray. 

There, the hair is much better. Now for some outfit swapping. 

Not really into the white boots with the pants, but we know the fuzzy top looks good with the pants and coat combo. 

All black and white. This is pretty cute. 

I love the little sleeve detail. 

Not into the furry top with this skirt. Nope. 

I should have put the necklace with the furry top. I try not to pair necklaces with tops that have neck ties like this. 

I love the coat, but it definitely works best with the pants and red top.

Now there's the outfit!

My only complaint about this doll is that she doesn't look like the original promo. That very well could have been lighting, but her hair looked more of a light brown before and she wasn't as tan. 

I was disappointed to see that now she's basically the Target exclusive doll with slightly lighter hair and blonde streaks. This is one reason the Jakks line is better than the Shop Disney line. The Jakks dolls are more unique, while the Disney ones look like previous dolls. So I'm hoping this is a one-off thing and Jakks doesn't start being repetitive with their painted eye dolls. 

That said, she's still a gorgeous doll with great clothes and I'm happy to have her. I have a pair of Ursula twins, so these ladies can be sisters just as easily. I'm excited for the next two to come out, and eventually, I need to get three of the new Disney versions, too. (Why aren't the three I want on Target.com? Argh.) Keep them coming, Jakks. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Rainbow High Basic Swim Violet

I have never disliked the RH basics. I recently got Georgia and she's stunning. So when I saw how pretty the new swim line was, I had to have Sunny and Violet. 

Sunny got here first, though she had an enormous lip rub, so I sent for a replacement that should be here tomorrow. 

Violet got here today and thankfully is good quality. 

Bag and sunglasses. 

Wrap/towel. 

Not a fabric I'd use for a towel, but it was shown that way in the promo pics. 

Cute shoes. 

Violet has some gel, so she's destined for salon, but she brushed out nicely enough for me to do the review with the gel still in. 

She's gorgeous. I sold my original Violet ages ago and never got another version of her, so it's nice to have her again, even though she'll never be a favorite character. 

 

Not horrible but nope. 

The wrap could have been a little bit bigger. It wasn't the easiest to tie behind her neck. But I like the material and I think it looks pretty. 

I think she's gorgeous and worth the $14.99. Unlike the Series 3 basics from Family Dollar, $14.99 is a fair price for an inset eye basic doll with a complete outfit and accessories. I'm glad to have Sunny coming. Hopefully this one's lips (and eyes) are fine! 

I hope they continue the basic lines, though I would love it if they used them to showcase non-mainbow characters we won't ever see again otherwise. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Rainbow High Madison Twins

I wasn't planning on doing a review for these, as they've been out for ages, but then I decided, why not? Pretty sure I won't be doing too many more RH reviews, so let's just look at the pretties. 

I ordered this set when it was down to $23.99 on Amazon. I was mad they screwed Luna out of her outfit, so there was no way I'd pay full price, but for $23.99? Yep. 

The first set they sent had Luna missing about two rows of hair plugs right at her hairline, so there's this molded line behind her edges and then baldness behind it for a bit. I tried to do a replacement, but they wanted refund only, so I waited and bought a second set when I had more funds. I'll be returning the defective set for the higher $41 price I just paid for what turned out to be a nice set. 

Sunny's hair was the most gelled thing I have ever seen. I don't know why they thought that was a good idea for a toy for kids. I just don't get it. A little bit, sure, but it's like they dipped her pigtails in gel and let it solidify. I'm not thrilled with how it came out. Very fluffy. Might have to recondition her eventually. But at least the gel is gone. 

At least she comes with adorable earrings and all these cute barrettes. 

I rinsed the gel from her bangs, but not from the loops at the back. Though it probably wouldn't matter. They hang weird anyway. 

She's super cute though.

I don't even hate her shoes anymore. They suit her. 

What I do hate is that Sunny clearly got all the budget. Her outfit is ridiculously detailed with multiple materials and layers, yet they couldn't give Luna her actual outfit from the show. And all she would have needed was a friggin' bodysuit instead of a tee. Come on. 

Adorable. 

I wouldn't have liked it if someone turned my plushie into a purse, but at least Sunny does. 

And it is very cute. 

Sunny gets earrings and five barrettes. 

Luna gets...only these. 

Sigh. 

She is still stunning though. Obviously, she's the reason I bought the set. 

Beautiful. 

And excellent lunchbox purse. 

It's a great set overall, though not without disappointment because of the unbalanced favoritism. 

Sunny does look cute in this, though I definitely bought the set for Luna, who will be my final Shadow High review. RIP, SH. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.