REVIEW: American Girl Modern Day JOSEFINA, MOLLY & FELICITY

First off: I'm not here for any comments about how these are ruining the historical line. These are a completely separate line that in no way negates the existence of the historicals, who are all very much available. These are different and fun and I love them. And maybe, just maybe, they'll be the gateway for new fans to get into the historicals. 

Let's start with Molly. She was actually a late add to my order. I didn't go into this planning on getting her, but she won me over. 

The hat is cute but she looks better without it. 

Yes, much better.

As a girl with Molly as my childhood fave, this is more like a hybrid of Emily and Molly. Molly's hair is nowhere near this shade. It's pretty, but it takes her out of being Molly. 

I love her purse and bracelet! 

And the outfit is super cute. I saw some complaints about the "mini skirt," but seriously, this isn't that short. I definitely had skirts that length when I was a kid. 

And the shoes! Soooooo cute!

Without her glasses. 

I love her more than I expected to. While the hair color doesn't scream Molly, she's still a really cute doll in a great outfit. My only other complaint is that the glasses are loose. I had to bend the arms a couple times to get them to stay on her head. 

Josefina! At first glance, I thought she was the best one. I still think she is the best in this line, though I'll know more when I see them all in person next month. (I'm paying a visit to AGPNY.)

She is so adorable!

I assumed she had a skirt, but no! SHORTS! YES! 

These are lovely. 

As is the purse. 

Super cute face. Love the necklace and earrings, too. Maybe the necklace chain could have been a little longer to fall below the collar, but that's a nitpick. 

She is perfection. 

Lissie!

She has A LOT of hair. 

Definitely looks like Lissie. Good job, Mattel. 

Mine's lips are a little bit misprinted, but it's okay. I'm not dealing with their return process. Nope. She's fine. 

The boots from the side. 

And front. 

I used a plastic band to keep her purse in place. This is why Molly's wristlet style is superior for dolls with no wrist or elbow articulation. 

Love the shirt and necklace. 

Like Josefina, no real notes. 

I'm planning on taking a good look at these in AGPNY. I won't be able to bring anyone else home on the plane, but we'll see if anyone gets ordered once I'm home. Samantha, you're a good possibility. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Monster High x MotU SKELETOR

I grew up with He-Man, so this collab was definitely made for people like me. I had no idea she was even on the horizon, but I was thrilled to be able to get one. 

One of the few Skullector boxes I've kept. 

Yesssssssss.

I absolutely love her. 

I know people complained about this doll, but I'd say if you complain, you're missing the point somewhere. It's fine if you genuinely don't like the design, but two of the major complaints have explanations. 

First, yes, there is a lot of plastic. This is a doll based on an action figure. If it was all fabric, they would lose the action figure hybrid aspect. The long, rooted hair and fabric cape are enough soft elements for me. 

Second, yes, she's pricey. THEY ALL ARE. High prices are not new to Skullectors. At this point, you have to accept that some collector dolls have higher prices than the materials you're seeing. It's paying for the word "collector," for the collab, for the low number, for the exclusivity. The prices are not suddenly going to become more reasonable, so instead of complaining all the time, maybe collector lines just aren't for you. 

That said, let's move on to the doll. 

I love the details on all the plastic elements. The hands are fantastic and the bracers (I'm not good with armor words, so I'm calling them that.) are a nice, soft rubber. 

The boots are AMAZING. 

I love every detail. 

One of my favorite aspects is that she comes with a grasping hand that can actually hold the huge staff tightly. 

The face is perfection. 

She is pure badassery. 

The colors are bright. Like my photos don't capture them well. They're very 80s flashback. 

Literally my only complaint is that this wasn't a 2-pack with Evil-Lyn. 

Ugh, she's so awesome. I can't get over it. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

VINTAGE REVIEW: 1988 Cool Times Midge

FINALLY! This girl has been my most wanted for probably almost three years now. Ever since I found the vintage Barbies in my local toy store and brought home Western Fun Nia and All Stars Teresa and Midge. That kick-started this recent bout of buying vintage Barbie and I'm pretty sure it was in 2023. 

Midge goes for $60+ usually, but my patience paid off and I got her for $45 plus shipping. 

She's in perfect condition. Her mostly white outfit is still pristine. 

Her hair is a little wild, but it's kinda supposed to be. 

I'm very pleased with her, since I had a recent buy that arrived with a stain on her skirt, rubber bands melted into her hair and most horrifically, a broken arm in the bottom of her box. The seller is supposedly sending me a refund but I haven't gotten it yet. 

I love the Steffie face so much and Midge typically does it very well.

So happy to have her sitting next to Teresa on the shelf!

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Monster High Wednesday MORTICIA

I honestly wasn't going to get this doll unless she went on sale. I vastly prefer the non-show Morticia that MH did a while back. Buuuuuuuut someone at Target made a little error. When their listings for Morticia first went up, it said $25.49. So I set an alert for when she was in stock. I knew she was $43.20 on Amazon and $44 on Mattel, so I figured when she actually came in stock, they'd fix the pricing error. 

Well, they did not. Not until half an hour after I'd gotten the alert and bought her!

I thought maybe they wouldn't honor the price, but they shipped her fast and she's here. 

Is she perfect? Noooooooo. I don't think she looks much like the actress, the dress is not great, and the shoes are pretty bad. 

But for $25? Hell, yeah, I was getting her. 

She is a gorgeous doll though. Definitely. I love those cheekbones. I did initially think they'd paled her up too much, but that was just owner pic lighting. She's a similar skintone to Wednesday, as she should be. 

I like the simple design of the dress, but the sleeves aren't cut very well. They bunch up easily and the fabric is too thick for the proper drapery of a bell sleeve. So you can't pose her arms up without her looking kinda silly. And you also have to be cautious of her rings. I accidentally cut the thin band holding the left hand's ring on and I regret it. It already fell off once. 

I do like the bottom of the dress though. 

The shoes...not so much. The actual shoe part is very clunky. The shape just isn't right and I know clunky goth heels well. The object heels are all right. I've never been a hater of them, but the heart is too simple, I think. I like the flytrap though. Thankfully, her shoes are easily hidden by her dress. 

So in sum, gorgeous doll but she doesn't resemble the actress and her outfit's execution leaves a lot to be desired. I do think she'd be a serviceable Morticia for anyone who didn't get the non-show 2-pack of dolls though. 

I'm glad I got her at that price, because I do love her face that much, but I would not have paid full price for her. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: TLS Toy Cheebee Cuties Strawberry Shortcake Series 1

I ordered this set on eBay and it comes in its own plain cardboard box with the six figures inside. 

These are the new style of Cheebee that will be sold at Five Below. I thought they were a standalone set, but Amazon just has it so you can buy the six commons together, though I have heard of someone getting the rare Purple Pieman with their set in place of Lime. So it's possible one of the set will be replaced by him, Apple Dumplin' or one of the pearly chase figures of SSC or Orange. 

Here's the checklist. 

I think these are the perfect hybrid of the Cheebees and the micro figures. They're the height of the Cheebees but similar in cuteness to the micros. 

These two both smell really good!

Adorable!

I don't get a huge difference in scent on these two. Orange is maybe a tiny bit sweeter but not distinctly orange. 

My girls! Raspberry was my childhood fave SSC doll until I found Lime at a flea market in 7th grade, so both of these are sort of my childhood faves. 

Lime smells nice. I like her a bit better than Orange and Lemon scent-wise.

Raspberry is very sweet, though not necessarily raspberry. To be fair, I don't know if I've ever smelled something and identified it specifically as raspberry. It's just a sweet scent. 

They are adorable and I love them all. I hate that they're at Five Below again, because I don't have the best access. I'd love Pieman and even Apple or the pearlys, but Apple and Pieman are going for insane prices on eBay, so I doubt I'll ever get them.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.  

VINTAGE REVIEW: 1986 Barbie and the Rockers Series 2 DANA

With the new repros of the Rockers out, I found myself pretty disappointed. Barbie and DeeDee look good and they're available on Amazon, but my girl Dana? They gave her a weird face AND she's only on Mattel Creations. Did I spend the sixty bucks and get her anyway? Yes, but mostly to have a newer version of her iconic outfit where hopefully the jacket material won't flake off. 

I did go looking for a vintage one to stay boxed and add to my little collection of two vintage plus the upcoming repro, but she's a little pricey right now. I decided to finally get the Series 2 version, which I never had. So for about forty plus shipping, she's mine. Yeah, a vintage Barbie will frequently cost less than repros. The materials might not have aged well over time, but I still prefer vintage to repro. 

Oh, nostalgia. I had Dana from the original set of Rockers, but these were my Diva and Derek. I think I'll get a Diva soon. I don't have mine anymore, only the first series Diva. 

To be fair, the first series was better overall. The outfits, hair and makeup were far superior. But the second series is still a fun set of dolls. 

Deboxed! 

I had no idea her pants were kind of pinkish and the material is nice. It's rough, but it's not lame, so it's not dying a slow peeling death. 

She's so pretty. The solid blue eyeshadow isn't as nice as her original look, but I still like it a lot. 

I've been buying the occasional vintage piece again, so hopefully I'll have more reviews soon. I recently got a favorite childhood outfit that I put on my Sunsational Malibu Barbie but it needs shoes before I take pics. I also got one of the Animal Lovin' fashions and I want Nikki to wear that, so I need her. Then I want a Sensations fashion for my second Becky doll. I'll probably grab those two things this week and then we'll go from there. Oh, I need to go price Series 2 boxed Divas! And maybe original Derek...

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.