REVIEW: Roxy Dolls SURF Doll

Sometimes I get the urge to try out a new brand, and after seeing these in person when I grabbed my Scorchin' Bratz, I went back for this one tonight. 

I'm not sure if the original price on these was $19.99 or if I was just assuming, but they are now $22.99. That's going to hurt any sales these may have had. 

I like all four, but if they'd been $19.99, I would have grabbed the skater girl, too. 

I'll get her eventually. 

She can stand on her own. 

Her hair is silky and nice. There was a bit of gel, but it actually brushed right out. No salon visit needed. 

Every piece is quite well-made, except maybe for the watch, which isn't bad but lacks details. 

Her hair from the back. 

My lazy approximation of the back of the box photo.

She even stands without her shoes on. 

The body is nicely articulated. 

Her legs are a little prone to wiggling from side to side from the knee joint. 

Her head is a little tight. Like she looks down easily, but if I try to have her look straight forward, her head snaps up most of the time. 

Overall, I like her a lot and I really want the skater now. However, there's no way I'm going to say such a small doll is worth $23. They're nicely made with nicely made pieces, but they're still pretty small (think about a head taller than a Pixling). I think we're paying for the brand name here unfortunately and maybe some tariff action. Will I buy more? Yes. Will I convince myself they're worth the price tag? Nope. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Unicorn Academy VALENTINA V2

I also got my updated Valentina today. 

She's essentially the same doll as the original, only with a mirror accessory. 

Original on the left. 

New on the right. 

The new one has a better print on her pants, but at the cost of some of the silver paint on her boots. 

These are the only differences I see.

But hey, she has a mirror. 

I wouldn't spend money on her unless you already wanted a second Valentina. The mirror and pants aren't worth any extra money. 

I wish they'd given her a more Valentina-like expression. Now that would have been worth the money. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Yummiland Sour Sweeties GABI, BLAKE & ASTRID

Yay, they're all here!

Gabi Gummybear

Love this outfit, boots, hair, everything. 

The hair is definitely creative. 

Astrid is gorgeous. I think she might be the prettiest one of the set. 

Excellent outfit. I'm a little disappointed that it's pants, because I'm a big fan of long casual skirts, but I'm still happy it's something long. 

So cute. I don't always like the shaped hair, but she nails it. 

Love the colors. 

My girl Blake! 

Many, many years ago, I made up a Strawberry Shortcake character with a black licorice theme, so I was thrilled to see that theme being used on an actual toy. 

Her hair looks practically edible. 

Adore all four of these cuties! 

I might get Misty eventually but only when she's normal price. I don't like the gummy worm one. Her hair grosses me out. Maybe if it were thinner worms and more of them? I dunno. But Medusa she ain't. 

Again, SO HAPPY these came out this fast!

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Yummiland Sour Sweeties NINA HEARTPOP

So happy these girls came out so fast!

I ordered four of them from Amazon. Nina was shipped separately via USPS, so she arrived first. The other three will be here later today. 

 

She is GORGEOUS. 

Love the colors and the outfit. 

Really love the hair. 

The boots!

More hair detail. 

The price on these has gone up to $11.99, but they're worth it. 

The lip gloss tastes pretty good, too. I'm not a huge fan of liquid gloss, but I'm keeping it in my makeup drawer. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

LAZY REVIEW: Monster High Skullector Lost Boys David

David arrived not too long before my big concert trips, so I did her hair and now I'm finally getting around to taking additional pics. 

Gotta love the box. 

Super cool. 

And she looks so much better with her hair spiked out. This is how it should have been from the get go. 

I thought about cutting it, but didn't want to risk messing up. 

I love that she isn't traditionally pretty. They really leaned into the ugly and I wish they'd do that more. 

I'd love to see more from this movie! 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

PAOLA REINA Arrivals

I haven't bought a new Gorjuss in a few years, but when I saw Up & Away, I immediately set out to find one. 

I'm not a big rainbow fan. I think rainbows and sweets are two of the most overused themes in doll world. For Pride, rainbows are awesome. On every single doll thing, they get boring. Buuuuuuuut I fell for this girl's hair and she doesn't disappoint. 

Love these shoes and socks!

So pretty. 

Paola Reina's main line is in this style. They're similar in size to Gorjuss and called Las Amigas. 

This is Elisabeth. 

I think it's obvious why I had to order her along with Up & Away. 

Love her!

I may order a couple more of these soonish. I always meant to get a Meily. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

MGAE Reveals Part 2 & MONSTER HIGH Reveals

More new stuff to talk about!

Not going in any priority order, but I scrolled back on Youloveit to where I'd stopped last time, so we'll begin with more Yummiland. 

YUMMILAND:

-The two purse dolls are cute but nothing I'd buy. 

-The color change series (different from the Sour Sweeties) are also cute, but only Gwen Gummybear is really grabbing my attention. I wonder if she's related to Gabi from the Sour Sweeties. I could maybe see myself getting the snocone one, too.

-Yummiland brings us two Halloween and two Christmas dolls this year. My faves are Halle Candy Cane and of course both Halloween ones. 

LOL OMG:

-OMG has some stuff I'm not interested in, so I'm not going into detail, but I have to talk about the weird Powerpuff Girls dolls. Blossom and Buttercup really aren't bad, but who hates Bubbles? Why make her cross-eyed? Such a strange choice. That said, I'm absolutely getting Buttercup, but not because I care about Powerpuff at all. It's because she reminds me of Veronica from Archie comics. 

RAINBOW HIGH: 

-The Junior High band dolls are all pretty cute. I like the Skyler doll a lot but hate her outfit. Sunny is pretty solid, as is Bella. It's really Amaya that's the only weak one for me. Their problem is that everything else RH is putting out at the same time blows these out of the water. 

-There are 3 new create dolls. You know, the all-white ones that you add color to. Nothing really special here, although the black girl looks a lot like Storm. 

-The strongest reveal from yesterday was the Sparkle & Shine new characters. Four new characters with the lava lamp-style legs. I've seen so many people bitch about these that I wonder if they like Novi Stars. Because a lot of MGAE fans certainly have nostalgia for Novis, yet they had these same leg features they whine about on RH. Yes, Novis were a more fantasy line, but let's be real. That's exactly what RH has become. These haven't been realistic since they abandoned Poppy and barely remember Jade and Ruby. Personally, I think skipping an overall well-designed doll just because of articulation or a leg feature is silly. And these are four very well-designed dolls. MISTY is the strongest one for me. I love almost everything about her. I do think she should have better shoes though. But her entire look aside from that and that mirror and purse? Love. She's like RH Uma. WHITNEY wasn't my second fave at first, but now she is. There's just something about her entire look. I adore the makeup the most, but her outfit and hair are also stellar. Then we've got pinky-purple LEILANI, whose hair is her best feature. She's tame outfit and makeup-wise, but I do like the purse and phone case a lot. DAWN is the fourth one and she has an epic makeup style. Her outfit is really cute and I love the backpack. What holds her back is her boring hairstyle. Pretty color but just boring. Very excited about these though! 

MONSTER HIGH:

-Skulltimate 7 is an oasis line, which made me very annoyed that Cleo was left out of it. But the outfits turned out to be generic beachwear, so I'm less annoyed now. All three have the potential to be pretty, based on the box art, but Jin is the only one I'll probably get. I dunno. I may weaken on Lagoona, but I don't really need another Lagoona. 

-Mattel announced two SDCC exclusive dolls yesterday. I'm annoyed that the best Elvira is one I'll never get. I love that winking face. I still hate that they body-shamed the doll by giving her a breast reduction, but I would have tried for this doll if it wasn't an exclusive. A lot of people love Sweet Screams Twyla, but she has one of my current most hated motifs: dripping crap. Cotton candy does not melt like that. There was no need for all this goo on her. Her hair and the dress are cool, but she's an easy pass for me. 

-You know what Twyla isn't a pass though? Buried Secrets Series 3! I wasn't into the Clawdeen we've already seen at all, but Twyla looks adorable with a sleek updo and her mask is excellent. Cleo is also a must have for me. You can always get me with an Anubis mask. But she's also gorgeous hair and makeup-wise. And I'll probably get Lagoona, too. I guess I just like these updos. I also like her makeup and full water legs. And her mask. And cute shorts. Yeah, everyone except Clawdeen it is. I guess I need another Lagoona after all! So maybe there's hope for oasis as well. 

That wraps it up for now. We're gonna be broke, y'all.