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. 

Plushie Arrivals

Thought I'd update with some of my newer plush arrivals. 

This is the dimetrodon from Prehistoric Pals. 

And this is the gorgonopsid. 

Love these guys. They're not huge, but they're weighted and quite fun to hold.

Then we have the Ghoul Gang! These adorable little plush ladies are a blind bag line. They have removable metal clips, so they can function as a bag clip. 

You can get a bag for $22 at:

https://thebetterinblackco.com/

I was lucky and got one of the two full sets she had available. I knew I wanted them all! 

This is Batty Babe. 

Crypta Cutie, one of my faves. 

Another fave: Frankie Boo. 

And another fave! This is Hexa Howl. She might be my #1. 

Pumpkin Pixie

Skellerina

 

And Tricksy Treats. 

I've ordered two more bags. I plan to open them both to determine which one I'll be taking along to New York with me in May. The other I'll likely be doing a giveaway for!

I've seen this guy advertised all over my Insta. He's from Plush This. I finally got around to ordering him and he's exactly like he was pictured on the website. (You can never be sure.) He's nice and soft and I love his expression. 

That's it for now. Not too much going on here. I'm devoting a lot of my time off this month to packing things up, because we'll most likely be moving in June. I did just get one of my childhood fave vintage Barbie outfits and splurge on a doll I never got in childhood. I have my eye on another outfit and doll, too, so I may have some vintage reviews coming up. I'm trying not to buy too much, but honestly, there's not much to even tempt me. When in the world are we getting Skelita over here? Ridiculous. And I want the new Fearbook line and some of those Disney Sparkling Princesses will be coming home for sure. Still waiting on my Jem and Popples items from TLS Toy. Definitely not impressed with them anymore. I feel like they tried to do too much too fast and everything got backed up. Anyway, happy collecting, y'all!

REVIEW: Jakks Aldi Play SIERRA

Okay, one more Aldi doll! I'm not getting them all. $14.99 is a lot and you know I just saw Moonspell. 

I did want Zoe to have a friend though and Sierra is ADORABLE. 

I actually like her better than Zoe, so I'm glad I went to check them out in person. 

Sassy cute. 

Look at that adorable face. 

Her outfit is simple, but still cute. I think she's second best to Zoe, but better than the other two. 

She has a canvas bag, which is different than Zoe's. I'm glad I got one each of the two bag styles. 

Definite love. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

NEWS: Moonspell Magic!

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

I figured I would enjoy a witch-themed MH-style line, but they really knocked this out of the park. 

Claire de Luna is "a blind, clairvoyant witch who tells the future through the stars! She reads constellations as easily as her fingers read braille!"

I love that we have some representation for the blind community and I think she's one of the best designs. I would not be surprised if she ends up my favorite. I love every bit of her outfit, but especially her hat!

  

We never got a Perfuma doll from the She-Ra line, but Willow Thorne manages to fill that void a little for me. She doesn't look like Perfuma, but I dunno, they have the same vibe. 

"A nature witch who loves spending time in the garden making potions! She is hard of hearing, and her magical connection to nature allows her to communicate with animals and trees."

I'd like them to be less vague than "hard of hearing" but yay for more representation. 

Also yay for pants. I love every bit of this design. 

A long casual skirt. Be still my heart! 

That face. That hair. What a goddess. 

Rae Lumina is "a sun witch who lights up every room she walks into... literally! This witch draws her powers from the sun and spreads warmth wherever she goes."

I'm in love. 

These three are my favorites of the five, but the remaining two aren't slouches. 

Carina Song is "a love witch with a talent for brewing bubbly potions that encourage self-love and confidence in whoever uses them."

Excellent face. 

I heard rumblings that Cupid was part of this line, but these are witches. She's not a witch. If anyone, it should be Laura. So I'm glad there's a love character here that is not Cupid!

Layla Stone is "a crystal witch who crafts amulets that have the powers of healing and protection." 

She's the weakest design for me, but in no way does that make her bad. The others just set the bar really high. 

I have heard July for these, which would be an excellent time for me. I absolutely must have them all!

PHOTO CREDIT: Monster High official Facebook. That's also the source of the character descriptions. 

REVIEW: Jakks Aldi Play ZOE

 

I was curious about these dolls, so my mom picked one up today on her errands. (I had to stay home because it's that time when maintenance comes around to change the filters, and we have two dogs who would not like the intrusion if they were alone.) We're planning on going again tomorrow so I can go see the others myself, but I thought this one was the best overall. 

They are indeed made by Jakks. I know this was speculated on Reddit. 

Cute! 

The hair isn't the greatest ever, but it's not awful. I think Zoe here has the best hair, because she's the only one (that I can see) with a unique element like the added braid. 

This bag is adorable and well-made. 

Simple but cute.

The body has basic articulation plus elbows. Cutely sculpted. 

I like her. I'm not running right out to go get the other three, but I'll very likely get her a friend if they're still there tomorrow. 

I never think of Aldi as somewhere that would get exclusive dolls, but it's a cute idea. 

I'm running out of ways to say she's cute. 

So yeah, simple, cute, a little bit overpriced at $14.99 but welcome to today's economy. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Monster High ROBECCA STEAM

FINALLY!!!!

I've been wanting to see Robecca again for ages! 

I do find it really weird that first, it took so long for G3 to put out Skelita when she'd been on the show for a while, and second, that we got Robecca so fast after she was announced while we're still waiting on Skelita. When will the US be allowed Skelita? I need to break her out of that body-shaming plastic piece of crap they stuck on her! 

Annnnnnnnnnyway. 

ROBECCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Remember when we first saw her and all the haters were whining that she looked more like EAH and not robot enough? Then she came out and they're all dying over her? Typical. 

Accessories. The quill! 

OMG, Captain Penny. He is a lot more cutesy than the original and I do love the grumpy original, but this one is cute. Undeniably cute. 

I'm not a big fan of the purse. I don't hate the mixed metals like some people do, which I do consider a valid complaint, but I definitely feel like they did a bit too much gold. The purse should have been copper. And it looks weird, because you know those are chains on the bottom and they just stick straight out instead of, you know, acting like real chains. 

Also not a fan of the necklace, because it does not want to lay straight. But she looks like she's missing something without it, so it stays. 

These are really cute, though they should have been a bit thicker like actual goggles, not glasses cosplaying as goggles. Still, a great piece otherwise. 

Gah, the bottle. 

Mine's right wrist joint is a little weak, so getting her to hold the bottle up is tricky. 

She is near perfection. I don't have any major criticisms, only little things that I would have tweaked. Like the purse being copper, the chains being different somehow, the blouse could have been ivory and I wish it was a separate piece. I do love the idea of her in bloomers, so maybe a future Robecca could do that. 

Actually, I do have one complaint. Her hair was not great. It had a ton of snarls I had to remove and it's a little frizzy-looking at the ends. I really expected better hair. 

I didn't take photos of her body, because everyone else has by now, but it is amazing. I love her earrings, too. 

Her face is absolutely stunning. Yes, she's sweet-looking but that doesn't mean she doesn't fit in with other MH dolls. She just doesn't have the more sultry adult look like G1 did. Let's face it, guys, the G1 doll did not look like the teen she was supposed to be. This one does. G1 Robecca is gorgeous but she was definitely one of the older-looking dolls, so that really shouldn't be held against this one. Anything actually age-appropriate about G3 should never be held against the line and I'm sick of people doing that. 

I hope we get another Robecca soon! There's so much they can do with her! And Indian rep for the win. I always considered G1 Robecca to be Indian, so it's nice to have that confirmed for G3.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.