Wednesday, November 18, 2020

REVIEW: Rainbow High Series 2 Bella Parker


I got Bella after returning from vacation. 

Right off the bat, I've gotta say she is not my favorite character or design. The rainbow does not have pink in it, so bumping indigo out of the core group of 7 to replace her with pink pisses me off. Indigo is always the forgotten rainbow color. And pink, as you all know, is not exactly my favorite to begin with.

However, Bella really is gorgeous. 




The Series 2 lineup: fuchsia, pink, chartreuse (I'm calling it that anyway), teal, indigo and...pastel rainbow. (Ugh.) 

If you haven't seen the sneak peek of Karma Nichols, the chartreuse girl, look her up. She is stunning and my new favorite RH. 


First outfit: Jacket, skirt, cropped tee, knee-high stockings, headband and heels. I didn't photograph the earrings because they're boring and clear, so they would have just blended into the rug. Why not pink, MGAE? Come on. Clear. Yawn.

Watch out for the earrings in the box, too. Some people have reported only getting one earring. One of mine was in her ear and the other down by her feet, so they're not very secure.


Second outfit: Dress, jacket, stockings and heels. 





Basic RH accessories: Stand, comb and two hangers. 




I washed the gel out of Bella's hair and she's been hanging out air-drying since like Monday afternoon. Her hair came out nicely though. I did like the wavier style of it in the box, but without the gel, it turns into sleek hair going into waves at the bottom. I can't stand gel in the hair, so this is what all the girls I have to wash out will turn into, I guess. 

Her first outfit is okay, but not my favorite.  





It works a little better without the jacket. Sassier. 




This is so cute! Definitely one of the stronger RH looks without having to mix and match between both outfits. 

Getting the shoes on over the stockings wasn't fun though. How do people redress these dolls so often? I hate the shoe struggle. 



I don't care for her first outfit shoes, but these are cute. 



I did not think this jacket went with this outfit, but it surprised me. I actually really love it. 


People take the hands off these dolls, but I've also seen broken hands, so I'm trying to avoid doing it. I managed to get both jackets on with very little struggle, so it's possible!




Bella honestly surprised me on the whole. I'm still really against the idea of bumping indigo for pink, but she is one beautiful doll. Her entire color scheme is perfect and she has possibly the strongest outfit pieces. I think they would all go well together in any possible combination, which I can't say for the other girls. 

I'm really hoping to have Karma Nichols soon and as my next RH review!


PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

10 comments:

  1. On the indigo, I think they bumped it to wave 2 simply because...to many people (including me) it’s just darker blue. For me, it looks too similar to blue and seems somewhat like violet. At least is pink is distinct enough from red to be considered it’s own color. I don’t mean to be rude, just saying why they might’ve done that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A true indigo is a gorgeous blue-purple. It can be close to both colors, but it's still distinct and it is undeniably its own color. And like it or not, it's part of the rainbow. In a line called Rainbow High, the first 7 main characters should have been the rainbow, not a cashgrab like pink. They added pink because it's a gimme money girly color they knew people would buy. Same reason they made the violet character into a lavender girl. Violet doesn't have a single bit of actual violet on her.

      If you look at the original indigo design, she was always tan. So they bumped another potentially not white character to make room for one of the palest of the lot. On one hand, that's really bad, though on the other, it gave them time to redesign indigo into the much darker current design, so that's good. But she should have been that skintone and there from the very beginning. I applaud MGAE for listening to the backlash and adding more diversity, but they should have put it there from the get go.

      Delete
    2. Oh, thanks for clarifying. I never said I didn’t think indigo wasn’t part of the rainbow, I just found it hard to differentiate it from blue and violet. I just thought they added pink since it was a pretty color. It’s not my favorite (Violet and lilac are) but it’s still very high up there. Violet Willow may not be actual violet, but lavender is in the same color family and is a pale violet tone. Perhaps the designer just preferred it that way. Or they really did do it for money. Either way it still looks pretty. Thanks for replying though!

      Delete
    3. Oh, I'm always one that thinks companies do stuff for money, especially when it comes to putting pink and purple into "girl" toy lines. I actually do love purple and I'm a fan of certain shades of pink, but there's no denying those shades and others in the pastel range are used way more often than is necessary in playline. I was so excited for dolls with orange, yellow and green themes when this line was developing, because they're so rarely seen. (And those three are my faves from the first series.) I've always loved indigo, too. She was my favorite Rainbow Brite character as a kid in the 80s, so I'm a pretty staunch indigo defender.

      Delete
  2. Do any of these dolls have closed pumps instead of sandals? Bella's Channel-inspired tweed outfit and tights just looks strange with stockings, and her other dress too, actually, who wears stockings with sandals? She needed classic Mary Janes for this outfit, even if they are not my favorite style, it would have looked so much better.
    Karma and Indigo are pretty, I want to see the boy most of all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *just looks strange with sandals* sorry brain fart.

      Delete
    2. It's probably my age talking, but you saw stockings with sandals a lot on dolls when I was a kid in the 80s, so it doesn't look weird to me at all.

      In the art on the back, all the girls have sandals. We haven't seen any boxed pics yet, so it's possible someone may have pumps.

      Delete
  3. I got Bella in the mail a week ago and her hair was beautiful, but I was so disappointed Ted that she came with two left hands. I don’t know what to even do with her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where did you order from? I'd return her as defective and get another. Or you can try contacting MGAE.

      Delete
    2. I got her from target online, I actually ordered a replacement I guess I’ll just return the bad one once she comes in

      Delete