REVIEW: Rainbow High Not-So-Value Emi Vanda

When I saw someone on IG with some of the RH not-so-budget dolls, I knew I has to make a run to our lone Family Dollar to check. I've been meaning to get out there because I want the similar version of Chillax from OMG. 

I was fully expecting to walk out with nothing. It's a teeny little Family Dollar. It's farther out, so I don't get there often. 

I struck out with Chillax, because they still had like 8 of the original beach-themed cheapie OMGs, but I was shocked to not only see two RH skinny boxes on the shelf but that one was my most wanted EMI! The other was Daria, who I don't want. I'd love Sheryl and maybe Daphne, so I'm hoping the big store in FL where I go on vacation in December will have them. 

You know how these ring up? As "value" dolls. 

She was $19! That's not value or budget or anything of the like. 

However, I fell for this Emi design and let's face it, Emi fans, we will probably never see her again, so this was my one chance to get a new Emi doll. I keep hoping they're going to get Junior High to Series 3, but I'm not holding out real hope. 

Anyway, Emi is very sturdy. She stands easily on her own, despite being on pretty thin little heels. 

These still have inset eyes with lashes. She also has earring holes. 

Her nails are unpainted. 

Her hair is much shorter and there are no pinky streaks. It's soft and silky with only a little bit of gel that I had to wash out. This hair is post-conditioning, so it's not going to look this nice right out of the box, but it wasn't far off. 

One of the main draws of this doll is this stunning pair of heels. These are Daria's heels only in a lovely deep purple. Way better than either of non-value Emi's pairs. 

Here they are together so you can see some of the differences. 

Non-value Emi has darker brows and heavier eyemakeup. 

Value Emi has superior lips. I like the plain dark plum color. 

Her eyeshadow is purple leading to dark pink at the outer corners just like non-value Emi, but without the shimmer they put over non-value Emi's makeup, value Emi actually has darker eyeshadow. 

So are these "value" dolls worth $19? Absolutely not! But was it worth $19 for me to have a second version of Emi? Yes, it was. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

FLASHBACK REVIEW: 1987 Island Fun Teresa

Another new old Barbie for me! I wanted another Hispanic face Teresa, so Island Fun was an easy choice. 

Side of the box. 

I really like 80s packaging. Showing the doll in different looks or just fully on the side of the box. Better than some of the overly flashy art and graphics these days. 

Simple shot of all the dolls on the back. 

Those seahorse combs are frequently found in My Little Pony lots. I remember having to ID them for people often. 

Her hair is wild. It's pretty dry and frizzy at the ends. It was in a ponytail and then separated into three chunks held with old rubberbands, though for once, they were actually in decent shape. So those didn't damage her hair. It just isn't good quality to begin with. Sadly. 

Her face is beautiful though! I love the black hair on her for once. Teresa often had dark brown hair, while the Hispanic versions of Barbie had the black hair. Really love the blue eyeshadow. 

She's in the salon having some much-needed conditioning. We'll see how she comes out, but I'm happy to have her regardless.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: LOL OMG Wildflower

This one is definitely outside my usual favorite type, but I looooooooove her. 

Hers is the only brush I kept. Love that milky pink. 

Boxes. This time I remembered. 

THOSE SHOES. 

Gorgeous jewelry. 

Adorable purse. 

Sunglasses I actually love. 

This girl has it all.

I love these pants incredibly, but another part of me hates that they completely over the gorgeous shoes. 

I was also really scared of breaking the butterfly earrings. They're very delicate, so be careful! 

These have to be one of the best pairs of doll pants ever. 

CUTE. 

I didn't try to take the corset off. I'm guessing it comes off. All the girls seem to have at least one extra layer of clothing. 

Beautiful makeup. 

Her bangs and long bang bits are both gelled. So is the curl at the bottom of her ponytail. Again, I'm not washing it out. I'd hate to lose the curl. 

She's perfection. 

My ability to realize her glasses are crooked before taking pictures is less than perfection. 

Ha, now the glasses are even worse. Ah, well. 

Anyway, if you love that pink, ribbons, lace, butterflies, girly girl style, this doll is perfect for you. And if you're like me and that's not usually your style, she's somehow still perfect for me. I think she's one of the best OMGs they've ever done. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: LOL OMG Jams

I love this girl's big blue Stormer curls, so she was a must have. 

Stand 'n' stuff. 

Ugh, I forgot to take a photo of the boxes. Ah, well. At least they're visible in the boxed pic. 

That's a lot of gold! 

Love that purse. Definitely a unique design. 

Her outfit is awesome. 

Her hair is awesome. 

Her makeup is awesome. 

Awesome. 

I think it's dolls like this that frustrate Rainbow High fans, because we'd love these curls on RH dolls, too. 

Yeah, that's too much. Love the choker and bracelets. Earrings gotta go. 

I'm not sure if both bracelets are supposed to be on one wrist, but I decided to continue my Jem amusement and like this, they remind me of Clash. 

What's under the main outfit. This is cute, too. 

Cute but I'd rather see her makeup. 

The spiked headband is why the gold earrings would have been too much. I definitely prefer the headband. 

LOVE her. Way more than I expected to. 

TOTALLY GIRLFRIENDS. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: LOL OMG Victory

I was very happy to see the rest of LOL OMG Series 8 put up on Amazon. Pose went up a few days ago, but she's the only one from this series that I didn't want. 

Starting with my favorite.

Stand, brush, magazine. 

Accessories still in boxes/wrapping. 

And opened. 

Her hair does have gel on the thin bangs, the V bangs, and a bit in the back at the place where the ends of the pigtail twists come out. I'm not washing any of it out because it looks perfect. 

I'm not taking the jacket off because I know the struggle it would be to reattach that collar piece. 

This is what's under the skirt.

Her makeup is gorgeous. 

She reminds me of an OMG version of Musa from Winx Club. Musa even had hair streaks in a similar shade of orange during her Sirenix transformation. Not saying Victory is a copy, but I like the Musa nostalgia she provides.

 

I don't like the earrings. The design doesn't suit her overall look, and I think silver was the wrong color choice. Any of her highlight colors (orange, yellow, light blue) would have worked nicely. 

These are pretty fun, but I'm not covering up her makeup or blocking her pigtails. 

Her orange gloves are soft rubber and go on nicely. 

From the back. Love the orange streaks. 

The stands come with two clips, each in a different shape. There's a round shape that works better if the clip is going over heavier clothing. Then there's a second one that works better if there are less layers of fabric involved. You can see that shape in the picture of the stand near the beginning of the review. 

Absolutely adore this girl. She's my third fave from the entire line, bumping Sketches down to #4. I made some space on my coffee table display to add her. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

FLASHBACK REVIEW: 1988 Barbie Cool Times Teresa

I'm on a bit of an 80s/90s Barbie kick after finding some fixer upper dolls at the local toy store. So I bought this Cool Times Teresa on ebay and thought it'd be fun to show how dolls used to be packaged.

Some yellowing on the plastic. Box is a bit beat up. But these were the cardboard Barbie boxes of my childhood. 

I really want Midge, but she's more expensive. Someday!

This is some quality back of the box work here. You see everyone else in the line looking active, which was one of the points of it. Each character had an unhealthy food love paired with a more active accessory like Midge's pogo stick, Barbie's scooter and Teresa's jump rope. 

Fabulous pamphlet that showed other lines. It made me want the Perfume Pretty fashions, but they are really weirdly expensive! 

Good old cardboard accessories.

There was plastic around the burger and the ends of the jump rope. Teresa herself was tied down with some twisties. The old kind that are a thin strip of metal surrounded by plastic. But they're easy to undo from the back and then she's free. No plastic junk stapled into the back of her head! Those were the days. 

You can see how her poor foot has the leg discoloration common in dolls from this time period. Thankfully, her outfit covers most of it. 

The burger is in multiple pieces that don't stay together well. 

There are two classic Barbie brush designs from my childhood. This is the second one. 

The outfit is in multiple pieces and pretty nice. The pants are lined. Things are closed with plastic snaps, not velcro. I like both though, because as a kid, those snaps did come loose if you changed the clothes a lot like I did. 

The jump rope handles have little places that slide over her hands, but I didn't bother to take photos of her with it. I don't tend to buy childhood Barbies for their accessories. It's all about the doll. 

She's got giant curly bangs and a side ponytail that's partially divided into three twists. I'm not touching the rubberbands. They're hard but they're staying in place and haven't broken yet. Maybe I'll get lucky and they won't go brittle. 

This is the 1982 Hispanic/Spanish facemold. This mold was frequently used on Hispanic and Black versions of Barbie herself in lines when she didn't have her friends with her. They would even use the same mold for both ethnicities in the same line. Like both the Black and Hispanic versions of Day to Night Barbie use this mold. Otherwise, it often went to Christie and Teresa. My favorite doll with this mold is Rockers DeeDee. This mold stopped being used in 1990. In 1987, Christie finally got her own mold, and Teresa got hers in 1990. This mold is one of my top four from childhood: Steffie, Diva, Kira, Hispanic. 

Being in the box like that didn't help her legs. It's a shame when packaging design warps dolls, but eh, it's not that bad. 

So let's see how she looks with everyone else. 

These are two of my fixer upper dolls. I got All Stars Midge for $2 and Teresa for $5. Teresa is I think the most sought after All Stars doll, so I was thrilled. 

Back row: Rocker Barbie repro, Rockers Diva, Dana, DeeDee and Dana again. 

Front row: Cool Tops Courtney, All American Teresa, Barbie and the Beat Midge, Rollerskating Midge, Jazzie (I don't remember all their line names). 

Another angle of the same girls with one more on the end. On top is Barbie and the Sensations Bopsy and in front is another Jazzie. 

Back row: Sensations Becky, Hollywood Hair Teresa, another Sensation Becky, and Western Fun Nia. Nia is another $5 fixer upper. 

Second shelf. 

Back row: Western Stampin' Tara Lynn, Rockers Derek (2nd series), Billy Boy, Benetton Teresa, Sweet Roses PJ, Jewel Secrets Whitney. 

Front row are Maxies. 

More Maxies in front. I think I've done a post on them before. This is a Barbie post. Heh. 

So in the back: The Heart Family mom I just reviewed not long ago, Dance Club Kayla (childhood), Dance Club Kayla (adult collection), Tropical Miko

I really love my 80s Barbies! I'm planning to add to this soon. I have Island Fun Teresa on her way and a small wishlist of other dolls. Every few years, I come back to Barbie and add a couple dolls here and there. I'm never quite done. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.