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. 

REVIEW: Monster High Self Scare ABBEY & VENUS

So I did a recent series of posts on my Insta where I picked my top 3 of each G3 doll, and I realized after that I'd completely forgotten the existence of this Abbey. I can't remember why, but I never took the time to review her. I just set her out with Fearbook Abbey and then they were part of the G3s I packed up a few weeks ago. 

Well, after doing Venus's top 3 and realizing I definitely needed Self Scare, I got her yesterday and wanted to dig poor Abbey out of storage and take some pics of her. 

I mean, this is definitely Abbey's weakest doll. The outfit is quite cute and her makeup is fine, if a bit on the boring side for her. I think it's her hair that I don't like. I need to take the time to condition it and maybe it will lay better. 

I do like her accessories a lot. She has some very cute pieces, though I'm not going to get them all out. 

Plushie Shiver is the cutest accessory. 

So yeah, there's Abbey. 

Now for Venus!

All her fun accessories. I won't be putting the bonnet on her, because I'll never cover up those pretty curls, but it's an important addition. Other lines have been covering Black hair care for a while now, so it's great that MH is joining the fun. 

I love the little cases so much. 

And I'm not going to pretend the succulent was not a huge part of her draw for me. 

So stinkin' CUTE. 

Amazing, as always. Even with one less point of articulation. 

Venus has the strongest face card in G3. Cleo, Spectra and Robecca are up there, too, but Venus has gotta be the best. 

I didn't love these are first. The blockiness is weird. But they're growing on me. 

Love. 

Yeah, I made the right decision. And I didn't pay full price, so I don't feel too guilty for spending when I'm supposed to be being good!

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Rainbow High Sparkle & Shine WHITNEY

Ah, let's end with this lovely lady. 

Whitney is going to be my last review for a few months, except for things I have preordered (the Holograms, GnG Jem) and a small number of exceptions (Robecca, Skelita). I have another concert trip coming up in early May and we're likely moving in June, so I've got to save up and cut back so I have less to pack. I've got some Charlie Bears preorders coming in, too, so money's going to go to those. I'd dearly love more Giochi Winx and vintage Barbie, but I've gotta be responsible!

Whitney has some pretty neat stuff. 

This angry cat is my favorite. I'm guessing it's a sphinx.

She had gel in the long part of her hair, in the short pigtails, and in the longer bang pieces, but not in the fluffy bangs themselves. I left a little bit in the pigtails for shaping. 

She's right up there with Misty. Simply stunning and unique as well. 

I don't love Whitney as a name choice for a white-themed doll but I do like it as a name, so I'll try to ignore the questionable side of it. 

I love the dark blue lava contrast. 

I love me some glasses-wearing characters, but this is not a look. It blocks her gorgeous eyes and these just aren't an attractive design. 

The earbuds also don't want to go in her ears. She's not wearing them so I didn't force them. I'm sure they'd go in if I did. Again I ask if CD players are coming back. I feel old. I can't keep up with this shit. Flip phone. CD players. Sigh!

Yeah, I shoved the cat in her bag. It's not a great fit but it gets the job done. I cleaned and rearranged my end table display just to add her to it, so she needed to hold her bag, as there's not a lot of room at her feet. 

Absolutely love her. I mention it all the time, but I've been a sucker for white hair since Roxy and Orchid, Angel Cake and Apricot. 

And she looks like Mercury from Blade!

Yeah, Whitney is a doll I'm proud to end my reviews on for their temporary hiatus. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. Mercury from Google search.

REVIEW: Rainbow High Sparkle & Shine DAWN

I am so relieved that Target finally got it together and put these girls on their website. I checked my store last week and it's still a mess of half empty shelves and no new shelf tags or products. 

Also super relieved that I did not have to import any of these. 

Anyway, here's Dawn's stuff. 

I remember the days when bags were more functional. That's one thing MH almost always does right. 

She's a little messy, but damn, I love these colors. Imagine if we'd gotten a new Neon Shadow member with this color scheme. Sigh. 

Her hair had a little gel in each pigtail and there's some in her bangs. I didn't take any of her hair down, though I'm tempted to redo the pigtails now that I see how messy they are. All those loose strands on top. 

Again, love the color. 

I adore her makeup but I wish it was a little bolder. It fades into her skin quite a bit and she's really pale, so it could definitely have been darker. 

Her outfit is adorable. 

These are neat. 

She's just cute.

This is cute. I bet some people would say childish, but eh, it's just cute. 

I'm not normally a headphones fan, but these fit really well. 

She's not Whitney or Misty, but those two set the bar really high. I do like her more than Leilani though. She's more unique. Leilani is also gorgeous. Don't get me wrong. Love this entire line. 

I love the lava legs, too. I don't get all these people rebodying them. They're so much more fun and interesting this way! Who cares if a few dolls on your shelf can't bend a knee? I'm sure I've griped about it before, but I swear the same people that can't stand these legs also either complained about Novi Stars back in the day when they had the same features (buzzkills) or want Novi Stars back now (hypocrites). I think these are the most fun feature legs they've done yet. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.