Pullip Merl Nostalgia: Review

I got the adorable Pullip Merl Nostalgia back in April of this year, and she is by far one of the cutest dolls I've ever seen! This darling little sailor was released back in 2013, just a year after the original and very popular Merl. Although both versions of Merl have the same style outfit and hairstyle ( with the only difference being the color for both), that's about where the similarities between the two end. Merl Nostalgia is very much her own doll, and not just a carbon copy of the Merl that came before her!

Pullip Merl Nostalgia Comes With:

- Two hair bows (One large and one small) attached to a barrette

- Red Choker with miniature key pendant

- Sash with key charm

- Red coat with button detailing and pleated hem

-  Sleeveless cream colored dress

-Striped knee high socks

- Faux leather boots with ribbon laces

- White doll stand

- Pullip Merl Nostalgia's trading card

Pros:

- Great quality wig! It's styled very prettily in loose waves and is a beautiful sandy color! It's also very soft and manageable, and the wig cap does not show through! (May vary from doll to doll.)

-  She has a very nice faceup that consists mainly of pink colors with just a touch of shimmery white eye shadow near the inner part of her eyes, giving her a fresh and natural appearance! Her eyebrows are thin and somewhat short and match the color of her wig, and her lashes are simple and are painted a medium brown color. Soft pink blush and pink glossy lips finish off her look! 

-  Her eyes are a bright, vivid blue that really stand out, especially in pictures!

-  Most everything about her stock is beautifully made and is of good quality, despite being made of such light material! Her boots are especially well-made, and actually seem like they could be real shoes!

- Her shoes are very secure and fit her feet very well! There should be no issues with them falling off.

- She's very versatile and would look amazing in almost any clothing style and various different wigs!

- Type 4 body! 

Cons:

- The key charm on her sash can fall off, and it seems like it coming loose is a very common problem. 

Neutral:

- She doesn't come with any extra props, unfortunately. It would have been nice if she did, but most of the later Pullip releases tend not to come with much anyway.

The Final Verdict:

Pullip Merl Nostalgia is without a doubt, absolutely worth getting, whether you've got the original Merl or not! There's nothing really negative to say about her at all, and she's sweet looking and adorable. Also, as I had mentioned before, she would look good in just about anything! Currently, she is sold out on Pullip Style and on Groove's website, but she can still be easily obtained at a fair price on amazon and dollmarket! So, if you have her eye on her, I wouldn't hesitate to grab her while you still can!

Pictures of Marisol, my Pullip Merl Nostalgia:

Pullip Regeneration Paja: Makeover

I've always thought that Regeneration Paja was as cute as a button as is, but unfortunately, her wig left me a bit disappointed with it's poor quality. Because of that, I had planned to buy my Mikan a new one as soon as I had taken her out of her box and saw how bad it was, but I kept procrastinating and getting distracted with buying more dolls to add to my collection instead, but then I got Evangeline (my Raphia) and dove right into customizing her, and after I had finished her, I was inspired to finally start working on Mikan! I purchased an orange wig for her, and I also ended up buying her some beautiful green eyechips with some yellow and brown mixed in from KiraKiraMeansSparkle! (The exact ones I had bought were in the color Frog.) Then, I thought that since I was going to end up taking her apart to change out her eyechips, why not paint her eyelids? I always thought it would be nice if her eyelids were a fun color instead of just plain, and that it would add a nice personal touch!

I wanted her eyelids to match her faceup and her overall color scheme, so I decided to paint them yellow, and then I brushed on green pastel at the bottom of each lid to create a gradient effect! 

Brushed on some gloss varnish to finish off her eyelids after I had finished painting them!

After doing all of that, and after having given her new lashes, it was time to put her all back together again! I was amazed with what a difference the new wig and eyes had made in her appearance!

Before:

And after:

She's wearing Isul Nekoneko Maomao's glasses!

While the biggest part of her transformation was finished, I still really wanted to get her a whole new outfit. I really do love her pajamas and her dinosaur kigurumi, but I also felt limited when it came down to taking pictures of her with it on, so I began to shop for clothes for her right away!

I was thrilled to have found her such cute pieces that had the same color scheme as her stock outfit and went well with her faceup! My favorite piece definitely has to be her overalls, which I bought from anniedollz on etsy! It suits her perfectly and is just so cute and well-made! In case anyone was wondering about the rest of her outfit, too, I got her hair clips from MilkChocolateDream, the shirt and the legwarmers from Cool Cat, and her green converse shoes from Mimiwoo! 

I think she turned out really darling, and she looks so vibrant and full of life! Even though I had not made very many changes to her, she definitely has much more personality than she did before, and I couldn't be more happy with how she turned out! I'd say that this makeover turned out very well!

Dal Vendettina: Review

Like Super Stella, Dal Vendettina is a SDCC 2014 exclusive and part of the Tokidoki doll series, being the first Dal to be included within the series! Crazily enough, I fully intended to pass this little villain up, but I still kept looking at pictures of her, and the more I looked at her the more I started to adore her! Her stock photos don't do her justice at all, and seeing her in person made me even more happy!


Dal Vendettina Comes With:

- Candy-shaped hair clip with a scull printed on the center
- Sequinned mask
- Cape with skull and bone clasps and Tokidoki character designs printed on the inside and a skull and cross bones printed on the back
- Black faux leather one piece dress and clear plastic underlay
- Heart and cross bone faux leather belt held together by velcro
- Fishnet arm warmers
- Black and purple skull and cross bone cropped leggings
- Black faux leather boots with bones printed on them
-  Black staff with skull and bat wings
- Black doll stand


Pros:

- Her wig is in a cute shoulder length style and is a beautiful deep purple color with fuschia and yellow streaks!
- No wig cap showing through! (May vary from doll to doll.)
- Striking bright blue eyechips that really stand out!
- Amazing faceup! Vendettina has sharp purple eyebrows, giving her an angry expression suited for a villain. She also has amazing blue eye shadow as well as blue bottom lashes, which is very different as most doll releases don't have colored lashes like that! The inner rims of her eyes are painted black, and she has glossy purple lips that are just gorgeous!
- Her stock outfit has some really fun details and prints that scream Tokidoki!
- Type 4 Body!
- Boots stay on her feet very well!

Cons:

- The material that her one piece and boots are made of are not my favorite. The vinyl material is kind of cheap looking and it tends to wrinkle and crease, and it's not very sturdy.
- Her belt is very flimsy and the emblem on it can fall off of it very easily.
-  Unlike Pullip Super Stella, Vendettina is unable to hold the staff that she comes with.
- Her body is pretty floppy and she has some loose joints. (May vary from doll to doll.)


Neutral:

- Vendettina's cape is not posable like Super Stella's is. It would have been neat to have that feature so that you could see the design on the inside of her cape a bit better.
- She's a little on the expensive side on Pullip Style. (She's priced at $120 USD) She is a limited edition doll though, and part of a collaboration at that, so it's somewhat justified. I suggest looking around though to see if you can find an even better deal just in case. On ebay, you can actually find a listing priced at $99 USD right now! Here's the link for anyone who is looking to buy her!

The Verdict:

Dal Vendettina is a pretty unique release and is perfect for those who are Tokidoki fans! Even if you aren't a fan of Tokidoki, I say that she's still worth getting because of her very original faceup! She would look very good redressed in other styles too, especially in punk or gothic fashions!


Pictures of My Dal Vendettina:

Pullip Galene: Review

Pullip Galene is the newest addition to my Pullip family, and I couldn't be more happy to welcome her to it! I've had my eye on her for a little while now, and to finally have her is like a dream! Galene is a Creator's Label doll that was released in 2012. She's quite a gorgeous doll with an elegant style, and it's a mystery to me as to why she so often gets overlooked! I don't know if people are put off by all the grey she's wearing, but I think that it really is unfortunate, because she's a real beauty, and this is coming from someone who usually gravitates to the more brightly colored dolls with crazy colored hair!

Pullip Galene Comes With:

- Floral headdress that ties around the back of her head

- Lavender coat with silver button detailing

-  Choker neck dress embellished with beads at the front and sheer netted skirt with multiple layers

- Gray ruffled shorts

- Detachable ruffled train skirt that snaps on

- Lace arm warmers

- Beaded bracelet that ties around her wrist with ribbons

- White thigh high stockings with lace lining the tops

- Beaded snap-on ankle cuffs with tasseled bottoms

- Brown heeled Mary Jane shoes

- White chair

- Pullip Galene's Trading Card

- Black doll stand

Pros:

- Her wig is an unusual dark gray color that isn't a common color found on most Pullip dolls and is styled into thick, full ringlets!

- No wig cap showing! (May vary from doll to doll.)

- Pretty faceup! Her eyebrows are straight and fairly light, and are a bit on the thin side. Her eye makeup is simple and not overdone. She has smokey grey and brown eye shadow, and has a bunch of faint, thin lines painted right above her crease line, which is kind of an interesting detail. She also has brown eyeliner around the top of her eyes and lots of thin brown lashes bordering the bottom of her eyes. The inner rims of her eyes are also painted pink! Finishing off her look, she has light pink blush and beautifully painted lips that are nude and coral pink in color and are shaped in a way that make them look very full and pillowy!

- Amazing black eyelids with shiny black eyeliner!

- Her eyechips don't have any sparkle or painted designs in her pupils, but they're a very interesting greenish-gray color and are somewhat transparent looking!

- Her stock outfit is extremely well made and so detailed! There's ribbon, ruffles, and beading everywhere, and it's all so lovely! Her coat is versatile and can be used with other outfits, and the detachable skirt is a fun way to change her look up a bit.

- Her nails are actually painted! It's a really neat touch! There definitely aren't very many Pullip dolls released that have painted nails, and actually Galene is the first out of all my dolls to have that detail!

- The chair she comes with is really nice looking and also very well-made! It is made from plastic but it has been painted to look like wood, and the seat of it is actually somewhat soft and lightly cushioned! It needs to be assembled and the pieces snap together, but it is also still quite sturdy. It really is a fun prop to use in pictures, too!

- Shoes stay well on her feet!

- Type 4 body!

Cons:

- Like most curly haired dolls, her wig is quite frizzy, and the shorter curls near the top of her head are a bit strange looking.

- Her shoes are a really soft plastic, which unfortunately means that the heels of her shoes are prone to bending under her weight. It's a pain to deal with when placing her on her stand, especially.

- Her headdress has a tendency to fall off her head.

- Her stock outfit has a lot of thin, delicate materials on it that can easily tear if you aren't careful.

Neutral:

- She's slightly pricier than some of the other Pullip releases, but it isn't too steep. Pullip Style currently has her for a bit less than normal at $120.

The Verdict:

If you are considering getting Galene but are a bit hesitant about whether or not you should buy her, I will have to encourage you to take the plunge and  do it, because she is worth it! I cannot stress enough how unbelievably stunning she is! She is really one of a kind and definitely not one anyone should pass up on! I understand how some may feel that her stock is too busy, but if you look past that, you will see just how lovely she is and that she can actually look great in different clothing styles and wigs! 

Pictures of Fiore, My Pullip Galene:

Pullip Youtsuzu: Pullip Makeover - Ichihara Yuuko

Roughly a month ago, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to buy Pullip Youtsuzu for the sole purpose of transforming her into CLAMP's Ichihara Yuuko! I picked Youtsuzu because I thought the accessories and even parts of her outfit would really come in handy, plus, I thought that the way her eye makeup was painted was pretty close to Yuuko's eye shape! I just felt I had to do it no matter what, and so I got started on her right away, and just a couple of days ago, I had completed her! For comparison purposes, here are some pictures of her before I got to work on her!

As you can see, she is a very beautiful and elaborate doll! She's absolutely perfect to keep on display. I was actually almost hesitant to start this project when she had arrived, but I'm glad that I decided to go through with it!

There actually weren't too many changes I did on her to achieve Ichihara Yuuko's look, but it was still a time consuming process. What I had to do was change her wig and style it a bit, replace her eyechips, give her thicker and longer lashes to help make her eyes appear more narrow, remove her blush, and of course, re-do her lips! (The lips were actually the most challenging part, as I used acrylic paint on them. It required a lot of going back and forth painting on multiple layers and then sanding it down to create a smooth, clean, and even appearance, and it was so hard to do all this while trying not to ruin the shape I had created for them!) Also, you guys may not be able to tell in her current outfit, but she was also re-bodied with a large bust 27 cm Obitsu body! I felt it was necessary, considering that Yuuko is fairly busty, but still really slender. 

If you are familiar with Yuuko, then you can see how close this body is to her body type! The only thing it's missing are those long, willowy limbs that CLAMP characters are so well-known for!

I'm actually really happy with the outcome! I personally feel that she quite accurately portrays Yuuko's character! She's already become one of my most favorite customized dolls so far!

Pullip Raphia: Pullip Makeover

After all this time, I finally took the plunge and have started to customize my stock dolls! At first I had been worried about customizing my dolls, but after having done a full faceup and putting together a MIO kit, I've become much more confident and brave in my abilities to modify my dolls! The first girl I had attempted to makeover was my Pullip Raphia, whom I had named Evangeline. Evangeline was a Christmas gift, but I found that I could not really connect with her as I had with my other dolls, and I really felt terrible about that, so I thought maybe changing her look would help!

She underwent quite a dramatic change. The first thing I did was sand off her original lip color. (I used 1200 grit sandpaper to ensure it wouldn't leave scratches or damage her.)  I wasn't very fond of the orange and white colored lips she came with, as they seemed to really clash with her whole look, and I wanted to make her lips more natural. I also felt she needed more color on her cheeks and eyes, so I added more blush and a splash of yellow pastels to the inner corners of her eyes! Using a dark brown watercolor pencil, I also drew on a couple of droopy lashes on her eyes, and with a lighter brown pencil, I placed a beauty mark right below her left eye!

Once finished with her faceup, I replaced her eyechips with some new ones from kirakirameanssparkle (in the color Sidhe)! The new eyes really are so vibrant in color and gave Evangeline a more lively look!  

Next, I gave her a curly light blonde wig with pigtails that I had found on ebay!  Her stock wig really needed to go, as it was really frizzy and coarse. It was very poor quality and it didn't do much for her. I think her new wig is much more flattering and its softer and doesn't get tangled like her old one did. Plus, the style of it is just too cute! Lastly, I changed  her out of her stock dress and into a dress that I had bought on ebay!  I found it while looking for dresses for my Dal Heiwa, but since the dress was originally meant to fit a Blythe, it ended up being too baggy on her. Luckily, the dress fit like a glove on Evangeline and actually looks really good on her!

I'm actually really pleased with how she turned out, and I do love her so much more than I had before! I was really amazed with what a difference such small and easy changes have made in her look! I feel like I have bonded with her more through the whole process, and she is now one of my most favorite dolls in my collection, so I declare her makeover to be a huge success!

Presenting Amethyst, My Very Own Make It Own Pullip!

I've completed my very first Make It Own Pullip doll a few months ago, and I can't believe I forgot to post about it here! I have named her Amethyst, and before I had started working on her, I had already decided that my first custom doll would be a cute pastel goth girl! I wanted her to have a sweet look, but with some edginess mixed in. She actually turned out just how I had envisioned her, so I'm really happy! She's my pride and joy!

Here's a shot of her right after I had finished working on her faceup. I actually have made her eye shadow a darker purple since then, and added more pink to the inner corners of her eyes, but the shape of the eyebrows and the color of the blush and her lips are the same. :3

I chose to do some really bold eyemakeup on her to emphasize her eyes, and made her cheeks and lips a soft pink to add some balance.

I painted her eyelids mint green to help tie in all of the colors together. ^_^

My most recent picture of Amethyst! You can see how much I've darkened her eye makeup in this picture!

SDCC Pullip Tokidoki Super Stella: Review

Today's review is on Pullip Super Stella! This bright and colorful super hero was one of two exclusive releases for San Diego Comic Con 2014, and is also part of the Tokidoki series! On top of that, she's a limited edition doll! (It is unknown how many of her were made.) As soon as I had set my eyes on her, I was just so excited and knew she was a doll I had to have! The bright neon colors on her stock outfit and wig just drew me to her instantly! She just looked like she'd be such a fun addition to have in my collection, so I didn't want to pass her up!

Pullip Tokidoki Super Stella Comes With:

- Star-shaped hair clip with lightning bolt and a Tokidoki character printed on it
- Satin hot pink posable cape with Tokidoki characters printed on the inside
- Sleeveless faux leather top with sequined Tokidoki logo
- Faux leather gloves with blue plastic lightning bolt detailing
- Gold belt with felt diamond "buckle" held together by velcro
- Blue skirt with white and yellow felt stars and a stiff, sequined under layer
- Opaque neon tights
-  Faux leather thigh high boots with blue lightning bolts printed on the front
- Yellow plastic staff with a felt diamond placed at the top of it
- Doll stand

Pros:

- The box she comes in is very sleek. (Like most of the boxes for SDCC Pullip releases are.) It's also covered in some very cute artwork of various Tokidoki characters!
- She's able to hold her staff! She has a hand that can grasp, similar to Sfoglia's and Varele's!
- Her wig is such a nice shade of blue with white streaks and darker blue accents in it! It's quite soft, too and is very manageable! (May vary from doll to doll.)
-  Beautiful silver glitter eyechips! Looking closely, you can also see flecks of blue and red glitter mixed in with the silver! They really are one of her most striking features!
- Her slightly tanned complexion is a nice change from the usual fair complected dolls!
- Simple yet pretty faceup! She has thick blue eyebrows that match her hair and give her a determined expression, brown and white eye shadow in her crease and the inner corners of her eyes, cleanly painted black lashes, pink blush, and opaque pink punch lips painted to make it like like she's smiling slightly! Her lids are painted a sienna brown with black liner.
- The wire at the hem of her cape allows you to bend and pose it in lots of fun ways!


Cons:

- There are some parts where her wig netting shows through. (May vary from doll to doll.)
- I'm not a fan of the material used on her top, gloves, and boots. It looks a bit cheap and can crease and wrinkle.
- Her boots in general don't look very sturdy and like the soles can come apart.
- She's unable to hold her staff while she's wearing her gloves.
-  The logo on her shirt as well as the diamond buckle on her belt can potentially get torn off. They aren't held in place very securely.
-The wire in her cape can poke out at the ends.


Neutral:

-  While her faceup is still nice, I still think it would have been nice to add more color or have more interesting elements to it. I would have liked it if they maybe painted her lids a fun color like bright pink with maybe blue or yellow liner, or maybe wing out her eye shadow into the shape of lightning bolts to go along with her theme. They could have done so much more with her!

- Her cape hooks on to little loops of thread on her top. For the most part, it works well enough, but they can become unlatched easily when posing her.

- She's pricier than most dolls, being priced at $150 on pullipstyle.com. This is probably due to the fact that she is limited edition, a San Diego Comic Con release, and a collaboration doll. If you have your eye on her, I suggest checking ebay and maybe seeing if there are any bids or buy it now listings that have her at a lower price. You might get lucky!


The Verdict:

Overall, I have to say I love Super Stella! I know she may not be everyone's cup of tea, what with her bright colors and the style of her costume being reminiscent of something Barbie might wear, but I think she's just so much fun to pose and play with that I'm not too bothered by it. I think she would also be very fun to redress in some other bright and funky fashions as well!



Pictures of my Pullip Super Stella:

Pullip Classical Alice: Review

I've always been a huge fan of anything and everything Alice in Wonderland related, so it was no wonder that I was so drawn to Classical Alice! To be totally and completely honest, I really love all of the Alice Pullip releases to date, but Classical Alice bears the closest resemblance to the Alice that most of us are familiar with. (Though, if we include Dals, the Dal version is hands down the most Alice-y of all the Alices, but the Pullip version is beautiful all the same.) Because of that, I feel the name she was given is really spot on and fits her perfectly!

Pullip Classical Alice Comes With:

-  Headband with blue and white bow with cameo charm

- Blue dress with lace trimming on the sleeves and the hemline. Has a high neckline and a ruffled collar.

- White apron  with lace and brown bow detailing

- Black and white striped stockings

- A pair of black Mary Jane flats

- Pullip Classical Alice's trading card

-Doll stand

Pros:

-  Her blonde curls are tight and springy and much neater than expected! Not very much frizz at all! (May vary from doll to doll.)

- No wig netting showing through! ( May vary from doll to doll.)

-  Very elegant looking faceup! Her eyebrows have sort of a peculiar shape, being quite thick at the start of the brow and thinning out dramatically at the ends. They're also really straight for the most part with  just the slightest arch to them. She also has some smoky eye makeup, and it looks as if she has a combination of blue, brown, and possibly some pink eye shadow, and the creases on her eyelids are streaked with white and grayish blue paint. Her eyes are bordered with lots of long, wispy lashes! Her cheeks have a hint of coral blush on them and her lips are very natural looking shade of pink and if you look closely, you can see that there is a heart shape painted in a darker pink color in the center of her lips! It's similar to the way Dal Heiwa's lips are painted, but much more subtle.

 -  Her eyechips are really nice! They have a very thick black limbal ring painted around her iris, which consists of a pretty blue color streaked with black lines, and two white dots painted near the bottom of the pupils and a white line tracing the area where the lower part of the pupil and the iris meet!

- Her stock outfit is very simple, but by no means boring. Her outfit is very similar to the dress that Alice wears in movie portrayals and illustrations, just with a touch more frills and lace and some embellishments added here and there. Overall, it is still recognizable as Alice's dress and I really like that about it! I also love how she was given striped stockings as opposed to plain white or plain black ones!

- Type 4 Body!

Cons:

- Her shoes are extremely large for her feet. Most Pullip dolls tend to be given shoes that are too big for them, but her's seem to be the most ill fitting shoes I've come across so far. I ended up sticking some wadded up tissue paper at the toes just so they would help fit better.

- It would be a good idea to be as careful with her curls as possible and not to play with her hair too much. The curls can possibly become undone and  it most likely won't be very easy to fix it back to the way  it was.

Neutral:

- She doesn't come with much aside from the things that you see on her.

-  Her outfit is fairly well made and nothing on it should become ruined, but I would be careful with the lace used at the hem of her dress. It's possible that it can unravel if any thread is hanging from it.

- She's quite reasonably priced for a Pullip doll. I highly recommend buying her from either pullipstyle.com or jpgroove.com, as she is way overpriced on ebay and amazon. PullipStyle seems to have her at the best price of $112.95, but it's possible you can get her for less if they have her listed under a Dent Box Sale.

The Verdict:

I am very happy with this doll! She's a very beautiful doll and it's easy to see why she's such a popular choice among Pullip collectors! Whether you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland or not, Classical Alice is a winning choice and would be a wonderful addition to any collection, as well as make a good first doll for new collectors! She also would look lovely in different wigs, eyechips, and clothes, if you're looking for  a doll to make slight customizations to!

Pictures of Mary Weather, my Pullip Classical Alice: