Yes, the #FailFix dolls were here and gone before one could snap their fingers. It was
that ultimately spelled doom for the line, though a lot of dolly fans also conjecture that the term "fail" in the title had something to do with the FAIL of the line. Apparently the outraged adults thought the dolls were saying "I've failed at looking perfect, so I'm a failure, period." There was some rebuttal, with those supporting the dolls saying...basically what I'd say if my makeup was a flop: "I've got a special occasion today and I look horrible. Can you help me fix myself up?" #FailFix commercials and packaging implied that the latter scenario was indeed the case, at least with @Loves.Glam and @Dance.Stylz (and @SlayitDJ, but I don't have her yet). Glam is preparing for an opening night of some stripe, DJ is headed off to a DJing gig, while Dance is going to...well, dance class! @Preppi.Posh is the bookish one of the bunch, so she doesn't mention a specific occasion. Maybe she wants to look nice for class.
Not looking nice at such events isn't the end of the world, but it can definitely put a damper on your day. So I think the flack was a little on the ridiculous side, but they didn't ask me. Miss Emily did point out that the hobbies of the bunch were racially stereotypical; @Dance.Stylz, a black doll, apparently likes hip-hop, @Kawaii.Qtee is Asian-American and likes anime, and @Preppi.Posh is bookish and is very, very white. I feel Emily's complaint there. Not all Afro-Americans like hip-hop, not all Asian-Americans are obsessed with anime, and not all white folks are bookish. Luckily, this bit wasn't heavily advertised, and I assign my own personalities to my dolls anyway, so this bit can be rectified. Plus, @Dance.Stylz's box says only "dance class," not "hip-hop class." She could just as easily be a tap dancer or a ballet dancer or a breakdancer...ooo, I love a skilled breakdancer! But still, the stereotypes apparently were there and for some folks it was annoying.
The fall of #FailFix stung for me, since they were a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the
Boxy Girls and since their gimmick was easy to handle. They were also colorful, didn't take up...well, not TOO much space, and their fail faces were a riot. The blind bag gimmick also came into play regarding the dolls' dresses and makeup, and there was always a chance that one might get a sparkle or night variant, though (spoiler alert) all of mine are the day variant. That includes my Mika, a.k.a.
@Kawaii.Qtee. Mika will not be present in this post today since she's in storage like too many of my dolls, but she's still around. Here's a reused picture.
I admit that I'm still not over my hatred of these dolls' names, but then a lot of social media handles are dumb. Dumb can be original, after all...and on social media EVERYONE has to have an original handle. Anyway, here's my new girls in fail mode...
...and here's how they look gussied up.
Unlike the Fidgie Friends, #FailFix dolls all had different head shapes, both on their fail faces and on their unmasked faces. They also had different body shapes, but we'll get to that.
Now...@Loves.Glam is the one in black and gold, and she didn't get a lot of love from bloggers and collectors. She was the easiest one to find on secondary market, and I don't see a lot of owner pics of her. She has beautiful hair, I'll say that much right now. It isn't every day one sees wine-colored hair on a doll; indeed, Adora and
Chardonnay are my only two.
I've chosen the name Adora for this one. It just...kinda fits her. Like Mika I had to give Adora a hairwash after combing out her fail hair, and I didn't get all that hair gom out but she looks okay. Indeed, she's put-together enuff that she reminds me a little of a Bratz doll...without the brat factor, LOL.
All of these dolls come with some sort of bauble for their hair, and Adora came with...THESE???
Adora is the only one of my dolls who came with a hair bob that is NOT meant to be worn permanently. I have to ask y'all: how am I supposed to curl all of Adora's hair when she's only got two of these things??? Why bother when her hair is already pretty curly as it is? I just tossed those into the accessory bag and moved on. Pity that Adora didn't get something like a crown or a clip that tied in with her dress.
Moving on, y'all remember when I said #FailFix dolls were more engaging than Fidgie Friends? I think I may have figured out why. I never noticed this with Mika, but Adora has follow-me eyes, kinda like
Unique Eyes dolls do.
I like the Unique Eyes dolls, BTW. I'm searching for one that really sets my heart aflame-a. As another addendum, it's a pity that such a function wasn't implemented for #SNAPSTARS. They were social media-themed like #FailFix and were actually meant to be photographed. Sigh...I need to root my #SNAPSTAR doll out of storage and finally review her. Their failure was a lot more predictable than #FailFix was. Anyway, I think Adora cleaned up well, but I kinda miss her fail eyeshadow; it reminded me of the aurora borealis. Oh well, I've still got the fail mask, and Adora's peachy eyeshadow looks like the sunset so I won't complain.
Just for shizzles, here are Adora's three looks.
The evening getup looks okay, but I think I understand why this particular doll wasn't the most popular. A lotta black...though some kids like black. I did. Anyway, Adora's nighttime look has golden paint on her forehead, kinda like some Bollywood stars wear. Maybe that's why Adora is attending a red carpet event; maybe she's a Bollywood fan, or even a starlet. Sky's the limit!
Back on track, Danae is the name I picked for @Dance.Stylz. I knew ahead of time that Danae's hair would need washing after being brushed out, and indeed the interim between brushing and washing was hilarious.
Reminds me of the porcupine scene from Homeward Bound, and what Chance asks the porcupine what it did to get such outrageous hair. Luckily Danae is not a porcupine (I've worked with porcupine quills and they can be a bitch), so I was able to wash out her hair without jabbing my cuticles. She looks okay now.
Danae's microbraids handle differently from Mika's and Adora's unbraided hair. I was able to break up the heavily gelled curls with my hands and finger comb the worst of the tangles out, but a simple brushing didn't take out the kinks. Hence the hairwash. Now here's a better look at Danae's face.
That fleck in her left eye came off with a moistened fingertip. I kinda wish her unmasked face had more 'tude, like her fail face did. I also wish her lips weren't so dern bright, but they at least match her clothes and hair. AND they're not bubblegum pink; this is a pretty fuchsia shade.
Here are Danae's three looks. I wish I could've gotten that night look; that purple looks amazing with her dark coloring.
Despite my harping, wishing for this or wishing for that, I like Danae a lot. She's got beautiful coloring and could easily become my favorite of these dolls. By the way, this is what I mean when I say these dolls have different bodies. Danae is taller than Adora.
There are three body shapes in all, though I forget who has what. A quick glance at Mika's review told me that she and the deluxe doll @2Dreami have petite bodies. Danae is taller than Adora, so that would mean that Danae is tall and Adora is curvy.
Lourdes (@Preppi.Posh) is also curvy, and she's the one I was least interested in initially, because...well, because she's blonde and blue-eyed, that's why! Except she's brown-eyed, and her eyes are a different shade of brown than Danae's.
I like that combo a lot better. I had a blonde Barbie with brown eyes once, and she was a knockout. Regardless of eye color, Lourdes has a sweet little face underneath her fail mask. And dig this as well: she has pink glasses!
Isn't every day that a fashion doll has specs, let alone cute pink ones. When my mom was young glasses were black and goofy, and when I was young glasses were brown and boring, but now...now if you want 'em those frames can be your favorite color. I even ran into one lady who had Piet Mondrian-style frames, or like I called 'em when I was little,
rainbow bricks.
Lourdes's hair bauble is a giant plastic clip that looks like a butterfly. I like this clip because it also looks like a hair bow. A BIG hair bow.
Regarding her three looks, I like Lourdes's night getup the best (again), because it's shimmery and dominantly blue.
Oh, and fun little fact: I tried to tell the eBay seller what I named this doll, and eBay flagged my review saying I had to revise it! Apparently "Lourdes" is abusive language. Idiotic.
One Redditor noted that #FailFix clothes were
a little on the low-quality side, and I'll give 'em that; my dolls' dresses look good, but they're easily snagged and the fabric is thin. I also noticed some quality issues with my Mika, mostly in and around the eyes. Again, a reused picture.
When I mentioned during the Fidgie Friends review that "glass" eyes have problems of their own, Mika was one of the dolls I was referring to. Her eye makeup has a lot of cracks, and her eyes themselves have this weird pattern like ripples in a pond. Adora and Danae dodged both those bullets, but Lourdes has ripples in her right eye (and some eye wonk). Her eye paint is fortunately okay.
I do want to apply some sealant to Mika's paint and see if that'll prevent future damage, but for now she looks okay...as far as I know, LOL. For the record, Mika and Lourdes aren't the only dolls I've got with inset eye issues; Skyler Bradshaw (Rainbow High) has chips in her eyes that look a little like water spots...
...and I've got PLENTY of dolls with wonky eyes (examples
here,
here, and
here). I tolerate eye wonk on playline dolls like this since I've got a touch of strabismus myself, especially when I'm tired.
But wait, there's more! Apparently there were also pets that went with this line, and since they look funny in fail mode I got one. This is @ArteePup, but I'll be calling her Bluebelle. She is the pet of one of the dolls I don't yet have, @PrettyArtee.
Apparently @PrettyArtee is an art enthusiast (hence her handle name), and she's no better at giving her dog a makeover than she is at her own.
Looks like the poor poochie got caught in a small tornado, LOL. For the record, this dog is an Afghan hound, and this breed has A LOT of hair. Professional grooming is an absolute must for such a dog as that. Now...obviously the premise of these pets is the same as for the dolls: fix up their flopped grooming and let them strut their stuff. This goober even has a foamy mask like the girls do!
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Girl With the Dogs, and I know from her experiences that a lot of dogs and nearly all cats hate having their faces washed. Vanessa also says that
grooming animals from kittenhood/puppyhood makes things a lot easier. Anyway, here's Bluebelle's before and after. She cleaned up nicely.
Fun fact: there is hair dye that's safe for dogs, though
few people do it. I certainly wouldn't, though I doubt my dogs would give a crap. Besides, this is the doll world, and anyone can have trippy hair if they want. Anyway, Adora, Lourdes, and Mika have coordinating pets too, and I plan on gathering those up in the future. Lourdes owns a Pomeranian, Mika's pet is a cat, and Adora has a mini horse. I repeat...A MINI HORSE!!! Mini horses are awesome, though they do require an owner who knows how to deal with horses. It's a horse, after all, and horses have to be trained, big or small. But I love mini horses. I like Pomeranians too; when I adopted my chinchilla I had the option to also adopt a senior Pomeranian, but I only had enuff money for the chinchilla's adoption fee and the dog had an owner lined up anyway. Ooo, he was a sweetie, though! And of course y'all know my opinions on cats. Anyway, Bluebelle is minimally jointed, unlike her companion dolls. She can turn her head, but that's it.
Still, she's an Afghan. While I'd never want an Afghan hound for myself (too much maintenance), I do respect the breed and anyone who has the time and money to keep their dog looking and feeling nice. Barbie had an Afghan once (because why wouldn't she?), and that's a Barbie pet that I wouldn't mind scrounging it up. My Barbie dolls don't have a lot of pets, and I need to change that. Mama thinks that Bluebelle would make a nice companion for Zooey Electric, and...she's not too far off!
But then again, neither Bluebelle nor Zooey look thrilled about being paired up. Maybe Zooey isn't a dog person.
As a last addendum,
Toy Sisters has a guide that shows the day, sparkle, and evening variants of each of these dolls. I'm glad of that, because only owning day variants, I was curious about the others. I wonder what the odds of getting each variant were?
