So random, April '25

We start on April Fool's Day, with...what a surprise, a Cabbage Patch Kid.  Please ignore the mess behind him...and the poopy lighting too, for that matter.

Y'all think Nathan Hunter is just a smidge outta season in that?  Luckily for him I had something new in the mail.

Later on that evening Alexandra Claire did get something new in the mail, and she made a beeline for the grass.

The ground was still damp from the Sunday before (it was Tuesday by then), but that neither bothered nor affected Alexandra.  Later on that same evening I took this picture of Alexandra sitting pretty.

This image shows the color of the dress a little better.  It's an apple green shade.

April 2nd.  The calm after the storm.

It was still thundering a bit during the eight o'clock hour, but nothing like it had been.  Candela Laura and Rita Cheryl were both sick to death of storms and ready to hit the sack by then, and I'm not sure what Mia was thinking.  Thunder and lightning don't faze her much, though.

April 4th, we were surrounded by more tornadic thunderstorms, but the day's chosen dolls' cares were nigh next to zero.

This is another of my candids.  I'd just put Nathan Hunter in his new romper, and he flopped onto Mia like he'd known her all his life.  Mia, being a good-natured little doll, didn't mind a bit.

April 6th, the rain finally moved out and chilly temperatures moved in.  So typical of weather in the Midwest, fickle as sin.  A conversation with my mama led to this picture of Danica and Lark.

Pardon Danica's unbrushed hair and Lark's derpy eye.  Lark has developed a bit of eye derp in the time that I've owned her, and that may may land her in a pair of glasses.  Anyway, I ran into a very cute Create Your Own doll on Failbook, one with bobbed hair like Danica's.  I showed her to Mama, and of course she fell in love.  "You could get one like that with blue hair," she suggested, remembering that at one time I wanted to dye my own hair blue.  "I could," I replied, "but those CYOs are two hundred bucks, and I've got a girl with blue hair."  That, of course, is Lark.

I then noticed that the Failbook doll's owner called the bob "underrated."  In turn, I remembered that Danica has a bob, so I brushed her hair and showed her off.

Danica was once owned by a child and is thus a little rough around the edges, but she's everything I'd have chosen in a Create Your Own so I'm happy.  For the price they wanted (ninety bucks plus shipping) I was happy to overlook her shaggy hair and the ding on her nose.  Oh, and regarding the bob, I'm not the only one who likes it.  Miss Emily's CYO doll Eliza also had bobbed hair.  RED bobbed hair, just like Danica's!

While I was fussing with Lark and Danica, Candela Laura had her hands full with So Surprised Suzie. 

Having heard a loud rumble outside, Suzie was convinced that we were in for another thunderstorm.  Candela had to reassure her that it was some idiot with a noisy car, not thunder.  It took some talking, but Suzie eventually calmed down and agreed to stand still for a picture. 

She'd heard that she'd be getting a new dress next pay period, as Mama and I had both seen little outfits on Etsy that we liked.  Suzie ended up not getting a dress per se, but she did get something cute to wear.

April 8th, eclipse anniversary!  It was finally dry enuff to take my dolls outside, if only for a minute. 

Gwenda Cecile is wearing yet another gift from Mama.  I like to joke that the best Cabbie dresses come from Texarkana, because several of the outfits Mama has given me are from there.  The ladybug dress is no exception. 

That evening I also got a picture of Mia and Little Mia together. 

I said this earlier in the month but I'll say it again:  my pocketbook may be in serious trouble.  These dolls are just too cute.

April 10th.  Matthew Tommie got a new T-shirt that happens to match Justin Latowski's.

Coincidence.  I bought Justin's shirt two years ago, and Mama bought Matt's shirt last week.  I had no idea it was gonna be yellow and white, but it suits Matt just fine.

April 11th.  Caught this one as I was getting ready for work.  From left, Booful Beans, Chou Chou, and Xue.  Hedda Get Bedda, Nathan Hunter, Esmond Brant, and Cara Raelean can all be seen in the background.

Chou Chou and Xue were NOT havin' it that morning, but then Chou Chou's never havin' it.  She tolerates Booful though, since being mean to Booful is like being mean to a puppy.  Chou Chou is a Monst doll, by the way, and Xue is an Amooooore Doll.  Yep, Amooooore, five o's.  Both Chou and Xue will be getting reviews sometime in the summer.

April 13th.  Random head shot of Hugo Jack. 

I'd asked my friends on Failbook:  if their bald Cabbies had hair, what color would it be?  I've always envisioned Hugo as a brunette, and strangely enuff several of my friends said the same.  I think my buddy from Newfoundland and Labrador said her baldie would have red hair.

April 14th.  Another one of those "I threw them together and this is how it came out" pictures. 

Idalia Gale and Beryl June got a bit too rambunctious for Suzie that evening!  They were excited because they'd heard another popcorn girl was joining the Cabbage Patch.

April 17th.  Beryl June met the subjects of a future blog post.

Those are Little Cousins, and I'd never heard of them until a week ago.  They'll be getting a review, but I don't know when.

April 19th.  Storms were once again in the forecast, though the weather in the Bootheel was calm (Texas and Oklahoma were another story).  I got another candid of So Surprised Suzie. 

Suzie likes baby dolls that are smaller than her, and Sasha Baby is precisely that. 

April 20th.  Gary Collier got something bright and new to wear. 

Y'all wouldn't know he was my OlympiKid, would y'all!  A change of clothes really makes a difference. 

April 21st.  Sasha Baby and Nancy cuddle. 

Both dolls are European, and they look cute together as well.  Some of my dolls are a little freaked out by Nancy's makeup, but Sasha Baby doesn't give a flying burrito.

April 22nd.  A warm, clear day, drastically different from the beginning of the month.

Rebecca Madeleine models the dress that I got in the haul a few days before.  It looks cute on her, but I can't wait to see how it looks on my friend's doll.  Orange always looks good on dolls of color, which my friend's doll is.  This is another dress from Texarkana, by the way.

April 24th.  Two of my foreign babies get to know each other. 

The Cabbie is none other than Candela Laura, and she's got Sasha Baby on her lap.  These two were at the center of a goofy question that I asked myself and a couple'a friends, one that will be revealed on the blog in a few days.

April 27th.  Random shot of Silver Bird, and Mini Maryellen photobombing. 

Silver Bird had just received a new outfit, as had Gabby (barely visible to Silver Bird's left).  I had lost the ability to walk unassisted by this point, and thus both Gabby and Silver Bird were parked next to me on the couch.

That's all I've got for y'all this month.  Mobility issues bite.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

LUV Doll Harper review

I'm on a new pain medicine, which has brought some limited relief and a slightly dizzy head, so I apologize for any goofy things I may say.  Tramadol is a new experience for me, but it's a heckuva lot better than trying to tough it out alone.  That said, the pain is gone like it's supposed to be...but my muscles are sooooooooo...weak...I'm currently using my grandfather's old walker.  Now...today I bring a doll that I told myself I wouldn't buy.  Meet Harper, a LUV Doll, not to be confused with the World of Love, a Hasbro doll line that may or may not one day make an appearance here.

The LUV Dolls are not selling well from what I've heard, and they're a completely different scale from Barbie (rendering clothes hijacking out), and Miss Emily already reviewed these dolls, so I thought "Why bother?"  Then Mama saw Harper and liked her a lot, so...well, y'know.  My favorite LUV Dolls are Brooke and Autumn, but my Lordy, Autumn's stock outfit is a hot mess!  Anyway, each of these dolls has a rudimentary personality and style hashed out on the backs of their boxes, with Harper being the compassionate one that prefers classic style and mixing and matching.

Okay, allons-y.  Harper is nine inches tall, shorter than both Andra (curvy Barbie) and G3 Venus McFlytrap.

Harper is closer in height to a Bratz doll and to a #FailFix doll, but her measurements are very different from Cloe's.  Adora's measurements are more similar, but she still has a bigger head than Harper.  

I can already tell y'all that I don't like Harper's sleeves and do like her compact size, but here's a looksie at her hair before I do anything else.  She has medium brown hair in a high wrapped ponytail, with two bits pulled back around her face.

Harper's hairstyle looks the most streamlined of the four LUV Dolls; Brooke and Autumn have curly hair that takes up a lot of real estate, and Londynn has cute little 'Fro puffs.  Harper's 'do reminds me of Crystabella's hairdo.

Oopsie, can't see the hairstyle that well.  Here's a better look at Crystabella's ponytail. 

Harper's hair isn't as heavy as Crystabella's, and her joints aren't as loose so Harper can stand up straight under her ponytail.  Crystabella cannot, though I usually play this up a bit, trying to make her look like she's underwater.  

Harper's hair itself is a lovely color (my images pick up a little red in there), but it's kinda coarse--not bad-coarse, but like a Paola Reina doll's hair.  Mar, Imani, and Abigail Witch have nice hair, but it needs a little brushing and TLC from time to time, as does Crystabella's.  Therefore I'll guess that Harper has nylon hair like Crystabella and the Paola Reina gang do.  

I appreciate the streamlined style; I've always loved ponytails like this.  It's your basic ponytail, but the wrap makes it a little dressier and it doesn't have messy bangs.

Come to think of it, none of the LUV Dolls have bangs, and since these dolls have small heads that's probably a good thing.  Bangs sometimes crowd the facial features of small-headed dolls.  Regarding the rooting, I can't say too much since Harper's hair is pulled back so tight, but I can see a bit of a gap right behind her bangs.  And some dust already!  I've not had her a month!

Speaking of facial features, Harper has one of the prettier LUV faces.  Londynn may give her a run for her money, but it's a close call.

Londynn and Harper have glossy lip paint and Autumn and Brooke do not, and I think the added shine helps Harper some, but let's break this down.  Eyes.

None of these dolls have great eyes.  There's no nuance or shine in the paint, and the overall eye looks very...flat.  Andra's tiny eyes have more detail than Harper's do, but then I don't think Andra is a toy like Harper is, and her makeup does have some pixels visible.

On the other hand, Harper's eyeshadow is pretty good, better than Brooke's or Autumn's.  Again, Londynn is on equal footing with Harper...and may ever so slightly eke her out.  As to the lower part of Harper's face, she's got subtle pink blush that washes her out a smidge, and full pink lips that look halfway decent.  Hot pink lipstick does have its place in the doll world.

Not bad makeup, though like I said above, I'm not in love with the eye paint.  Harper would have pretty amber eyes if the paint were shaded a bit more...or if her eyes were inset.  But then some folks don't like inset eyes, and on a doll head this small inset eyes would be hard to get straight, so Far Out Toys made a good call there.

Going back to earrings for a bit, oh, these are only the beginning of Far Out Toys's obsession with clunky gold vinyl accessories, but look closely at these earrings.  See the rubber band?

The earrings were RUBBER BANDED TOGETHER, and I had a devil of a time getting the rubber band undone (it now resides in Cloe's hair, LOL).  Once the rubber band is gone the earrings hang more naturally, and they're not something I'd ever want to wear.  Too heavy.

But then again, maybe they're hollow.  I had a buddy who wore earrings like this once, and when I asked her how she stood it she replied "Oh, they're hollow.  They're very comfortable."  She let me try one, and they were indeed very comfortable.  These earrings come out, by the way, but I don't have anyone on hand who could trade earrings with Harper, so that's that.  I need to dig out my LIV dolls and my Bratzillaz...wait a minute, what's Ghoulia Yelps wearing?

My mistake, my G1 Monster High dolls have removable earrings!  #FailFix dolls do too.

Time to play Switcheroo!

Both sets of earrings fit Harper and look reasonably nice, but Ghoulia's clunky dangles are a bit too big for her delicate face.  Adora's smaller dangles are a snug fit, but they look better than Harper's original earrings do.

Here's how things went when I turned the tables. 

Both Ghoulia and Adora can wear Harper's gold hearts, but they're just a tiny bit loose on both dolls.  Ghoulia managed to hold onto Harper's earrings when she tumbled off the couch, so maybe I'm just being paranoid about the fit.  As of writing I'm tentatively calling earring sharing a success between LUV, #FailFix, and G1 Monster High dolls.

Adora is kinda the redheaded stepchild of the #FailFix clan, so I took a picture of her solo before moving on.

Adora and Harper have a few similarities, but not as many as I thought.  I'm hoping that they can share clothes, though.

Great time to segue into the body.  Ugh, I'm only now realizing, after twelve or so years of blogging, how much I hate reviewing the bodies.  All four of the LUV Dolls have different bodies, but the differences are subtle enuff to allow clothes sharing.  Harper is second-shortest of the bunch; Autumn is shorter than her, and Brooke and Londynn are taller.

I'm kinda at a loss regarding a name for this body shape.  It's not a pear, it's not an hourglass, and it's not a curveless column like tall Barbie bodies are.  Labels aside, this body is highly articulated, and as I said above, the joints aren't floppy like Mermaze Mermaidz joints are.  Her neck joint moves smoothly and holds the positions that I put it in, which is way more than I can say for poor Crystabella. 

In a similar manner, Harper's torso joint is fairly tight but the motion is smooth.  Harper can bend a little from side to side...

...and a teensy bit from front to back.  This joint doesn't twist at all.

Harper's shoulders are the ball-jointed hinges that a great many modern dolls have.  When the ball part is facing down this is as high as the shoulders go...

...but she can also move them all the way around like so.

It's gonna be a smidge tricky describing the elbow.  It looks the same all the way around...

...and motion is pretty good, but there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to bend this elbow.  The right way produces a sharper angle, though neither angle is ninety degrees.

The shoulders and elbows are flexible enuff that Harper can do the Y.M.C.A. dance fairly well (not all my dolls with arm joints can do this).  Y...

...M...

...C, though this one is mediocre...

...A!

I shouldn't throw shade at Harper's C's, since I can barely do Y.  "Y.M.C.A." was a staple at the handful of dances I attended in high school, and usually I'd just flail my arms around wildly.  Seventies dance fads aside, Harper can shield her eyes and rest her hand on her hip, but she can't touch her face below her eyebrows.  That's kinda a drag; I like it when dolls can blow kisses or cover yawns and sneezes...but then again Joie is my sneezer, not Harper.  She looks cute shielding her eyes.

Harper can also cross her arms, though she can't do this tightly enuff to cover her chest.

All is not lost though, as Harper has sufficient hair to cover her nudity.

The hands have a ball-jointed hinge at the wrist, and they can be moved and detached like a Monster High doll's hands can.  The shape is pretty realistic, with short nails that are painted a nice shade of pink.  I love it when dolls have painted nails!

The legs are also fully jointed, though Harper's boots conceal and immobilize her ankle joint.

The legs are made of hard vinyl and feel very sturdy.  Harper's hip motion is smooth, and while she can't achieve a full side split she's got good sideways movement there.

Front-to-back splits are also doable, but Harper's leg sticks out at a funny angle due to the shape of her rear.

Harper's knees bend to just about ninety degrees.  She can kneel, but not deeply.

In addition to the usual movement Harper's knees rotate, so I can turn her legs any way I please.  

Harper has sizeable feet with ankles that bend and rotate.  Her toes aren't well-defined, but her toenails are painted, always a plus in my book.

Now...now we run into one of my personal hangups with jointed ankles.  I don't have a lot of dolls with ankles like this, but I have a few.  Harper's feet are molded into a permanently high-heeled position, and thus when her ankles are bent they look like they're broken.  Yee-ouchie, all of these dolls' shoes are high heels, so this joint wasn't that necessary. 

In addition to bending these ankles rotate.  Sometimes that looks painful too, but...well, ankles do rotate a little in real life.

Truth be told, when I stand with a leg turned out it's rotated at the hip.  I never rotated my ankles or my knees out, because even in my youth twisting my joints hurt.  But Harper has nice joints, especially for one so small.  She feels pretty sturdy, though I have some minor concerns about her hands becoming loose as time goes by.  I've never had any issues with my dolls' hands becoming loose, but I have heard of the older Monster High dolls' hands getting that way as time goes by.  I just try to be careful with those hands.

That brings us to clothes, yes?  All four of the LUV dolls are elaborately dressed, and...and...AND NONE OF 'EM WEAR GREEN!!!  Take that back, Brooke's extra outfit is green.  But the four girls wear very elaborate and colorful outfits.  Here's Harper's ensemble.

Polka dots, y'all!  Unfortunately in this case the polka dots are too much of a good thing, as they're painted on and are very large and stiff.  The skirt of this dress doesn't drape well as a result.

The whole dress utilizes a lot of easily snagged tulle.  This bodice would be strapless if it didn't have said tulle.  Otherwise it's a sweetheart bodice with nicely tailored darts at the waist.  This part fits Harper like a glove.

The sleeves are also made of tulle and are very tight except for the ruffles at the cuffs, which I like.  If this were a human-sized dress those ruffles would flutter around and look pretty as one moved.  Unfortunately the tulle is delicate and has no stretch, and because of that I've already torn a hole in one of the sleeves.  

Here's a closeup of the polka dots.  They're really cute and the paint is nicely applied, but they're too big.  I kinda wish they were either smaller or translucent, the way they are on the box art.

The skirt has two layers, the polka dot tulle layer, and a lower layer of opaque satin.  Neither of these fabrics have very good drape, and neither fabric is hemmed.  As I've said countless times before, tulle is hard to hem.

Why do I make such a big deal about the abundance of tulle on this dress???  Because the back closes with our old friend Velcro.  Snag city.

The inside of the dress is nothing to write home about.  The bodice has a few loose ends, but everything is holding together nicely.

Now, accessories.  On her waist Harper wears this black corset-style belt, and I'm not a huge fan of it.  Y'all can probably see how the stitching is sloppy in places...

...but the real offender is this Velcro.  The first time I undressed Harper one side of the Velcro was coming unsewn.  I'll have to resew or glue this end.

Now these boots, I like.  They're like something I'd have worn once, and I'd still wear them if they didn't have a high heel.  The molding on these is nice, with full-length laces in the front, the LUV logo and some flowers on the sides, and a leather texture all over.

I kinda wish the decorations on Harper's boots were painted, because the decorations on her bag are painted.  Harper's bag is a simple piece of plastic, but it's molded and painted nicely.  Not perfectly, mind y'all, but nicely.  The acronym "LUV" is clearly visible.  The quilted texture reminds me of those ridiculously expensive Chanel bags, and that may be what Far Out Toys was getting at.  I can certainly pretend that!

Now to the gold vinyl stuff.  For some reason Far Out Toys decided to saddle all four of the LUV dolls with clunky gold vinyl jewelry and accessories.  Londynn's accessories don't look TOO bad, and Autumn just has one huge necklace, but Brooke and Harper are covered in this gold plastic.  Here's the necklace; it actually doesn't look too bad when it's tucked under Harp's collar.  The heart pendant peeps out from underneath like a brooch and I like the way that looks, but on its own...judging from that molding I'd guess that this necklace is supposed to have multiple chains.

The thing is, this vinyl didn't take too well to the mold...either that or the mold itself isn't detailed enuff.  It's possible to see things like individual beads and chain links, but they're all muddled and indistinct.  The same is true with the bracelet, which actually looks like a stack of bracelets up close.  The bottom bracelet has heart-shaped charms, but they're clunky and look more like spikes.  This bracelet only comes off if I take off Harper's hand.

Lastly, this belt.  It combined with the corset make Harper's waist look cluttered.  This belt is supposed to be chain links, but again the molding is kludgy and makes it look like rope.  I like the hearts, though' they make the front of the belt look like a smiley face.

Like Miss Emily, I could've done without the abundance of gold accessories here.  The necklace and the earrings are okay, and the bracelet doesn't show, but that belt I can do without, and the corset too, for that matter.

Alrighty...LUV dolls have extra outfits, but each character only got one.  Their bodies are similar enuff that they can share clothes, but as always, I'm looking for other options.  I gave myself more time than usual to complete this review, so I was able to fit in clothes sharing like I did in the early days of the blog.  I'm gonna try to make that a feature of reviews again.  Anyway, Draculaura and Venus McFlytrap are both taller than Harper is, but it's still worth a shot with their clothes.

Draculaura's nightie is a little big around Harper's chest, and her shoes fall off constantly, but Harper looks really cute in Draculaura's clothes.  The pink even compliments Harper's blush.  Harper's narrow sleeves didn't fit over Draculaura's arms, though I think they would've slid into place had I pushed it a bit.  Venus's arms are of a similar thickness, and spoilers, she can wear Harper's dress.  The pink and green kinda clash with that blue, but...well, Venus is a Monster High doll.  Monster High dolls are not bothered terribly by clashing colors. 

Likewise, Harper looks adorable in Venus's punky getup.  Again, things are a teensy bit big in the chest, and I didn't try to shove Venus's tight socks on Harper's legs, but everything else looks fine.  The boots even fit, since they're longer and fitted.  Harp can't wear G3 Monster High earrings though, as the posts are too thick.  Remember that she could wear G1 earrings. 

I also have Cloe on hand, and even though she's skinnier than Harper I'll try her too.

This turned out to be a nice surprise for Harper, as she was able to slide her big feet into Cloe's skinny little capris.  The shirt fits just fine.  But since Cloe's hands don't come off she was unable to put on Harper's dress.  Shame, because I love how Bratz dolls look in puffy dresses.  Case in point.

Jade, of course.  I'm just a smidge obsessed with Jade.  Oh yeah, I was able to wedge Harper's boots over Cloe's calves, and they fit surprisingly well.  Unfortunately these same boots don't fit over or under Cloe's tight jeans.

At the eleventh hour I noticed my O.M.G. doll Bubblegum D.J. and decided to try her clothes.

Once again Harper can wear D.J.'s clothes but not shoes (the skirt is a teensy bit loose), but D.J. is too curvy to wear Harper's clothes.  It was after this wardrobe change that I noticed the hole in Harper's sleeve, so I think D.J. may be the doll that did it.

Finally, since I brought Adora into the mix, here's how #FailFix dolls fare.

Adora's arms are too thick for Harper's tortured sleeves, and to my surprise Adora's dress is too tight for Harper.  Oh, Harper got it on, but she can hardly move in it.  Shame, because she can wear Adora's shoes.

Overall though that's a pleasant dolly dress shuffle.  Harper can wear older Bratz clothes and some G3 Monster High clothes, and some O.M.G. pieces as well.  The real test would be Queen Sways's tight fur jacket, but I'm not wrestling Her Majesty out of it to try it.  I think this is a good place to sum it up.

BAD

*The worst criticism I can come up with is that Harper's outfit feels fragile (I've already damaged one sleeve) and it's overburdened with accessories.  One waist accent would've been enuff.
*Hmmm...the eye paint is a little flat.  Not as bad as Brooke's, but not as pretty as Londynn's.
*I personally could've done without the ankle joints, since none of the LUV crew wears flat shoes.
*OVERPRICED!!!  These are small dolls, and they go for thirty-two bucks American.

GOOD

*Harper's hair is nice and smooth.  From what I can tell, the other LUV dolls don't have this.
*I like this doll's joints...except for the ankles.
*Despite my critiques I love the aesthetics of this outfit.  I particularly love the boots with the dress, the casual with the formal...or the hard-a$$ with the elegant, one or the other.
*Harper can wear clothes meant for several of my other dolls, though few of them can wear her dress.

I don't know if I'd have felt as positively about this line if I'd reviewed one of the other LUV dolls.  I hear that Brooke's hair isn't the greatest, and Autumn's outfit is a hot mess so Harper was a good call...for me, anyway!  Someone else might've preferred Autumn's over-the-top getup or Londynn's eye-popping pink blouse.  In Harper's case I appreciate her smooth hair, most of her joints, her overall appearance in her blue dress, and the fact that she can wear some Monster High and O.M.G. clothes.  The thing is, cute though Harper is, she and her LUV sisters are not that different from the other fashion dolls currently in production.  Their small wardrobe cuts the fun even further.  When a doll is a different size from Barbie, she should ideally have an extensive wardrobe of her own...but then again, that's not always enuff to save a line.  The price is kinda ridiculous too; most of the complaints I've seen on Reddit have been related to the cost of these dolls.  A couple'a redditors also said the marketing was bad, and bad marketing can be a death sentence for a doll line.  So lower the price, expand the wardrobe, improve the marketing, and I think Far Out Toys may have had a hit with these dolls.  Right now I couldn't find any info on how well LUV is faring in stores, but the scuttlebutt is that they're not selling well.  Too bad, because I like Harper a lot.

Much LUV to all,
RagingMoon1987