Okay, so three (four?) days into the blog and I'm finally getting to the all too important reviews involving merchandise. I apologize now for not doing it sooner, but because I actually don't have anything "Kawaii Crush" just yet, I was hoping to get some stuff for that series done. As they are still new, there isn't very much to report yet anyway. So until I get something (birthday this month, or next month when I'm out somewhere) I won't have any Kawaii Crush Merchandise to review unfortunately. I know what you're all thinking, "who would be stupid enough to make a blog and not have anything that belongs to half of it?!" Well I warned you I wasn't very smart already, so don't bother pointing it out now.
So with one final explanation before I begin, think of this as not only a review for Jewel Sparkles, but a review for every single first time average Lalaloopsy Doll. So this would be quite the recommended review to read for first timers. However, when I do following Lalaloopsy reviews I won't be going through so much explanation unless for some reason it feels needed.
A Lalaloopsy (originally "Bitty Buttons") is a rag doll that comes to life when their last stitch is sewn. Each one has a special swatch of fabric that comes from an item or article of clothing, inspiring their personality and traits.
For example, Jewel Sparkles' fabric came from a Princesses dress. While
this leaves her own heritage ambiguous, she has a very princess-based
personality, being a mostly nice girl who loves to dance and collects
tiaras. But she can be just a little bossy.
Besides an official personality and the item inspiring it, each Lalaloopsy is given an official birth-date, pet, and number. Humorously, their birth dates are printed on the tag each doll comes with, as well as their bottoms...
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| I couldn't get a closer picture due to how my camera is towards white things |
While they are rag dolls, a Lalaloopsy is made out of plastic. While personally I feel indifferent, my mother often points out how strange this is when describing them to others, so I would assume some people like it and others do not. A Lalaloopsy has about five points of
articulation/movement, this being their arms, legs, and head. However, while arms can be set into a pose, legs cannot and simply wiggle around, allowing them to sit and (barely) stand.
Their joints are very loose but may stiffen over time if sat in one position or not touched in so long. When that happens, a simple playing of the joint in
question should loosen it very easily.
Also worth
mentioning is that originally, Lalaloopsy were not meant to be played
with around water unless specified otherwise. This is because
plastic/rubbers/dolls tend to collect mold if not properly dried. This
can ruin the doll and make it no longer safe to play with. However,
newer dolls can be found with holes on the lower sides of their heads,
near their necks so that if water was to get into the head, they had a
little drain. As Jewel does not have this, I will take a picture of this at a later date.
A Lalaloopsy's face is very simple. It consists of button eyes, a stitch-style mouth, and stitched cheeks. Their hair is generally one big piece of styled plastic, sometimes with scrunchies molded on it, or with a separate piece such as a halo or crown.
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| Is my crown the right shade of pink? |
Their outfits are made from basic clothing materials, while the shoes are usually made out of a thin rubbery plastic to allow the shoes to slip on and off. But the one thing that never seems to change is the fact a Lalaloopsy comes in a big obnoxious box.
While notorious for being quite hard to open, I find that by swiping an open pair of scissors over the taped tabs can work wonders and pull mostly all of the box apart. Then all you have to do is make a few safe snips to release the doll. However I wouldn't suggest doing this if you're clumsy with scissors or a child, as rarely I often find little scratches on my fingers or get snapped by plastic or a rubber band. It's rare, but I just would hate for others to get harmed following my advice without knowing the risks. Believe it or not though, there is a single advantage of this big obnoxious box. The fact that almost the entire thing is clear plastic!
Oh yes I know you're wondering, "what's the big deal with a clear window?" Well, this clear window is actually a money saver. Why is that? Because, with this clear box you're able to get a clean, good shot of almost every single aspect of the doll inside of it.
While Lalaloopsy are mostly clean and well painted, it does not mean they are perfect. Sometimes a doll may have a lot of glue residue around the head, or they may have something smeared on their face, or even some paint spots. Well, because of this clear and clean plastic (granted it isn't dirty from being touched or stained), you can look for any visible signs of something that may save you from purchasing a stained or dirty doll.
Recently to promote the cartoon series which began a few months ago and continues to air on Nick Jr, the main/original eight
of the Lalaloopsy (including Jewel) have been re-released to be in a
special television shaped box. Besides the lack of a poster and card/tag with the characters personal info, the box includes a speech box advertising the show, along with a few pictures of the character in their animated form. It is possible other character who make an appearance in the show may get updated boxes also.
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| I wanted to be ON television, not in one... |
Here are some shots of the "items" one can find with a basic Lalaloopsy doll/Jewel Sparkles.
Her dress, which is composed of pink silk-like material with polka dots and two black buttons on the chest, an ivy green band around the waist to match the two layers under her skirt and the tulle ribbons decorating it. The lining of the dress is composed of very thin lace, while her skirt has four layers. The top, a pale pink layer with white polka dots, a tulle green one with sparkle spots, and a plain yellowish-green one beneath it.
Her tag/Card, listing her birth (sewn) date, what she was sewn from, and a few personal traits. Also note that every Lalaloopsy's tag is in their signature colors. Jewel's being pink and green.
This is her pet cat, who is addressed as Cat or Kitty. It's also been described as being a Persian, despite not looking like one. The most likely reason for this is probably because of how MGA likes to re-use their pet molds. Kitty is one of the most re-used in both large, and mini sized dolls. As she is included with almost every Jewel Sparkles doll, along with her mini. There is also a darker variant with
Confetti Carnivale, and
Candy Broomsticks, who has a black kitty.
Essentially each pet is just one piece of plastic with button eyes and cheeks like the owner. Unlike the owner however, the pets lack any movable pieces on them. Making them simple bunches of plastic. But they are as cute as a button, (as far as I know) durable, and they can be fun to pose with the doll or by themselves:
Moving on from pets now, one of the most beloved feature of any
Lalaloopsy is the fact that they change outfits with ease. If you want
to experiment, you can easily swap clothing/outfits with another
Lalaloopsy doll or make your own. Each outfit usually has one long piece
of Velcro on it, but sometimes they may have more then one. The sewing
details are very nice but anything like tulle tends to snag very easily
and can cause loose a few loose strings.
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| Jewel wearing Coral Sea Shells' bathing suit |
Since their release, fashion packs have been coming out for Lalaloopsy. Usually consisting of just one dress and a pair of shoes, they fit all/any basic size Lalaloopsy and have all sorts of themes, ranging from party dresses to rain gear to skeleton themed pajamas. As mentioned above, it is very easy to change a Lalaloopsy's attire and they make for some fun photo's and play time:
Now, you may have noticed something awfully familiar regarding the shoes of the red party dress. If you didn't then take a look at this:
The pink shoe belongs to Jewel while the red shoe belongs to the red party dress. This was my next point I was going to bring up. The Lalaloopsy makers often-times "recolor". Which means you may find some Lalaloopsy with the same hair styles or shoes, but it will be a different color or have some sort of modification. While some mark this as a con to Lalaloopsy, I personally am not very bothered by it. In fact, most of my dolls do have the same hairstyle because not only do I love the characters themselves but I also really happen to enjoy the hairstyle.
Alright, so I think I have mentioned enough. Now I will go over some pros and cons, and give some ratings before I end the entry. Keep in mind that some of these I do not agree with however. I've gone around to gather these and see what others may think.
Pros
- There's so many different characters that everyone should be able to find at least one they like.
- You can repaint something if you do not like it or find a stain.
- They can swap clothing.
- They're big enough to keep track of pretty easily.
- They can easily be customized into brand new characters.
- There's so many products that even if you don't enjoy the basic doll, you may want to try another Lalaloopsy type.
- (as far as I know) They're not very fragile so unless you purposely try to break the doll it should be fine.
Cons
- Some items are recolored off one-another.
- They are made out of plastic and may somewhat be uncomfortable to some.
- They can take up a decent amount of space.
- Not very pose-able.
- They do not come with very much.
- Although they can be customized, the most you can do with the hair is paint it another color.
Basically, Lalaloopsy are a required taste. They are very attractive to young girls, as well any gender or any age. Some people believe they may be creepy with their "Coraline button eyes", but I actually saw that as part of the appeal. So take that for what you will.
RATINGS
1. Creativity
When it comes down it, Lalaloopsy are very creative. While rag dolls aren't necessarily new, I'm pretty sure rag dolls made of plastic are! Now, I would have given them a perfect rating. But I consider recolors to not be creative or original, even if they do not necessarily look bad.
2. Playability
Whether you choose to collect them or buy them for a gift, Lalaloopsy have many types of purposes and things you can do with them. Such as collect them, play with them, dress them up, sleep with them at bed time, take pictures with them, go on playdates with them, cuddle and hug them!
It is hard to do very much with the doll itself in terms of how it's body is made however. The arms can be posed, but to hold anything you would have to hold the arms together yourself. Their "top-heavy" bodies also make it hard for them to stand and they cannot physically do this without support. I gave them a four out of five buttons because while I think they are plenty good, they're a few buttons short of being perfect...
I will try to get another review done soon, as I have the pictures ready and stuff. I wanted to make sure I get one review of each type of doll done before I go into other blog topics, like foods, beauty products, books, and so on. I also accept guest reviews so if you would like to do one sometime just message me and we can work something out. But I do not accept stolen pictures so please get permission if you ever take my pictures or someone else's.
