Gwynn Tan by American Girl

I got a little nostalgic about the blog this week.  As I was writing today's review, which features Gywnn Tan, a 14-inch American Girl doll, I thought to myself, "I should reference the WellieWishers review I wrote not so long ago."  Well, "not so long ago" turns out to be six years ago.  I was struck by my commentary at that time; I mentioned being caught up in our town's high school musical, which was, indeed, a big part of my life back then.  But both of my kids were in high school six years ago...and now they're done with college and interviewing for jobs.  Ack!  And I know from the wonderful letters that I've gotten over the years that many of you were little when you first started reading this blog (some of you even wrote guest reviews!) and are now in college or working at jobs of your own.  It's crazy.  The doll world can slow time in funny ways (the WellieWisher kids are the same age they were six years ago, after all) but real life forges ahead.

Enough about that, though.  Let me tell you a little bit about why I'm bothering to revisit this style of doll six years later.  The first reason is simply that I'm excited about Corinne, American Girl's Girl of the Year for 2022.  I'm excited about Corinne because she's the first Chinese Girl of the Year, and I'm also excited because she has doll siblings--like Gwynn!  Corinne herself will make an appearance on the blog at some point in the future, but for now I'm focusing my attention on her little sister.

I'm focused on Gwynn because of the larger purpose of this review.  I've noticed a variety of 14-inch dolls on the market over the past few months, and, because I tend to get obsessive about certain ideas or styles of doll, I bought five of those different varieties.  These five dolls aren't different enough to each need long, complicated reviews, so I had the idea to run a series of shorter, interconnected reviews that will take a more comparative look at the five brands.  Every comparison series needs to start somewhere, and with some benchmark, so I figured where better to start than with one of America's most popular doll brands?  With all of that in mind, here's Miss Gwynn Tan to kick off this 14-inch doll extravaganza:

Gwynn Tan by American Girl, $65.

Sunday Surprise: Mini Fashion and Real Littles!

I was disappointed that I couldn't quite get last week's review done in time for a Sunday Surprise, so I decided to try really hard to get a quick surprise-themed review done for you today!  

My progress was slowed down a little bit this weekend because I finally hit a breaking point with my work space.  I've been writing reviews almost non-stop since October, and I forgot that if I don't take a day or two every now and then to stop and clean up my mess...well, things can get very out-of-control!  On Friday, when fetching the doll for my next review felt like an obstacle course, a death trap, and a game of hide and seek all wrapped into one, I realized that it was time to pause and clean up.  But now my room is beautiful and clean again and it's such an amazing feeling!

As I was tidying and sorting through my stash, I realized that I'd accumulated two different surprise-themed toys that involve purses or bags of some kind: Mini Fashion by Zuru and Real Littles by Moose Toys.  I thought that these two brands might be fun to compare and contrast.  Lina was excited about this idea because she's been pestering me for months to de-box the Mini Fashion sets.  She knows that they contain high-end purses that might be just her size!

Barbie Lina with a Surprise Mini Fashion ball (Zuru, $9.99).

Ruby Red Fashion Friends

It's pretty safe to say that the one doll brand that's been recommended to me the most since I started writing reviews again is the Ruby Red Fashion Friends.  I wish I could individually acknowledge everyone who brought these little dolls to my attention, but my memory isn't that good.  Nevertheless, I'd like to express my gratitude to all of you who thought I might enjoy taking a closer look at the Fashion Friends.  You know me well.

The Fashion Friends are 14.5-inch vinyl dolls that were first released in 2019 and are still going strong.  The brand was founded by Ruby Ho, hence the Ruby Red part of the name.  Some of the face molds were sculpted by Ms. Ho herself, and some of them (including the dolls in this review) were sculpted by Dianna Effner.  All of the faces are beautiful.  I'm a big fan of Ms. Effner's work--as you might have gathered from my Maru and Friends, Mini Pal, and Little Darling reviews--and so I'm always excited to get my hands on another one of her creations.  Ms. Effner's death in 2020 was a huge blow to the doll world (as if 2020 wasn't bad enough) and it made me cherish my Effner dolls all the more.

I actually pre-ordered the dolls for this review back in October--before I'd even started blogging again. My brilliant idea was that by the time they were released (around Christmas) I'd have the blog up and running and I'd be able to present you with a review of two brand new releases!  That went well, didn't it?  Sigh.  Instead, I got distracted by a million other things and now find myself reviewing Christmas-themed dolls when it's 70 degrees outside, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are singing like they're in a freaking Disney movie.  I'm silly to have waited so long to write this review, but at least I'm finally here, sharing my Christmas girls with you.  First, let's meet Jennifer:

Ruby Red Fashion Friends limited edition doll, Jennifer, $169.99.

Boombox Battle! L.O.L. Surprise vs. American Girl

Is anyone in the mood to go back to the 1980s for a toy boombox battle?  I hope so!  During my research for Part One of the L.O.L. Surprise catch-up review series, I got irrationally intrigued by the L.O.L. Remix dolls that have packaging which combines to make a plastic boombox.  I'm a huge fan of the 80s and have really fond memories of boomboxes, so I'm always tempted by this type of vintage, nostalgia toy.  I was shocked, however, to discover that in order to assemble the three sets necessary to make the L.O.L. boombox, you have to shell out around $50 ($44.97, ~$51 with batteries).

Most of us would think hard about a $50 purchase, but it's so easy to spend that much (or more) on a few smaller items.  Blind bag toys are especially good at tempting people to buy more, because there's always a collection to complete or a highly-desirable but hard-to-find toy in the mix.  But if you know ahead of time that you're going to end up spending $50 on a specific assortment of blind bag toys, you have options.  Maybe there's something else for that price that you or your kids would rather have.  But what is comparable to a freakin' L.O.L. boombox? 

It just so happens that for the last few months I've been drooling over another boombox toy that costs $50: Courtney's Sleepover Accessory Set from American Girl.  This toy doesn't offer a perfect comparison because, unlike L.O.L. Surprise, there are no dolls included in the set.  But it offers an excellent way to put the Remix toys into some context.  It also pits the two biggest toy companies in the country (MGA Entertainment and Mattel) against each other.  What could be more fun?  

So let's check out these two popular $50 boombox-themed toys and see which one comes out on top!

L.O.L. Surprise Remix assortment ($44.97) and Courtney's Sleepover Accessories ($50).

I'm a Girly Doll

I'm a Girly is a Swiss doll company that launched in 2017 and expanded into the United States market in 2020.  The dolls seem to have been (still are?) quite popular in Europe, but didn't make as much of a splash here--perhaps because they occupy the same niche as American Girl.  The mission of the company is to produce "sustainability with style" by using top-quality materials and as little waste as possible.  That's certainly a mission that I can get behind, although nothing specific about the realization of this goal is mentioned on the website--beyond the fact that the cardboard packaging can be reused or recycled.  

The thing I find most unique and interesting about the I'm a Girly brand is that the design of the dolls is overseen by a group of children, the Kids4Kids team.  These boys and girls (ages 9 to 13) were instrumental in tweaking and perfecting the first prototypes, and continue to be involved in designing and testing the dolls' accessories and clothing.  Specific items of I'm a Girly clothing can be attributed to specific young designers or design teams, and I can't imagine anything more exciting or empowering for a child!  What a great idea.

I happened upon this brand only by chance.  I was browsing the Target website, looking at some of the ILY 4ever Disney dolls, and the thumbnail of an I'm a Girly character popped onto my screen.  I was captivated by the doll, but her $80 price was high enough to give me pause.  I continued my search on Amazon, where I found several of the dolls being offered for under $20.  That seemed way too good to be true, but I took a chance and ordered the least expensive character, Lucy, who at the time was $9.92 (with free shipping).

I'm a Girly doll, Lucy, MSRP $79.99, on sale for $9.92.

Catching up With L.O.L. Surprise Dolls, Part One: Boys, Minis, and Hair!

I clearly remember reviewing my first Li'l Outrageous Littles (L.O.L.) Surprise dolls back in 2016.  I was delighted to find a doll with packaging that mimicked the idea of an original surprise ball, i.e. a ball with many layers to unwrap, each layer containing a little treat.  As I mentioned back then, the fun of unwrapping an L.O.L. doll also reminded me of the "pass the parcel" game that I used to play at some of my friends' birthday parties when I was younger.  I loved that game, even if the treats hidden in each layer of paper were only single sticks of gum.

I can also remember that back in 2016 L.O.L. dolls cost $7.99 and showed up in stores one variety at a time, presented in big cardboard display boxes or tall cardboard chutes.  These displays were mostly empty (the toys sold out quickly), and I often had to resort to online shopping to get one of the dolls to review.

I was chatting with one of my lovely Patrons recently, and she suggested that I do a L.O.L. "bonanza" review that would attempt to explore all of the new incarnations of the L.O.L. concept.  I'd been thinking that I should get up-to-speed on these ultra-popular dolls anyway, and so her suggestion was exactly the inspiration I needed.  A few months ago I started paying more attention to the L.O.L. aisle at Target and accumulating a collection of L.O.L. products.  Over a multi-part review series, I'll share my thoughts about how things have changed for this brand in the last six years.

L.O.L. Arcade Heroes Flyer ($17.79) holding two minis.

Smart Doll by Danny Choo

Even during the time when I wasn't actively reviewing dolls and tracking trends, I was aware of Smart Doll.  I do a lot of wig shopping for the My Twinn Project, and I noticed over the last two years that several of my favorite wig vendors, who had previously been offering mostly American Girl wigs and accessories, were switching their focus to Smart Doll.  That got my attention because few things in the doll world are more popular than American Girl.  After a while, it became impossible to shop for a wig without seeing a dozen gorgeous photos of Smart Dolls in the process.  So, when I decided to start blogging again, one of the very first things I did was visit Danny Choo's site to learn more about this enticing brand.

Danny Choo (son of fashion designer Jimmy Choo) grew up in England with a fascination for Japanese popular culture.  This fascination led to the creation of a television show, Culture Japan, and the design of an anime mascot for that show.  The mascot's name is Mirai Suenaga, and she's described as a second year high school student with an interest in journalism.  Mirai loves the color orange and is often shown in orange-themed outfits.  The Mirai character went on to become quite popular, getting her own anime series (Mirai Millenium), and even being recognized as the official symbol for Japanese and Malaysian tourism.  In 2012, Mr. Choo began the process of turning Mirai into a 60cm fashion doll: the first Smart Doll.  Mr. Choo currently lives in Japan, where all Smart Dolls are made.

I probably should have chosen the Mirai character for this review, since she's the original Smart Doll, but those of you who know me won't be surprised that it's the smiling redhead with freckles who I couldn't resist.  She's a newer doll from the Story Tellers collection and her name is Monday:

Smart Doll Monday (Tea skin tone, Cherry wig, replacement eyes), ¥52,000 or ~$453.

Lottie in Manhattan

One of the fantastic things about where we live in New Jersey is that we're only about an hour away from Manhattan by train.  For most of my life, trips to the Big Apple were a rare, special occasion.  Now it's possible to go to there for a day trip...which is exactly what we did a few weeks ago!  

The day before our trip, my husband said, "you should bring a doll with you to photograph for the blog!" because that's how awesome he is.  I can't believe I didn't come up with that idea myself, but I've gotten out of some of my old habits.  I immediately started to think about what a good travel companion doll would be.

One of the reviews I'd been thinking about in the days preceding our trip was a revisit of the Lottie doll line by Arklu.  I've reviewed these dolls already, but that was back in 2013.  The company has come up with some wonderful and diverse new characters in the last few years.  I had several of the most interesting dolls queued up in my shopping cart online, but obviously there was no time to get those shipped before our trip.  So, I went to our local toy store and bought one of the dolls they had in stock.  

This doll ended up being perfect for our trip.  She's called "Walk in the Park," and we got to take her for a walk in the park: Central Park:

Walk in the Park Lottie doll by Arklu, $24.99.

Sunday Surprise: Baby Born Surprise Mini Babies (and more)!

Happy Sunday!  I have officially lived in New Jersey for one year today!  And I'm so much happier than I was on this day last year.  Last year I drove seven hours from Maine in my tiny Prius packed full with all of the remaining belongings from our old house, plus four stressed-out dogs and two small cats.  It was a long journey!  But here I am sitting on my couch typing up a surprise review, which, if you'd asked me a year ago, is not something I ever thought would happen again.

I really like surprise toys, and I especially like surprise mini babies.  I don't collect baby dolls in general anymore, so I'm not sure why babies are so appealing to me in a small scale--and especially with a surprise theme.  Maybe it's because babies bring several surprises with them in real life?  Or perhaps it's just because mini babies are great little toys, either on their own as something to nurture, or as a fun new addition to a doll family.

In any case, I've reviewed a few different surprise babies over the years, including Zapf Jolly Dollies and the unrivaled Cabbage Patch Babyland Mini Kids--which are still probably my favorite surprise mini of all.  But I wanted to see what kinds of mini babies are available on the market today, so I focused on this theme during one of my Target missions.  The first surprise baby toy I found was this one, by Zapf and MGA Entertainment:

Baby Born Surprise Mini Babies, $9.99.

Rainbow High Dolls, Part Two: Vanessa Tempo

I'm back, as promised, to follow up on my previous review of Rainbow High dolls.  It's been really fun to read through the comments on the last post.  I love hearing about everyone's personal reactions and interactions with these dolls!  It's also neat to learn that many of the Rainbow High fashions are based on iconic outfits from the real fashion world.  Thank you for this revelation, WigglyWogglyWaffles, I had no idea!  Although Sheryl's outfit did look familiar (Sév filled me in that it's one of Cher's outfits in the movie Clueless).  It'll be fun to look at the dolls through this lens from now on--to see if I can identify any of their copycat fashions.

I'm reviewing a second Rainbow High doll in this post because it's always nice to look at two examples from a certain doll line, just to make sure any flaws or highlights aren't flukes.  I chose one of the newest dolls I could find for this addendum because I figured there'd be some interest in her, and also because she's presumably a good representation of the current level of quality.

Meet Vanessa Tempo:

Rainbow High's Vanessa Tempo, $49.99.

Wizarding World Hermione Granger by Mattel

Well, I'm finally back with a Wizarding World Hermione review!  I was going to try and keep this post a little shorter than it is, but I wanted to throw in some comparisons to other Mattel Hermione dolls (one of which I've never shown on the blog), and that took a little longer than I anticipated.

I've also finished the Lenora My Twinn restoration and am just waiting for a sub-90% humidity day so that I can get her outside for a few final pictures.  I think you'll be surprised by how she looks.  Predictably, that project prompted about six more My Twinn makeovers, but I doubt I'll chronicle those on the blog.  I've also invested in a few Hairdorables.  I haven't been keeping up with new doll releases the way I used to, so I had no idea what Hairdorables were until several of you told me about them in the Boxy Girls review.  Thank you!  Those seem like a perfect Sunday Surprise.  All in all, I've been working on several different things, which is great for keeping my mind off the empty nest. However, today will be all about Hermione!

I bought all four of the Wizarding World child dolls (Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny) and, of the four, decided to review Hermione because I have a bit of a tradition reviewing Hermione dolls on this blog.  You can see another Mattel Hermione review here, and my two Star Ace Hermione reviews here and here.  There's no mistaking that the Wizarding World version of Hermione was made by Mattel (she looks like Barbie), but the iconic hair and outfit immediately conjure the spunky and inimitable Ms. Granger:

Wizarding World Hermione Granger doll, $20.97.

Sunday Surprise: Boxy Girls by Jay at Play!

I knew back in May that I wasn't going to post as much as I used to, but I didn't think it'd actually be a whole month between posts!  Yikes.  My slow speed is partially due to eBay sales, but also because I've simply been enjoying a lovely (hot!) summer with both of my kids before the youngest goes off to start college.

The other reason for the delay is that I've been sitting around waiting for Mattel's new Harry Potter Wizarding World dolls, figuring they'd be the next thing I'd review.  They're definitely the newcomers that I'm most excited about right now.  I preordered the set of four kids from Walmart back in June and they were supposed to arrive the first week of August.  However, Walmart canceled each doll from that order (one at a time, with a few excruciating days in between each cancellation) claiming that the dolls were "not in stock and we don't know when they'll be back in stock."  Ironically, each doll would show up (in healthy numbers) on the shelves of my local Walmart store at about the same time that their "out of stock" cancellation email arrived.  So, at least I knew when to go out and look for the dolls!  I finally have the whole set of kids and have started to photograph Hermione.

While I work on the Hermione review, I figured I could get back into the swing of things by doing a quick Sunday Surprise!  I discovered the intriguing line of Boxy Girls dolls at Walmart during my most recent Harry Potter mission.  The dolls themselves are highly stylized, but they look well-articulated and they each come with four mystery boxes filled with fashion accessories!  For me, the element of surprise and the visible articulation were enough to warrant the $15 price tag.

Boxy Girls Willa by Jay@Play ($14.98).

Another My Twinn Update and Some Random Things

I've been making a bit of progress in clearing out my dolls.  So far, I've focused mostly on larger play dolls because they take up a lot of space.  It's really hard to figure out who to keep and who to sell, though.  They all seem to be special to me for one reason or another.

So far, the dolls in this size range who are the most difficult for me to think about selling are the My Twinns.  This is partly because I had so much fun fixing several of them up (the My Twinn Project series was one of my favorite things to write about on this blog) but also because I'm really impressed with the quality and charm of the older Denver dolls.  I love the diversity of face molds, the poseable bodies, and of course the beautiful eyes.

Today, I'll mostly be catching you up on what I've been doing with a few My Twinn dolls, but I also have two other tangentially-related things to chat about briefly.  I'll start by tying up a loose end.  Do you remember the girl I showed you at the very end of the My Twinn Project?  She's a bedraggled Denver-era Caitie doll who I re-named Phoebe:

Well-loved My Twinn Caitie doll from the Denver era.

Happy Kidz by Götz

I haven't made much of a dent in clearing out my doll room yet, but I did find three 18-inch treasures a few weeks ago.  Two of the dolls I found are Happy Kidz from the German Götz company.  I bought them in January of 2016...although it feels like yesterday.  Happy Kidz are not sold in the United States, and so I shopped online at My Doll Best Friend, a fantastic London-based store that happily ships to Maine.  The third doll is an FAO Schwarz Classic doll that was also made by the Götz company.  I found her on sale at Toys R Us way back when Toys R Us was still a thing and when they were still carrying 18-inch FAO Schwarz dolls.  I think it was around six years ago.

All of these dolls are variants on the Götz Hannah line (formerly called the Sarah line) which I've been coveting for over a decade.  Most of my recent coveting occurred while gazing at the beautiful pictures on the My Doll Best Friend blog, which, if you've never seen it, is well worth a visit.  Or many visits.  Here's a link.

The FAO Schwarz Classic dolls came out in 2011 and are essentially Hannah dolls that were made for the United States market.  The Happy Kidz, first introduced in 2012, are very similar in size and proportion to the Hannah dolls, but they have different face molds and extra joints.  Here's Clara, one of my Happy Kidz:

Götz Happy Kidz doll, Clara, £85.

Goodbye, Toys Я Us

For a while I thought that my beloved Toys 'R' Us store in South Portland would stay open while other branches around the nation closed...but it looks like all Toys 'R' Us locations are closing or being sold, and even the website has been shut down to future orders.  It's officially the end of an era.

I didn't want the occasion to pass without doing something, so I decided to take a few trips to the store and bask in the feeling of being in such a large space, entirely surrounded by toys.  I don't know when I might get that feeling again.

I visited two weeks ago (before the closeouts started) and then again this Friday.  I bought a few things that I'll review really quickly today, and a few other things that will get bigger reviews in the near future.  I'll mostly just pretend that you were there shopping with me, and show you what caught my eye as I wandered through the familiar aisles for the last time.

I'll start with a picture that I took last summer.  This is the temporary Toys 'R' Us that was set up in Times Square for the holidays:

Temporary Toys 'R' Us branch in Times Square, 2017.

The Kruselings

Thanks to Gabby and Stephanie's recommendations, I have a real treat to share with you!  Today I'm reviewing the Kruselings, a collection of nine-inch play dolls that depict a magical group of friends who fly around and use special powers to protect the world from bad dreams.

I love the charming story behind this line, and thought the promotional pictures were beautiful, so I bought two Kruseling dolls.  After I saw those two dolls in person, I bought two more!  These cuties remind me of collector dolls in many ways (probably because of the artistic inspiration of their namesake, Käthe Kruse) but they're actually play dolls aimed at kids between the ages of four and seven.

The overall concept of the Kruselings was conceived by Donaji Ayala Hernandez and the dolls themselves were designed by Sonja Hartman (of Kidz 'n' Cats fame).  The dolls are easy to find overseas and just now starting to show up in some U.S. stores.  I purchased my girls from both eBay and My Doll Best Friend, a wonderful shop in London. There are six Kruseling characters (five girls and a boy) and all of the girls come in two varieties, deluxe and standard. The deluxe sets cost £35.99 and include two outfits, the standard dolls are a little cheaper (£23.99) and do not have an extra outfit.

It's taken me forever to finish this review because I got greedy with the dolls and then took tons of pictures.  This review will feature the first Kruseling I chose, deluxe Sofia, but I'll also show you some pictures of deluxe Chloe, standard Vera, and standard Joy.  Here's Sofia:

Kruselings deluxe Sofia doll, £35.99 (~$50).

The Glitter Girls by Battat

I can't believe January is almost over.  Wow.  It doesn't feel much like January, though, because right now I'm in California with my youngest son, doing more college stuff.  We're about as geographically far away from Maine as a person can get in the United States.  I'm trying not to take it personally that this is one of the places my kid wants to live next year.  I have to admit that the weather is unreal.

I have a few moments here at the hotel while he's running around doing things, so I figured I'd try to sneak in some time to share Battat's new Glitter Girl dolls with you!

I haven't actually seen these dolls on the shelves yet, although I've heard that they've been spotted in Target stores elsewhere in the country.  Battat is the company that makes Our Generation dolls, which are offered as an inexpensive alternative to American Girl.  The Glitter Girls are not part of the Our Generation line, but they're Battat's answer to the American Girl WellieWishers.  Like the WellieWishers, the Glitter Girls are 14-inch, all-vinyl play dolls that come with whimsical mix-and-match clothing.  One of the most appealing things about the Glitter Girls is that they cost $19.99 each, so it's possible to purchase three of them for the price of a single WellieWisher.  That's exactly what I did.

Glitter Girls Poppy, by Battat ($19.99).

More Our Generation Accessories (Featuring Maru and Friends Mini Pals)!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone's 2018 is off to a great start.  Here in Maine, we've already had a bomb cyclone storm and a lot of nights well below negative 10 degrees...so that's been fun.  There are several new dolls that I'm eager to review this year, though, and that will keep me plenty busy on cold or snowed-in days.

Before I do anything else this year, I want to finish up an idea from 2017: looking at Our Generation accessories and seeing how well they fit the Maru and Friends Mini Pal dolls.  Today I'll de-box the Our Generation School Band play set, the It Seams Perfect sewing set, and the Retro Records items.  On hand to help me with this review are Mini Pals Savannah and Raven...and also American Girl Eliza, to model the things that are way too big for the Minis:

American Girl Eliza wearing Our Generation retro headphones.

Our Generation Science Accessories

I had a hard time figuring out what to review this week.  At Maricha's request, I tried to review a Fingerlings monkey (they seem easier to find now), but my studio set-up doesn't work well for reviewing interactive items.  The monkey I bought is cute, but mechanized toys are not really my thing, so I took a few pictures and now she's on her way to a gently used toy drive for the holidays.  Sorry, Maricha!

I also contemplated reviewing two of my new Maru and Friends Mini Pals (Raven and Halle), but I just did a Mini Pal review recently, so that didn't seem like the right choice, either.

Then, a comment on the Create Your Own American Girl doll review caught my eye.  Lurkins wanted to know more about Our Generation Suyin (she's the doll who modeled Eliza's glasses).  Is she as cute as she looks in the promotional pictures?  Is her hair terrible?  I've had Suyin and a few other Our Generation dolls for several months now, and have never quite been motivated enough to build a whole review around them.  Lurkins' question and some of the new Our Generation accessories finally gave me the inspiration I needed to figure out today's review.

This review will actually be a mishmash of all the ideas I mentioned above.  I'll look mostly at the Our Generation Science Lab set, but I'll also give a quick rundown of my thoughts about a few Our Generation dolls, I'll offer a peek at a Fingerlings monkey...and I'll even show off two of my Mini Pal friends:

Maru and Friends Mini Pal, Chad, with Our Generation Science Lab set ($29.99).

Create Your Own American Girl

The wait is over!  My Create Your Own American Girl doll, Eliza, arrived two weeks ago (almost exactly on schedule).  I noticed recently that the wait for a similar doll now stretches into May (!) so I guess the concept is faring well in the holiday market.

I had to peek at Eliza before I started this review, and I noticed something unexpected right off the bat.  For those of you who followed along with Eliza's design process, you'll be expecting to see the "D" (Sonali) face.  Well, that's what I was expecting to see, too, but apparently I ended up picking the "B" (Josefina) face instead.  It's certainly my fault (I was going back and forth between faces a lot that day...) and it's actually a happy accident.  Once I realized that my other new American Girl, Melody Ellison, also has the Sonali face, I regretted picking that same mold for Eliza.  Now I have the face I actually wanted!

It's a really cute face, too:

Create Your Own American Girl doll, Eliza, $200.