Thursday 25 September 2014

Precious Moments - Children of the World Series (Gretel of Sweden)

A new review~! Today I have a special review on a doll that's more of an antique. I went thrifting with my mom today, and came across this cute doll on the shelf. She is part of the precious moments series "Children of the World". This is a series of dolls of which each character represents an individual country (and there are many to collect). The girl I found is called "Gretel" and she represents the country of Sweden. 

A frontal view of the doll. She stands at a good 9 inches tall, and is able to stand on her own without a stand. Her hair was in extremely good condition for a 20 year old doll (this doll is labelled with the year 1994), with very little mess. I took the liberty of brushing out her bangs and pony tale to smooth out any loose hairs, and she looks great in the picture! Even her twin curls that frame her face are still held tight after all these years!

She is not porcelain, but vinyl. Additionally, she displays a decent amount of articulation. She is able to move her legs and arms, and her head can rotate as well.

A close up of her head. Her hair is a muted blonde colour, and is done up into a high ponytail that parts in the middle and held by a small pink bow. She has bluntly cut bangs, and two curls on either side of her face. A great thing about her hair that makes her unique in comparison to other dolls is the fact that she has no product whatsoever in her hair! Usually with designer or collector dolls, the hair is sprayed down with product to prevent it from becoming messy. I am impressed with the engineering of her hair - no product, and it manages to stay pristine within the span of two decades without a display case.  

A close up of her dress.  Gretel wears a silk white and black dress with a pink apron that ties into a bow from behind. Her apron is lined with tiny lace-embroidered flowers.Her sleeves are puffed and lined with a similar coloured pink lace.
A close up of the small lace.

Using flash, you can see the golden colour of her hair shine much better. 

Back of the doll. Her collar is also lined with the same pink lace as the apron.


Under her dress she wears white footed tights with removable black flat shoes.

On the bottom of her shoes, it reads "MADE IN PHIL" (Philippines). Being of Filipino decent myself, this sparked a tiny bit of patriotism in me. It is also quite refreshing in general to see things made in countries other than China. 

The back of her head around her hairline also has an imprint. "PRECIOUS MOMENTS CO. Made in Philippines"

Her tags. She was found with all her tags in perfect condition. No colour fading or rips. The tag features a suitcase with the Precious Moments logo, as well as the series name "Children of the World", The luggage tag features her name, "Gretel" and her country "Sweden".

Her second tag. This tag is more of a gratitude and feedback tag. It reads, "We appreciate your business and would welcome any comments that you might have about our dolls"

The back of this tag explains how to register the doll.

And that concludes my review! Overall, I think this is one of the cutest dolls I own. I was lucky to find her for a very low price of $6. Additionally, she was eligible for 30% off , which made her around $4.70 including tax. She retailed for about $22.00 when she first came out, and I've seen her go for as high as $80 (in good condition, with tags). This doll is in fact retired, making her somewhatly rare and limited to find. Thanks for reading, until next time! 


Tuesday 23 September 2014

Disney Fairy tale Designer Couples Collection (Wave 2) - Tiana and Prince Naveen

Today I went to a raffle and managed to win a set for myself and a set for my mom. 

On with the review~!
Tiana and Naveen share the same "format" as the Wave 1 designer dolls with the gold plated name plate as well as logo and box art.

Close up of the name plate.
The back of the box

Close up of box art.
Side note: Even though she was the least wanted doll (due mostly to popularity of the classic princesses) her art is very beautiful and rendered very accurate to this doll.

Like Wave 1, she comes with a gift bag featuring all the other dolls you can get in the series.


Upon opening the box you will find both dolls. I am impressed that there is very little to no flaws with this set. 

Back of the box
This set is number 1483 of 6000.




The background of this set features a frog wearing a crown.


Close up of Tiana's face and make up.

Close up of her dress. What's very unique about this doll are the leaves that form her dress (very similar to designer Tinkerbell's silk leaves).


She has a golden belt that vines down a bit.


Her shoes are similar to the Wave 1 dolls, in that they are flats in her main colour.

She also wears a white lily in her hair. Her hair is done up in high curls, similar to 17" Cinderella.




Close up of Naveen's face.
Naveen's outfit.

His sleeves are lined in gold pattern.


Monday 22 September 2014

Tokyo Otaku Mode Unboxing and Review

Today I received three packages from a specialty store in Japan called Tokyo Otaku Mode. This is one of the best stores out there that provide authentic Japanese merchandise to international customers at very reasonable prices with very good deals in coupons and shipping.

If you join with your email and confirm it, you will receive $5.00 in points to use in store. Additionally, you can use my link https://otakumode.com/invite/7ffb13 to receive another $5.00 coupon. You can use both together at the same time on whichever item(s) you would like to buy!

Upon opening the boxes, I received a folder and pin/fan in each. This is something unique to Otaku Mode. They are complimentary gifts given with each order. With the first box, I received a fan and a folder, and with the other two boxes I received a folder and a pin each.






I think it's a very nice touch to get these in addition to your order, free of charge.

Here are all the products that arrived in their packaging. Three Loppy bunnies, and an Attack on Titan Alpacasso (alpaca).

The three bunnies out of their packaging.

First Loppy is a light pink one called 'Mimi-pyon'. This version is from the "cutie" series, and thus has a blue collar around its neck. She is holding her ear in position.



Mimi-pyon's tag. Features a Loppy from the same series (cutie).

Back of Mimi-pyon's tag. It features all the other Loppy you can get in this series. 

Next bunny is Strawberry Milk. She is a mix of pink and white. This version is from the "Pearl" series, because of the pearls around her neck.

Close up of the pearls, it is held together by a blue ribbon that ties into a bow on the back.



Strawberry Milk's tag, featuring the pearl series.

Back of Strawberry Milk's tag. Features the other Loppy you can get in the pearl series.

Next Loppy is called Bambi, this Loppy is from the flower series. She is grey with white.

A close up of the bow



Bambi's tag. Features the flower series.

Back of the tag, featuring all the Loppy from the flower series.

Next is a blue Alpacasso (Alpaca) inspired by the Attack on Titan series (thus the green cape). This alpaca is from the alpaca corps series. He is blue and called "Sora" which in Japanese means "sky".





 

I hope this review proved useful! Happy shopping!