This doll was part of a release of three, Blondie: blue, Cupid: pink, and Duchess: purple. Target had two exclusive Birthday Ball dolls, Rosabella: yellow and Cedar: orange. Those dolls were scented, and were clearanced out at Target just before the three newer dolls came out. Blondie, Cupid and Duchess have simpler dresses, no scent, and no tinsel in their hair, unlike the two exclusive Target dolls. These three also seem to be sold only in TRU. If there's going to be an online story about these dolls, we haven't gotten it yet. We don't even know whose birthday is being celebrated.
Normally, Blondie Lockes has blond hair, but for this series, all the dolls have unusually colored hair, and Blondie's is blue. She is articulated, and comes with a headband, collar necklace, and "birthday present" purse. No earrings, no bracelet, no ring, and no stand. I used a spare stand to pose her nicely for pictures.
Her face is nice, and her bangs are not gelled overly scrunchy. When she wears the necklace, it hides the fact that the neckline of her dress is off.
Her hair is fairly thickly rooted. There's a baldish spot where her headband goes, but it's not too bad, and her scalp is painted blue to help cover that up.
She has holes marked where she would have earrings. This will make it easier for me to give her earrings, which I will probably do at some point. I've been collecting loose stock from various Ever After High dolls on eBay, but I don't have anything I want to give Blondie, yet.
She has the standard dots on her lower lip, intended to enhance her looks, I guess. Not all the more basic dolls have these dots. My Book Party Ginger Breadhouse, for example, does not.
It wasn't until I had Blondie near a window and direct sunlight, that I noticed that she has some kind of gold glitter across her forehead, above her eyebrows. I'm not sure if
this was meant, or if it's some glue residue from gelling her bangs? I
do plan to get Cupid, and possibly Duchess, from this series. If I do, I'll check out the foreheads.
This doll retails for $14.99, although she already is selling for less on Amazon. That's not bad, for a doll that is still workable; she has good face paint, an articulated body, and decent hair. The blue hair also makes for a unique doll to add to a collection, even if you have other Blondies.So in case you're wondering what painting I'm doing: I'm painting the bows and ribbon down the front of Blondie's purse a light blue. I'm painting the feather in her hairband a pale yellow. There are "pearls" in front of the feather that are also going to be light blue. And in the marketing pictures for Blondie, the ribbon in the middle of her bows, on her headband, was gold. I tried it and it looks nice, so I'm going with that. I'm torn on whether or not to do anything to her necklace or shoes. I might paint the bows on her necklace a blue something like the color of her purse now. And I was thinking about yellow for the rosettes on the front of her shoes. Maybe!
I like the non-blonde version of Blondie. I'm sure painting those details you mentioned would improve the accessories a lot. Fun fact: many Russian collectors who have this doll call her Malvina after a blue-haired fairy from the Russian version of Pinocchio.
ReplyDeleteThe English version of Pinocchio I've read called her "The Blue Fairy," at least I think so. I'm not sure if she had blue hair or not. Blondie did make me think of the Blue Fairy when I got her, though!
DeleteThank you for the encouragement with the painting. I'm not quite as intimidated as I used to be painting such tiny things!
In the Ever After High world, Farrah Goodfairy (who does have blue hair) has decided to be Cedar Wood's fairy, as well as Ashylnn's, who is the next Cinderella. There's some kind of mystery indicated about what happened to whoever was supposed to be the next Blue Fairy, but I doubt Mattel will pursue that story any further.
Cute! I would have worried that blue hair on a blue-eyed doll in a blue dress (never mind the shoes and purse) would be overkill, but she has a certain charm to her, doesn't she? :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right; they managed to pull all those blues together. I could say I like Blondie because blue is my favorite color, but I like all the dolls in this release except for yellow Rosabella.
DeleteI love these new Birthday Ball dolls..I like how they have different hair so you don't just feel like you are buying a similar doll with a different outfit. I have the Rosabelle and Cedar already from this line and they smell really good! It's interesting that these 3 don't have a scent to them.
ReplyDeleteYep, the different colored hair is a good reason to get these dolls, except for Cupid, who has pink hair already. I still plan on getting her, though. I like the Birthday Ball version of her better than her signature version.
DeleteI think Rosabella and Cedar were meant to stand out because they were Target exclusives. I don't think the other three are exclusives so much as TRU is the only major retailer that happens to be carrying them. Walmart and Target don't have a lot going on in the EAH line currently.
You are right about that! The only EAH I've seen in my Walmart lately are the budget ballerina ones. So disappointing!
DeleteI like her hair a lot. Not to bring Frozen into this, but that hair color just makes me think of an ice princess.
ReplyDeleteI could see the ice princess thing. Now I'm mentally thinking about an outfit for that. :)
DeleteThe other nice thing about her hair is that it has different shades of blue in it.
She is a very pretty doll and I do like the blue hair. So far, the only new releases I have seen of these dolls are the ballerina ones with the moulded bodices.
ReplyDeleteI bought a couple of those ballerina dolls to rebody, just because they have different face molds. Those were only $5 here which made it okay to buy a doll just for the head.
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