Review: Point of Departure Eugenia Giftset, Erin and Ayumi

The Point of Departure Eugenia Giftset has a few fine attributes. First of all it was included in the price of attending the convention. Segments were given to attendees at each meal function to fill the empty box given at registration. The last piece was the doll herself.

This is a beautifully screened Eugenia wearing a well-fitting 2 piece bathing suit in apricot. Matching plastic shoes, cute cats-eye sunglasses and a big straw hat complete her ensemble. I decided to pass this segment on to another collector as I already have several gorgeous Eugenias and I am being "good."
Another segment of the set is this yellow pants outfit. It consists of yellow capri pants with working pockets and tiny buttons at the hem. The sleeveless, cropped top has lovely white embroidery. I am keeping this.

Sadly, the shoes were not made properly and need to be rubber banded to stay on. This is the case with two other pair of the convention's plastic heels, including the blue ones seen in the last part of the giftset.

The white bodysuit fits like a dream; the skirt is a nightmare. First of all I think it would fit my Sybarite's big behind. It is poorly designed and doesn't work with the jacket which is also poorly fitting. There are too many things wrong with these blue pieces. They just could have given us a slim fitted skirt and it would have made a delightful suit but no...it had to have a little bow and balloon hips. Most women do not look good in stuff like this and neither do dolls. If Miami Glow Vanessa can't make it look good, no doll can.

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Erin Salston and Ayumi Nakamura are now part of the Color Infusion line. (Formerly NuFace, formerly Model Behavior.) Erin was the centerpiece doll. Sunset Rave Ayumi was the table gift.

Erin as Psychedelic Splash is dressed in a totally sequin covered mini dress over fishnet tights. She is wearing very nice black suede-like boots which have blue ribbons and tiny zippers. She's got a bunch of bracelets and dangly earrings. The overall look is excellent. Construction is also very good except the problem is that she cannot put her arms down due to the bulk created by sequins and seams under her arms. Hello out there...is anyone listening? This happens often. Change your construction techniques. Would you wear clothes with so much underarm bulk that you could not put your arms down?

Ayumi is absolutely gorgeous as far as color goes. She really fits the description Color Infusion. Her facial screening, her skin tone, her hair color and the color of her garments work beautifully.  She's got wonderful underwear that matches her shoes. A nice touch. Her shoes need to be held on with rubber bands.

I adore her outfit - a minidress with a sequin-covered skirt, a barely there satiny top and a gold fabric belt.  It fits and looks great.

 Both dolls have "Barbie" hair. It comes in a big flattened frizzy-ended mass inside the hairnet. Their hair needs conditioning and possibly trimming and reperming.

Dolls Celebrate Halloween - Seen on Prego

Posted by Johanna in MD

Wonderful in every way!

Tokidoki Available at BC.Com Now

She's live on the site. Shipping is only $1. Your last $20. coupon is active. Go get her!

Gold Label®

Release Date: 10/13/2011

Product Code: T7939

No more than 7400 units produced worldwide. 

 

More Talc

This doll is such a pleasure to photograph.

Thirty-Nine Dolls!

A collector on one of the boards put this list of dolls together. Several weren't available to everyone as there were limits on centerpieces and workshop dolls.  One (#18) is the helper doll, a strawberry blonde version of the Eugenia giftset.

:  1) Mission Control Imogen
:  2) High Toned Rayna
:  3) Vivid Impact Agnes
:  4) Simply Simpatico Poppy/Darla
:  5) Brightness Calls Isha
:  6) Style Counsel Veronique or Adele
:  7) FR2 Most Wanted Elise
:  8) Business Class Anja
:  9) In The Air Poppy
: 10) Sunset Rave Color Infusion Ayumi 
: 11) Jet Set Eugenia Giftset
: 12) Air Apparent Veronique Souvenir doll
: 13) Bare Essentials Night (raven) Dania
: 14) Bare Essentials Day (blonde) Natalia
: 15) Backstage Ambition
: 16) City Girl
: 17) Faubourg Saint-Honore' Victoire Roux
: 18) Jet Set Eugenia Helper Doll Giftset
 :19) No Reservations Kyori: Centerpiece
: 20) Ready, Steady, Go Poppy Parker: Centerpiece
: 21) Psychedelic Splash Color Infusion Erin: Centerpiece
: 22) Exceptional Tatyana FR2: Centerpiece (W Club Luncheon)
: 23) Beyond the Still Monogram: Centerpiece
: 24) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Gavin brunette: side part ponytail
: 25) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Gavin/Jett redhead: side part
: 26) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Dani, raven
: 27) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Sooki, brunette
: 28) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Eltin, Blonde long: hair
: 29) Jet Set Dynamite Girl TJ, AA with full wavy hair
: 30) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Aria, blonde with bangs
: 31) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Sooki, platinum blonde long hair
: 32) Workshop Imogen
: 33) Workshop Poppy Parker
: 34) Workshop Auden (dark hair)
: 35) Workshop Korinne blonde
: 36) Workshop Korinne raven
: 37) Workshop Korinne redhead
: 38) Workshop Korinne brunette
: 39) Evermore Vanessa FR2 (W Club Luncheon)

Red=Optional Convention Collection

Green=Table Gifts from IT

Purple=Centerpieces

Mauve=New Releases, New Line
Orange=Workshop Dolls
Turquoise=Dynamite Girls
Black=A Great Surprise
Mustard=Helper Doll

Tonner's Latest Release

A small selection of new dolls and fashions has been released today. These images are by Ernest Padro Campos as opposed to Tonner's usual photographer, Storm Photo. The last image of the Rose of Versailles looks like Storm's style.
Here goes:

Chilled $179.99 Dressed Doll; Antoinette Head Sculpt

Delightful $179.99 Dressed Doll; Antoinette Head Sculpt

2011 Cami Basic - Platinum $89.99  Basic Doll;  Cami Head Sculpt; Blue Inset Eyes

 Bridgehampton - Outfit Only $79.99 Fits Such Dolls as Cami & Jon™ and Antoinette™

 

White Christmas Collection 

Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes $199.99

16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body; Authorized Rosemary Clooney Portrait Sculpt

Judy Haynes $199.99 Judy Haynes Head Sculpt; 16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body

 

The Rose of Versailles - Outfit Only LE 100 $139.99 Fits 16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body

More news from TDC:
They are going to return to the older way of introducing their fashion doll lines (winter and summer) as a result of collector feedback. In addition Tonner Direct and Tonner Doll websites are being combined and redesigned. In November, we will be seeing the site which is now being beta tested.

Noir #99 ~ Theatre de la Mode

I finally took a few pictures of this new Theatre de la Mode doll. I had to have her replaced because her hair top thing looked like a spaceship that had only partially landed. This is much better.

I need to rethink the background as there's not enough of a separation of tone. Sometimes I have to show the less successful images or you're liable to think I'm perfect.

Random Musings and Talc

Still waiting for the official pictures of the 2011 convention collection and the Saturday night dolls. I would love to share those with my readers as my dolls won't be here for a while. I should have Vanessa, Tatyana and the table gifts in about 3 days.

Integrity Toys announced an Avantguard revamp. Not only will they have a 16 inch version of the FR2 body, their name will now be FR16. Is that Fashion Royalty to the sixteenth power or F R Sixteen? This will be a welcome change to those who have clamored for a more stable body for these dolls. Going forward, they will be rooted dolls. Three prototypes were shown. Unfortunately I don't have images of those either. They look pretty good and their sculpts also look changed but I'm not sure about that. I have not seen pricing information.

There will be three new Monogram dolls released in December. They're calling it a Holiday collection. I get the red/green holiday reference connection.

________

Talc had a little photoshoot in one of Tonner's older fashions last week. I'm not ready to cover up her entire body in fashion yet. I'm enjoying seeing it posing.

The Winners, The Biggest Loser and The Sleeper

This is just a short post after a long, tiring weekend. Someone counted up and listed all the dolls that were available either for purchase and/or as convention gifts including helper gifts. That number came to 38.  I believe it may actually be 39 because there is a variation Eugenia giftset that I learned about a little while ago.
I have not seen the Dynamite Girls but they wouldn't be in the competition for my favorites anyway.
The winner is Evermore Vanessa with Exceptional Tatyana following as a close second. Next is Victoire Roux (pictured in the previous post) who is tied with Most Wanted Elise FR2. (I don't have an official picture of Elise that I can post and I'm not using anyone's pic without their permission so you will all have to wait to see what she looks like if you haven't already.)

I think I'm going to love the Eugenia giftset as well. Five out of 38 ain't bad. In prior years I would have kept most of the dolls I came home with. I'm quite relieved.


I think that Sunset Rave Ayumi's outfit is hot and it's a keeper. I never liked Ayumi's sculpt and still don't.

The outfits from the Adele and Veronique giftset are also going to be calling my home theirs.

The biggest loser of the convention was Brightness Calls Isha. What a disastrous face this doll has. She must be an error the factory made because I can't believe anyone would design such awful facial screening. After the last Isha that was so beautiful, someone had their eyes closed on this one. She looks like a kid who borrowed mommy's makeup and put most of it on all at once.

Vivid Impact Agnes is the sleeper of the Convention. She will go up in popularity once collectors start to work with her. The initial photos of her were really bad. Her facial coloring is wonderful and I don't even like Agnes. But I can see that those who like the morose version of Agnes, that this one is not to their taste. Well it appeals to the rest of us. Her hair needs styling but otherwise, she's a good-looking doll.

More to come.

Integrity Toys' Convention Dolls: Official Pictures - First Half

For those of you who are not members of the W Club and who are not attending the convention, like myself, here are the official pictures of the dolls which have been released so far. All W Club members have been sent emails with the images. There is no link for non-members to see these pictures. 

 "Business Class" Anja  Thursday Night Table Gift

"No Reservations" Kyori Centerpiece Thursday Night

Ready, Steady, Go!  Poppy Centerpiece Friday Afternoon

"In The Air" Poppy Table Gift Friday Afternoon

"Psychedelic Splash" Friday Night Centerpiece (Erin Sculpt)

"Sunset Rave" Friday Night Table Gift (Ayumi Sculpt)

Two new lines of dolls were introduced (so far) and I will post images later on with information.

Talc Poses Nude

I am thrilled with this doll's posing. Before putting clothes on her I wanted to photograph her nude to show how well she can be manipulated. I'm still a little afraid that I'm going to break her. I've never had a doll that posed like this - ever!

 

 

RIP Steve Jobs

He changed the world. He changed my life. May his company and the standards he set continue. 

The following homage to Steve Jobs was posted by Patricia Heguchi on Facebook.

http://www.patty.net.br/

My First Sybarite, Talc

I feel like a school child writing a composition - My First Pet; My First Bicycle...
Writing my FIRST...does that mean there will be a second? Most likely. Two are always better than one.
This doll was packaged beautifully with extraordinary attention to protection and padding. It took time and attention to get all the wrapping off to release her. She's pretty amazing.
Talc is a basic doll in that she's not dressed in more than her corset and accessories. From what I've been told, Talc's outfit is quite desirable, especially the metal belt.

Earrings can be hooked on to the metal eye loop already in her ears. Her head has a soft flock which is great under wigs.

She hasn't made it into the studio for a session with good camera but she had to have her picture taken out-of-doors, on the deck. The posing is fabulous. This is going to be fun. 

Natural light is not always the best.  I like it for travel pics but not for dolls.

Talc is gorgeous but the silvery blue lips are not my cup of tea. I want to repaint her lips to look like Geometry's and I will do that myself.  I can't stop staring at her face. Her eyes are so gorgeous and deep. I love the colors used there.

Some people are telling me that I will become addicted to Sybarites. That would be unfortunate. I know what it's like to have to have every doll in a certain line. I can't imagine that ever happening with these dolls because they are expensive and I have a life. I want my dolls to give me pleasure, not pressure.

Even More Cheap Thrills with Barbie Basics

I don't know what got into me these past few months but I have purchased a bunch of Pink Label Barbie dolls. I keep them in my studio and yesterday they got lucky in front of the camera.  Angelica's hair is typical Barbie quality - uneven, shaggy ends and no style. The Hispanic (?) Barbie has lovely hair but she has glitter glued under her brows. The red Target Barbie is adorable. Her hair will never get messed up as every strand is glued down. She needs a pivotal body and lashes to make her into a useful doll that can pose.

The last vinyl Barbie I will buy this year is Tokidoki. I swear.

Monster High: Lagoona Blue and Spectra Vondergeist

More cheap thrills come your way via the silly and strange Monster High dolls.

Don't expect high quality for in the $20. range as these are fragile dolls, albeit very clever.   I don't know what their hair is made from but it's difficult to keep tamed and their limbs often take on a life of their own. But they do snap back together.
Lagoona Blue, on the left, comes with the funniest 3 eyed frog. She is depicted as being in the school science lab. She also comes with a locker and an extra fashion. Spectra Vondergeist is mostly translucent - as a ghost ought to be. Even her pet, which is unidentifiable, is kind of see-through.
I picked up Lagoona at my Target store and got Spectra directly from Mattel. I recommend both of them for play value and adorable-ness.