Lalaloopsy Babies - Crumbs Sugar Cookie

Fans of Lalaloopsy are going to adore the new Lalaloopsy Babies range, featuring everyone's favourite characters as cute little babies!  The 30 cm tall dolls have soft bodies perfect for cuddling.  They have the trademark button eyes and a little open mouth ready for their bottles or dummies.

We were sent baby Crumbs Sugar Cookie to review.  With her yellow gingham nappy and pink hat she looks adorable and exactly how you'd imagine Crumbs would look as a baby .  The attention to detail is excellent.  From her embroidered belly button to the love heart patch bearing her date of birth (December 4th which is US National Cookie day!), Crumbs Sugar Cookie is an adorable doll.  She comes with a heart shaped dummy and a bottle shaped like Crumbs Sugar Cookie's pet Mouse.

Each baby has a bio to explain her personality.  Crumbs's sweet bio is:

As with all Lalaloopsy dolls Crumbs came magically to life when her last stitch was sewn and takes her personality from the fabric used to make her, which was a baker's apron.  She really is "sew cute"!

Jewel Sparkles, Mittens Fluff 'n' Stuff and Pillow Featherbed are also available as Lalaloopsy Babies.  They are suitable for ages 4 and up and priced at around £19.99 from good toy retailers.

www.lalaloopsy.com

It's Pinkie Cooper! The Girl with a Dog's Head!

It's rare when a toy comes along that is so unique that it creates squeals of disbelief and amazement from my children. Well, Pinkie Cooper, the dog headed fashion dolly has done just that!  Looking like the progeny of Barbie and an English Toy Spaniel, Pinkie Cooper is a glamorous, aspiring model and a student of W.O.O.F. (World of Original Fashion).  Along with her friends, Pepper and Ginger and their Jet Set Pets, she wants to make the world more stylish and dog friendly.  Pinkie has her own fashion blog called Pinkie Post where she un-leashes fashion! (Leash - get it?)

We were sent a Pinkie Cooper and her Jet Set Pet Li'l Pinkie from Flair.  The stylish packaging in chocolate and pink is really nice, and peeping out from the cellophane window is the enigma that is Pinkie Cooper.  The outer of the box slides off from the inner so you can keep it intact and store Pinkie and her accessories safely inside.  Whether this was intentional or not, I love that I can re-use the packaging in this way.

First impressions varied from "It's terrifying!" (Ella 17) to "Aww I love her!" (Freddy 4).  Pinkie is a strange one.  Her puppy dog head has really beautiful, big brown eyes with luscious lashes coupled with a dog's nose.  Weird?  Most definitely, but it somehow works. Her hair, (or are they ears?) spouts from the side of her otherwise bald head.  This hair is removable and can be swapped with other characters in the range or with hair accessories that are available separately.  Her hands/paws are a real canine/human hybrid with pretty pink claws/nails.  She stands 9" tall.

Pinkie's motto is "Dress to Express!" and she knows "Nothing looks better than friends together!" Not a bad message for young girls (or boys)  and not as vacuous as some of the other fashion doll mottos that I have come across.

Pinkie has a lovely raincoat style outfit with matching cap and actually looks quite cute in my opinion.  It is her London outfit (she also comes in versions dressed for Beverley Hills and Paris). The doll itself is very nicely articulated and the joints do not break apart, which is an issue we have seen on other dolls of this kind.   This is a very, well constructed doll with great poseability. 

She comes with a camera, hairbrush and pink brolly - perfect accessories for her jet set life in London!

Li'l Pinkie is a funny li'l thing with an almost smug look on her face.  The body is solid but her head turns.  Her elaborate ears are removable and can mix and match with other Jet Set Pets.  She has a matching jacket to Pinkie.  We also received a blinged up version who came with her own food bowl, lead, jazzy outfit and tiara.  Her glittery pink ears were quite spectacular! The pet figurines are also available as Saltine and Sprinkles who have different styles to Li'l Pinkie. They are very glam and glitzy.

Why Pinkie has a dog's head remains a mystery but the fact that she does, posed a whole lot of questions from my kids. Does she bark or speak English?  Does Pinkie Cooper need a lead when out in public places?  Does she have a licence? Is Lil' Pinkie related to Pinkie Cooper?  Cousins perhaps?  Fine dining or dog food? The debate could rage on and on!  I like a toy that gets people talking!

Personally, I quite like her!  It's something about her puppy dog eyes that reels me in. I like that she is very different to other fashion dolls on the market and I love the W.O.O.F. acronym.  I think it is a bold move to engineer a canine/human hybrid and make her an aspiring fashion model set to rock the runways of Paris. In a market dominated by human dolls, why not mix it up a bit!  Forget the unrealistic female form of  the market leader with her tiny waist and enormous and impossibly perky chest.  Forget the dolls with their promiscuous and revealing outfits and inappropriate tattoos.  Pinkie Cooper may have the head of a dog, but she is not conforming to any harmful gender stereotypes. In fact, this girl shows the world that even with a dog's head, she can still achieve her dreams!

Pinkie Cooper has her own website pinkiecooper.com.

Dolls are available at stockists such as Argos and Amazon.  The Deluxe Travel Collection doll and pet is £24.99 and the Jet Set Pet figurine is £14.99.

Bratzillaz - Ready For A Magic Night Out

Glam gets wicked with the latest range of dolls from the Bratzillaz™ Academy.  With their witchy fashions and their powers to do good, the Bratzillaz™ are dressed to impress and ready to dance the night away!  Kizzy was sent Jade J’Adore™, the gorgeous, pink haired doll with the power to mend broken hearts.

With her light-up broomstick that transforms into a wand and her novelty hairbrush, Jade is ready to party.  She can even dance, doing her moves when you twist her waist.  She comes with a doll stand to display her.

Included in the new range are original characters: Jade J’Adore™, Meygana Broomstix™, Sashabella Paws™, Cloetta Spelletta™ and Yasmina Clairvoya™, as well as brand new character Vampelina™. Vampelina™ has the magical power to see in the dark. 

Bratzillaz™ dolls are suitable for ages six years plus, priced at around £24.99 and available from all good toy retailers nationwide.

Moxie Girlz Twinkle Bright Fairies Review

Kizzy was sent a Moxie Girlz Twinkle Bright Fairies doll to review.  She received Avery who is a lovely pink-haired doll with a purple and pink tutu, fluttering wings and a light-up butterfly accessory.  Avery is one of four Twinkle Bright Fairies (RRP £19.99).  

The magical fairy dolls are beautifully made with sparkly embellishments and attention to detail.  They have poseable legs to achieve the perfect flying position.  They add some enchantment to this range of dolls and will spark any girl's imagination with a liberal sprinkling of magical fairy dust!

                                       

The Moxie Girlz™ aims to encourage girls to reach for their dreams and embrace their individuality through self-expression, friendships and fashion.  Every girl has the strength to do something amazing. Anything is possible as long as you stay true to yourself and never give up on your dreams.

Lalaloopsy Littles Sew Cute Doll

Stumbles Bumps n Bruises Sew Cute Patient

Lalaloopsy dolls are sewn from a fabric that reflects their personality.  Stumbles Bumps n Bruises, the little sister of Rosy Bumps n Bruises, is a gorgeous blue haired doll sewn from a nurse's uniform.  She has her cute little pet bear and together they feel a bit under the weather.  They need a caring child's help to get better with lots of lala-love and medicine. This Lalaloopsy Littles doll brings out the caring and nurturing side of your little one, whilst they role play as a doctor or nurse with their adorable patients.

The quirky doll comes with a thermometer to take her temperature, a bottle to give her medicine, a potion and heart shaped cloth to make boo boos disappear, a removable cast on her foot, a stethoscope that makes silly sounds and of course her sweet and slightly poorly pet bear with his bandaged ear. 

She is a perfect patient who always takes her medicine, loves to wear bandages, and often comes down with the Sillies!  She will be adored by any little Lalaloopsy fans aged 4 and over who will enjoy looking after her and making her all better.  

I think this is a lovely addition to the Lalaloopsy range of merchandise.  The role play element of the set allows children to interact with Stumbles using the accessories in a caring capacity.  The doll is beautifully made with all the detail of the older Lalaloopsy siblings.  The smaller size makes Stumbles perfect for little hands.  Her teddy bear has a removable plaster cast arm and leg and also has a head bandage that fits over his ear.  

The boxed toy looks so appealing with everything displayed attractively.  The little details like the heart tag and the stitched panel at the bottom of  the box will delight any one who receives this doll whatever their age.  They make wonderful collectibles as well as lovely toys to play with!

Lalaloopsy Littles Sew Cute Patient Stumbles Bumps n Bruises doll retails for £29.99 and is available from all good retailers nationwide.

Novi Stars Land On Earth

What On Earth Is Going On?

A new breed of cosmic doll have landed on Earth.  The Novi Stars are fun and funky and ready to party.  They want to make new friends and update fashion trends!  We were sent Ari Roma, a fruity bubble gum scented, curly purple haired space doll complete with a bubble helmet and her pet O2.  With a mission to "kiss an Earth boy" (yes really!) and a self-proclaimed "airhead", Ari is the bubbly and caring member of the gang with an airy and romantic dress style.  She isn't a rocket scientist by any one's standards, but she is cute, flirty and quirky, which seems to be highly regarded in the Novi Stars gang. The other girls in the gang are Mae Tallic, Una Verse and Alie Lectric, each with their own skills and missions.

As a mum to a tween who still loves all things sparkly and pink, I was happy to give Kizzy the Novi Star Ari Roma doll to try out.  It came looking beautifully packaged although there was a lot of plastic used.  The handle does double up as a celestial headband for the child which is nice.  It is almost a shame removing her from her box as the presentation is very appealing. 

Unfortunately in battling the excessively taped packaging I pulled poor Ari's arm off!  I managed to re-attach it but it has remained loose.

Once she was freed from her plastic prison the scent of bubblegum was very evident.  Ari has amazing pink and purple curly hair, silver antennae and an inverted heart shaped bubble helmet.  She is sparkly and pink with  a futuristic plastic mini-dress and purple wedge shoes.  I love her face.  Her eyes have huge glittery eyelashes that Lady Gaga would be proud of.  She is really lovely to look at with the great detail in her design.

Ari comes with a glow in the dark stand and her own little pet, O2.  O2 is a cute little, girlie creature with pigtails and star eyes who comes in her own bubble helmet. Freddy was rather taken with the little pet. 

I feel that Ari is more of a collectible doll to stand on a shelf and admire than a doll to be over played with.  She is beautiful but not very robust.  When Freddy got his hands on her she was headless and armless within a minute.  Definitely one for older girls who will treat her with respect and probably not want to indulge in too much actual playtime.  In fact the dolls are recommended for ages 6 and up, so don't be tempted to buy one for a younger child, however cute they look.

Kizzy loved the space-inspired look of the doll and the bubblegum scent.  She thought it was very cute that she comes with a pet.  Ari is now displayed on a shelf in Kizzy's bedroom where she is admired (and kept out of Freddy's reach!!)

My Opinion: Overall, I can see Novi Stars being a huge hit with the tween market.  They look great, they are quite unique,  they have an interesting back story and are marketed well.  Their skimpy fashions and boy obsessed attitudes may offend some parents, but older girls will love them.  They make lovely collectibles, but are quite fragile to be used as a plaything for a younger child.

RRP £19.99 from good stockists such as Amazon.

Lottie Doll Review

A Doll To Rival Market Leaders

If you are not happy with the fashion dolls on the market with their ridiculously unrealistic body measurements and scanty clothes which can give a negative body image to girls, then the new Lottie doll from Arklu will be a great alternative to buy for your little girls.  With proportions based on the body measurements of an average nine year old girl, and age appropriate clothing, Lottie is set to rival brands such as Bratz and Barbie.  Her motto is "Be bold, be brave, be you!" giving young girls the courage to simply be themselves and enjoy their childhood.

Kizzy was sent a Lottie doll to review and in this video she gives her opinion.


             


Lottie has already won awards and stands to revolutionize the doll market.  The London based company hopes that this doll developed in conjunction with leading academics, will address the issues relating to body image and sexualisation which are criticisms levelled at the brand leaders.  Lottie will be a better role model for our daughters!

There are six different quintessentially British Lottie dolls and three accessory packs available for little girls aged 3-8.  They are cute, quirky, young and ready for adventure...just like a little girl should be!

Find out more at www.lottie.com

Bratz...All Glammed Up!

My 8 year old daughter loves Bratz.  She loves the Bratz film, she loves the Bratz books but most of all she loves the Bratz dolls.  She loves dressing them up and shares their passion for fashion!  She was over the moon to find out that she had been sent one to test.  She was thrilled to have the chance of trying out the new Bratz 'All Glammed Up' Yasmin Doll!

The super stylish dolls have had a glamorous new make-over and have fabulous hair that is ready to be styled using their own styling tools. Special memory hair can be crimped, waved, spiral curled and straightened over and over again.  Cool hair accessories and sparkling glitter complete the look.

After we battled her out of the packaging, my Tiny Tester set to work on styling her hair. The hair styling tools were very cute...tiny replicas of the real things!

She loved curling and crimping the special hair.  The result was not quite as impressive as the illustrations on the box, but she was perfectly happy with the waves she put in Yasmin's hair.  The brush straightened the hair ready to style again.  She applied glitter and put on the hairband and was as chuffed as if she was a stylist to the stars!

Yasmin, Jade and Cloe are available in the new All Glammed Up range and are priced at £19.99.  Each one has a code to unlock secret surpises at bratz.com.  They are suitable for ages 6 and up.