Dollieh Sanctuary

These are my Barbie Basics so far. The ones with black check marks I have. The green X ones I don't like and don't really want. The red ? I'm pretty sure I'd like to have those eventually. The only two that are really on my "must have" list though are the AA guy from the jeans collection and the Drew in the green bathing suit. I haven't been able to even find the former. He's been sold out everywhere. Drew I just may get...

These Barbies are beautiful, I have a soft spot for closed lips smiles... I wish I can find some in Italy -___-

I'm a die hard Fashion Avenue/Fashion Fever Barbie lover. I got into collecting Barbies because of the collector's DOTW ones and those playline Barbies. I like the vintage repros too and I don't mind the Fashionista stuff, love the articulation, the Kens, but often it's just too much pink, glitter and mega toothy smiles for me. 90% of the new playline stuff just doesn't interest me all that much. Once in a while I fall for one but I mostly buy the Fashionista dolls to get their bodies for dolls like these.

I like these dolls a lot because there are so many really interesting sculpts, they are closed mouth smile dolls which I prefer, and because there is such a range of skin tones and looks. This is by far one of the most interesting collections Mattel has done in years, I think, and I'm really going to miss them now they they are done. In collecting these, I've got all the advantages of collecting FR type dolls without the hefty price tag and besides which I actually like the face sculpts and the makeup a bit better than the FR dolls which can seem a bit unreal to me sometimes.

I've actually tried to collect the most interesting ones, the dolls that have the sculpts that I really like but the ones that just seem a bit different from the norm. I've got several new faces too which is great and of course those Kens, they were just superb no matter which way you look at it. All in all I think I am going to end up with something around 20 of them and I have a feeling they are going to make one great display when I am done. I'm mixing them up, articulating some of them, putting some of my favorite outfits on them and having a blast doing it. I don't think I've had this much fun with a Barbie line since the FF ones were retired.

My favorite is the girl third from left. She is so beautiful.

I finally got to see them for myself in the store and I really like these a lot! I just can't justify ever getting one ;^;

I only have two, the Fantasy Goddess of Africa sculpt (which you have green crossed-out, heh) and the first Steffie mold (wish i'd hung out for the jeans version with the big curls now, SO CUTE), my favourite Barbie heads of all time (although I love Diva/Midge too. Hmm.)

I love that they have released all their beloved head molds like this, but I so wish they weren't on the Model Muse body.

I thought about getting some of these, because I loved the hair and faces on some of them...but no articulation? That makes me sad.
;P
The shaggy-haired guy is so cute, though...why can't you have joints, you dork? (The newer girls do, though, don't they? HMMMmmmm...)

The 2.5 girls, all 3 of them, are the only ones that are articulated. They're also more expensive than the others. I like them but they're too expensive for me. I've articulated most of them on Fashionista, Articulated Disney Princess or Liv bodies. The dark haired guy I put on a 1000 Poses Ken body and while the neck could be a pinch longer it's not bad at all. I'm still wavering on the blond who I've named Ben.

I like him on the articulated prince body I have but his head is just a bit darker than the body and the way the model head fits makes him look like he has a bit of a thick neck. Not that unusual for body builders but the 1000 Poses Ken head actually fits it better. Problem there is that the 1000 Poses Ken just looks very young and that's not really appropriate for this body.

I'm in the middle of rooting one of the first Sporty Ken dolls with red mohair. He's got the same type of head a 1000 Poses Ken but a lot more serious face. I'm thinking when he is done I might give Ben his body and then use the Prince body for him. I think it would be a better match up. Ben actually looks good on a 1000 Poses Body.

But it is possible to articulate these dolls fairly easily. The 1000 Poses Kens make good bodies for the guys and the girls can fit on just about any of the dolls I've named above depending upon skin tone. The only dolls in the series I've really had a problem doing that with are the really dark AA ones. I did manage to get one of the lighter onea on an Artsy body and I've used an Alexis Liv body for another but the other two I'd have to go to using older, non-articulated Barbies just to get that dark of a match. It is possible I have a few older Barbies that are that dark but it kind of defeats the purpose using those and unfortunately the articulated SIS Barbies are very scarce around here.

Those might work I'm told but not having seen them much I'm just not really sure which character will go with which doll in terms of doing a correct body swap. I do eventually want to go there if I can find some out out at the flea market or thrift maybe. I'd like all my Basics to be articulated. I'm not a huge model body fan. I just think those bodies look very weird, almost anorexic, and I hardly ever leave dolls on them for long unless I just don't have any other alternative.

Well they weren't on my list to buy but far be it from me to complain when people hand me free Barbies. The short haired Teresa from Basics 1.0, the Mackie Blond from Basics 2.0 and another Basics 15 Ken just came my way. My BFF caught them on sale for $7 a piece at Big Lots, after Christmas mark down sale, and she got them for me.

What makes me laugh is I was all over that Big Lots before Christmas looking for some of these and they had none. She goes and she not only comes home with 2 girls I don't have, but with a KEN? Figures. We had to order the other ones off Amazon my aunt and me because there were none to be had here. I'm not sure what I am going to do with the extra Basics Ken, maybe a re-root and repaint or something.

Like so many of these dolls he's got a bit of a case of wonky eye so I suppose repainting him isn't all that bad of an idea actually. He's got that great sculpt. I think he'd make a really nice Native American with long hair actually. Or I could make him look really Asian maybe. I'm still half wishing he'd been the AA guy, but then again he came free and beggars can't be choosers, lol.

Actually the two girls are quite pretty. I'm not at all upset to own them. They're not as strikingly different as some of the others I've gotten but they're far from ugly. I'm thinking I may just eventually re-root Teresa too. With that makeup she'd be gorgeous as a deep auburn brown redhead. I love her face but I've probably got half a dozen brunette Teresa dolls. Only one of them is even close to being a redhead and she's a very old Theresa not a newer one so a sort of deep red brown might be nice.

Updated Basics Checklist...

Pink Stars and Double Stars, I have them, x2 if there are two stars. Red X means I don't really want them. Blue question marks means I wouldn't pass them up if I saw them nicely discounted somewhere but with the exception of the AA guy I'm in no hurry there. I couldn't find a pic of all the exclusive red and white Target Basics but from what I saw I didn't like them much anyhow except maybe for the Mibili sculpt with the afro. They were nothing special, pretty much a repeat of the other ones in collection 1 just with Target themed clothes. Kind of boring I thought. Ditto most of collection 4. Other than RH Drew which I've got and maybe the Blond Goddess at some point I doubt I will even go there. They're too similar to what I've got most of them.

The Target Mibili was kind of cool but she had a very similar makeup as the one with the long hair in collection 1 and I got that one as a gift so that was that. I think that while the straight hairstyle is not as nicely ethnic looking it's still really pretty and the makeup colors on that doll are bit softer which I liked. The Target doll was a bit harsh makeup-wise. In any case I've never seen those on discount and since I don't plan on paying $20 for Basics that's what I ended up with in the end...

Okay I'd have done it for RH bathing suit Drew maybe. She's killer gorgeous in person and I had a real yen for a RH Drew. Only FF Drew I have has serious ink spot issues right on her forehead that even zit cream can't help and she came chopped besides. She's wigged brunette out of necessity unfortunately. I love her anyway, but I've always wanted a RH Fashion Fever version of her and I've never run across one that didn't cost a ton of $$$. I think Basics RH Drew is lovely but FF Drew has more of an innocent charm and I still hope to find me a RH one someday...



I think I have a pretty good collection, nicely varied. I'm actually going to change the repeat dolls up quite a bit. I've already given the 2nd Mackie brunette a short style and I'm going to redo her lips so she looks like a different girl. 2nd Raven Kayla is getting red streaks and she's actually somewhat different in makeup anyway. She's got the brighter makeup job with the fire engine red lips and not the deep one and even her eyebrows are darker so by the time I am done I don't think she's going to look too much like her "twin" sister. She may be getting different lips too. Haven't decided as yet.

The one thing I don't like about the Basics is that often while the eye makeup is great on them the eye iris color is kind of blah. I'm going to change up a few of them that way, give them brighter colored eyes. I think it gives a doll more personality that way when the eyes are good and noticeable and I want to personalize my collection a little bit.

What is that like 23? Whew! You know when these came out I thought I'd maybe end up with 5. I wanted at least two of the girls and the 3 Kens but now I have a whole shelf full! I guess it could be said that I went a little overboard, but I really haven't paid a whole lot for them, most were gifts. I'm having fun though. I haven't liked a Barbie line this much since the FF crew and my collection of those? Easily puts this one in the shade. I probably have most of them except for the boys. I never did get my hands on a FF Ken unfortunately...