Update With Additional Video! Naturalistas! Videos Of The Month!

 Hey Gang!

I was in Target and purchased the new Greg Naturalista doll and decided to get one more doll, Liya! She has 4C hair like me.

 I already have the Grace Doll which I posted a while back.

 Now as a woman who has gone back to wearing my hair naturally, I thought this was a big deal.  I couldn't wait to get a perm and have worn my hair permed since I was 14! Learning about the health issues that are associated with perms, I finally let the perm go just before COVID-19 hit. It was a great time to do it.  I cut off the permed hair(called the big chop!).  I was working from home and didn't have to worry about how my hair looked.

What I did need to do was to decide what to do with my hair without the perm! I braided it once it was long enough to braid (yeah, I was close to bald). I stopped using shampoos with sulfates and switched to using a cotton tee to dry my hair. I found products for natural hair, talked to friends and family who have natural hair, and watched a lot of natural hair videos.

My hair now!

My hair is longer in this picture than in the one above! There is way more shrinkage when I wash it now!  Oh, and for anyone who thinks wearing your hair natural is a lot less work, it isn't. It is the same amount of work if not more.

Now for the dolls!

Promo Photo of the line of dolls!

The real test of any doll is seeing it in person!  It is a great thing to have dolls that are representative of our culture and I think these dolls do it!

Promo Liya

My Photo

I thought the head on the girls seemed small to the size of the body and the neck seemed too long for the girls. Greg doll is OK in his proportions.  Liya's hands and feet are large like the Grace doll from my previous post. I will change the head onto a MTM body to give me more options,

She is darker in person and has a darker lip color than the promo. Or..it might just be my lighting. 

Her body!

OK, For Real For Real!

I found when styling, she had a lot of hair shedding. This is something I try to avoid with my own 4C hair. (Not all of her hair seems to be rooted to me. It gives the 4C feel but I noticed it when separated there are pieces in there that aren't rooted.)  I know my hair will grow back despite the shedding but Liya's hair will not.  I sleep with a cap on so that I don't get lint in my hair from the pillowcase.  This doll's hair will get lint in it if not protected as a doll that is played with. Wetting it and styling it didn't work for the doll like it does for my hair! Shampooing my hair with 4C products defines the curl but not with the doll.  I wondered if soaking it in fabric softener might do it for her hair. You can't do a ton of styling or you will comb much of the doll's hair out in the process.  MyFroggyStuff did some styling of Liya's hair. I don't know if she purchased multiples for her video or if they all were the same doll.

I finally decided to give her a twist-out hairstyle! It came out well! I redodyed her onto a Fashionista doll #194 body.

Liya on wash day!

Doing my my hair takes some time! I plan a day for it! It is a wash day/spa day!

Twist out!

You need water and a comb for detangling! My ducky for my bath!

A girl needs products!

With a friend!

Liya will let her hair air dry. Maybe she should paint her finger nails and toes!

This a great video for the doll's hair!

OK, Thanks For Looking!

Fresh Squad Clone Guy.

 Hey Gang!

There is a doll set being sold at Dollar General and the male doll looks like a Fresh Squad clone. I tried looking for one in stores in my area with no luck.  I asked a friend who spotted them in her area to pick me up one. It is great to have doll friends!

Here is my set! It sells for $12.00.

Here is the clone with Anthony's face! He is the Dad.

This is the Mom! She looks like the Kid Connection doll!

Kid Connection doll

The daughter!

The basket and the kitty.

The food!

The back of the box shows the set with the cat and the one with the dog.

The ties on the back of the package weren't as hard to remove as other doll sets.

Out of the box!

The dad is an Anthony clone. I'm saying Anthony because he is the bald one.

It is the same face but the head is slightly larger.

A closer look!

Heads compared!

The outfit is one of the better clone outfits and can be used on other dolls. The boots are nice too!

The body is a knock-off of the Ken doll's body like the one where the arms can move to the side.

He is a little shorter than Ken because he doesn't have as much neck.

Clone and Classic Cool #10

The body has a little more movement in the legs than the Ken doll does.

The mom is a clone that I have seen in another store. 

The outfit isn't too bad.  I think I might make it two pieces.  I could use it better that way.

The sneakers are made for flat feet but the doll has high-heeled feet. 

She has movement but a stiff body.

The daughter has a cute face.

She is a Chelsea doll clone.

I have that same face sculpt on a Kelly-size body.

I found this little one on the Kelly-size body about 4 years ago at Dollar General.

The cat, the basket, and the food!

Because of her complexion, her head can be moved to an articulated to a Five and Below Zoe doll body

It works well on her.

I think the clone doll head could work on a made-to-move body.

Neck hole and neck knob.

It works well on her.

OK, I think that I might need to hollow out the head hole so that it would fit lower.

Shorten it too! It would swivel better and look more natural.

OK, Thanks For Looking!

It's Santa!

Hey Gang,

After a few years of having Ben play Santa,.....

Ben: Please not again this year!

I knew I wanted a Black Santa! I found this guy at the Dollar Tree! I saw one like him last year at CVS and I waited for it to go on sale. It sold out! WaWa! Now I have a Black Santa.

He has a great face!

I am hoping to make some kind of holiday display using him! So stay tuned!

I saw this Oreo cookie commercial with a Black Santa!  It is one of the few times I have seen on outside of the local mall. 

OK, Thanks For Looking!