Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Liv Doll Review

While looking back through my draft posts, I realized that I never finished my LIV doll review that I promised.  Since I just did my Moxie Teenz reviews and am about to publish a review on a LIV Jake doll, I figured now was the best time to publish this one. :)

WARNING:  There are a few undressed pictures of this doll farther down in the post.  If this is offensive to you, please skip this one. 

All of my LIV dolls are thrift store finds, so I don't know how they compare to brand new from the box.  However, the dolls I've found have been in excellent shape, and I've been pleasantly surprised by them.  The doll pictured above is a LIV Daniela doll.  I found her at Goodwill with no clothes and a different wig.  Thankfully, I found these dolls earlier this summer, right as Target was putting all of their LIV stuff on clearance, so I was able to pick up a couple of outfits and a couple of wigs for great prices. :)

Daniela is wearing the "Movie Night" fashion pack.  I love how the purple coloring brings out the light lavender in her eye shadow. :) 

Here is the top.  It's lovely and flowy with sparkly accents around the collar.  The set also originally came with a little silver shrug, but I like it better this way.

This plastic purse came with it too.

Here are the black skinny jeans/stretch pants.

And I love these little silver ballet flats.  This outfit looks perfect on her, and I got it for around $8. :)

Here is Daniela with another Daniela.  I'm not familiar enough with the different waves of these dolls to know which one is which, but I think both of them are stunning.  The other Daniela was also a Goodwill find (on the same day, in fact).  She had no clothing and no wig.

This blonde one suits her nicely (although she's currently wearing a different one).  And of course, the great thing about the LIV dolls is that they can share clothing with Barbie.  This doll is wearing a Barbie dress from  one of the Barbie movies. (Perhaps Rapunzel?  I don't remember...it's been too long since I got it.) :}

So, here is a view of my LIV without clothing.  She has joints in her elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles.  She also moves at the shoulders and the head.

Daniela showing off the super poseability that I love from this line. :)  

I especially love the fact that they have actual knee caps.  They look a little bit funny, but they make it very easy for the dolls to move their legs in a more natural fashion.

All I can say about this is "ouch"! ;)  And that their waists are obviously quite poseable. ;)

Still lovely, even without her hair (although I must say, I do prefer these dolls with their wigs).

Each head has a hole in the top where the wig attaches.

Here is the wig by itself.

The wigs have a big plastic knob inside that fits into the hole on the dolls' heads.  This keeps the wig in place nicely.

Identifying marks on the back of her head:  "[copyright sign] 2009 Spin Master Ltd"

I was a little disappointed to see that some of their head paint still shows underneath their wigs, which means that hair styles such as high ponytails might be a bit limited if you want her to look right. :(

Here are just a few shots showing some of the poses she can hold:



This is the wig I used for the Daniela in purple.  It was a perfect match for her skin tone and coloring. :)  Even better, it was on sale for $4.18 at Target!

I forgot to take a picture of the other doll's wig when it was still in the package, but here's the packaging itself, in case you'd like to try to find the same one. :)

I can't say enough about these dolls.  I might never have tried them if I hadn't found them at Goodwill.  I'd never cared for them in their packaging, but both of the dolls I found looked so incredibly stunning loose and in person that I bought them.  Now I'm loving how beautiful and photogenic they are.  Their incredible articulation is an added bonus.  

These dolls are being discontinued, so if you're interested in them and see any at discounted prices anywhere, I would definitely snatch them up.  I've seen a few at my local Ross.  You might check places like Big Lots, TJ Maxx, or ToysRUs, too. :)

More fun reviews to come! :)

17 comments:

Lydia said...

I own the one in the first pictures, I got her at my local thrift shop! I have'nt actually found wigs anywhere no matter how hard I look...

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Dollygirl. I think the coloring on that doll is so lovely. Congratulations on finding her! :)

I haven't seen any wigs anywhere since the summertime. Once they were discontinued and discounted, they disappeared fast! You can still find them on eBay, but they usually cost a pretty penny! :}

Serenata said...

You get some amazing dolls at your thrift stores...the most I ever find over here are tatty barbie and bratz dolls.

Anonymous said...

the dress the 2nd dan is wearing is an Island barbie dress.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

We're blessed with a really nice Goodwill with a significant toy section, Serenata. There are some days when there isn't much, but usually there are some hidden treasures if I dig deep enough. ;)

Thanks for the info, Anonymous. :)

Anonymous said...

Can the LIV dolls wear different Barbie lines (for instance Fashionistas and Stardolls)? Also, do Barbie shoes fit them?

Thanks!! :)

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Anonymous. Unforunately, I don't have any Fashionista or Stardoll fashions on hand, so I can't say for sure. I know they are slightly narrower through the waist and such, so it's possible that a few things might be snug. I would suggest going for looser Fashionista or Stardoll clothing, just in case.

As far as shoes, the LIV dolls have feet that are shaped completely differently than Barbie feet, so I doubt they could fit into many of their shoes, if any.

I do know that the current Ken clothes and shoes fit the male LIV doll, Jake (which I mentioned in my next post).

Sorry I couldn't be more specific, but I hope this helps at least a little bit. :}

Anonymous said...

There's supposed to be a new movie coming out called I don't know much about it could you look into it?
Love
9 year old Cathy.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Cathy, I'd love to look into it for you, but you didn't mention the movie's name. If you comment again with the name of the movie, I'll see what I can do. :)

Freja said...

My liv doll Jake is actually wearing a full ken outfit and it fits him nicely :) even the shoes

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

I recently found a Ken outfit for my Jake doll, too. It's a great fit. I posted a pic to my Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496216637102470&set=a.479246428799491.107139.466543233403144&type=1&theater

Unknown said...

This is a little late, but you can pretty easily change the direction of their eyes and even swap them out. I have a Danielle with Sophie's blue eyes and vis versa. Also, you can grab a Moxie wig and it'll fit them. They were selling them for about $6 at Toys R' Us about a year ago. It's pretty hard to find actual Liv items these days.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks for the tip, Ainsley. :) I've never considered doing eye swaps on the LIVs. That would be an interesting project. :)

I've actually been able to find quite a few LIV dolls at thrift stores, especially Goodwill. Some of them even come with wigs and clothing, so that's always an exciting find. ;) So they are out there!

The Dolls said...

The dress, it's from Barbie the Swan Lake, I had a bunch of Barbie movies from my kids.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks! :)

GeckoLass said...

Ooh now to read the Jake review. I love Liv dolls and found them once they were retired! Your site is fantastic!!

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, Megan Rose! So glad you're enjoying the blog! :)