Toys R Us Goodies Part 1: Series 3 Zelfs

I've entered a period of extreme frugality in the doll and toy department, especially this month as Hubby and I figure out what our income is going to be like with the change in his job.  It's been tough, but I'm surviving. ;)  

Thankfully, I still have a mom who loves dolls and toys as much as I do and is not quite so limited in her own budget. ;)  On Saturday, she and Mimi went out of town to attend my uncle's birthday party.  On the way they stopped at Toys R Us and happened to find some exciting goodies. :)  So thanks, Mom, for once again being my "blog sponsor". ;)

First off, Toys R Us had (drum roll please):  

Series 3 Zelfs!! :D  Mom bought Chocolaa for me, Spellinda for herself, and Frostette for Mimi.  These particular Zelfs are from the scented "Zelicious" line.  There will also be regular, non-scented releases in Series 3.

Let's take a look at Frostette first.  She is a Cupcake Zelf and is "cupcake scented".  We all thought she had almost more of a caramel scent, but it was still yummy.  

The back of the package features all of the Zelicious Zelfs.  Aside from the ones we got, there are three others:  Bubblee (bubblegum scented), Vampula (strawberry scented), and Buttershy (berry scented).

A closer look at the artwork.  Feel free to click on the pictures if you want to see things closer.

I also wanted to be sure to include a closer picture of this section of the box.  It sounds like they went for food-safe ingredients when coming up with the scents for the Zelfs, so you don't have to worry about your little ones ingesting a bunch of chemicals if they decide the toys smell good enough to eat. ;)

A look at more of the details of the box:

Each of the Zelicious Zelfs come with a collector's leaflet, like the Zelfs before them.  These particular Zelfs do not come with combs or hairbands. 

One side has the artwork of the different Zelicious Zelfs...

...and the other has the Zelicious Zelf checklist with their personality profiles.

Let's get back to Frostette, though.  Here she is out of the box.  We really loved all of her little details, like her frosting horns, the sprinkles on the bridge of her nose and her leg, the colorful cupcake on her tummy, and her one pink leg and arm.  Mimi said it looked like she'd been dipped in pink frosting on one side.

She has the typical "Z" on her behind, as well as a few stray bits of confetti.

A closer look at some of her detail.  

One really cool thing about Frostette is that she has one green eye and one blue eye.  You can see it best in the following pictures:

Here she is lounging in her little chair.  Mimi thinks she looks like she's sitting on a frosting beach. :)

So adorable! :)

Next up, we have Spellinda, the "Mint Witch" Zelf.  She, Vampula, and Buttershy are all previous releases that were revamped for the scented line.  Mom hadn't realized she was a witch Zelf, and probably would have chosen a different one if she had realized (we generally stay away from the whole "witch" and "wizard" thing in our family, aside from The Wizard of Oz). ;)  I just like to think of her as an Elphaba Zelf. ;)

As the box says, Spellinda is mint scented.  To be honest, none of us were too impressed with this scent.  Rather than a yummy candy mint smell, it reminded me more of the mint grass that grows in my parents' yard.  Not nearly as appealing (at least for me and Mom).  You may wonder why Mom bought this one if she didn't like the scent.  More on that in my overall ratings at the end. ;)

I didn't take a picture of the back of Spellinda's box since it was exactly the same as Frostette's.  Here's a look at her box details, though:

Here is Spellinda out of the package.  I didn't get as many detailed pics of her (she was the first one I photographed), so feel free to click on the picture if you want a closer look.  I love her minty-striped legs and her little minty swirl at the top of her head the best. :)  

She has a Z and a little mint candy on her buns.

Here Spellinda is in her wheelbarrow.  My mom was a bit disappointed by how clashy the green of the wheelbarrow and the green of Spellinda's skin were.  It probably won't bother most youngsters, but I thought I'd mention it just in case you're an adult collector and such things bother you. ;)  I actually didn't even notice the clash until Mom mentioned it.

We discovered that Spellinda can also lounge in her wheelbarrow this way. :)

It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but Spellinda has pink eyes.  You can also see her tummy art a little better here.

Our final Zelf for today is Chocolaa, the Chocolate Zelf.  Not to sound gross or anything, but she looks really yummy.  I think they did a great job of making her actually look like chocolate.  But don't worry...I don't plan on eating her. ;)  As the box states, she is "chocolate scented".  Again, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed by the scent.  I don't even know how to describe it, except that it's very obviously a "fakey" chocolate scent (a little coffeeish, or a little too plasticy, perhaps?).  I liked it at first, but now I'm not so sure.  My girls, on the other hand, think she smells delicious.  So maybe I'm just too picky. ;) 

P.S. I love that Chocolaa's power is bliss. ;)  

So here is Chocolaa all free from the box.  She is so ADORABLE!!!!  I love her drippy chocolate accents on her head and feet. :)  I think her face has a really sweet expression, too.

She has a Z and two little pieces of chocolate on her behind.  I'm loving the pink frosting swirls on her arms, too. :)

A closer look at her tummy art.

I also wanted to show you her mouth.  I don't recall seeing this mouth shape on any of the other Zelfs before her (although I may be wrong).  I think it adds to her sweet, innocent expression.  You'll also notice from this pic that she has pink eyes as well.

Mom, Mimi and I all agreed that Chocolaa's accessory was the cutest by far out of the three.  I love how it looks like she's splashing in her chocolate fountain.  The chocolate drippy paint on her feet really adds to the illusion, too.

The chocolate fountain has a little foot hole in the top that holds Chocolaa in place just right.

Here's a look at all three of them together with their accessories. :)

So, now that we've taken a look at all three of these cuties, it's time to move on to my ratings for them.

Pleasing Qualities: 4 out of 5

   Overall, I think these newest additions to the Zelf family are great.  They have adorable faces and paint jobs, their accessories are fun and creative, and the scented idea is a great one.  I also love the themes they've chosen.  

   I'm docking one point for a couple of reasons.  First, as I was reviewing them, I noticed a few little imperfections in their hair.  On both Chocolaa and Spellinda, Mom and I noticed a few little poky or crunchy spots right at their scalp line, almost as if their tracks of hair had not been glued or sewn in correctly.  I'm not actually sure how their hair is attached, so that's just a guess.  It's not a huge issue, and not the type of thing I could even capture on camera.  I just thought I should mention it.

   The other issue is regarding the scent aspect.  As I said before, I think the idea of making some of the Zelfs scented is a great one.  Kiddos love scented toys.  (That's one of the reasons I still love Strawberry Shortcake dolls so much...I loved smelling them as a little girl, and smelling them now brings back fun memories.)  I also really appreciate that they made the scents with food-safe products. 

   Here's the thing.  The scents are pretty strong, and some of them don't smell the way you'd expect them to (the mint and chocolate scents were very different from what I'd imagined).  Because her scent is so strong, I actually haven't put Chocolaa with my other Zelfs yet.  I'm not sure I could handle having the smell in my room all the time.  In fact, I've had her sitting here beside me for part of the review, and I'm actually getting a bit of a headache. :{  It's so sad, because she is so incredibly adorable! :(  I may just have to hand her down to the girls so I can enjoy her from a distance.   

   Scented toys can smell really incredible, but sometimes they can smell pretty bad, too.  Some smells may really appeal to one person and disgust the next.  Personally, I like getting a little sample of the smell before I purchase a scented toy.  The problem is, unlike the Strawberry Shortcake doll packaging, the scented Zelfs don't come with a little hole in the front, so there's no way to know how they smell until you buy them and open them (which explains why my mom ended up with a scent she didn't really enjoy).  The nice part about this is that if you like the look of the scented Zelfs but aren't sure you'll like the smell, you can just buy them and keep them in the package, and you won't have to smell them at all.  The bad part is that if you want to open your Zelfs, you won't know whether you'll like the smell or not until it's opened and too late to take it back. 

   At the same time, this may be more of a mom/collector thing.  My girls have taken deep whiffs of Chocolaa again and again these past few days and think she smells heavenly.  And interestingly enough, Hubby, who is usually the most sensitive to smells of the two of us, is not bothered by Chocolaa.  He says she reminds him of a scratch-n-sniff sticker. So in your house, it may not even be an issue. ;)

So, my recommendation at this point would be to plan on keeping the Zelicious Zelfs in the package if you're not sure about the smell or if you're really sensitive to smells.  Of course, if you're really sensitive to smells, you're probably not going to be buying scented toys in the first place. ;)

And if anyone from Moose Toys is reading this, my humble suggestion would be to include a little scent hole in future Zelicious packaging so we can decide which scent we like best before purchase.  Just a thought.   That would make these little guys "just right". ;)

Posability: 5 out of 5

   As usual, these little Zelfs have no problems with their posability.  They move at the hips, shoulders, and head.

Playability: 5 out of 5

   Perfect score on playability.  My girls spend hours playing with their Zelfs.  I love taking them along on trips because they're nice and small.  And these ones have great accessories that will only add to the fun.  I have a feeling a lot of kids will love how they smell, too. 

Price: 5 out of 5

   At Toys R Us, the Zelicious Zelfs are priced at $7.99, which I think is very reasonable.  The regular Medium Zelfs are $5.99, and the Large Zelfs are $9.99, so I think paying $7.99 for a Zelf and a fun accessory is just right.

Thoughts From the Gals:

  (These thoughts will just be about Chocolaa, since they haven't seen Mom and Mimi's Zelfs yet.)

Oldest Gal is currently at summer camp, so she will not be able to share her thoughts this time around. ;)

Middle Gal (Age 8):

   She smells good and she is kind of like a cupid because some cupids are on fountains.  And she would look more like one if she had a bow and arrow.  I think it kind of looks like her foot is glued to the fountain.  She's really cute with chocolate on her feet like she's splashing in the fountain.  I like how she has a brand new mold.  I also like how it looks like she has a heart waffle where her heart is.  She also looks like a cookie with frosting because she has swirls on her belly and on her arms.

Little Gal (Age 6):

   She's cute.  She has soft hair.   *takes a deep whiff of Chocolaa, then sighs in utter bliss*  I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE her smell!  She has frosting on her.  She has chocolate on her feet.  And I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE her chocolate fountain.  She has a sweet face.  I like the hearts on her fountain.  I like that her hair is not all just brown.

So, now that you've heard our thoughts, what are yours?  Interested in getting some of your own Zelicious Zelfs? ;) 

I was thrilled to discover that Toysrus.com already has many of the Series 3 Zelfs in stock for online ordering.  Just in case any of you are in a shopping mood, I've included a list of the Zelfs available so far with direct links below (just click their names):

Frostette (Cupcake Scented Zelf)

Chocolaa (Chocolate Scented Zelf)

Vampula (Strawberry Scented Zelf)

 Bubblee (Bubblegum Scented Zelf)

 Noodles (Large Chinese Dragon Zelf)

 Deeno (Large Dino Zelf)

 Miss Tutu (Large Ballerina Zelf)

This last one is actually from Series 2, but is a release I haven't seen before:
 Zelf Series 2 Greenhouse Set

And if you'd just like to browse through Toys R Us's entire Zelf selection, click HERE. :)

To visit the official Zelf website, you can click HERE.  None of the Series 3 Zelfs have shown up on the US site yet (hopefully they will soon!).

I hope you all enjoyed the review!  Stay tuned for Part 2, in which we'll take a look at some new Lalaloopsy goodies. :)