stormstorm2.0
Obsession Convention 2021 - NuFace Collection
So, this year we had 2 dolls offered as IT shop exclusives (Vio and Ale) and 2 dolls offered via NuFace Event (Dom and Rayna). Before we move on, a small disclaimer: all dolls were designed by Jessy Ayala, a designer I really appreciate. I didn't count, but I am sure that close, or at least, half of the dolls from my collection were designed by him. That shows how much I like him. So, everything I will write here comes from the deep of my heart as a collector and believe me, I would be thrilled if all of these dolls were great.
Varsity Alejandra - I am starting from the best. When this character was revealed earlier this year, I didn't like her. Her head seems too big and sculpt lacks details. I still think the same, but this time her makeup is sooo much softer than on her first reveal that for some reason I love her! She reminds me on Hauntingly Beautiful Ayumi (I have noticed that Jessy likes to give us the same dolls all over again, but I aint complaining in this case), and she is one of my favorite NuFace dolls. I think she will redress beautifully. I am not crazy for her hairstyle (my least favorite), but it works for this look. I know some of you may dislike me saying this, but she reminds me on Ariana Grande! Regarding her outfit, I think that bra, jacket and top could be used for mix and match. Not sure about those boots though. In any case, her outfit is the best one. What I would do different: maybe add a bag as a baseball ball instead of simple white bag. Still, I am getting her.
En Pointe Vio - I was very excited to see her as I was floored by Fashion Legacy a few months ago. I am kind of disappointed we got a brunette again, blonde or platinum hair would look better IMO. I love her hairstyle and how her face is subtle. But, her fashion is at best strange looking. She is a mix of motorcyclist and a ballerina!?! She has a very unattractive belt bra under the shirt and with those ballerina shoes, I feel unconformable when I look at her. I am sooo over that hat we saw on Rayna earlier this year. I have never seen a motorcyclist or a balerinna with that kind of a hat! What I would do different: replace hat with a small crown, leave belt bra and add simple bodysuit. For now, she is a no.
MVP Rayna - I was afraid that we could see this screening again after Wild Feeling. I do not like those big eyes and wonky left eye. But, here it is again. Inspiration for her was rugby, believe it or not. I love her haircolor, but hairstyle is out of place. I am not into sports, but do rugby players have a hairstyle like this, like two pigtails? Weird. Her makeup is nice, but I am not sure about that green line that goes above her eyes, again weird looking. I am sorry for saying this, but this fashion might be one of the worst I have ever seen. That length of the pants never look good in person + she has short heels and Poppy feet. Pants has lace details on the front, for some reason I am expecting that her pants drop any second. Her jacket has ripped off sleeves details. Not sure what the bag is representing. The shoes has details seen on the rugby ball. What I would do different: beyond salvageable. I will definitely not be preordering this one.
Adrenaline Rush Dominique - Intro: If you missed on convention ticket, like I did, the only way you could get a doll at retail is getting NuFace event ticket. That event includes one NuFace doll as a gift and a right to buy a centerpiece of that event (when con was held in person you used to get a lunch, too). Me, and over a 2k other members, got the ticket. Reason? Gift dolls used to be very beautiful at these events, I will name a few: Public Adoration Eden, Sneak Peek Eden, Out of Sight Nadja (Evening Siren Ayumi, I think, but you got the point). So, it was a no brainer for me. When you say NuFace event you could imagine there will be a nice atmosphere, a chat with the designer of the line, inspiration behind the designs, reveal of future directions for the collection, fun and interesting stories about the creation of the dolls, and such. Instead, we got a full room of designers (I do not want to hear about Poppy on a NuFace event, or any other character/line as a matter of fact), where most of them looked tired and grumpy (except Mark and Chris), they analyzed the behavior of the members and they said some things I personally didn't like (but I will not dwelve on that here). On top of all of that, we got this Dom. I feel kind of tricked as although designers mentioned that they do not design "ugly" doll on purpose, they do know which sculpts and looks are desirable, so risking this much with a give away doll is a bit disrespectable.
Review: While Impossibly Beautiful screening is my favorite screening for Dom, it looks very unattractive here, and the reason for that might be unnatural eyes color and that stark white line above the eyes. Flocked/shaved hair adds sharpness to the look, and you get a doll very few people like. Her outfit is inspired by motocross (hope I wrote this right, you can tell my enthusiasm for sports). The top is kind of OK, but I do not see the point of the cut-outs on the pants. Shoes are actually nice. She has no accessories aside earrings! Now, come on, even dolls from basic line had sunglasses, ring, bracelet, or something. In my mind, she is an action figure (Star Track) and only needs a high-tech sword or a gun. Hell, I would even like that, just something to justify the price. What I would do differently: make a skirt out of pants and add a jacket. I am getting her unfortunately as nobody wants her...
To sum up, we got three sculpts we already got this year with the same screenings, I bet savings are great for IT, and that would be great if the prices remained the same... Regarding design, I think this collection is just a tad better than Counter Couture Jessy designed a few years back, or at the same level. I get it maybe Jessy got a task to design Barbie in Sports line, but even if the theme was sport, the designs could have been more cohesive, less literal interpretation and more details inspired by sports. On a scale of 1-5 I would give a 2.5
A note to IT: when you decrease number of dolls in a collection you increase the risk that some of them or most of them are not to the likings of collectors, when we had 6 dolls collections designers had more space to make a mistake. I am sure designers are under a great stress, just like we collectors are.
Obsession Convention 2021 - NuFace Collection
So, this year we had 2 dolls offered as IT shop exclusives (Vio and Ale) and 2 dolls offered via NuFace Event (Dom and Rayna). Before we move on, a small disclaimer: all dolls were designed by Jessy Ayala, a designer I really appreciate. I didn't count, but I am sure that close, or at least, half of the dolls from my collection were designed by him. That shows how much I like him. So, everything I will write here comes from the deep of my heart as a collector and believe me, I would be thrilled if all of these dolls were great.
Varsity Alejandra - I am starting from the best. When this character was revealed earlier this year, I didn't like her. Her head seems too big and sculpt lacks details. I still think the same, but this time her makeup is sooo much softer than on her first reveal that for some reason I love her! She reminds me on Hauntingly Beautiful Ayumi (I have noticed that Jessy likes to give us the same dolls all over again, but I aint complaining in this case), and she is one of my favorite NuFace dolls. I think she will redress beautifully. I am not crazy for her hairstyle (my least favorite), but it works for this look. I know some of you may dislike me saying this, but she reminds me on Ariana Grande! Regarding her outfit, I think that bra, jacket and top could be used for mix and match. Not sure about those boots though. In any case, her outfit is the best one. What I would do different: maybe add a bag as a baseball ball instead of simple white bag. Still, I am getting her.
En Pointe Vio - I was very excited to see her as I was floored by Fashion Legacy a few months ago. I am kind of disappointed we got a brunette again, blonde or platinum hair would look better IMO. I love her hairstyle and how her face is subtle. But, her fashion is at best strange looking. She is a mix of motorcyclist and a ballerina!?! She has a very unattractive belt bra under the shirt and with those ballerina shoes, I feel unconformable when I look at her. I am sooo over that hat we saw on Rayna earlier this year. I have never seen a motorcyclist or a balerinna with that kind of a hat! What I would do different: replace hat with a small crown, leave belt bra and add simple bodysuit. For now, she is a no.
MVP Rayna - I was afraid that we could see this screening again after Wild Feeling. I do not like those big eyes and wonky left eye. But, here it is again. Inspiration for her was rugby, believe it or not. I love her haircolor, but hairstyle is out of place. I am not into sports, but do rugby players have a hairstyle like this, like two pigtails? Weird. Her makeup is nice, but I am not sure about that green line that goes above her eyes, again weird looking. I am sorry for saying this, but this fashion might be one of the worst I have ever seen. That length of the pants never look good in person + she has short heels and Poppy feet. Pants has lace details on the front, for some reason I am expecting that her pants drop any second. Her jacket has ripped off sleeves details. Not sure what the bag is representing. The shoes has details seen on the rugby ball. What I would do different: beyond salvageable. I will definitely not be preordering this one.
Adrenaline Rush Dominique - Intro: If you missed on convention ticket, like I did, the only way you could get a doll at retail is getting NuFace event ticket. That event includes one NuFace doll as a gift and a right to buy a centerpiece of that event (when con was held in person you used to get a lunch, too). Me, and over a 2k other members, got the ticket. Reason? Gift dolls used to be very beautiful at these events, I will name a few: Public Adoration Eden, Sneak Peek Eden, Out of Sight Nadja (Evening Siren Ayumi, I think, but you got the point). So, it was a no brainer for me. When you say NuFace event you could imagine there will be a nice atmosphere, a chat with the designer of the line, inspiration behind the designs, reveal of future directions for the collection, fun and interesting stories about the creation of the dolls, and such. Instead, we got a full room of designers (I do not want to hear about Poppy on a NuFace event, or any other character/line as a matter of fact), where most of them looked tired and grumpy (except Mark and Chris), they analyzed the behavior of the members and they said some things I personally didn't like (but I will not dwelve on that here). On top of all of that, we got this Dom. I feel kind of tricked as although designers mentioned that they do not design "ugly" doll on purpose, they do know which sculpts and looks are desirable, so risking this much with a give away doll is a bit disrespectable.
Review: While Impossibly Beautiful screening is my favorite screening for Dom, it looks very unattractive here, and the reason for that might be unnatural eyes color and that stark white line above the eyes. Flocked/shaved hair adds sharpness to the look, and you get a doll very few people like. Her outfit is inspired by motocross (hope I wrote this right, you can tell my enthusiasm for sports). The top is kind of OK, but I do not see the point of the cut-outs on the pants. Shoes are actually nice. She has no accessories aside earrings! Now, come on, even dolls from basic line had sunglasses, ring, bracelet, or something. In my mind, she is an action figure (Star Track) and only needs a high-tech sword or a gun. Hell, I would even like that, just something to justify the price. What I would do differently: make a skirt out of pants and add a jacket. I am getting her unfortunately as nobody wants her...
To sum up, we got three sculpts we already got this year with the same screenings, I bet savings are great for IT, and that would be great if the prices remained the same... Regarding design, I think this collection is just a tad better than Counter Couture Jessy designed a few years back, or at the same level. I get it maybe Jessy got a task to design Barbie in Sports line, but even if the theme was sport, the designs could have been more cohesive, less literal interpretation and more details inspired by sports. On a scale of 1-5 I would give a 2.5
A note to IT: when you decrease number of dolls in a collection you increase the risk that some of them or most of them are not to the likings of collectors, when we had 6 dolls collections designers had more space to make a mistake. I am sure designers are under a great stress, just like we collectors are.