Kelsey

Kelsey's Review

I decided to do this blog after I bought my first couple of dolls.   These first few reviews will be missing some things that will be in later reviews.  Namely there will be no "box opening", because the girls are already out of their boxes.  Also in this review, my Kelsey doll has a few "cosmetic enhancements" that I gave her.  I'll explain that later in the review.

Let's meet Kelsey!

According to the Toys R Us website, "Kelsey is always looking for a new adventure and loves to gather the other Journey Girls to join her!  As the most fearless of the friends, she'll try anything from kayaking to rock climbing to zip-lining.  When the other girls aren't around, Kelsey is more than happy to grab her backpack and hiking boots and set out for a journey all her own!"

I love her bright green eyes and beautiful auburn hair.  Kelsey's "meet" outfit is jeans, a white t-shirt with the Eiffel Tower on it, a "tweed" jacket, a brown ribbon for her hair, brown flats, and a bag with the Eiffel Tower printed on it.  The outfit is cute on her, but is not one of my favorites.

Kelsey in her original outfit.

The reason for Kelsey's cosmetic enhancement

Kelsey with her bag

When I took Kelsey out of her original outfit and went to put her in a different outfit, I noticed small spots on her arms.  Some of them were brownish in color (like in the above photos) while others had a purplish hue.  Some information I found said that the spots would come off (they did not).  There was information that said the marks were from the dye in Kelsey's clothes (maybe).  One source that had talked to Toys R Us said that there was some bad vinyl that made it into a lot.  This discolored vinyl was actually in the doll and therefore could not be "washed out".   This seemed to be the case with my doll.  So instead of returning her (I hate returning them…I try to pick the one out I like the most in the store) I decided to give her freckles.   And I love them!!!

Kelsey with her freckles

 As I mentioned in my first post, the Journey Girls have rooted hair.  I like the rooted hair look.  I wish it was a bit thicker, but I like the look of it.  You can see in this photo that at times you can see Kelsey's scalp if her hair isn't in the right position.  Her hair does get full of static when she's played with, but is easy to comb out with a little water.  Kelsey's hair is pretty easy to keep tangle free.   The ends (where there is a little bit of curl) can get tangles, but if you use a doll brush (Walmart sells them in the doll section for about $3) and a little water the tangles seem to come out pretty easy.

Kelsey without her jacket

Kelsey with her arms out all the way.

Notice that Kelsey's left arm does not seem to go as high as the right one.  This is as high as either arm will go when you are trying to raise them straight out to her side.

Kelsey with her arms raised

This is with Kelsey's arms raised up as high as they can be and out to the side as much as they can be.  Her arms can also go right against her head.  I wanted to show the flexibility of the dolls joints.

Kelsey sitting

One of the main things that I dislike about most 18" dolls is the way they sit…spread eagle!  The Journey Girls are the same as every other doll.  The nice thing is that because of the soft lower body their legs do move closer together, but the doll can't really sit that way.  So this is the way Kelsey sits.

 FYI - Naked doll photos

You can see in the above photo that Kelsey's body is made up of a breastplate and then a soft torso.  I love the vinyl breastplate.  It makes for a better look when she wears dresses.  Plus it still gives a soft body if a little girl wants to sleep with her favorite doll.  The soft body makes it so that the legs can move a little more than just forward and back.  It also causes some issues, mainly it is a little floppy.  Kelsey's body is especially loose.  Her tummy is not stuffed very much, making it more of a challenge to stand her at times.

Another shot of Kelsey's pretty eyes and her cute freckles.

She even has freckles on her arms and shoulders.

The marks that were on Kelsey I changed into freckles and then added freckles to her face and shoulders. I did this by using "Bic Mark it, Permanent Markers".  I used the "woodsy brown" and then colored over it with "tiki hut tan".  This lightened the brown and made the color a little uneven.  I think it gave it a more natural look.  I then took some baking soda and water and washed all of the freckles.  This lightened them a little more, making them blend into Kelsey's skin.  I have to tell you…I was really nervous to do this.  I am so glad I did though.  I love the way Kelsey looks with her freckles!

I added a little nail polish to her toes.  I wasn't brave enough to do her fingers.

The Journey Girl tag is kind of large.

 I am a bit annoyed by the Journey Girl tag.  It can be in the way when you are dressing Kelsey.  And it's super huge!  I'm tempted to cut it off…but it's important to have on the doll.  So it stays.  It is in a place that it can usually tuck into the shirt/blouse easily.

Geoffrey LLC is stamped in the back of every Journey Girls neck.

As I mentioned before I am not super excited about Kelsey's outfit, but it is very useful.  It has a lot of great components that can be used with other outfits.  The jeans are very nice.  I wish they had real pockets rather than sewn in ones, but they are still cute.   The shoes and headband are great universal pieces that can go with a multitude of other outfits.  The bag is great for shopping or carrying books.  I'm sure I will use it in some of Kelsey's adventures.  I don't love the jacket…but I don't hate it either.  I would like to see a bit more color in Kelsey's outfit.  However this does somewhat fit her profile.  I can see her walking around Paris in this outfit, taking in all of the sights.

Kelsey's jacket.  Notice the fabric around the neck line.  This is also at the end of the sleeves.  I am not sure if it serves a purpose or is just decorative.

Kelsey's shirt has the dreaded Velcro up the back.  With her long hair it is difficult to but the shirt together without getting hair stuck in the Velcro, unless you turn her head around.

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 7  - Although she is pretty flexible, Kelsey has a hard time getting into lots of different    poses.  For most this will not be a big deal.  She also hard to get to stand sometimes.   Once you get her up, she stays, but finding that balance can be frustrating (especially for a little girl).

Quality - 8  - The vinyl on Kelsey seems to be of good quality.  Even though there were some blemishes, over all it looks very good.  The vinyl seems to be staying very soft and has not shown any wearing from oil on the skin.  The cloth body is the weak point.  It is not stuffed very well and the stitching is not great.  There is no worry of it coming loose, it's just not great.  With the stuffing not being as firm as it could be Kelsey is prone to wiggle more when you try to stand her.

Adorableness - 9 - Kelsey is beautiful!  I like the fact that her eyes don't close.  I think that her eyes are very pretty (maybe a little light).   It is wonderful that she has "real" eyelashes.  Her hair, though thin in places, is very manageable and can be styled easily.  I love the face sculpt of the Journey Girl dolls.  I didn't give Kelsey a 10 because of the issues with the vinyl discoloration and the fact that she isn't stuffed as well as she could be.

Compatibility - 6 - Since the Journey Girls are made for Toys R Us exclusively the dolls are a little bit
different sized than other 18" dolls.  However most accessories and clothes are compatible.  Dresses from American Girl and Our Generation lines fit, but are a little loose around the waist.  Pants and shirts from these too lines are too large.   Shoes from American Girl seem to fit fine, but the Our Generation shoes are a little tight.  All of the accessories, such as scooters, horses, pets, etc., fit great with the Journey Girls.  Kelsey definitely looks better in the Journey Girl clothes though.    Look for future reviews of the different outfits.

Overall Score - 8 - Kelsey is a wonderful doll, especially for the price.  Her face is cute, her eyes are pretty, she has good movement in her joints, her hair is good quality, and she looks really cute in a lot of different outfits.  As mentioned there are a few issues with her. Kelsey is a great doll overall though.