Customer Reviews

Barbie Collector Ethereal Princess Barbie Doll

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Barbie, especially Princess Barbies, and I was very excited when this one arrived in the mail. However, I was surprised to find that she does not look like the Barbie in the picture; her eye make-up is fairly harsh, her crown is much larger and not at all delicate, and the bodice of her gown is not form-fitting. She's not "soft" in appearance like I expected her to be. The quality of the gown and the doll in general are very good, but I would recommend seeing this doll in person before you purchase her because her appearance really did come as quite a shock to me.

I, also, was a bit surprised this doll didn't look more like the photos here. As stated previously, the gown was ill-fitted through the bodice, and the doll's hair was totally straight. I wound up moving the snaps on the back of her gown to make it fit more as it should, and as often I find is the case with a new Barbie, collector or otherwise, I did have to redo her hair. That can be somewhat time consuming but fairly easily done with foil-wrapped pipe cleaners and a careful 10 to 15 second's application of heat; say, a curling iron at low setting. Leaving the hair wrapped around the foil/pipe cleaners until cool (or over night) resets the curl. It's worth the effort, as this doll, as well as the 'Golden Angel' Barbie are both just beautiful!

I love Barbies. I've collected them since I was little. What drew me to Ethereal was the photo of her, but I was disappointed when the package arrived and she didn't look *anything* like the doll in the photo (as other users have indicated, as well). I have to say the seller lovingly shipped the doll with extreme care. The box was wrapped in bright pink tissue paper, cushioned with a plethora of pink peanuts, and shipped in a sturdy box. I appreciated all of those extra-care steps.

Here's my detailed breakdown of what you're going to get if you order her. The best advice I can offer is to do a Google Image search for the doll, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Hold the photo released by Mattel (as shown on the product site here on Amazon) against the user photos. Mattel took some very artistic liberties with her for the shoot. I am not one to be able to spend $57 on a doll and not get what I paid for, and I am still debating whether or not to return her and purchase a different doll instead. If you're still pleased by my description after reading it, by all means buy away:

Hair: In the picture, her hair falls in voluptuous curls. The doll actually has straight hair (maybe slightly wavy) with two long, thin, stiff strands curled down the sides of her face and sewn (yes, sewn) to the top of the bodice of her gown.

Crown: Her crown is not the small, dainty one you see in pictures. It's large, points up high, and is made of huge, cheap, clear plastic "gems".

Body and makeup: She has a realllllly long neck. Her makeup is drastic, as others have commented. She has thick, black, Cleopatra-esque eyeliner around the top and bottom lid. The eyeshadow is I'm-going-to-the-club metallic silver and glittery, her lip is somewhat nude.

Gown, from top to bottom: Sigh. The gown, to me, is the most important part. I was attracted to the flowing, glowing, soft edges of the image on the product site. What you get is completely different, and not soft-looking at all. It looks like a medieval Easter dress.

The gown itself is a bright sky-blue color, and all around the skirt are a funny brownish-stemmed tulip-type flower starting from the bottom hem and extending all about halfway up the skirt. It's a stretchy polyester-spandex-workout-pants material.

The fabric hanging down from the top of the sleeves is not the white, gauzy fabric you see in the pictures. The back of it is the same fabric as the dress, and the underside is a silver metallic fabric, and has the same pattern that you'd see on a disco ball. The petticoat that partially shows through the front is made of the same fabric. The sewing craftsmanship was poor. The fold over of the top skirt to reveal the petticoat underneath at the front of the doll was poorly done, and on my doll you can visibly see a piece of the fold-over hanging down and the stitches from where it was sewn crooked are showing.

They tried to capture the medieval bunched-bodice look, but they sewed the strings on instead of tying them, and put too much fabric into the folds, so the bodice sags loosely about the waist and bust, giving the appearance of being top-heavy. But, you can't adjust it or tighten the strings because, again, they sewed them on.

Still not sure if it's worth the money. It's just too different than what I was expecting...

That was a perfect birthday gift for my little princess, I recommend this doll, great futuristic look...