Best of 2015 - Number 10

I must start by explaining that my countdown is my personal taste and only includes dolls from lines that I collect.  There may be collectors out there who disagree with my choices and that's great because individual tastes are what makes this hobby so much fun.

I also must add that this year's selection was probably the hardest I've ever had to do.  There were a lot of amazing dolls this year.   Over 120 dolls were either released or announced for release by Integrity Toys.

I plan to start things off with a doll that surprised even me.  I have been known to have dolls tweaked here and there because I can be very OCD.   Small things can throw a doll off for me.  Well … this doll has a serious problem - her head is a different color from her body.  (Integrity Toys knows this and has offered buyers the opportunity to return the doll for refund.)

Not only is her head a different color from her body, I've not been able to find a body donor that will match the head exactly.  I'm holding out hope that some day one will be produced and my doll will be total perfection.  Until then, there's still no denying how beautiful this doll actually is.

Love Roulette Vanessa Perrin (mold 2.0) was part of the Integrity Toys Basic Edition (ITBE) line from early in 2015.  She was available for purchase through a W Club lottery.  At first her secondary market price skyrocketed, but when collectors started complaining about the head/body skin tone issue, the prices came down quickly.  I actually got this doll on secondary market at her original price.

She was produced wearing red lingerie including a corset.   (All the dolls in this line were variations of lingerie).  What an incredible face up!

Even with the skin tone issue, this doll photographs beautifully.

Worthy of a spot on any Top  2015 list.  Just a sexy and breathtaking doll.  My Number 10 (and would've been higher with a perfect skin tone match!), Love Roulette Vanessa Perrin.

In Search of Perfection ...

As a doll collector, you come to realize that "perfection" is truly rare in production dolls.

Like everyone else, I have purchased a production doll even though I did not like the ensemble.  I have also purchased a production doll because I love the ensemble but dislike the doll.   I am now faced with a serious dilemma.  There is a production doll for which I don't like either the doll or the ensemble, but I need the body because it is a perfect tone match for several of my favorite dolls.  I just can't justify such an extravagance, but I know I have to bite the bullit if I am to up date some of my older dolls.

Last year I purchased Vivid Encounter Adele Makeda.

This doll was a serious sleeper for collectors.  The head is a little darker than the body.  Many liked the dress, but few liked the doll.  Thanks to another collector named Russell, I found out the body is a perfect match for Gold Glam Adele, who is a favorite of mine.

On with the heating pad and voila!  The dolls switched bodies.  Here is Gold Glam with her FR2 body.

Here is Vivid Encounter on her regular FR body with handspeak.  Surprisingly, I like this Vivid Encounter much better on this body.  Her head still is a little darker than her body, but she sort of pulls this looks off!

This brings me to a very recent purchase.  From the 2014 Integrity Convention, I bought several dolls but completely ignored Nocturnal Glow Veronique.  This doll truly suffered from poor execution.  The big bow is hideous.

Although I have since seen celebrities wearing similar versions of this dress, I still am not impressed with it.

But … there is something about that face.

Some collectors who are truly visionary recognized the potential in this doll.  A couple snips to remove the thread from the hair, pull out the pins, some brushing to remove the stiffness, and something a little less formal.

What were they thinking?  This is actually an amazing doll and probably my favorite Veronique mold 2.0 produced so far.