2017 - The Year of Gigi

I've been collecting Integrity dolls for over a decade now, but I still find myself making mistakes in choosing which dolls to add to my collection.

When the 2016 NuFace Collection, Reckless, was advertised I decided to skip AKA Gigi Giselle Diefendorf.  I already owned Glam Addict from 2012 which is one of my favorite versions of this mold.  I reasoned that Glam Addict was so much like AKA Gigi that I didn't need both. 

Months went by and I had put AKA Gigi completely out of my mind.  Then, this spring, IRL photos started being posted.  I kept telling myself that I didn't care for the ensemble.  When another collector posted photos of the braids in her hair, I did a double take.  Of course, by that time, there were none left at retail and the secondary market prices were just too high.

In October, a retailer listed one for sale at almost $50 more than the original price.  It has become a disturbing practice that many dealers are beginning to mark up dolls above the suggested retail price.  I've even read where dealers are canceling orders on collectors and then are found selling dolls on e-bay.  I'm not sure how to think about this practice.  I wonder why IT isn't monitoring this practice, but, then again, there is one seller on e-bay who has been doing this for years.

Here is a photo of AKA Gigi full length in her box.

IT should be giving a nice Christmas bonus to Jessy Ayala.  He really has brought the Nuface line to the front of collections.  Unfortunately, there was a "film" of glue over my doll's right eye.  This is exasperating since I paid more than retail from a dealer.

I always hate finding a  problem with a new doll.  It means I have to contact Customer Service, warm up a heating pad and remove the head, mail the head to Canada, and wait months for a replacement from China.  It sucks the joy right out of buying a new doll.  I decided to go online and look for another (with the intention of selling the replacement when it arrives).

Someone was selling one nude for a reasonable price which had a perfect screening.  As a collector, I have actually paid more on secondary market for a doll with perfect screening - since IT dolls are finished by hand there are many opportunities for mistakes and many differences can be found within one version of a doll.  Here are the accessories:

Just look at all these accessories:  extra set of hands, beret, cute little quilted purse, two rings, fresh interpretation of earrings, necklace, socks, and yellow spike heels.  That's a lot of loot!

I had to undress the original doll to put the ensemble on my replacement.  (You will immediately see the difference in the screening - I LOVE the one I purchased nude online.  Her screening is perfect!)  The green blouse is actually a bodysuit!

Here is a full length version of AKA Gigi dressed in stock.

And a closeup.

The "proof in the pudding" for any doll is how it looks redressed.

... Apparently, I totally missed the mark by passing up AKA Gigi Giselle Diefendorf.  This doll has one of the most beautiful faces ever created for this mold.  I love the hair with the two little braids.  I actually prefer her over Glam Addict.

This year there have been five Giselle versions produced by IT (two of which were advertised in 2016).  I have already reviewed Majesty, Feeling Wild, and Sister Moguls.  The fifth was the Convention doll, Wanderlust.  Each of these versions is very beautiful in its own right, but I believe AKA Gigi is extraordinary!