SOLD - Charmed Life Ayumi Nakamura

(NOTE:  I sold this doll nude in June 2021)  

This is one of those odd, but surprisingly not uncommon, times when a collector has a doll delivered in one year that was actually paid for in a previous year.   I do not like including dolls in either my sidebar list of "Added Dolls" or my annual countdown that I don't actually have in hand, so she is showing up in my 2021 list.

Charmed Life Ayumi Nakamura (mold 3.0) was the W Club Event Doll from the 2020 Integrity Toys (IT) Legendary Convention.  Since the Legendary Convention was held in a virtual platform, all W Club members were given the opportunity to purchase the luncheon ticket ($145) which included Charmed Life Ayumi Nakamura and the opportunity to pre-order Wicked Narcissism Eugenia Frost.   (In the past I always felt like the doll's value was closer to $125 since you were getting a meal.  Has anyone else figured out that IT was making solid profit on this convention since they were not paying staff travel, hotel, or food and were not including actual meals and space rental for the events?  Wonder why the prices didn't reflect a discount?   Just a personal musing ...)

Although the Legendary Convention was in early November, these dolls did not begin shipping until early January.   Here she is in the box.

As you can see, my doll had crooked bangs.  (Sadly, the lack of consistent quality control has become commonplace with IT.)  This doll's faceup has the top lip painted a different color than the bottom. I'm not really a fan of this technique.

I took a deep breath, some cuticle scissors (the best way to trim a doll's hair because you have more control and can only do a little at a time), put on my magnification goggles, and went to work.  Here she is out of box.

Here is the IT stock photo of the accessories.  The boots are nice.  I appreciated the cap and black gloves.  The charm necklace mirrors the doll's name, Charmed Life, which is a cute touch.

During the IT W Club Event, the designer, Jessy Ayala, reported that this doll was based on the 2007 version of Ayumi Nakamura (mold 1.0) Miracle Child.  Here is the IT photo of that doll.

I thought the dress looked more like the 2006 Fashion Royalty separate ensemble, Guaranteed Chic.

The dress is a little short for my liking.  It does have a built-in bodysuit.  With the hat and gloves, it comes across a little "costumey".  I tried adding the black slip from Guaranteed Chic.

I'm still not sold on the dress.

I'm also not a fan of the hairstyle (hime bangs on a doll = no ... just "no").  This doll has been compared to band member Lisa of the popular girls group, Blackpink.  Although this may be on trend, I really don't care for it.  

In my doll world, it's how the doll redresses that counts.  Since she has golden yellow eyeshadow, I reached for Elyse Jolie's On The Rise dress.

Not bad.  Then, I tried putting her in Glam Addict Giselle Diefendorf's ensemble with Live, Work, Play Giselle's jewelry.  

This is much better, don't you agree?  

I don't think I would've pursued purchasing this doll had she not been the "gift" doll with the purchase of the W Club Event.  I was excited about the hair color, but the style is just too difficult to work with.  I've really struggled with the Ayumi Nakamura mold and believe 2016's Total Betty

and 2017's Haungtingly Lovely

are still better versions of this mold.

I have decided that I need to ask myself two questions when deciding the fate of a new doll:

1) Does this release rank in the top 3 versions of this mold/character?  Actually, I guess she does.  She would be my third favorite.

2) Would it be possible for this doll to make my Top 10 Countdown at the end of the year?  I hope not.  It wouldn't be a great year for collectors if Charmed Child Ayumi Nakamura is one of the best dolls received in 2021.

So, that is a split decision.  She will probably wind up either being sold or parted out.  (NOTE:  She was "parted out" and sold nude.  I just couldn't bond with this doll; she doesn't represent my aesthetic.)