Maléfique Elyse Jolie - 2018 - Doll 2

Although this doll was purchased in 2017, I am just getting around to deboxing her.   (Because she was purchased and listed as a 2017 doll, she will not appear on my 2018 sidebar list.)

I purchased Malefique Elyse Jolie by accident; I put in a ridiculously low bid on her and, surprisingly, won!   One of the cheapest convention dolls I've ever purchased on secondary market.   Now that I've spent time with her, I'm not sure why she isn't more popular.  She's quite extraordinary in hand.

I think I bid on Malefique because I was feeling left out of the recent fervor over the Jason Wu 10th Anniversary Exclusive dolls.   The exclusives were grabbed up immediately at times earlier than the advertised release period - which isn't fair but happens often.  Many of the purchasers/scalpers bought them with the express purpose of making money on them which is something I detest.   So, I have sat this whole mess out.

Maléfique Elyse Jolie was the Convention Exclusive given to attendees at the banquet, the last night of the 2017 Integrity Toys Fairytale Convention.  She represents Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Here is a closeup.  Yes, she has purple streaks in her hair.  At first, I wasn't sure about this, but they aren't as obvious as I expected.

The accessories are one of the selling points for this doll.  The shoes are amazing!  They have red soles.  There is a tiny zipper in the back which means there are no ties nor buckles to fool with.  They weren't too difficult to put on either.  The jewelry is everything!  I love the enameling!

Here is a photo out of the box.

The dress is beautifully made.  How about with the veil?

Now, that's an evil queen if ever I've seen one!

I really am quite impressed with this doll.  One of the reasons that nudged me into deboxing Malefique was that I've been waiting to see if anyone would pair the shrug from Vanity & Glamour Nadja Rhymes with Malefique's dress.

Now, that is delicious!   I believe the shrug makes all the difference in the world.  I immediately see Scarlet O'Hara.   Just look at those green eyes.  I'm not sure how Rhett would've felt about the purple streaks in the hair, but I bet he wouldn't have given a damn.

I believe one of the reasons Malefique is not so popular is there has been some comparisons between Malefique and the 2013 Convention Elyse, Midnight Star.  Midnight Star has always been one of my favorite IT dolls ever produced.  Here is a photo of the two together.

It's hard to believe, but I think Malefique holds her own against Midnight Star.  Dare I say, I may even prefer Malefique's faceup.

Another comparison is with Malefique's gown to the gown of 2010 Convention Dark Romance Giselle Diefendorf.

The gowns may be similar but they are very different.  Dark Romance seems to have shirring and a beaded bodice.  There is also a very high split in the skirt.  Malefique has those petals similar to the shrug.  There is also "splotches" of netting between them to give added texture and interest.  Again, I can't believe it, but I prefer the Malefique gown.  (It doesn't hurt that it actually fits the FR2/Nuface2 body.)

I believe Malefique Elyse Jolie will climb in desirability when more collectors start deboxing and redressing her.  I think she is quite amazing.

The Tale of Rumpelstiltskin ...

Once upon a time there was doll who almost didn't make it to the Integrity Toys (IT) Convention.  The doll's designer, Jessy Ayala, had created a hair design so intricate that it took production workers more than two hours to recreate it.  Similar to the real story of Rumpelstiltskin, one individual stepped up who could obviously turn straw into gold in about an hour, thus saving the day.

Most of my followers know that I usually like to open dolls with a "countdown"; starting with my least favorite and building dramatically to my most favorite.  This isn't the case for the IT Fairytale Convention.  On the first day of the convention, all of the convention collection and salesroom dolls were announced.  There was one standout from the entire collection in my eyes, 24K Erin Salston.  I immediately purchased this doll at a very good price from a convention attendee.

Here she is in her box.

Many believe that 24K Erin Salston represents Rumpelstiltskin, but I think she is the miller's daughter from the fairytale.  Here is a closeup.

In the fairytale, a miller boasts to the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold.  This relates to the fact that the daughter has beautiful blonde hair that looks like gold when it catches the sunlight.  The king locks the daughter in a dungeon room filled with straw and threatens to cut off her head if she doesn't turn the straw into gold.  She is rescued by an imp who trades his talent for her necklace.  The next night, the king locks the daughter into an even bigger room filled with even more straw.  This time the imp trades his skill for the daughter's ring.

Here are the accessories.  It appears the designer knows the story well as the jewelry consists of a necklace and a ring.

The ring is a little big on her finger, so another collector shared a trick for keeping rings on fingers.  You take a small clear rubber band (often used in packaging dolls and accessories) and slip knot it through the ring shank.  Then you take the other end and bring it around the hand tab before putting the hand back into the arm. By putting the rubber band on the palm side, it doesn't show in most photos.  Neat trick, huh?

The third night, the king promises to marry the daughter if she can repeat this feat a final time.  Having no jewelry to trade with the imp, she makes a deal to give him her first born child.

Here is a photo of the dressed doll standing next to the coat.

After the king marries the daughter they eventually have a child.  When the imp appears to take the child, the girl doesn't want to give her up and is so overwrought with sorrow that the imp feels sorry for her.  He gives her the chance to keep the child if the queen can say his name out loud.  She has three days and three tries each day.

There are different versions of the story here ... some versions have the queen sending someone out to try and discover the imp's name, another version has the queen sneaking out of the castle at night and finding the imp celebrating before a bonfire.  He is so joyous that he will be getting the child that he inadvertently mentions his own name.  

If the designer was using the version of the fairytale where the queen sneaks out, that would explain the coat and boots, as well as the stars and moons on the bodysuit.  This ensemble would represent what the queen wears when she sneaks out of the castle at night to find the imp.  This coat is a true miniature piece of fashion art.  

When the imp arrives the next night to claim the baby, the queen says his name "Rumpelstiltskin".  The imp gets very angry, stomps his foot so hard that it sinks into earth, and pulls himself into pieces trying to get his foot unstuck.  (In some versions, he flies out of the castle window.)

The body suit 24K Erin Salston wears is just amazing.  The pants are a velvet like texture.  This doll, from head to toe is just perfection.  The modern interpretation of Rumpelstiltskin is spot on.

Way to go Integrity Toys!  One of the best Fairytale dolls I've ever seen in my life and a must have for an IT collector.  Her price has been rising consistently; I believe we have a true grail on our hands.

The only thing I would've liked to see would've been some sort of fur head covering.  But that would've hidden the detail of the hairstyle, so I understand the choice to not include one.

Whether Rumpelstiltskin or the miller's daughter, 24K Erin Salston was definitely the golden doll of the entire collection in my opinion.

Oh no! Not A Tulabelle!

One of my "Guidelines for Collecting" is that I not add any more lines to what I am collecting.  I have been very careful to stay away from "The Industry" line for fear of having to buy separate clothing for those dolls.

When I reviewed the Style Lab from the Integrity Toys Fairytale Convention, I wrote that my favorite doll from this line was the AA Tulabelle.  Leandro offered this doll for sell, and when I inquired about her, he said he could ship her for free inside Erin's box.  I caved ...

The good news is that The Industry body can wear a great deal of the clothing I already have here.  That is very exciting!  The better Mattel and Silkstone clothing fits, as does some of the Dynamite Girl, NuFace, and Poppy Parker clothing.

Here is AA Tulabelle wearing the Hudson Bay Barbie ensemble with the little dog!

And here is a closeup.

I REALLY LOVE this doll's faceup and hair.  This doll is gorgeous in person and she is still selling on secondary market at prices the fraction of the other Fairytale dolls.  I believe she is going to be the "sleeper hit" of this year's collection.

Girls around here tend to get casual quickly.  She looks very nice in this older FR sweater.

I can't wait for more photo opportunities with her!

Through the Eyes of a Spectator

I wasn't sure about the "Fairytale" theme of the 2017 Integrity Convention.  After all, those among us who have been collecting for any length of time have seen this one done to death - just about every doll designer has produced one version or more.

The Style Lab opened early Friday morning.  Integrity Toys (IT) opted this year to return to the old way of letting collectors in according to their place when they line up in the morning.  (In the past couple years, collectors were assigned a random "cue number" that decided when they got to enter the lab.)

The Style Lab has gone through several changes over the years.  It originally supported the "Dynamite Girls" line, moved to "Color Infusion" in 2012, and has now progressed to "The Industry". Collectors purchase nude dolls and can choose among different ensembles sold a la carte.  The theme this year was an amalgamation of the movie cult classic "Clueless" with the Lewis Carroll fairytales Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.  I can think of nothing more original than pairing these two storylines.

All photos are the property of Integrity Toys and are provided for informational purposes only.

First up, we have Alice.  This is Tulabelle True wearing "I'm Curious".

Merging the Lewis Carroll storyline with Clueless was definitely a challenge for creating the Alice character.  Although I love the modern interpretation (and the doll's face-up is gorgeous), there is really nothing here that says "Alice in Wonderland" to me; it is very dark and sinister which may support the story more than the Alice character herself.  I think the ensemble is extremely well made and I wouldn't mind having it in my collection; however, Alice is always portrayed as very innocent, wearing multiple layers of petticoats and an apron.  I guess IT was trying to be careful to stay away their earlier interpretation with 2010's IFDC Convention Companion Doll, "Curiouser and Curiouser Alice" worn by Dynamite Girl Gavin.

We also got Tulabelle True in African American skin tone wearing "Who Are You" as the caterpillar.

My favorite nude doll of the collection. but the ensemble is just way over the top.  This concept is quite fascinating.  The doll, though, remains one of the very best from the entire convention.

Next up is Binx Barone as the Queen of Hearts.  The ensemble is called "Heartache".

She is wearing what looks like a sandwich board fuzzy heart which is actually a faux fur coat.   I appreciate the broken heart bustier and wouldn't mind having this piece in my dolls' closet.  The pants are very similar to a DG pair used in the Style Lab several years ago.  Although very modern and edgy, I'm not a fan of this interpretation of The Queen of Hearts.  However, I LOVE the Tatyana "Checkmate" version from 2010.

Liu Liu Lang showed up as the Rabbit, wearing "Just A Second".

I do love the mask!!  Again, I think it is unfortunate IT has already produced a better version of this character with "Red Rabbit Misaki" from 2008.  (Liu Liu does remind me of Quicksilver Kyori Sato, who is one of my very favorite IT dolls.)

Something that was very exciting for collectors was that Poppy Parker made an appearance in the Style Lab this year.   Her first character is The White Queen wearing "Your Move".

This is obviously the character "Sher".   I always considered the 2008 Misaki Pure Evil IT's interpretation of the The White Queen (since she came with "Red Rabbit") and think the Misaki version is superior.

The second character portrayed by Poppy was one of the Tweedle Twins (not sure which is which and am not sure how I feel about them being fraternal).   She is wearing "Clueless".

I really like both the doll and the ensemble.  From the collection, this is my favorite combination.

The other Tweedle Twin seems to be an homme character, Milo Montez, wearing "Dim the Lights."

The same fabrics are used and both have the black striped accessories.  I think the twins are the best of the concepts here and I am sorely tempted to add them to my collection wearing these exact ensembles!  The designers really got this set right!

The last three characters were also male dolls.  Going left to right, we have Tate Tanaka as the Mad Hatter wearing "Completely Mad",  Cabot Clark as the Knave of Hearts wearing "Lover Boy", and Daley Daniels as the Cheshire Cat wearing "Not All There".

There were also two accessory packs.  One for the ladies called "Eat Me" and one for the gents called "Totally Bonkers."

I really appreciate the fact that designers were being mindful to stay away from "costumes".  I like the fabrics chosen and the design ideas a great deal.  It was weird combining the themes, but I guess it's like the characters from Clueless decided to put on a play of Lewis Carroll's books but read the Cliff Notes version and decided to use clothing from their closets??

As a collector, had I been attending, I wouldn't have been disappointed in the least.  The entire collection is quite cohesive and well made.  The screenings are great and there are many mix and match possibilities with clothing.  Had I been there, I would've unfortunately been pulled into collecting The Industry line.

It has been reported that The Industry clothing can be shared with the NuFace dolls to a point; however, the shoes will not fit.  Personally, I don't have any Industry dolls or clothing.  I no longer collect hommes, so that temptation no longer exists.  Although I really like both Poppy Parker versions, I passed at this time.  Fortunately, I was able to walk away from this performance financially unscathed.