Key Pieces Elyse Jolie

It seems like forever that I waited for this one to show up.  The minute I saw her in the mainline reveal, I just knew she would be a permanent resident here.  She arrived last week, and I really do love her!  She is Key Pieces Elyse Jolie.  Here she is presented in the box:

And a closeup of that lovely face with the "barely there" makeup:

I've truly grown tired of black and white clothing, so I really welcomed the use of color.   This was a "mini giftset"; however, I think it is better than the J'Adore La Fete Elyse Jolie I received earlier this year.  A silly complaint is that I wish it had been received when there was warmer weather.  To me, this is a "spring/summer" giftset with such lovely pastel colors while the J'Adore La Fete giftset is more winter-like and it was received this summer.

Integrity was very generous with the accessories - there are two pair of shoes, hose for the lingerie, and a very nice purse.  She comes with an extra set of hands and a pair of sunglasses.  The jewelry consists of earrings, a very nice style of necklace, bracelet, and ring.

I'm not sure how I feel about the hair - the "rolled piece that is tied" is cut shorter than the rest of her hair.  It's sort of weird and doesn't make a lot of sense.  Oddly, my doll's ears weren't pierced.   I like the eyes.  I didn't think I would care for the uneven hem design of the skirt, but I'm okay with it.  She is standing on her own in this photo.  The shoes are a cool design but are difficult to get on.  (The earrings and bracelet were borrowed from Hot Dots Poppy Parker.)

Here is a closeup in the suit.

I am very impressed by this evening dress.  It's so "frothy" it reminds me of one of those sugar desserts.  I can't believe those seamstresses who can't sew a hemline (don't get me started) created this.  It's amazing in its construction.

And another closeup.

My favorite part of the giftset is the lingerie.  I love how feminine this looks.  It reminds me of some of the earlier FR lingerie.  (These are not the hose that came with the giftset.  I wanted something more cream like the lingerie.  I loved the little lace detail at the top!)

Closer ....

Closer ....

I think I really love this doll.  She's quite special.  As much as I love Key Pieces Elyse and the giftset clothing, I think the designers need to think about skin tone (complexion) when making fabric choices.  I believe the peach/coral lingerie would look better on a different skin tone ... like maybe Nocturnal Glow Veronique ...

The little tweed jacket is going to work with so many ensembles.  Blue Burkhart models it with Faded Desert Kyori's ensemble.

The real proof in a doll's stamina in my collection is how she redresses.   Here is Key Pieces Elyse wearing Time and Again Adele's suit.

I don't think she'll be going anywhere ... What a gorgeous doll.  Had I received her prior to the convention, I daresay I wouldn't have purchased so many dolls.  This girl is just about as close to perfection as they come.  I wonder where she'll land on my countdown!

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.