Corinne Doll and Meet Outfit
Jan 3, 2022 11:01:17 GMT -5
Post by bingandnelsonfan on Jan 3, 2022 11:01:17 GMT -5
Corinne Tan 18" Doll and Book - $110.00
Item code: HCM92
Personally, this is a dream doll for me! And she doesn't disappoint in real life. She's a new face mold according to AG, though I would personally consider her more of a modification of previous molds. More on that with comparison photos farther down in this review. She has light skin that seems like the 10-tone classic shade, though she almost feels like she has a tone of her own (a little less "peachiness" compared to Joss and current 10-tone CYO). Her eyes are the standard dark brown pinwheel, but they are 18mm, rather than the standard 16mm of other AG dolls. This means you cannot swap eyes with another AG doll.
As far as picking a doll out, I looked at every Corinne box in the Columbus store. Her face shape was very consistent. There aren't really huge differences of a "round" face and a "thin" face, as most of their other dolls have, though there's always a slight variety from doll to doll. Where the big variety was for Corinne was in the mouth paint. Yikes! A LOT of off-center or skimpy (only half the bottom lip had paint) mouth paint, so a heads-up there for anyone that's bothered by that. I'd say that a good two out of three, at least, had bad lip paint. The only other thing that seemed particularly noticeable was the fact that a number of the dolls had a slightly wider socket on the doll's left eye. This caused some of them to look like the doll's left eye was open wider than the right, which sometimes fouled the gaze (something I've noticed on a number of the newer revised Classic mold dolls, too). Eyebrow paint and wig line/glue were pretty consistent, and I didn't notice much difference there. (Her eyebrows are placed rather high, if that bothers you, and that was consistent with all dolls.)
Corinne's wig is a combination of black and turquoise hair. The black is the top layer of the wig, with the full underpart being solid turquoise. The fiber of the black hair is very typical of AG wigs and just what you expect. The colored fiber is the same type used in the wigs of TM #87, 88 and 90 (presumably the same fiber in the blue, purple and pink CYO wig options). This feels quite different from the usual wig fiber.
In the original meet hairstyle, the wig is quite cute. However, some of the styles shown in stock photos and store displays did not flatter the two-tone combination, creating a very harsh look. I think this is due to the solidness of the turquoise layer, and the fact that the black top layers are trimmed about 1/3 shorter than the lower colored hair. This causes a thinness in a lot of hairstyles where the wig is pulled up in any way.
Her meet outfit is actually much nicer in person than it looked in the stock photos.
SWEATER. Super cute! Knitted acrylic yarn. Very cute in style. Nice long hem length, and sleeves are perfect length (not too short, like in AG stock photos). Turtleneck (not MOCK turtleneck as described by AG) is folded down, but can't unfold, because of velcro in the back. Fit is very nice. Velcros up the back the full length of the knit. The sewn seams on the sleeves are not as thick and bulky as in stock photos. The knitting is nice, but the yarn is a bit thin, and you can see the color of the body and top half of the leggings through it. We put a white tank top under it, and the problem was solved. In fact, it's so cute, that we're going to keep at least two of them. Looks really good on the boy dolls, too. Oh, and even with the tee underneath, it's not skintight. Not baggy, just looks like your own very comfy sweater.
​
LEGGINGS. Super nice! Thicker leggings than AG's ever produced, I believe, but still nice and stretchy. Substantial amount of fabric. Nice and long, with a bit of extra length inside the boots. Tight enough that they imply leggings and not pants (think jeggings), but loose enough to move the doll's legs around and see a bit of a wrinkle. Since they're thicker, the thigh gap isn't as noticeable as, say, the leggings in Corinne's Casual Outfit. If you like the appearance, I think they add greatly to the value of the Meet Outfit. They have an iridescence and feel that reminds me of a quality bathing suit that you'd buy for yourself. It's NOT metallic thread, since these are very likely a nylon/spandex combo.
BOOTS. A modified version of the 2010 Snow Flurry Outfit boots, just shortened and re-colored to match Corinne's hair. The fur is thinner, but the fit is fine. They velcro up the back without having to force them closed. Black molded-plastic soles with the sliver-like flat heel that AG's been using for a while. They work very nicely under Corinne's Ski Suit.
Now, talking about her face mold -- it's definitely a modified Nanea with almond shaped eyes, rather than the very round-eyed look of Nanea. And Corinne's chin appears pointier by eliminating a bit of the "puffy cheek" of the Nanea mold. The size of her head is definitely much larger than Nanea, and the crown is rounder and filled out. I think the shape of the back of the head looks a lot like the old #4. In fact, I feel like this Corinne mold is a sort of combination of the new #4 being sent out by the AG doll hospital right now and Nanea. Personally, I think AG has gotten it really "right" here with the general head shape (crown area) and the jaw line. Some of the molds are lacking enough in the crown area to wear a lot of wigs correctly (causing bunching or wrinkles in the wig cap up there), but this doll has a great head shape. Here are some photos comparing Corinne and Nanea dolls wearing their original wigs and dewigged (this is a newer Nanea doll purchased in May 2021).
And as a final comparison here, I've taken a close-up of her face with the eye makeup as she comes . . .
. . . and then removed it in Photoshop​ to show what she would look like without the painted upper eyelashes. There is no corner or lower-lid paint like Nanea.
While we're at it, the wig took a bit of coaxing to remove but was certainly do-able with patience. The wig cap is a thinner, stretchier fabric than other AG wigs. Nothing bad about it, because it's nice and stretchy. But removal of this wig is probably not good if you're a beginner at it and want to preserve the wig for later use.
If you're thinking of buying this doll for customizing, she looks great in a variety of wigs. Here are a few examples -- starting with black hair and working to blonde.
TM #66
Monique "Doris" Black
AG Samantha
AG Saige
AG Lea
Nellie-style Knock Off
TM #27
Hope this helps everyone who doesn't have the option to see this doll in person at a store. This is certainly a beautiful doll, but seeing the one you're getting would definitely be a good idea when possible.
Item code: HCM92
Personally, this is a dream doll for me! And she doesn't disappoint in real life. She's a new face mold according to AG, though I would personally consider her more of a modification of previous molds. More on that with comparison photos farther down in this review. She has light skin that seems like the 10-tone classic shade, though she almost feels like she has a tone of her own (a little less "peachiness" compared to Joss and current 10-tone CYO). Her eyes are the standard dark brown pinwheel, but they are 18mm, rather than the standard 16mm of other AG dolls. This means you cannot swap eyes with another AG doll.
As far as picking a doll out, I looked at every Corinne box in the Columbus store. Her face shape was very consistent. There aren't really huge differences of a "round" face and a "thin" face, as most of their other dolls have, though there's always a slight variety from doll to doll. Where the big variety was for Corinne was in the mouth paint. Yikes! A LOT of off-center or skimpy (only half the bottom lip had paint) mouth paint, so a heads-up there for anyone that's bothered by that. I'd say that a good two out of three, at least, had bad lip paint. The only other thing that seemed particularly noticeable was the fact that a number of the dolls had a slightly wider socket on the doll's left eye. This caused some of them to look like the doll's left eye was open wider than the right, which sometimes fouled the gaze (something I've noticed on a number of the newer revised Classic mold dolls, too). Eyebrow paint and wig line/glue were pretty consistent, and I didn't notice much difference there. (Her eyebrows are placed rather high, if that bothers you, and that was consistent with all dolls.)
Corinne's wig is a combination of black and turquoise hair. The black is the top layer of the wig, with the full underpart being solid turquoise. The fiber of the black hair is very typical of AG wigs and just what you expect. The colored fiber is the same type used in the wigs of TM #87, 88 and 90 (presumably the same fiber in the blue, purple and pink CYO wig options). This feels quite different from the usual wig fiber.
In the original meet hairstyle, the wig is quite cute. However, some of the styles shown in stock photos and store displays did not flatter the two-tone combination, creating a very harsh look. I think this is due to the solidness of the turquoise layer, and the fact that the black top layers are trimmed about 1/3 shorter than the lower colored hair. This causes a thinness in a lot of hairstyles where the wig is pulled up in any way.
Her meet outfit is actually much nicer in person than it looked in the stock photos.
SWEATER. Super cute! Knitted acrylic yarn. Very cute in style. Nice long hem length, and sleeves are perfect length (not too short, like in AG stock photos). Turtleneck (not MOCK turtleneck as described by AG) is folded down, but can't unfold, because of velcro in the back. Fit is very nice. Velcros up the back the full length of the knit. The sewn seams on the sleeves are not as thick and bulky as in stock photos. The knitting is nice, but the yarn is a bit thin, and you can see the color of the body and top half of the leggings through it. We put a white tank top under it, and the problem was solved. In fact, it's so cute, that we're going to keep at least two of them. Looks really good on the boy dolls, too. Oh, and even with the tee underneath, it's not skintight. Not baggy, just looks like your own very comfy sweater.
​
LEGGINGS. Super nice! Thicker leggings than AG's ever produced, I believe, but still nice and stretchy. Substantial amount of fabric. Nice and long, with a bit of extra length inside the boots. Tight enough that they imply leggings and not pants (think jeggings), but loose enough to move the doll's legs around and see a bit of a wrinkle. Since they're thicker, the thigh gap isn't as noticeable as, say, the leggings in Corinne's Casual Outfit. If you like the appearance, I think they add greatly to the value of the Meet Outfit. They have an iridescence and feel that reminds me of a quality bathing suit that you'd buy for yourself. It's NOT metallic thread, since these are very likely a nylon/spandex combo.
BOOTS. A modified version of the 2010 Snow Flurry Outfit boots, just shortened and re-colored to match Corinne's hair. The fur is thinner, but the fit is fine. They velcro up the back without having to force them closed. Black molded-plastic soles with the sliver-like flat heel that AG's been using for a while. They work very nicely under Corinne's Ski Suit.
Now, talking about her face mold -- it's definitely a modified Nanea with almond shaped eyes, rather than the very round-eyed look of Nanea. And Corinne's chin appears pointier by eliminating a bit of the "puffy cheek" of the Nanea mold. The size of her head is definitely much larger than Nanea, and the crown is rounder and filled out. I think the shape of the back of the head looks a lot like the old #4. In fact, I feel like this Corinne mold is a sort of combination of the new #4 being sent out by the AG doll hospital right now and Nanea. Personally, I think AG has gotten it really "right" here with the general head shape (crown area) and the jaw line. Some of the molds are lacking enough in the crown area to wear a lot of wigs correctly (causing bunching or wrinkles in the wig cap up there), but this doll has a great head shape. Here are some photos comparing Corinne and Nanea dolls wearing their original wigs and dewigged (this is a newer Nanea doll purchased in May 2021).
And as a final comparison here, I've taken a close-up of her face with the eye makeup as she comes . . .
. . . and then removed it in Photoshop​ to show what she would look like without the painted upper eyelashes. There is no corner or lower-lid paint like Nanea.
While we're at it, the wig took a bit of coaxing to remove but was certainly do-able with patience. The wig cap is a thinner, stretchier fabric than other AG wigs. Nothing bad about it, because it's nice and stretchy. But removal of this wig is probably not good if you're a beginner at it and want to preserve the wig for later use.
If you're thinking of buying this doll for customizing, she looks great in a variety of wigs. Here are a few examples -- starting with black hair and working to blonde.
TM #66
Monique "Doris" Black
AG Samantha
AG Saige
AG Lea
Nellie-style Knock Off
TM #27
Hope this helps everyone who doesn't have the option to see this doll in person at a store. This is certainly a beautiful doll, but seeing the one you're getting would definitely be a good idea when possible.
