Review of 2014 Journey Girl Chavonne

PRODUCT
DETAILS
Doll size:  18 inches
(46 cm)
Age recommendation:
6+ (not recommended
for children under 3 
due to choking hazard)
Put out by:  Geoffrey,
LLC (subsidiary of Toys
R Us)
Year:  2014
Made in China
UPC:  803516066771
Awards:  Oppenhiem Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award Platinum
Price:  If you can find it
 at Toys R Us, $39.99.  However, these dolls can
 go high due to scarcity.  Though released every year, particular editions can become expensive due to scarcity or popularity.
Skin Color:  Light black
Nationality:  African-American
Hair Color:  Black, curly afro
Eye Color:  Light brown, long eyelashes, eyes don't
close
Movement:  Classic baby doll--head turns side to side, arms move front and back (not up
and down like flapping wings), elbows don't bend, legs move
back and forth, don't bend at knees, don't bend at ankles.  Doll can stand on its own and sit down if propped against something or hands prop it up.
Fill:  The doll torso is filled with 100% polyester fiberfill.
Type of doll:  Vinyl head, chest plate, arms, legs...but it
 has a soft cloth lower torso.
What box contains:  1 eighteen inch doll that has a black headband, long sleeved black and white t-shirt, blue denim vest with white buttons, red pants, and black shoes.
Doll biography:  Chavonne is a multi-talented performer whose music brightens any room.
Written on back of box:  Best friends Chavonne, Kyla, Meredith, Dana, Kelsey, and Callie just landed in London and are excited to begin their journey. Their agenda is packed with fun activities like exploring the Tate Modern Art Gallery, feeding the animals at the ZSL London Zoo, and enjoying a shopping spree and musical in the West End.  Along their travels, they'll stop for afternoon tea and wave hello to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.  Their London journey is only beginning, but their friendship will last a lifetime.  Take a Journey Girl on your next trip and share the adventure.
Websites:  www.journeygirlsdolls.com;  www.toysrus.ca

Originally, I bought Chavonne for myself.  Though I personally believe that they changed the name of the doll Taryn to make it more appealing, the fact is that there are enough differences between 2010 Taryn and 2014 Chavonne to consider them two different dolls.  However, Chavonne's destiny was altered due to changes in my life.  I decided to give up collecting.  I felt it was spiraling out of control.  My room was so filled with stuff that I no longer had room on the shelves.  Dolls were on the floor.  I also decided that though I like dolls and other things I collected, I would rather spend my free time doing something enjoyable than cleaning my collection.

However, I will probably still buy the dolls to sell and to do reviews on, as I do make an income that way.  Right now, there are plans of making fancy dresses for the Journey Girls.  Why should Jordana have all the fun and neat clothes?

I had expected that Jordana would be released in a different outfit in 2014.  After all, originally there had only been four Journey Girl dolls.  Kelsey and Dana came later.  Originally, there had been Callie, Alana, Meredith, and Taryn.  The photos and names changes for two of the dolls.  Alana became a Kyla, and Taryn became a Chavonne.  Perhaps they are meant to be two different people, but the biographies are the same.

However, though Jordana's girl photo appears in the pictures on the 2014 box, the doll was not re-released.  Perhaps she is only meant to be a special edition.  She was a limited edition Christmas doll released in 2013 (See my review here: http://jessicalgray.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-review-of-journey-girl-jordana.html 

Though the Journey Girls were produced as the type of doll you took on trips and had adventures with, until 2013 the dolls were not portrayed as journeying anywhere.  They showed pictures of them rock climbing or told their dreams of traveling to distant places someday.  However, in 2013, the Journey Girls started journeying.  That year, they traveled to France.  In 2014, their adventures continue in England.  A picture of Big Ben decorates the front of the box.

I had one edition of each Journey Girl doll, but I finally figured out the easiest way to free them from the plastic rubber bands around the neck with Chavonne.  Since her hair was shorter, I had a better view of the plastic clip.  I had always snipped the rubber bands, but actually all you need to do is unhook them from the plastic piece that supports the neck.  This is easier, and it is also a better way to free them if there is any chance you want to return them.

I admit that I don't really like the outfits in 2014.  Kelsey looks like she did a Scarlet O'Hara, though rather than going after her drapes she went after her sofa.  Some of the outfits wouldn't look bad, but the combinations are strange (for instance, the white sweater with the silky blue dress that Dana wears) or the colors are too bright.  Chavonne's outfit would be cute, but the white buttons on the denim vest are too large...and really the vest would have looked better without them.  The red pants are too bright of a red and should have been darker.

The clothing can be a problem because it can leave marks on the dolls.  This was particularly a bad problem with the 2013 editions.  Meredith's pink jacket left terrible stains on her arms, as did Kyla's black arm and leg warmers.  I've not found a way to remove the marks.  Even acetone (which you need to be careful with) doesn't get rid of them.  The only solution I have found to prevent more marks is to wash the clothes immediately after purchasing the doll.  They may fade a bit, but that usually stops them from getting more marks. 

Journey Girl clothes tend to be fastened to the doll with plastic ties that need to be snipped.  The clothes have Velcro or can be pulled off pretty easily.  The shoes, if they are boots or sneakers, can be difficult sometimes to remove.  The dolls will come with underwear and socks if they wear dresses but don't if dressed in slacks.

The appearance of the dolls have changed slightly, and I'm not sure if I like that either.  The features are becoming more sharp and pointed.  The vinyl is softer, and the plastic on the shoes is also softer.  Though this may make the doll more cuddly and the shoes easier to remove, it also makes it easier for the doll to have impressions made on its skin from the plastic ties used to fasten it in the box.

Chavonne has admirers, but many people seem intimidated by her hair.  The hair is actually quite lovely with its mass of tight curls...but yes, the hair promises to require more loving care than the others.  It is drier, and you have to be careful about combing it so not to undo the curls.  I normally use the end of a three prong comb like shown below.

To keep my dolls' hair shiny and silky, I normally use Lusters S-Curl Moisturizer and Activator.  It wasn't specifically designed for doll hair, but I find it works really well.  However, I've not used it on my African American dolls yet.  I'm not quite sure how their hair will respond to it.

To preserve my dolls' hair, I follow these steps:

1.  Wash the doll's hair with a mild shampoo like Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

2.  While the hair is wet, spray the S-Curl in your palm...then run it through the doll's hair with your fingers.  I don't recommend spraying it directly in the doll's hair because you may get too much in a particular area...and this stuff can be overpowering with its smell.  The smell will wear off with proper airing.

3.  Brush through the hair, undoing any knots from the bottom up.

4.  Let the hair dry thoroughly.

2014 Chavonne on the left.  2010 Taryn on the right.

Though I thought they merely changed Taryn's name, there are many differences as well as similarities between the two dolls.  My Taryn is one of the earliest productions of Journey Girls.  She was put out in 2010.  In 2010, Journey Girls Dana and Kelsey did not exist.  You can see my review on Taryn here: http://jessicalgray.blogspot.com/2014/01/review-of-journey-girl-taryn-2010.html

The hairstyle is the same, as is the biography.  The name changed, and so did the picture of the girl.  Of course, I'm not entirely certain it isn't the same girl.  I noticed with the later productions, they were using younger pictures of the girls.  The original pictures showed girls that looked fourteen years old.  The later productions showed girls that looked closer to ten years old.  In Alana's case, though, they definitely changed the girl.

The picture on the left is of Chavonne.  The picture on the right is Taryn.  Different names but the same biography.

Chavonne has lighter skin, and her eyes are a darker brown.  The lighter skin allows you to see other features of her face--like the blush in the cheeks and lip color.  Taryn's skin is darker and sometimes obscures her other features.  However, her eyes are really neat.  There is a slight orangish glow about them that makes them striking and puts in mind the type of eyes you often see people with in werewolf movies.

As I've mentioned before, the vinyl and plastic used in 2014 is softer than the 2010 production.

She is a very pretty doll.  I'm looking forward to making one of my punk doll clothes pattern for her.