A little introduction:
First of all I should confess that for me, Sala was an impulse buy. I didn’t even know she existed, but I had been on the look-out for Lala (her close look-alike whose photos I had seen in the Pictionary forum*) and I really wanted Lala because, not only did owner pictures of her depict her in a very pretty way, but also to maybe turn her into a custom Fantastic Alice, due to their similar eye-color and make-up)
Anyway, when I found Lala for sale, chance would have it that I found Sala too, and since I can’t resist completing what looked like a set of two, I clicked on the purchase button for Sala also!
With that background in mind, I will now delve into my personal review of Sala, starting with the condition she arrived in. Please keep in mind that these notes are based on the Sala I received and may or may not be the case for other Salas.
But first, some NRFB pics:
1) Condition and Defects
**UPDATE: FELLOW MEMBERS ARISS AND NENSTRA HAVE KINDLY POINTED OUT TO ME THAT THE KNEE CAN ACTUALLY BE PUSHED UP AND THAT THE KNEE CONDITION DESCRIBED BELOW IS COMMON TO TYPE 4 PULLIPS AND IS NOT CONSIDERED A DEFECT! I AM KEEPING THE PICS THOUGH BECAUSE IT MIGHT HELP SOMEONE REALIZE THAT THE FOLLOWING CONDITION IS EASILY FIXED**
-my Sala has mis-matching knee joints. I am considering her LEFT knee to be the "busted" one. I've marked it with a red X in the photo to make it clearer. Anyway, due to this defect, one leg is slightly longer than the other. Another interesting result is that the red X knee over-extends considerably, (see picture on left). Also, notice how the hinge showing on the inner knee marked with a red arrow is more visible than the hinge of the right knee marked with the blue arrow.
-Another issue with Sala is her hands. As you probably know, Pullip hands are supposed to be capable ofa)bending backwards and forwards (imagine the motion you do when fanning your mouth after eating something spicy)
and
b)rotating or swiveling at the wrist (imagine the motion the Queen of England does when waving to the commoners, or the motion you would make when you want to say that something is just “so-so”...
Well, my Sala’s right hand will NOT swivel :( This problem is compounded by the fact that her right hand was affixed in the wrong position in relation to the rest of her arm. As you can see in the following photo, when trying to pose her with her hands on her hips, it cannot be done due to this defect >:(
-Also, as you can see from the previous photo, Sala's scalp/wig-cap is easily visible which unattractively shows it's "wig-ness".-Last but NOT least, the lashes on her left eye are not the same as her right. It looks like a couple of the lash-clusters in the inner corner of her left eye have been cut off :( (sorry don't have a photo showing that clearly)
2) Style Notes on Eyes, Make-up (also called Face-up), and Wig
-Sala’s eye-lids are a lilac/lavender color to match her eyes-chips, and have thick line of brown along her lash line. A pretty and striking touch is the dark-purple winged eye-liner located on the outer edge of her eye lid. This provides nice definition to the shape of her eyes when her eyes are open. I think Sala would have looked better if the color of her eye-lids matched the color of that dark purple eye-liner.
-One of the best and most unique features of Sala are her lilac colored eyes.To add to their luster a tasteful amount of glitter in her eye-chips provide an extra little sparkly touch!-Sala’s lipgloss is in a cheerfully bright coral hue shaped in a way to give Sala full, wide lips in comparison to other lipstick styles I've seen.
-As for Sala’s wig, it's style is very basic: it is shin-length, feathered at the ends, with shorter strands framing her face and a center part. It has its pros and cons. Besides the fact that her scalp can be seen easily as demonstrated previously, it shed profusely with even the lightest comb-through using fingers only. The edges of Sala’s hair are course and unevenly cut- even for a feathered style. Last but not least, it looked very, very “greasy” and even with combing, it remained looking stringy and limp, perhaps the only good thing I can say about her wig is its beautiful iced-mint color which adds a chilly and refreshing coolness to Sala’s look :) (unfortunately my camera wasn't picking up the minty-pastel-green tone to her hair very well)
3)Sala’s stock
-Lavender hair ribbon. It is gathered in at two points off center.-Patterned, slightly see-through tunic with stretchy bottom panel. (Contrary to my assumptions when I first saw her, Sala’s garment is NOT a separate top with skirt)
-White underwear
-lavender thigh-high fishnet stockings
-Purple high-heeled Mary Janes with pink detailing
I must confess that, to me, Sala’s stock is uninspired and “commercial” (a euphemism for cheap hehe) But i’ll try to be as objective as possible in sharing the following notes on her stock:
-regarding her hair ribbon: It’s just a strip of cloth basically.. What’s there to say about it really?
-Tunic has some versatility- it can be worn off (one or both) the shoulders or can be used as a top and paired with pants. Other than that... Not very exciting.
-Stockings stood up OK. Just pull them on gently, so that Sala’s toes don’t poke out of one of the holes thereby possibly causing a rip.
-Shoes. To be honest... Style-wise it’s looks like something a mass-produced Barbie would wear!! :P
**UPDATE: A BIG plus about these shoes is that they actually stay on her feet very well and will not fall off! (I only just appreciated this after receiving Pullip Elisabeth whose shoes won't stay on at all :P)
However, forget about Sala being able to stand up unaided in these shoes. Speaking of which, I’ve found that EVEN when using her doll-stand Sala was very unstable and likely to tip over. Oh and she even had a tendency to flop backwards or forwards when held by her shins. I guess her body can be considered to be floppy to an extent.Cons:
-Many body defects
-Many wig defects
-Stock's style doesn't really make sense. Thigh-high fishnets with that matronly pattern on her tunic?
Pros:
-Rare and unique color of eyes
-Rare and unique color of hair.
My Verdict:
A "novelty" Pullip made for a convention and limited to 300...but that's not necessarily a bad thing! :lol:
Now, if you’ve found yourself being swayed by my opinion of Sala... and would like to consider another opinion, just click on the following link and check out the FANTASTIC pictures taken of her by talented owners, and be amazed by how pretty she can be despite everything I’ve said!
http://www.pullipstyle.com/resource/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=33633&p=395245&hilit=sala#p395245
*just wanted to give a shout-out to the very talented members Hera and SuperQT again for their breath-taking photographs of Lala and/or Sala. Groove should contact you girls for promotional pics! Your pictures make me feel that my purchase of Sala doesn't have to be a complete loss :D
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