Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella has long been on my doll radar. I first saw her on another doll blog. As I scrolled down the pages, admiring all the pictures, this pretty girl popped into view!
I was smitten! She looked so different from my current Ashlynn Ella (Epic Winter) that it took a few moments before I realized they were the same character.
While I still like Epic Winter Ashlynn, I’m tired of trying to color coordinate outfits to match her pink legs. Working around the bright color is such a pain I usually end up putting my sewing box away or switching to a doll without painted legs. Thus Ashlynn Ella never gets a new dress.
While I’m not one to collect multiples of the same doll (well, except for Tinkerbell…shh, don’t tell her I said that!), I decided I was justified in wanting an Ashlynn without pink legs.
So, without further ado, meet Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella!!
The Box:
I’m sure you know how brutal the Post Office can be. Thankfully, Ashlynn Ella arrived without a scratch. The only thing “off” was the paperboard Ever After High logo. It had fallen from its place in the plastic window. However, I’m not about to quibble over something as minor as an out-of-place logo. I’m just glad she didn’t get smashed during her trip across the states.
While Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella doesn’t come in one of those fun, book-shaped boxes, her box is still nice. It is mostly salmon colored with Ashlynn Ella’s name written off to the side on a faux book spine. On the back is a description that says the “fableous students of Ever After High” are taking a “well-deserved weekend break at the hexquisite Mirror Beach resort”
Under the description is a drawing of Ashlynn surrounded by summertime paraphernalia. Then, at the very bottom are pictures showing the two other characters in this collection: Apple White and Madeline Hatter.
When I was snipping the plastic tabs securing Ashlynn to the back of her box, I noticed a dark spot on the paperboard where her head had touched.
Uh oh! This usually means a bad case of sticky hair syndrome! Oh well, I guess there are worse jobs than washing doll hair.
Meet Ashlynn Ella!
Here is Ashlynn Ella finally free of her box and tabs.
Isn’t she beautiful? She definitely reminds me of Cinderella!
Since Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella is a budget doll, she doesn’t come with a ton of accessories. In fact, her only accompaniments are a pair of sunglasses and a necklace. Her outfit is as basic as it gets and, of course, there’s no doll stand?. Still, Ashlynn is so pretty I hardly miss the extra bells and whistles.
Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella wears light makeup. Her eyeshadow is smokey colored eyeshadow, and she has pink lipstick.
Ashlynn’s strawberry-blonde hair is slightly wavy and left to hang loose. Sadly, she does have a case of messy box hair?.
Luckily, it’s not as bad as I thought (whew?!) The hair is more matted than sticky.
Instead of washing it, I spritzed her hair with a bit of water and gently brushed it to make it lay flat.
How Well Does She Pose?
Even though she’s a budget doll, Mirror Beach Ashlynn is fully articulated and able to pose just as well as her more expensive counterparts!
Her head turns from side to side and can tilt up and down; however, the downward tilt isn’t very pronounced.
She can lift her shoulders, bend her elbows, and rotate her wrists.
Her legs swing forward and backward, and she can bend her knees.
Also, if you position her feet just right, Ashlynn Ella can stand on her own.
It’s a little tricky since she is wearing heels but not impossible.
The Outfit:
Since this is the Mirror Beach collection, all the dolls come wearing swimsuits.
Ashlynn Ella wears a tulle skirt over a floral patterned swimsuit and sports a pair of pink high-heels.
The skirt looks to be sewn from light blue tulle and has gold vines printed on it. The bottom of the skirt is left unfinished (since tulle doesn’t fray, there’s no need to hem it which makes it a popular fabric for doll clothes). The skirt has an elastic waistband and is finished at the top with pink thread.
Under the tulle skirt is Ashlynn Ella’s turquoise swimsuit. The swimsuit has colorful flowers printed on the front and back. The sleeves are decorated with the same gold-printed tulle as the skirt, and the neckline is trimmed with black ribbon. The swimsuit closes in the back with Velcro.
Finally, we have Ashlynn Ella’s translucent pink heels!
These shoes are actually recycled pieces. Before becoming Ashlynn Ella’s choice for beachcombing, these were Briar Beauty’s Getting Fairest shoes. Toy companies often reuse pieces to cut costs, so I’m not surprised to find that these shoes were recycled from an older doll.
The Accessories:
For accessories, Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella comes wearing a pink necklace and has a pair of sunglasses attached to her head.
The necklace is very simple. It’s just a ringlet of light pink flowers. Like the shoes, the sunglasses are translucent pink and are another recycled piece from Getting Fairest Briar Beauty.
Final Thoughts:
Mirror Beach Ashlynn is stunning! Yes, her outfit is minimal and has practically no accessories, but the doll herself is beautiful and fully articulated.
In my opinion, the Mirror Beach line seems like a perfect example of beautiful dolls that are inexpensive to make; a win for both the consumer and manufacturer.
At the beginning of this review, I mentioned that one of my main reasons for getting Mirror Beach Ashlynn was so I could sew dresses for her without having a pair of pink legs peeking out from under her skirts.
So, let’s see how she looks in my latest creation!
? I love it! Miss Ashlynn looks adorable in this dress! ?
This lolita style dress is almost finished. The dress part is complete but the white skirt is a just prototype (I inevitably sew something wrong at least once before getting it right). The finished product will look similar, except the skirt will be pink satin and have fewer ruffles.
Well, that’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this review of Mirror Beach Ashlynn Ella.
Of course, there are more Ever After High reviews coming up (not too many, though), and I also have a few fun projects underway—some dresses (obviously), a few simple crafts, and a custom doll (yikes!). The only question is which one will I finish first?
I have resolved the “pink leg” problem by finding cheap dolls of the same character that have a “plain” body, and rebodying the head I want, onto the plain body. The unwanted body gets united with the extra head, and donated to the Salvation Army. Hopefully some little girl who will be happy with her gets the doll.
Ashlynn looks very nice in her new dress.
That’s a great idea! I’d thought about switching Epic Winter Ashlynn to a Made-To-Move Barbie body but then decided it might make her look…odd? Your solution sounds a lot better.
Glad you liked the dress! I’m considering writing a post showing how the pattern goes together.
Love your sign off! And a very Awesome doll!
Thanks!
np!
I love this doll, she one of my Ever After High favourites, more so than her signature doll. She looks so radiant and graceful. Lucky you, to have a new boxed one 🙂 I was thrilled even with my second hand one, but unfortunately her glasses were missing.
And painted legs are the worst 🙁
I agree! I thought about getting the Signature doll but then saw Mirror Beach Ashlynn and was like, “no, this one is perfect!” Yes, I’ve had decent luck finding new-in-box Ever After High dolls for a fair price either on eBay and sometimes at our local grocery store (especially later releases). The ones I have trouble getting are Signature dolls–they’re usually somewhere between $30 to $70 depending on the character.
Oooh..I have that same Ashlynn Ella too (except that I renamed her and made her the daughter of Rapunzel.) I love the dress you made for her she looks so beautiful in it.
-Quinley
Thank you! I’ve never sewn a “lolita” dress and had to do a little research on the style, but I think it turned out pretty good?.