My daughter will be turning four in two months. It seems like overnight, she has transitioned from being only interested in cuddling and nurturing her dolls to being obsessed with changing their clothes and combing their hair. So she happily traded her Strawberry Shortcake Baby Berry Kisses doll for the Sweet Surprise Strawberry Shortcake. This doll can have her make-up changed with a pen filled with ice cold water . . . no batteries required. Although this doll retails for approximately $22.99, I have seen some excellent sale prices for her during the holidays. For example, I have seen her for just $13.97 on Walmart.com .
Sweet Surprise Strawberry Shortcake comes with the pen, a comb, 2 hair extensions, 4 hair clips, and 2 sheets of stickers.
To use the pen, I just needed to fill it with water and leave it in the freezer for about 10 or 15 minutes. It does not hold too much water, so the freezing process is quick. When ready, my daughter just touched the spongy tip to the doll's face. It took a few seconds for the ice to begin to melt.
The difference in the make-up was subtle. The doll's eye shadow, blush, and strawberry beauty mark grew a little bit darker. The most obvious change was that the doll's lips became redder. Once the areas began to return to room temperature, the colors quickly changed back.
My daughter's favorite thing about this Strawberry Shortcake doll is that she smells like strawberries and she has long silky straight hair, which is much easier to comb than some of her other curly-haired dolls. She also loved decorating the doll with the included stickers. My daughter did struggle with the hair extensions and hair clips. She had trouble making them stay in place, but all she needs is a little practice.
I think this doll is a perfect transition toy for preschoolers who are not quite ready for smaller scale fashion dolls. I would love to see a doll like this come with one or two additional outfits or perhaps have them available to be purchased separately.
To view the full line of Strawberry Shortcake toys, visit Hasbro.com and HasbroToyShop.com .
Thank you to Hasbro for sending us a complimentary sample product to base this review upon.
