Just Play Naturalistas Liya

Naturalistas Liya by Purpose Toys is an 11-1/2-inch fashion doll with natural 4C-textured hair.

I ordered this doll and another Just Play Naturalistas doll in April of 2022. The order for the other doll is not scheduled to arrive until September 2022. Amazon buy links for this doll and one other one that I ordered along with two others that are currently on their website are included at the end of this post (feel free to jump there and order, if they are still available, or browse and return here to read my review of Liya.)

Her hair is huge and gorgeous!

Liya, pronounced Leah, was chosen because of her deep-brown complexion and her big 4C natural-textured hair. She has hair for days! Liya is not articulated, but that is not always a requirement for me. The price of only $12.99 with free Amazon Prime shipping was also the reason I ordered. 

In addition to her 4C huge Afro, Liya has brown painted eyes and a closed mouth with dark lip color. She has appropriately full facial features and a quite pretty face. 

The next two profile photos illustrate how much hair Liya has.

She wears a light blue shimmery sleeveless short dress.

"Naturalistas" in raised letters is printed across the chest area of Liya's dress.

 A light blue Naturalistas-logo'd clutch is her accessory in addition to clear stud earrings.

This is a better view of the clutch.

One of Liya's earrings is visible in this second headshot photo.

A pair of brown high-heel open-toe shoes are attached to the box liner.

Liya's high-arched feet are huge.

She can probably wear some Barbie fashions, but she will not be able to wear Barbie shoes. Her feet appear as large as Color Infusion Janay's.  (Janay's foot is the one on the far right at this link.) As you can see from my pictures, I have not deboxed Liya yet. Will I? I'd like to, but not at this time. I want to bask in the glory of a doll line made by a female African American entrepreneur that I can support as well as love the product and packaging. 

Back-of-the-box image

Liya and the other dolls in the collection are featured and named on the back of the box below Liya's intro which reads:

I'm Liya

Liya is a Natural Hair model, originally from Atlanta. As a second-year engineering student, Liya's life forever changed when she met a delightful talent scout from a popular model agency. An international model known for her tight (beautiful coiled hair), Liya spends her time promoting appreciation for Natural "4 textured" hair in schools (and in the workplace). [Alright now, Liya!]

Liya's motto: "4 textured hair is absolutely beautiful and so are you."

Her hairstyle is described as stretched, and the hair type is 4C.

DeeDee Wright-Ward, the creator of the Naturalistas, is pictured on the back of the box.

A headshot of the founder of Naturalistas, DeeDee Wright-Ward, and her bio are also included on the back of Liya's box. The bio reads:

DeeDee Wright-Ward is an Entrepreneur, Business Development Executive, Founder of Purpose Toys and Creator of Naturalistas. Naturalistas is a sleek line of contemporary natural hair fashion dolls, created to uplift and celebrate children with coily, curly and natural textured hair. 

Purpose Toys partners with entrepreneurs, providing the resources necessary to succeed. Our mission is to produce "Product with a Purpose", which we hope to deliver with Naturalistas, who encourage every coily and curly hair kid to "Be Proud of Your Crown". 

 

I really like her!

Liya is a welcome addition to my non-Barbie fashion doll collection. Her lovely head sculpt and super-big hair are eye-catching and will make her stand out in any doll collection or display. 

Paige is the other doll I ordered, scheduled to arrive in September.

   

Update:

Some of the dolls, a styling head, and fashion packs are on the Target website. Target's online merch is available according to zip code. I ordered Dayna from Target after this post was first published. She is scheduled to arrive on August 6th. I will photograph and share Dayna’s pictures in a separate blog post. Check your local Target for these dolls as well as Amazon using the links I've provided. 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

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