Barbie You Create Barbie Basics Neutral Kit 002-Unboxed Review

Shipping boxes for Barbie Basics You Create Kits 002 and 001

This is a continuation of my review of the two Barbie You Create Barbie Basics Neutral Kits that I purchased. The link to my review of Kit 001 is at the end of this post. 

The Tango head was attached to the Made to Move Athletic Barbie body that comes with the kit.

As with the other kits in this series, the back of the box and a tri-fold insert inside the box illustrate ways to style the doll.

This photo was taken before the doll and the packaged accessories were removed from the box.

Freed from the confines of the box, Tango posed for the camera after I fluffed out and shaped her auburn and brown curls with my fingers. 

Tango wears a metallic gold puff-sleeve top, a "B" monogrammed wrap skirt, and tan flat ankle strap shoes. 
The contents of the three black envelopes are illustrated next.

The Pazette and Elle sculpts were in the top envelope. Again, I had to work with the hair to make it presentable.

A tan spandex maxi skirt with a faux leather panel and a brown long-sleeved spandex blouse were in the second envelope.

The third envelope included a pair of plastic, white square earrings; several plastic hair clips, a pair of white pointed-toe mules with "B" monogrammed heels, a pair of rectangular white shades, a headband, a gold-tone cuff bracelet, and the base and waist clip of the doll stand. The doll stand pole was attached to the box liner alongside Tango.

I placed the sunglasses and earrings on Tango before swapping this head with the Pazette head.

With the Pazette head on, I removed the white puffed-sleeved top and added the brown spandex top for her to wear with the wrap skirt and shoes. The headband and the earrings were also added.

After getting her hair detangled, Elle tried on the puff-sleeve top with the maxi skirt. All dolls modeled the same tan shoes because, unfortunately, the white "B" monogrammed shoes in this kit do not fit well.

This is how the white mules in Kit 002 fit the dolls in both kits. The Kit 001 foot is on the left; Kit 002 is on the right. It will require an elastic band to hold the shoes on the doll's feet, and even with that, they are prone to falling off Kit 002's shorter foot!

I wanted to see if the shoes in Kit 001 would fit Kit 002 doll's feet. The ankle strap position is off.

So, in both kits. There is only one pair of footwear that will fit these dolls, the boots in Kit 001 and the tan flats in Kit 002. 

This is the back of the tri-fold flyer, which illustrates how to build, style, and pose the doll.

This is the front of the tri-fold flyer.

My Pros and Cons for this Kit mirror those for Kit 001 with some additions.
Pros

• I appreciate the three different head sculpts, one of which (Tango) is not used often on dolls with this complexion.
• I am thrilled that two of the three kits in this collection have brown complexions. Thank you, Mattel.
• I love Tango's natural coils and the color of the hair.
• I like Elle's hairstyle, but... (see the 4th con below).
• Head removal and placement are easy.
• The interchangeability and creativity are pluses.
• The ability to create different looks using this kit with Kit 001 is another plus.
• One pair of shoes fits well.
• The neutral palette is appealing.
• The clothes in this kit are more stylish than those in Kit 001.
• The clothes fit well.
• The headband is more flexible and fits better than the one in Kit 001.
• Although they are plastic, the earrings in this kit have a better design than those in Kit 001, and they fit better without jutting out. 

Cons

• As mentioned and illustrated above, the white mules are not a good fit for Kit 001 or Kit 002.
• The plastic hair clips are useless to me. 
• The cuff bracelet is so oddly shaped with a narrow opening that I could not place it on either kit doll's wrist. So, it's useless, too.
• Elle has layered hair with multiple double-strand twists on top of loose, wavy hair with more twists underneath the wavy section. The twists and the wavy hair were tangled upon arrival. This hair mixture will easily tangle and should only be finger-combed. 
• Pazette's hair is gelled on top (not really a con, but this is worth noting). The ends looked rough, were uneven and required trimming.
• (This is just an observation, but it would be a con if I had purchased Kit 003: the clothes in that kit are frumpy! I'm so glad they were not included in Kits 001 or 002.)
• Creating three complete dolls will require buying three extra bodies that match the complexion of the heads in this kit. 

I didn't do a deep dive into body complexion matching because again, I have no immediate plans to buy more bodies for the extra heads in each kit, but I did compare this body's complexion with two dolls, as illustrated next.

The twinning Elles (the doll from Kit 2 and Barbie Looks Model #2) share the same complexion.

Elle and Barbie Looks #21 share a similar, if not the same, complexion.

Finally, I attached each head to the body and dressed each doll in different combinations of the fashions and accessories and took the following full-length and close-up photos.

Tango, Pazette, and Elle from Kit 002

And here they are in a close-up.

Initially, I thought Tango would be my favorite, and I do love her head sculpt and hair, but there is something about Elle (probably the hair, even though it will tangle easily) that I love more.

Elle is the "it" girl in this kit.

To summarize, do I like both kits? Yes. Would I love for Mattel to produce a line of doll heads and bodies with different complexions, hair styles, and hair textures that can be mixed and matched and each piece sold separately, from which collectors can pick and build dolls of their choice? Absolutely, just make and sell separately packaged heads, bodies, clothes, and accessories.

This style neck connector is used for the Barbie kit dolls.

A better idea is that, going forward, Mattel could use the kit doll neck connector on all future collector dolls so that heads can be easily swapped. I'm always afraid I will damage the traditional-style neck connector (like the one on the right in this image) if I remove a head. The kit dolls' long flat neck connector makes head removal a "snap."

Related Post

Barbie You Create Barbie Basics Neutral Kit 001-Unboxed Review

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Barbie Kit Dolls Redressed and New Supermodel Dolls

White dresses for 12.6-inch dolls

A few months ago, I ordered white dresses with a plan to redress my Barbie You Create Kit #3 Dolls or my Xian Xian dolls. I finally redressed the Barbie kit dolls a couple of weeks ago.

Barbie You Create Kit #3 Dolls redressed

The Barbie divas are seen in a full-length photo.

Note that the full-length dresses cover the dolls' feet. This is because the dresses are designed to fit taller dolls that are even taller than the "Tall" Barbie in the middle.

The Barbie kit dolls were redressed before I became aware of and ordered a trio of new  2025 12.6-inch European (Supermodel) dolls from China.

This is how the China dolls were shipped.

The China fashion dolls arrived wrapped in bubble wrap inside a thin plastic mailer. (Their method of shipping the dolls always horrifies me, but I take a chance because of the price. At the time I ordered these, they were $6.32 each. Their method of shipping is the reason I never mention the site's name on my blog.) 

I took additional full-length and close-up photos after each layer of plastic was removed from the dolls.

Underneath the bubble wrap, each doll was inside a thin plastic bag.

The heads and hair were protected with another thin piece of plastic as illustrated here and in the next close-up photo.

Close-up of the head/hair plastic protection; the plastic covered their faces and the full length of their hair.

All of the plastic is removed in this photo and in the next close-up photo.

These articulated dolls are prettier in person than their online photos illustrate.

Their faces are quite pretty. I'm not enthused over the coral lip color, but it's better than pink. Other collectors have compared these dolls to Poppy Parker by Integrity Toys. There were six brown-skinned dolls available with a choice of light or dark brown, or blonde hair in slightly wavy and straight styles. I chose two with slightly wavy hair (light brown and dark brown) and one with straight blonde hair. 

The extra articulation extends to the elbows, underneath the breasts (which provides only slight movement), the wrists, and the knees. The ankles are not jointed. 

After their July 4th arrival, I redressed the new girls in the white dresses the Barbie kit dolls had worn. 

Supermodels in white dresses

Supermodels in white dresses striking poses

A final close-up together

The dolls were photographed with the Barbie You Create Kit dolls to illustrate the height differences.

The curvy-bodied Barbie and the tall-bodied Barbie are much shorter than the supermodel.

These two supermodels tower over the petite-bodied Barbie kit doll.

Because of their 12.6-inch height, the full-length dresses do not cover the supermodels' feet, which gives a better overall appearance. I have since ordered more fashions to mix and match between these dolls and other fashion dolls. Why? Because a woman/doll can never have enough clothing (or shoe) options. 

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

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You Create Barbie Kit No. 003 Part 1

Designed by Bill Greening for Mattel, You Create Barbie Kit No. 003 is Style #JBH87.

Left on my front porch unattended for several hours (even though I was home), my impressive You Create Barbie Kit No. 003 arrived this past Saturday. I love everything! 

Box front

Box back

The opened box

The kit includes three different heads, three different bodies, clothing, accessories, wigs, a doll stand for each doll, a certificate of authenticity, and a diagram illustrating how to assemble.

The three-doll set and accessories are housed in a beautiful shiny black box that opens in the center to expose the central compartment where the dolls are attached and where the clothing and accessories are inside four slide-out storage boxes. There are two side panels. One panel illustrates three ways to style the dolls. The other side panel has a written "Ode to Black."

Inside the box, this side panel image illustrates three of the many ways to style the dolls.

An Ode to Black defines the many ways to dress in black.

With the dolls still attached to the box, photographing was difficult because of the black background of the box. I used the above and additional photos to vlog the remainder of my initial review. 

Because I did not have much time to create, I asked doll-friend Telisa Spain to allow me to share her photo of dressed dolls from kits 001 and 003 and her written review. 

2025 Barbie Basics Doll 003 (front and center) and dolls from You Create Barbie Kits 001 and 003 were dressed using clothing, wigs, and accessories from the kits. (Photograph courtesy of Telisa Spain)

Telisa posted the above photo and review in my Facebook group:

I purchased set #1 and #3, but I liked them so much that I ordered set #2. They are the first of the newer Barbies that I have purchased in a long time that I don’t have any complaints about. I will complete a mini review of them. (1) The price point is pretty good. For approximately $33.33 a doll, you get the doll, outfit, shoes, jewelry or sunglasses, shoes, wig, and stand. (2) The packaging is great. The box is sturdy and nice, and you wouldn’t want to throw it away, because it can be used for future storage. The clothing and accessories come individually packaged, similar to how the OMG and Rainbow high dolls use to be packaged. (3) The dolls are well made. Although, I am not a fan of the new Barbie bodies, these dolls use the made-to-move bodies, which is the best of the lot these days. Sadly, I realize that the classic body is a thing of the past. (4) The dolls are very versatile, and come in three different sizes. The outfits and wigs fits all of the dolls regardless of the size, so you can change it around. (5). I love the face molds. They are different and some of them I have never seen Mattel use before. (6) The heads are interchangeable and they can be switched with the new Barbie basic dolls that came out.

In conclusion, I hope Mattel continues this line of Barbies, or at least come out with wigs and clothing accessories for them. This set makes me believe that Barbie is being a little retro, because this series reminds me of the 1960s Fashion Queen Barbie and Midge, which came with wigs.

My plan is to remove my dolls from the box to "customize, create, and play" and share the results in a second blog post.

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!