A little thread about tan colours

I really like tan dolls, I'm actually saving money to get a tan Minifee Karsh. I just think she's so cute and I love her skin colour so much

 

I just got a tan LTF today and I don't know how I feel about her. Her undertones are almost like too red to me? Too orange maybe? I can't quite describe it. IRL she looks nothing like the photos of other tan LTF dolls I had looked up before I got her for comparison when I was deciding on tan vs NS. The pink wig I ordered just for her looks just terrible on her color wise. She looks almost more terra cotta than brown/tan to me. I'm not sure if a good faceup would help or what color I should get for her instead or what. I've had her all of 6 hours and I'm already considering selling her.

I'm really disappointed because all the photos I've seen of tan Fairyland dolls have been so beautiful. I don't know if I got a different batch color wise or if my expectations just weren't realistic.

 

I only have one doll in tan, and he is absolutely adorable. I have never seen other dolls in this skin tone with my own eyes, but Dollshe’s tan fascinated me to the core. Their polyurethane in this color has such a nice texture, I can't even really describe it: it is smooth and rough at the same time. The only thing I'm sure of is that this material is incredibly beautiful. I have never seen this on dolls with lighter skin tone. Of course, this is also because, as I understand it, the doll is painted over a regular polyurethane surface, and because of this it acquires such a texture.
But that doesn't change the beauty of the end result

 

@fbt328 Oh goodness, that's awful; I'm so sorry to hear that! To my knowledge fairyland has had a pretty consistent tan. If anything, the tan that you got sounds like their old- And I mean OLD- tan, which used to have a very red/warm undertone that mellowed over time to be somewhat closer to their current tan, which really has no undertone at all. Given time and even, moderate light exposure, she'll likely mellow as well simply due to the nature of resin; otherwise, most spray sealants face-up artist sometimes use have a habit of, well, in unpleasant terms, washing out colors which then in turn frequently result in nullifying tan and darker resins. Not a result most people want, but it may aid you.

But! Also know, photos have a habit of washing out color as well! So it could also be that the screen calibrations threw off the "true" color of the photos. Or, that the person who edited the photos washed theme out either by intention or by accident. I'd say your best bet would be to either to see if someone local has a tan fairyland doll, or baring in mind current global circumstances, taking a picture of the head cap on a blank, white sheet of paper in a naturally lit room and reaching out to the community- that way you can at least see if anyone who may have been cast in the same batch is having a similar problem.

Ahhh, I know this is getting long, but there's another thing as well! Fairyland has "discontinued" (more meaning that they have no concrete plan on when to re-release it, though generally it use to come up at least twice a year during events) their tan as of last event, which ended on august 8th, 2020, due to the casting complications that often come with pigmented resins, especially so with heat. So your dear may also be a victim of that, tan castings in hot weather can go awry! Again, you would need to reach out to the fairyland community to confirm that it is a casting flaw, as the other dolls released from the same batch would all have the same problem.

Still sorry that you're girl didn't turn out as expected though! Hopefully it will work out in the end, as red undertones can be quite lively and warm with a proper faceup!

 

@FactitiousEuphoria

Thank you for the advice! It was so helpful! I got her as an in stock doll from DDE, I'll have to see if her COO has her production date, but I don't think she's old old. Her box also has a STRONG new resin smell.

Overall, I have to be honest, I'm not really impressed with Fairyland at the moment. I was sort of gently pulling her apart at the joints to get a feel for what the unstringing process would be like and there is a lot of leftover flash in the hip joints. Stuff that would have been sooooo easy to clean up while stringing instead of just stringing around it. There is a spot on the top of her faceplate that is a different color since they didn't really do a proper sand and I feel like it's not a huge deal since it's not noticable with a wig but it just feels like a lack of care. There was also a small scratch right on her face that I had to sand with a magic eraser and DDE was basically like that happens with tan dolls, whatever, even though it's not the type of casting flaws you see with tan. Her magnet joints are kinda janky too. It's not what I was expecting since I had played with a stock puki puki in the past at a convention and had been really impressed with the quality. I'm not sure if I just got a lemon or what.

I'll also be sure to ask Fairyland people for photo comparisons and see if someone that knows the company better thinks something is off, but I might just be stuck with her, I didn't get the impression that DDE or FL would be any help. Between the Coronavirus cancelling both doll conventions near me and being new to BJD, I don't really have local resources this year for comparing dolls irl.

I was worried about the color being off because obviously everyone's camera settings and computer monitor colors are different, but wow this was way different than I was expecting. Most photos make them look so lovely and sun kissed in color, but she is just so different. I have found a single YouTube video that I think nearly represents the color of my doll, all the other photos and videos made them seem like a totally different tone.

I have to decide if I am keeping her or not. If I keep her I might give her a light full body sanding because the color of the sanded resin on her headplate is more palatable than she is now. I also might see if a couple good coats of MSC helps. I'll also have to see what difference eye and wig color make on her. But part of me just wants to get rid of her and get a tan doll from a different company.

 

I'm a big fan of Resinsoul's tan ever since I saw on tumblr someone's Chun in tan with a very cute freckled faceup. Most of my existing characters have light skin but I'm thinking of a new one to put in a tan Chun. Maybe a beachy mermaid type...

It's a complete bummer to hear about the trouble fbt328's having with their new tan doll though, that's such a shame it wasn't what you were expecting... But a terra-cotta type of tan color could be good for certain types of fantasy characters, if that's your thing. You should post some pictures if you would like to. I'm curious to see just how red she is.

 

I plan on it, but I am trying to take some photos that accurately represent her color, it's kinda hard to capture in photo how she looks in person

I'm not opposed to it, but in this case I had a specific look in mind that won't work with her tone : |

Edit: I feel like this photo doesn't quite accurately represent her color, but it shows the imo dramatic difference between the type of tone shown on the website when I ordered her vs what she looks like. She looks different irl but I'm struggling with my phone camera

IMG_20200819_133959058.jpg

 

DDE said they didn't think there was anything wrong with her, so I guess it's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I really just don't like her undertones, although I still love tan dolls, so I guess she's going in her box till I have marketplace access and can trade/sell her.

 

Hey there! I just received a Golden Era (small artist in China) Lloyd head that’s supposed to be FL tan. But, gosh, he looks like terra cotta pottery or a sort of strawberry chocolate?

I’ll have to post a photo when I have sunlight. This is a really unexpected colour from what I expected.

 

About three years later, and I have an Iplehouse FID Bichun standing alongside me. In the Special Real tone. He's my favourite doll, and he's not been here for quite a full month yet. That Special Real does live up to its name. It's gorgeous!

(And Eric is no longer 'my absolute dream doll'.)

 

I have an elfdoll head in tan. She photographs super bronzy and warm but in person, super LIGHT. It's the most confusing "tan" and she's never had a body

Supias tan is beautiful but I don't know if it's my favorite. I'm just glad they offer it all the time

There are so many tan colours I like online but have never seen in person.

 

Fairyland’s tan is really strange, imo, because it photographs WAY different than it is in real life, or least in my experience. When I got my first tan girl from Fairyland last year, a Maya, I was kinda shocked by how red toned her tan was in person. But every tan girl I’ve gotten since has been the same shade. And when I take pictures of them, they typically come off as way more olive toned, UNLESS you put them in photos with other tan dolls from different companies that ARE actually more olive toned, like Harucasting or Luts, for example.

 

I've discovered that Granado's Sunshine is a close match to Dikadoll tan. It's a warm color, and slightly translucent.

 

I have a question - what company's tone most closely matched the Fairyland Minifee tan?

 

I know Bimong has recently released the color New Tan which is intended to be a close match to Fairyland's tan @Aboost

 

Oh my gosh, thank you! I have been looking at Myou today too.

 

For Myou I can't really advice any first hand matches, but I know Little Rebel matches Myou Coffee and Little Rebel is also fairly close to Fairyland, so Myou Coffee and Fairyland might be within a blushable range??

But on that note, my Switch Mocha from 2014 is also in the ballpark, he's just a bit lighter than 2018 Fairyland Tan, and with a 2017 Switch Mocha being darker than him, it might work??

OH! and Supiadoll! Their Light Tan is also within a blushable range. Heard the undertones don't match, but the right faceup artist can work around those issues. Which means Migidoll Suntan(now called Latte Brown), which is startlingly close to Supiadoll's Light Tan, may also be workable!

I think that's all I got? Hope your hybrid works out! @Aboost

 

Amazing - this is so helpful. Thank you!!

 

I am loving the Supia Doll body!

 

I love tan colors! I may be a bit biased because I'm brown myself, but I wish there were more darker/tan options!