Barbie & The Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll

"Princess Liana" Barbie has beautiful blonde hair topped with a tiara. View larger.

Her dress flips from plain to fancy with the turn of a knob.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Sparkly dress, jeweled tiara, and light-up pendant turn this Barbie into a true princess The Bad: Barbie's dress can't be removed In a Nutshell: Little princesses everywhere will love playing with her At a Glance Ages: 3 and up

The stiff material of Barbie's purple, pink, and orange sparkly dress will stand up well to lots of play. Her matching purple, high-heeled shoes, on the other hand, could get easily lost or swallowed. Parents should help with the delicate operation of cutting Barbie's tiara free from the plastic that binds it to Barbie's head. Afterall, every princess likes to take off her crown once in a while!

A Barbie with Bling
This Barbie has a lot of bling -- from the dress that makes a "bringg" sound when it flips from "plain" to "fancy," to the pendant that lights up during this same operation. Barbie's fancy dress, with a sparkling pink bodice and layers of shimmering orange gauze over pink "silk," will dazzle every girl. Plus, it looks just like the dress that Princess Liana wears in the movie.

Your child will also love being able to remove Barbie's purple tiara with its orange jewel and the purple shoes that perfectly match her dress. If your child has the "Princess Alexa" doll (also based on a character from the movie), the two dolls can sing a special duet together while holding hands. And, of course, how could you forget Barbie's hair? Long, silky, and lustrous, girls will love brushing it with the heart-shaped gold brush that's included.

A Princess from Head to Toe
We appreciated the whole princess-like package -- the tiara, the sparkly dress, the light-up pendant. Everyone child dreams of being royalty and we think think this singing Barbie will hit just the right note with your own would-be princesses. It would be nice if you could remove her princess dress for those days when Barbie wants a more casual look, but that isn't the case here. We like the hairstyle that Princess Liana sports (with two sections of hair knotted together at the nape of her neck), but we worry that younger girls might accidentally muss it with inadvertent brushing and end up with a bad-hair day for Barbie. These minor criticisms aside, we think this Barbie will be a hit with little girls even if they haven't seen the movie "Barbie and the Diamond Castle." If they have seen it, they'll love their Princess Liana Barbie even more!

What's in the Box
Singing"Princess Liana" Barbie with two-in-one dress and light-up pendant, shoes, tiara, and hairbrush.