REVIEW – Luvabella Brunette Interactive Doll

When the Luvabella doll first hit the shelves last Christmas, Erin was absolutely besotted. Being a big fan of playing ‘Mum’ and role playing with her dolls, the idea of this incredibly smart and lifelike interactive doll was enough to take her into an over-excited frenzy; and she wasn’t alone. Last year Luvabella was one of the UK’s top selling toys at Christmas, so much so, that many stores sold out and left Father Christmas giving out a fair few IOU’s instead.

This year, there are lots of varieties of Luvabella to chose from, with the availability of the dolls with different hair and skin colours being much more widespread, and Luvabeau (the male version of the doll) now being sold across a variety of stores (where as it was previously exclusive to Toys r Us).

Now that Neve is two, she is closely following in her sister’s footsteps, and has reached the age where she loves nothing more than to play with her babies, putting them in and out of a pushchair, wheeling them around the lounge, cuddling them, rocking them to sleep and pretending to feed them. Having seen just how much Erin loved Luvabella last year, I knew that she would be a massive hit with Neve, and I wasn’t wrong.

We were sent the Luvabella Brunette for Neve to review, and as soon as she saw her in the box she couldn’t wait to get her out!

First Impressions of Luvabella Brunette

Whilst not significantly different from Erin’s blonde Luvabella, I have to say on first sight, this doll was much more visually appealing in my opinion. I think the colour of the blonde hair isn’t quite so realistic, and the bright blue eyes against her pale skin in comparison, didn’t feel very natural. The Brunette Luvabella feels so much calmer and friendly to look at; and in my opinion far more realistic; more like a real baby than a doll.

Neve was very very excited when she saw her in the box, and just about gave me chance to snap a photograph before helping my impatiently rip away the packaging to reveal the doll and accessories inside.

As soon as we unpacked everything (which does take a little while due to lots of ties and tightly fitting plastic casings, Neve couldn’t wait to give her a cuddle. She is quite a sturdy weighty doll, and the texture of her face is soft and almost rubbery to the touch. One thing you do need to be conscious of is that she can pick up dust and grime on her face (particularly if touched with sticky toddler fingers!) but can easily be wiped down with a baby wipe (just like a real baby I guess!) if she gets a little mucky.

Luvabella comes dressed in an adorable pink dress and pants, which fasten at the back with Velcro and can be easily removed (something that Neve did very quickly – she is somewhat obsessed with taking all their clothes off!). She also has a stretchy bow headband which can be removed and reapplied as the child wishes.

One negative of the Luvabella is that it doesn’t come with batteries included, and it does require quite a few – and not necessarily ones that you are likely to have stashed in a random drawer in the kitchen unless you are particularly prepared. The batteries are the larger size C ones and Luvabella requires four – so if you are buying one for Christmas, PLEASE don’t forget to pick up some of these too.

The accessories included with Luvabella Brunette include a bottle, a dummy / pacifier, a little sheep toy for her to play with, and a small spoon. Luvabella responds to each of these items differently, in very realistic ways – you can see Luvabella in action in Erin’s video from last year here:

When Luvabella starts to get sleepy, you can pop in the dummy and rock her encouraging her to drift off, at which point she will make some tired yawn like noises before she starts to gently snore.

Neve also loved tickling Luvabella’s feet and hearing her laugh, covering her eyes and playing peekaboo and listening to her heart beat when you press your hand against her chest.

Since we received Luvabella just a few weeks ago, her and Neve have become somewhat inseparable, with Luvabella even coming on the school run with us when we go to pick up her sister. They even lie the same in the pushchair!! 🙂

Luvabella is a learning doll, and it’s been great to hear some of the words she has started to come out with – Neve particularly enjoys it when she says pardon me after a burp, and sings a little song. She also asks for Mama and Milk a lot (just like Neve!) (Luvabella can also be programmed to say Dada instead for boys playing with her with a button on the back of her spine).

Overall, Luvabella still remains a big hit and in my opinion the brunette version is far more visually appealing (and a bit less creepy looking from an adults perspective) than the blonde equivalent. She is a super intelligent, smart and interactive doll with plenty to occupy and engage little ones. As before, I do wish that her movements were a little quieter, and it would be great if you could purchase additional outfits, as that is something that I know Neve in particularly would really enjoy.

Luvabella is great for encouraging role play, compassion and empathy, and it’s been so lovely to watch Neve snuggling up to her new best friend. She is a high price toy (although with lots of deals at the moment the available price has come down significantly since last year). Despite the high price tag, I do think it is worth the fee based on the experiences we have had to date.

You can learn more about Luvabella on the Spinmaster website. Luvabella is currently on offer at The Entertainer for £69.99 (30% off). You can see Erin’s review of the Blonde Luvabella from 2017 here.

*This is a collaborative post. We were sent the Luvabella Brunette free of charge in exchange for our honest review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links*