Cosmetic Takeover Natalia

I apologize for neglecting my blog for so long.  I've had these photos ready since just after my last post, but I was just having trouble getting the written part done.  One of my goals with this blog was to have something "new" to say about each doll -- whether it be some little known fact, or a new way of viewing a doll's importance or impact.  I don't really think I have achieved that goal with this installment, but I do hope you find something in it enjoyable.

Jill (Cosmetic Takeover Natalia) wearing
Miniature Couture, with jewelry from
Facets by Marcia.

Cosmetic Takeover Natalia introduced a new character to the Fashion Royalty universe, and a beautiful, stylish antagonist to propel the storyline.  Natalia was the convention doll for the very first Fashion Royalty/Jason Wu convention held November 12 - 14, 2004 in Toronto, put on by My Favorite Doll.  Natalia was a limited edition of 300, and she was included with the $199 registration fee.

How I found my NRFB CT
Natalia when I opened the box.

The dolls featured at the convention were among the last produced with the original FR body. There have been some quality issues with these first bodies. The plastic they are composed of has weakened over time and become brittle.  When I finally received this grail doll, in NRFB condition in November of 2011, I was shocked to find her neck broken, and her head rolling around in the box.  It wasn't the first time this had happened to me -- the first 

Jill, my Cosmetic Takeover
Natalia, showing off her new body.

 was my beloved Shock Bon Bon Vanessa.  So, while it was shocking to see her head severed from her body, I understood that it happens, and set about finding her a replacement body. 

Versace's "It" bag from 2004

Gwen Stefani in
Versace in 2004 

I did manage to find some fashions that could have inspired Natalia's much sought after ensemble -- her bag was most certainly inspired by a Versace bag in their 2004 line.  The dress, however, seems to be an combination of looks by both Versace and Gucci in their 2003 and 2004 lines.

Giselle, in a Gucci ad from 2003. True, she is naked, but the water
does give the illusion of Natalia's nude, shimmery dress.

Jess Walton, who plays Jill Abbott Fenmore
on The Young and the Restless.

Like all of my girls, CT Natalia has been renamed after a soap opera character. And while some dolls don't "tell" me their names right away, Natalia was very adamant that her name is Jill, after Jill Foster Reynolds Chancellor Brooks Thurston Abbott Sterling Atkinson Fenmore, on The Young and the Restless. Natalia has a lot in common with the character Jill, both trouble makers from the wrong side of the tracks, who through sheer drive and determination, have made success for themselves, in the cosmetics industry.

Jill, wearing Grand Gesture Dominique's gownand turban, with Most Wanted Elise's jewelry

Jill, wearing a gown of unknown origin.

Jill, wearing Mattel. Fur by Dimithia.