AD.  The new Bright Fairy Friends (season 3) are out now and there are 12 mermaids to collect. These magical dolls are the perfect companion, but what makes them so special? We were sent one to review and find out.

Each BFF doll comes hidden inside a jar which can be played with

Bright Fairy Friends Mermaids Review

You wont know which of the 12 dolls you are getting until you open the magical jar up. Inside there is a doll and sealed plastic packages with some accessories: a hairbrush for the doll, a small seahorse shaped sponge, some stickers, a little bottle with a message in and a holder so the doll can stand up and be displayed. 

We got Isla who has purple hair in plaits, darker skin than most of the other dolls, green wings (yes these mermaids have wings because they are fairies too), blue and green clothes/ tail and orange make up. Apparently Isla dreams of being a Marine biologist, she is always studying and her favourite colour is teal. Each of the dolls is different and they all have their own personality which you can find out more about on the Bright Fairy Friends' website.

This season the BFF dolls are all mermaid themed, this is Isla

There are 12 different mermaid dolls to collect

When you open the jar you discover which mermaid you have got, a stand for the doll, stickers and accessories

What’s Different About The Bright Fairy Friends Mermaid Dolls?

There are a few special features of this toy firstly the jar they come in. It’s a thick plastic and in a pretty blue, but the secret is revealed when you flick the switch on the bottom. When turned on the movement activated sensor on the jar will turn on lights on the front of the jar which gently twinkle for 20 minutes. This makes it a nice night light for when children are calming down in the evening. You can also choose to switch it off completely or put it into Try Me mode where the lights just flash for a few seconds. My younger children like the Try Me mode because they don't have to wait long before the lights go out and they can make them magically go back on. The lights are powered by 2 AAA batteries (included) which are replaceable.

One of the accessories the doll comes with is a small seahorse shaped sponge. This initially seems strange and a rather pointless item to include, until you realise that it’s for using to change the colour of the dolls wings. If you make the sponge wet with very cold water then wipe on the wings they should change colour. The colour change wasn’t very noticeable on our doll, but some change to more of a contrasting colour.

The dolls can be played with or displayed using the included holder which supports them in a standing position. The mermaid aspect is just a fabric skirt which is easily removed revealing legs underneath. The dolls have joints at their neck, shoulder and top of legs giving minimal movement, but this doesn’t really matter.

Each doll comes with a bottle with “cork” and message inside. Ours said “Beach Girl”. Each doll has a different bottle and they are quite cute and fun to play with (warning small parts).

The sponge can be used to make the BFF wings change colour using cold water

Reading the message in the bottle

What We Thought Of Bright Fairy Friends

M thought the doll was really cute and loved the twinkling jar (as do her siblings). The dolls are suitable for age 3 and up, but at 10 it is still exactly the sort of toy she would choose for herself. The colour changing wings isn’t a big thing for her as they don’t stay changed for long and it’s not something I can see her doing more than once. The doll, bottle, jar and stand are being played with though.  I suspect the mermaid tail (like most dolls clothes in our house) will soon vanish and our mermaid will become a land lover for the rest of time, she looks like she is wearing a swimming costume when the tale is removed. As we live in a house not a lake or the sea that’s an easy enough concept to roll with without losing too much magic.

Isla has her hair in plaits and we know from experience with  dolls that keeping the hair up is the best way to keep their hair looking good so the hairbrush hasn't really be used. Some of the dolls have hair down though and some children will enjoy brushing their hair. 

Each doll comes with a hairbrush, but Isla has plaits in which we are keeping for now

The mermaid tail is a fabric tail shaped skirt which is easily removed

I think the dolls come at a good price point for what they are and they aren’t too expensive to buy as a treat or with pocket money. There are 12 to collect in this series and I can’t decide whether having 12 of the jars twinkling away on the shelf would be rather excessive or pretty cool (M says "cool, definitely cool"). They could be used for storage of various things like pens so they can be fairly functional. The electrical parts make recycling or disposal difficult when you have had enough. This obviously feels wasteful if you think of the jar as packaging, but if you consider it as part of the toy then it’s on a par with the amount of plastic in lots of toys.

We liked the diversity of skin tones of the dolls and the back stories you can read about on the website are cute. M declared that Isla is smart just like her and they have similar interests, which is nice.

The BFF Mermaid Fairy Friends are a hit with my children and they may well be added to their Christmas lists. They are available now from The Entertainer toy shop. Created by Funrise toys there are other Bright Fairy Friends to collect including Woodland Fairies.

We received the doll to review in a special box (not available for general sale)