Barbie® & The Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll

Barbie doll is featured here as Princess Liana from "Barbie and The Diamond Castle" who sings two songs from the movie and wears a mesmerizing glittery gown that magically transforms with the flip of a switch. Her necklace lights up when she sings. Pair her with the Princess Alexa doll, sold separately, to hear beautiful duets. Requires 3 "button-cell" batteries, included. Doll measures 11.5" tall.

Barbie takes on a whole new look with the adventurous "Princess Liana" -- the character she plays in the movie "Barbie and the Diamond Castle." This singing Barbie comes with a dress that "magically" transforms from "plain" to "fancy" and has the trademark long, blonde hair that little girls love to brush. With her jeweled purple tiara, this Barbie is sure to delight aspiring princesses age 3 and up--whether or not they've seen the movie.


"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



Sparkly yet Sturdy
Your little girl can play with this Barbie right out of the box. Parents might need to show younger kids how to flip Barbie's dress over with the turn of a knob (the instructions tell you how). You might also need to point out the tiny button that makes Barbie sing a song from "Barbie and the Diamond Castle," but once they know where it is, even little ones will be able to find it quickly.
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.

I was called on Friday by a friend. Their photographer didn't show and they wanted to know if I could fill in within the hour. I packed my gear, jumped in the car and we did a shoot. We had a lot of fun and I'm glad I had the opportunity. This is for a new store opening in Chicago's Lincoln Park called "Little Black Dress". Here's a preview of what we shot.

Model: Jenna - Ford Chicago
MUA: Sue Yan
Production Design: Ogi Merzier
Photo Assist: Giau Truong
Photo & Edit: Dannyjive.com

Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc. 2nd Annual Little Black Dress 2011 Fashion Show, Luncheon and Silent Auction at Windsor Park Conference Center in Mishawaka Indiana attended by friends from Bristol Indiana featuring Cathy Friend, Bristol Indiana Fashion Coach and Debra Daniel from WSBT News.

Two sisters whose lives seemed forever intertwined are torn apart when a magical little black dress gives each one a glimpse of an unavoidable future
Antonia Ashton has worked hard to build a thriving career and a committed relationship, but she realizes her life has gone off track. Forced to return home to Blue Hills when her mother, Evie, suffers a massive stroke, Toni finds the old Victorian where she grew up as crammed full of secrets as it is with clutter. Now she must put her mother’s house in order—and uncover long-buried truths about Evie and her aunt, Anna, who vanished fifty years earlier on the eve of her wedding. By shedding light on the past, Toni illuminates her own mistakes and learns the most unexpected things about love, magic, and a little black dress with the power to break hearts . . . and mend them.

Product Description
Two sisters whose lives seemed forever intertwined are torn apart when a magical little black dress gives each one a glimpse of an unavoidable future.
Antonia Ashton has worked hard to build a thriving career and a committed relationship, but she realizes her life has gone off track. Forced to return home to Blue Hills when her mother, Evie, suffers a massive stroke, Toni finds the old Victorian where she grew up as crammed full of secrets as it is with clutter. Now she must put her mother’s house in order—and uncover long-buried truths about Evie and her aunt, Anna, who vanished fifty years earlier on the eve of her wedding. By shedding light on the past, Toni illuminates her own mistakes and learns the most unexpected things about love, magic, and a little black dress with the power to break hearts… and mend them.


Amazon Exclusive: Charlaine Harris Interviews Susan McBride

Susan McBride and Charlaine Harris met in 1999 when Susan’s very first novel was published by a small press and Charlaine was an established mystery author, writing two separate series (the Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard Mysteries). Susan went on to do five Debutante Dropout Mysteries for HarperCollins/Avon while Charlaine tried her hand at a Southern Vampire Mystery featuring telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse. When Dead Until Dark was released in 2001, Susan passed out wax vampire teeth at the Mayhem in the Midlands Convention to celebrate her friend’s new book, hoping it might just catch on. My, what a different a dozen years makes! Charlaine’s 11th Southern Vampire Novel, Dead Reckoning, was recently released and hit #1 on virtual every bestsellers list while HBO’s TrueBlood heats up the small screen. In the meanwhile, Susan has taken a leap of her own and in a mystical direction as well, penning her first novel of magic realism, Little Black Dress, prompting Charlaine to ask a few questions of her old pal.
Charlaine Harris: Writers approach a genre switch with trepidation. Were you excited? Anxious?
Susan McBride: I was very comfortable writing series mysteries but always had the itch to try something else. I was fortunate to be asked to write several young adult books and then The Cougar Club, my first mainstream novel, which gave me the confidence to attempt Little Black Dress. And I needed that confidence! Writing Little Black Dress was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever gone so deep into a story or into the characters, and it took over my life for months and months. I’m both excited and anxious for the book to come out, wondering what my mystery readers will think of it and hoping it attracts readers who’ve never read my books as well.
CH: What was your fundamental beginning idea for Little Black Dress? Was it a key scene, an interesting situation, the character of the protagonist?
SM: I’d love to say the idea came to me in a dream but it was really very simple. I was thinking of things that are common to all women—daughters, sisters, mothers, wives—and I envisioned a little black dress. Maybe because my mother always insisted that every girl should have at least one in her closet since they worked well at most any function: cocktail party, graduation, fancy dinners, and, of course, funerals. I wondered, though, what if there was a dress that fit several women in one family, all of whom were different sizes. And what if this dress was made of a very special silk that seemed “alive” and that, when donned, made its wearer glimpse her future. Then I saw two very different sisters from the 1960s, one destined toward spinsterhood and one on the eve of her wedding to a rich man she didn’t love. I wondered how putting on a magic black dress that revealed their fates could change both their lives. Would it push them apart or bind them together? Would the dress affect a second generation? So that’s where I started, and the idea blossomed from there.

CH: Why did you decide it was the right time to try something different?
SM: I’d been contemplating what I wanted to do after The Cougar Club as I so enjoyed telling that tale of three women and their great friendship. I think The Cougar Club is filled with hope and love, and I wanted to spin another story about hope and love and forgiveness but in a completely different way. Dealing with the magical element was definitely something I hadn’t tried before, but my agents and my editor were thrilled. In fact, I felt such enthusiasm from them over my Little Black Dressidea that it was kind of daunting. I knew I had to stretch my literary muscles further with Little Black Dress and dig a little deeper than I had before. Maybe because I have a sister—and we’re as much polar opposites as Anna and Evie Evans in Little Black Dress, I got very emotional while writing the book. But it all seemed to come together perfectly. I hate to say I think it’s fate, but I do!
CH: Was the editing process different for this very different book?
SM: Hmm, that’s an interesting question! It was a challenge to make sure I unveiled the mystery of the black dress and the sisters’ fates in a linear fashion while using two points of view: that of Evie, the older sister, and Antonia, her daughter. Evie’s perspective is very personal and historical, and Toni’s viewpoint is much more modern. So it was a matter of keeping the tension there while moving the story along, and reaching a place where past meets present (for want of a better description). My agents and my editor were incredibly insightful, and the novel is much stronger for their input.
CH: Do you think you’ll want to write more books like Little Black Dress, or do you think you’ll return to conventional mysteries?
SM: Yes, I’d love to write more books like Little Black Dresswith magical elements. It’s very freeing to know you can go beyond the boundaries of reality and what’s considered “normal” in these books, and I adore that feeling. In fact, I’ll be dipping into the world of magic realism with my next novel, Little White Lies.
CH: Last but not least, do you have a great little black dress that you can’t live without?
SM: I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t. I just have a really old one hanging in the back of my closet. And it would probably take some magic to make it fit. So I think I’d better go shopping!