TRIFLE

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 17"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $168

Thoughts: Trifle is a regular Secret Collection bear, but she was shown on the most recent Cuddle Time, which I missed because I was at work. I preordered one from my stockist and I was pretty low down the choosing list. I initially wasn't that into any of the ones she got in, but then I went through the pictures slowly and decided each one of them had a mood. Making a list of them made some of them very endearing. Sometimes I'm drawn to bears with flaws and Trifle is one of those. Her nose is longer on one side than the other. Her eye whites are totally different. One comes down and lies flat, while the other is crinkled and off to the side more. I knew I wanted this particular one, but then my stockist mentioned a bald spot. She ended up sending me a pic and I opted to stick with this Trifle, because she was already flawed and I knew she needed someone like me to adopt her, not someone super picky. I know collectors that strive for perfection, while I prefer expressiveness. When she arrived, I took a tweezers and gently pulled some of her mohair through the backing beside each eye. So her bald spots got covered up pretty nicely. A lot of the time, the fur is just stuck underneath a bit. Trifle is a lot like Kirsteen. I completely fell for her when I hugged her the first time. Kirsteen was one I knew I'd love but I didn't expect to love her as much as I do. Trifle is one I initially thought I might skip and ended up being one of my top bears for the year. Her face is so endearing, her colors and lovely, her pinky-purple toes are perfection, and she's SUPER cuddly. I'm totally in love. If you like the colors and can afford her price, which I do think is a bit high, you should try her out. 

CARENZA

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $115

Thoughts: Now this was another surprise buy! I've seen a lot of Carenzas from owner pics on FB, but never fell for any of them. I have bought several pink or pink-accented bears this year. Lammington and Bumbleberry. Harley. Shortcake. Jam Scone. Kirsteen. Battenberg. Eton. It doesn't seem like many, but that's a lot of pink for me in one year. So Carenza was nowhere near my radar until I saw the ones from BAMS. I fell for not one but THREE of them. One got adopted and then it was down to the choice of two. I ended up with this lady, who was not one of my initial two faves, but my liking for her grew to eclipse the other. I love her pink eyeliner wings. Heh. I saw a review of this bear that said she wasn't soft, but I disagree. She's a similar texture to Nicky. Not everything can be tyber, but that doesn't mean it isn't soft. I'm glad I adopted her. She fits in perfectly with my other pink bears. 

CHERISH

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 14"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 300 (Mine is #266.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Mohair

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $315

Thoughts: I am definitely prone to falling in love with a face. However, falling in love with a mohair face is something new. I very rarely buy mohair and when I do, it's always planned. Every mohair I have was a pre-order, except for Plum Crumble, who I had some time to think about before deciding to go for her on that particular Cuddle Time show. I saw Cherish in a shop post on FB and wondered who he was. Then there he was in Valerie's Secret Collection album and I fell for this particular one. Things worked out and I ended up with him. He's a heavy guy. Mohairs are sometimes surprisingly heavy. His fur is purple and brown and it's kind of stringy, unlike any other mohair I own. He's not soft, but he is a cool texture and he makes a nice addition to my mostly mohair shelf. 

BIRTHDAY BEAR 2022

Arrival Date: 11/25/22

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2022 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: Free with rewards (Retail $112)

Thoughts: I decided on a whim to get this year's Birthday Bear box. That's the one they do every year where you have no idea what's in it. I've only ever done it once before in 2016 and I've since sold the bear. I also bought 2018's but I knew what she looked like, and again, I've since sold the bear. I used my rewards points to grab this one and figured if I didn't like the bear, at least I hadn't spent money on him. But it's a baby Black Forest Gateux! A lot of people complained about this and I seriously do not understand why. Many past Birthday Bears have been "anniversary" ones, the smaller versions of older bears. Black Forest was very popular and it's tyber fur! I love the smaller tybers. My only wish is that they'd done baby Rum Baba instead of Black Forest, but that's a minor nitpick. This is a fabulous cuddly bear with the same long pile, deep red and black tyber fur that both Rum and Black Forest have. It's the best tyber they've used so far and having it on another bear is perfectly fine by me.

JOURNEY

Arrival Date: 11/2/22

Size: 16.5"

Year: 2022 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $137.95

Thoughts: Eee! I'm so happy I got my first choice of Journey because I love this particular face. He's gorgeous. He's very skinny with long arms and legs and a big tail. The red fur I believe is tyber. It's very soft, while the white and dark brown are less so. I love him.