Plastic / Waxy Look of DS Dolls

campion · Post by **campion** » Sat May 23, 2015 1:46 pm

Seriously considering a DS Doll for my next purchase, but one thing that's consistently putting me off when looking over photos, both on their site and here, is this persistent "plastic/waxy" look the dolls seem to have. They look like they're made of candle wax. I understand that these dolls are not directly competitive with the high-end alternatives, but I'm wondering if this bugs anyone else as much as it does me. Poll included above to find out.

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:04 pm

The poll is a little biased in its reference to covering up with layers of powder - that's an exaggeration and layers is unnecessary.

Silicone dolls, and TPE dolls alike, need a massage of powder from time to time.

The photos that we are currently seeing on the forum relate mainly to previous generations of DS silicone technology.

This could look shiny and offputting when not powdered

and when I saw this doll available for sale I thought I was getting second best.

How wrong I was:

All dolls need a powdering for them to feel nice, as well as look nice.

Here's her sister Chloé in France of the same vintage:

Here's the next generation of DS from last year:

Shiny? Plastic? Waxy? Really?

The new soft silicone is now a different generation still and even less so.

Best wishes

Harem

Chronos · Post by **Chronos** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:19 pm

I think the newer doll supersoft formulation they switched to Jan 1 isn't near as shiny in fact it's pretty flat perhaps a newer owner on here can confirn that.

I like the shiny look, most young women on a healthy diet have a glow sheen to their skin or it can be sweat, tanning oil or baby oil

campion · Post by **campion** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:25 pm

haremlover wrote: Shiny? Plastic? Waxy? Really?

The new soft silicone is now a different generation still and even less so.

See pic below. Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers. Maybe it's as simple as companies like 4woods remembering to powder their dolls before product photo shoots, or maybe it's the subtle skin textures on the premium dolls that helps mute this.

Does the new DS silicone alleviate this? I'd hope so, but so far I've not seen any DS Dolls that make me go, "wow, okay, problem solved!" In a way part of their "look" is this slight artificiality.

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:37 pm

I think the Asian yellow colour looks more the colour of beeswax which gives the impression.

DS dolls don't go for ultra realism but they look real enough at times.

Chronos wrote:I think the newer doll supersoft formulation they switched to Jan 1 isn't near as shiny in fact it's pretty flat perhaps a newer owner on here can confirm that. . . . I like the shiny look, most young women on a healthy diet have a glow sheen to their skin or it can be sweat, tanning oil or baby oil

It will be interesting to see if the 158 which is a life cast, although modified, looks more real in due course.

Best wishes

Harem

Post by **Mondoon** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:41 pm

campion wrote:......Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers. Maybe it's as simple as companies like 4woods remembering to powder their dolls before product photo shoots, or maybe it's the subtle skin textures on the premium dolls that helps mute this.

Yes I have to agree with you, about the fingers especially. As for powder: I've just had Hanna (4Woods) back from the factory after repairs, They have cleaned her. She does not need any powder at the moment, there are no shiny patches and her whole body has a matte finish. It is perhaps unfair to compare hands and feet but really there is no comparison. Anyone who has owned a 4Woods knows the superb detail of both and nothing I have seen comes close. The veins and muscles on a 4Woods body lends itself to not looking like wax.

Rick_Deckard · Post by **Rick_Deckard** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:45 pm

campion wrote:See pic below. Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers.

What you want is a detailed body and face up made by a professional make-up artist.
This would no doubt make a DS look like one of the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers, but also make the price rise accordingly

To offer their product at a good, affordable price, this is DS style, as Harem said, realistic but not Hyper-realistic. Take it or leave it...

Post by **jiayi** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:45 pm

Chronos wrote:I think the newer doll supersoft formulation they switched to Jan 1 isn't near as shiny in fact it's pretty flat perhaps a newer owner on here can confirn that.

The new DS dolls are not as shiny. I have a DS from 2013 and a new DS, so in a side by side comparison the difference was obvious. The new doll, without powder, looked like the 2013 after powder.
Campion,
I think using photos to discern the look you are talking about is a near impossible task. Lighting, camera type, camera angle, the computer monitor you are using and more, can create different effects. And that does not take into account the dpi of the original picture and the fact that most monitors only display 72-96 dpi. Some real time, side by side comparison may be the only way to know for sure. Good luck on your quest.
Jiayi

campion · Post by **campion** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:47 pm

Mondoon wrote:
campion wrote:......Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers. Maybe it's as simple as companies like 4woods remembering to powder their dolls before product photo shoots, or maybe it's the subtle skin textures on the premium dolls that helps mute this.
Yes I have to agree with you, about the fingers especially. As for powder: I've just had Hanna (4Woods) back from the factory after repairs, They have cleaned her. She does not need any powder at the moment, there are no shiny patches and her whole body has a matte finish. It is perhaps unfair to compare hands and feet but really there is no comparison. Anyone who has owned a 4Woods knows the superb detail of both and nothing I have seen comes close. The veins and muscles on a 4Woods body lends itself to not looking like wax.

Right, exactly. Now, it's probably not fair to demand that DS meet the same level of quality and detail as 4woods, these are different product tiers. At the same time, DS is not shy about taking business away from the premium doll manufacturers. DS seems to be a very ambitious company, responsive to what it's customers ask for. If we ask them to fix this limitation of their current product line perhaps they will. Perhaps DS know what the problem is, but to fix it would make their dolls cost $2k more, and that's not the price tier they want to be in.

In any case, I think DS make excellent dolls, I just want them to get even better.

Post by **Mondoon** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:57 pm

campion wrote:
Mondoon wrote:
campion wrote:......Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers. Maybe it's as simple as companies like 4woods remembering to powder their dolls before product photo shoots, or maybe it's the subtle skin textures on the premium dolls that helps mute this.
Yes I have to agree with you, about the fingers especially. As for powder: I've just had Hanna (4Woods) back from the factory after repairs, They have cleaned her. She does not need any powder at the moment, there are no shiny patches and her whole body has a matte finish. It is perhaps unfair to compare hands and feet but really there is no comparison. Anyone who has owned a 4Woods knows the superb detail of both and nothing I have seen comes close. The veins and muscles on a 4Woods body lends itself to not looking like wax.
Right, exactly. Now, it's probably not fair to demand that DS meet the same level of quality and detail as 4woods, these are different product tiers. At the same time, DS is not shy about taking business away from the premium doll manufacturers. DS seems to be a very ambitious company, responsive to what it's customers ask for. If we ask them to fix this limitation of their current product line perhaps they will. Perhaps DS know what the problem is, but to fix it would make their dolls cost $2k more, and that's not the price tier they want to be in.

In any case, I think DS make excellent dolls, I just want them to get even better.

If they have now started a 'Life Cast' line of dolls the waxiness problem might have been sorted. It would be useful to hear from someone who owns such a doll.

campion · Post by **campion** » Sat May 23, 2015 2:57 pm

Rick_Deckard wrote:
campion wrote:See pic below. Look at her fingers, her face, she looks like she's made of wax. Even in your sample photos above, the doll's skin has an overly smooth and artificial texture, though yes, it's not shining. I've owned silicone dolls before, and do understand the role and use of powder, but there appears to be something slightly unusual about the skin of a DS versus the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers.
What you want is a detailed body and face up made by a professional make-up artist.
This would no doubt make a DS look like one of the "big three" silicone doll manufacturers, but also make the price rise accordingly

To offer their product at a good, affordable price, this is DS style, as Harem said, realistic but not Hyper-realistic. Take it or leave it...

Fair enough, I have considered that maybe to enjoy a DS Doll one has to see this slight artificiality as part of the charm of the doll. I don't want to re-open the debate Stacy recently kicked off about realism versus doll fetishism, but I guess this may be in that category. I think DS are trying for realism, they wouldn't do a full body cast of a Japanese porn star for their 158 body if that were not the case. The way they seem to work though is to have few configurable options so they can maximize factory throughput and minimize delivery wait times.

"Take it or leave it" is probably not the best slogan for any company touting their products, but it is possible that these dolls are simply the best DS can do with their current pricing and manufacturing model. To hope they can approach the realism of the top-tier manufacturers at half the price may be just a pipe-dream.

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Sat May 23, 2015 3:02 pm

campion wrote:At the same time, DS is not shy about taking business away from the premium doll manufacturers.

I'm sure that that wasn't written with the intent of which it sounds. Rather than taking away from anyone, DS really has earned acclamation and the business they deserve in so doing. In making their dolls as they do, they are leaving room in the market for other manufacturers to do what they do well.

It's for that reason that I'm happy about putting links to PIB, French latex inflatables in my signature together with DS as none are in my opinion competing with each other. They're just different!

Best wishes

Harem

mexdl · Post by **mexdl** » Sat May 23, 2015 3:06 pm

I think new silicone formula without powder is a excelent product versus money invested, squeeze and super soft, great faces, top of the line skeleton and awesome bodies sculpts for a fraction $ of a high end doll.

I know both formulas, new formula without powder shows a little shine only in the makeup sealant parts of the body. new formula with powder show no shine at all (and new formula retain powder better)

also, it is not fair to made an statement by looking at pictures only, some of new formula pictures are taking with direct flash, even people with direct flash shine.

regards

mexdl

Rick_Deckard · Post by **Rick_Deckard** » Sat May 23, 2015 3:13 pm

campion wrote:"Take it or leave it" is probably not the best slogan for any company touting their products...

"Take it or leave it" was a joke of course, anyway I basically agree with you, DS dolls sculpt are very good, hands and feets are life-casted for all their models and they would benefit greatly from a more detailed body and face up, to insert the variations that would make the skin looks a lot more real.

Probably they could start by making this an optional for an additional price.
It would be interesting to see how this could fare commercially...

campion · Post by **campion** » Sat May 23, 2015 3:21 pm

Rick_Deckard wrote:
campion wrote:"Take it or leave it" is probably not the best slogan for any company touting their products...
"Take it or leave it" was a joke of course, anyway I basically agree with you, DS dolls sculpt are very good, hands and feets are life-casted for all their models and they would benefit greatly from a more detailed body and face up, to insert the variations that would make the skin looks a lot more real.

Probably they could start by making this an optional for an additional price.
It would be interesting to see how this could fare commercially...

Yes, even the top-tier vendors are guilty of giving many of their dolls a uniform skin color from head-to-toe, which is simply not realistic. Adding a few birth marks is not enough either, there are common variations of skin color (darker elbows and knees for example, paleness around the abdomen) that essentially all manufacturers currently ignore.

I'm not asking for that level of detail from DS Doll! Really, I just want their dolls to have more realistic-looking skin and darker nipples and I'm sold. They make charming faces and their dolls have incredibly sexy figures. Just a couple of details and they'd have it down.