So . . . here is a comparison of some light vinyl tones. Medium tones can now be seen here.
Until three years ago, AG offered five skin tones -- light, medium, dark and two unique "dark" tones only available on Kaya and Beforever Addy dolls. Then, three more tones were released in Summer 2018. There is now a very light (available on a variety of dolls, including Blaire, #81, #83 and #88), a new medium (TM #79 and #82) and the new dark of (TM #80, #85 and #91).
Six of the tones (not including Kaya and Beforever Addy) are available as options in the AG CYO doll generator, and sorting out which is which can be very tricky. Here's a chart to show which option is which.
There are two acknowledged light skin vinyl tones, but first -- a quick note on that. The first doll to be released as having the "05" light tone was TM #74, one of the boy dolls. He's still listed that way, but his tone definitely does not match the "05" girl dolls available in the Truly Me or character lines -- or the "05" dolls produced in the Create Your Own (aka CYO) line. That said, some of the photos below will compare all three options.
Left to right (name of doll shown in parentheses):
- 2014 Julie with CYO Dark Red wig (Normal/Original #10 Light Skin Tone)
- Customized Joss Doll from 2020 on 2018 Tenney Body (#10 Light Skin Tone)
- CYO Addy-mold from August 2021 (#10 Light Skin Tone)
- Customized TM #74 from 2019 (#05 Light Skin Tone)
- CYO Classic-mold from 2020 (#05 Light Skin)
[Random Note: It doesn't appear that the shade of the eyelids change when you purchase either of these light skin tones. Each one that we've compared appears the same. We thought there may have been a slight difference in the eyelids of GOTY Blaire, but the 05-tone CYO dolls have the same lids as the 10-tone CYOs.]
- Despite appearances, every doll in these photos has the good-quality eyes.
Customized TM #74, CYO (10 tone) and CYO (05 tone)
Customized Joss, Customized TM #74 and CYO (05 tone)
Customized TM #74 and CYO (05 tone)
The #74 has a rosier, "peachier" tone that's not quite so pale. It's also interesting to note that the #74 dolls have a bit of color in their cheeks. Not one of the 05-tone dolls (being Blaire, #81 and CYOs) that we've had over the past couple of years have had enough cheek paint to even mention. They also have a very different lip paint color than any other AG dolls.
When the 05-tone was first released, it seemed like a great thing to me, and I couldn't wait to have a doll with it. Being partial to red haired dolls, this seemed great, because some of the older AG dolls (who have lost the red tones due to age) can look pretty green when you put a red wig on them.
N.B. Case in point, I tried to customize a Rebecca (dating from about 2010) with a red CYO wig, and that doll just looked green no matter what we did.
In the photo below, you can see customized TM #81 and Blaire (05-tones) on each side of a Maryellen (10-tone), and the 05-tones end up with a bit of a washed out look, while the Maryellen starts to have a greenish tint about her (only in photos, she's got a gorgeous complexion in real life).