Hello everyone! There are already several fantastic reviews here in the Zelex forum about this doll but I thought I’d give an opinion from the viewpoint of someone who’s previously only owned TPE dolls and my impressions with this being my first silicone doll. This might help those TPE owners who are also considering buying their first silicone doll, or those who are just curious in general.

BACKGROUND

I’ll start by first mentioning a few notes of my experience with TPE dolls to later make some points of why I now prefer silicone and why I think that this Zelex silicone doll is awesome (spoiler alert)! When I first dipped my toes into this hobby, I decided to play it safe and bought one of those knock-off TPE dolls from eBay. Despite its problems, I still learned a lot about owning a doll – care/maintenance of TPE, handling, posing, etc. And I read a lot of threads here in the doll forum before even creating an account (until I finally hit a thread that required an account for viewing ). Once I learned about all the additional features offered by TPE manufacturers, I decided to purchase a WM doll (145cm) with moaning and internal heating. At the time, the order got screwed up and I ended up getting an additional doll (150cm I-cup) for free! Now, I’ve read through so many threads about the debate between which is better – TPE or silicone. At the end of the day, they each have their strengths and weaknesses and it comes down to your personal preference. After owning TPE dolls for over a year, I grew dissatisfied because of the following caveats:
1. they require frequent cleaning,
2. the TPE odor is strong and fades after a while, but still remains present to an extent,
3. if not frequently powdered, the TPE feels rubbery and doesn’t feel like human skin,
4. makeup fades very quickly if the doll experiences a lot of “play,”
and 5. the overall look of the dolls just didn’t look realistic enough (life-like in terms of skin complexion, LHP, etc.) for me (you could immediately tell that they’re dolls). That’s just my opinion of course. Others may feel different. Lately, some manufacturers have begun making TPE dolls that look much more life-like but these other points still permeate the TPE industry. For me, this aspect will drastically affect how turned on I get just by looking at a doll and interacting with it.
Of course, there were some positive aspects too. My 145cm doll was easy to handle (weighing 28 kg) and the internal heating system was excellent (still works without issue), making that doll a nice cuddle buddy.

Yvonne 165cm (Standing Feet, Internal Heating, EVO Skeleton) Review

Now, on to the reason you’re here! Right out of the gate, I’m saying that this Zelex silicone doll is fantastic. I am very pleased with my purchase! The biggest reason why I decided to start looking for a silicone doll is because good silicone doll manufacturers usually don’t have any of the issues I mentioned above (according to what I’ve seen and learned here on the forum). For a while, I was researching many different silicone doll manufacturers – Realdoll, Sanhui, Sino, Gynoid Tech, Starpery, etc. I finally decided to purchase a Zelex doll for the following reasons:
1. The quality of the doll you get for the price is outstanding at just $2100-$3000 (depending on which vendor you purchase from – I purchased my Yvonne from Your Doll. Leading up to receiving my doll, their customer service was very kind, helpful, and professional – answering all of my questions. Full silicone dolls (with this level of detail) are usually in the $4000+ price range (especially in the list of manufacturers I was researching).
2. The look is absolutely incredible and can be mistaken as an actual person when viewed from certain angles. This entails the body makeup, complexion, veins, and LHP. The body sculpt is based on an actual person, which I think is a great idea and is likely why Zelex dolls look so realistic!
3. By default, the doll has gel-filled breasts and its body is not too soft and not too hard, according to other reviewers here.
4. The build quality seemed to be sturdy and strong (skeleton-wise).
So…I made the leap…and as I said, am very happy. After placing the order, I received pictures of my doll in just over a week! Zelex was very fast! There was an initial hiccup with the nipple color but they fixed it in just a couple days and sent pictures again. I received my doll about two weeks later (shipped to the U.S.).

To hit those earlier points I mentioned about my TPE dolls, these are my impressions so far regarding my Zelex doll:
1. Silicone is different than TPE in that it isn’t as easily susceptible to bacteria and mold so it doesn’t require as much cleaning. That being said, I purchased my Yvonne with a removable vagina and still clean the insert immediately after every use. But the rest of the body doesn’t stain as easily, get dirty easily, or retain any odor, which leads to my next point.
2. Out of the box, there was no smell, which was VERY surprising to me. Every TPE doll I got had a strong chemical smell right out of the box. I can play with this Zelex doll without having to get “used to” an odor. Maybe silicone dolls in general don’t smell and you guys already knew this but I was not aware of it, having been accustomed to TPE.
3. Yvonne feels great. I’ve played with her both with and without powder. With powder she feels good and realistic, but even without powder, she feels good. It’s weird and difficult to describe. Although not as realistic, the skin still feels good to the touch and I don’t mind playing with her without powder.
4. The makeup is absolutely gorgeous! Sometimes, I can just stare at the skin and if I lose my train of thought, I’ll trick myself into thinking I’m staring at an actual person’s ass (or tits). The makeup artists at Zelex definitely know what they’re doing. The veins and complexion look incredible! And after washing, the makeup still holds strong over most of the body! I cleaned the doll in the shower when I first received it and again about a month later. Now, notice I said most. The only issue I’ve had thus far with the makeup is that some of it is starting to come off from the top of the nipples, but the color is still mostly intact overall on the nipples and areolas, so I’m not too hung up over it. You can see some quick pictures I took with my phone showing the problem below.

5. I also want to mention again how great the LHP is (vagina and butthole placement). This is perhaps one of the most realistic dolls I’ve seen in this regard (which, again, makes sense given the fact that the sculpt is based on an actual model). For me, this is a huge turn-on.

The Negatives

It’s unfortunate, but not all dolls are perfect! I have to be honest about some of the negatives I’ve experienced.
1. The internal heating system stopped working immediately after only one use. This is one of those areas where Zelex has some catching up to do. The heating adaptor is not like others I’ve seen. There is no temperature setting or reading for you to see. It is simply a black brick that lights “red” if it is warming the doll and “green” if it is not. The first time I used it, the light remained red for about 2 hours then turned green. The doll was warm. After a few hours had passed, the doll began to feel cold again so I plugged the adaptor in again. The light remained green and wouldn’t turn red. I contacted my vendor reporting this problem and they replied that the doll needs to fully cool before being able to heat again. At this point, 12 hours had passed and the doll was cold to the touch. I tried heating it again but the adaptor light remained green. Just in case there was some miscommunication, I left it plugged in for a few hours to see if it would warm up. It didn’t. So I waited another whole day. The doll was obviously cold to the touch. I tried heating it again and it still wouldn’t work. I explained this to my vendor and never received a reply from them. I’m honestly not too upset since this upgrade was only $150, considering the full price of the doll. But I’d warn against purchasing Zelex’s heating system until they improve it. From what I understand, it is fairly new because earlier this year, Zelex mentioned in a forum thread that they didn’t have a heating system. But it became available as an option when I ordered a few months ago. So now, I’ve just resorted to using a heating blanket to warm the doll (I can’t enjoy myself and will completely disconnect from any immersion if the body is cold). Images of the heating adaptor (which plugs into the doll on one end and into an electrical outlet on the other) can be seen below.

2. After putting the doll into some poses for my photoshoots, its left elbow joint has become very loose to the point where it will no longer hold its position without help. I’ve heard of others cutting open their dolls on the Zelex forum and tightening the joints but I’m afraid to do this as I have no experience with this and am afraid that I’ll mess up this doll’s good looks.
3. This isn’t necessarily a full negative but I wish that the removable vagina was softer. While the rest of the body feels great to the touch, I feel like the sex is…fairly satisfactory, and that the doll’s canals can be a little rough if not used with a lot of lubrication. This may be because I’m used to the softness of TPE and its ability to stretch. This is one of those advantages though that TPE has over silicone. Overall though, the sex can still be enjoyable when proper lubrication is applied and the doll is positioned nicely (especially with the evo skeleton).

Verdict

So there you have it! If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you reading a newbie’s perspective! Aside from those few negatives, the positives certainly make Zelex’s 165cm silicone doll a VERY worthwhile purchase! Again, the body detailing is absolutely incredible (makeup retention is great for the most part), the overall skin on the body has just the right amount of softness to it (gel-filled breasts feel great, ass is soft but nice and firm at the same time, if that makes sense), and the LHP is realistic (a nice turn-on for me  ). When I made my order, Zelex only had hard silicone heads available but now offer soft silicone heads and are currently working on movable jaws. Had I known soft heads would be available so soon, I’d have waited an extra month or two but I’m still very happy with my purchase. I definitely plan to buy a soft head in the future because I enjoy being able to kiss my doll (which can’t really be done with the hard head). Thanks again for checking out my review!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

And if you want to see more photos, check out my photoshoots in these threads: Nighttime Blues and School Girl

**This review is posted on The Doll Forum by Yourdoll’s customer – easycompany14. We get authorized to post on Yourdoll.com. To view the original post, please click here.**