Color Magic Barbies
The Color Magic Barbie is one of the more difficult Barbies to locate, thus making her one of the more expensive vintage Barbies. But you can usually find a few on Ebay for decent prices, so be sure to check the auction listings below for available dolls.
There were two versions made, the 'high-color' Color Magic Barbie and the 'low-color' Color Magic Barbie. The differences included different shade of skin coloring and tan, and a softer peach lip color and blush on the low color Barbies. Color Magic Barbies were sold in 1966 and 1967.
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 Barbie vintage Color Magic Dress  US $50.00
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 Raven Midnight COLOR MAGIC Vintage BARBIE Repro US $25.00
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 Vintage Color Magic American Girl Barbie Doll Ex Cond US $48.79
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Color Magic Barbies were styled after the earlier released American Girl Barbie, and had the same style body and face as these earlier models. The doll was sold with two different color change packets, which when mixed together with water, allowed the doll's swimsuit and even hair color to change. Naturally, this was a big hit with children all over the world. The Color Magic Barbie was released with two different hair colors, Golden Blonde and Midnight.
The Golden Blonde hair would transform into Scarlet Flame, while the Midnight hair changed into Ruby Red. Typically, the Color Magic Barbie has long, straight, slightly uneven hair that falls just below her shoulders. Her hair is quite brittle and not the softer type hair that some Barbie Dolls have.
Color Magic Barbie was originally dressed in a one-piece, multicolored swimsuit with a diamond pattern on it. She sported a matching diamond patterned headband and a blue bobby pin. Other items included were four hair ribbons, three more bobby pins, a light blue belt for the swimsuit, the two color change packages plus instructions on how to use them, and an applicator.
Mattel released a replication of the Color Magic Barbie in 2004. In order to make sure what you are buying is a genuine vintage Barbie you should check the markings. The vintage Color Magic Barbies have the following markings: ©1958 Mattel, Inc. U.S. Patented U.S. Pat.Pend Made In Japan and also include a 'Copyr. © 1958 Mattel Inc.' on the head rim.
The 'high color' Color Magic Barbie, complete with their vivid and much stronger makeup are more valuable than their low color sister. As with any Barbie, one sold NRFB (never removed from box) is also much more valuable and sought after than a Barbie that has been removed from her box. When buying a vintage Barbie that has been removed from the box, be sure to check the leg movement which should click into three separate positions, and make sure there are no markings on her body, or scratches, etc.