Monster High Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent Draculaura

The Monster High Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent line is the second series of the Skulltimate Secrets line. The first series of the Skulltimate Secrets was released earlier this year. It consisted of five dolls: Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Cleo De Nile, Lagoona Blue, and Clawdeen Wolf. Each doll came with a dress-up locker and 19+ surprises. The second series, called Fearidescent, just dropped. As the name implies, each doll features one piece of iridescent clothing. The Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent line retails for $29.99. The second series features the same five characters as Series One. I bought the Fearidescent Draculaura at Target.

The Skulltimate Secrets line capitalizes on the popularity of surprise dolls such as LOL Surprise and Hairdorables. I bought the Draculaura Skulltimate Secrets because I was drawn to the wintery vibe of her outfit. Even the locker has pastel colors and a snowflake motif, a cooler, softer feel than the locker from Series 1.

Like L.O.L. Surprise dolls, each compartment contains a bag that contains a few surprises. There are four items in each bag.

The first bag contained a skirt, a top, a fur stole, and another key.

The second bag contained ear muffs, earrings, a lacy collar, and a clear pink glittery key.

The third bag contained a skullette key fob, a second pair of shoes, and yet another key.

You can put all the keys on the key fob so you don’t lose them. All the keys are the same, by the way. All the keys fit into all the compartments. If in the unfortunate event you lose all four keys, you can turn the lock with your finger to open it. The silver keys can be dropped in a bowl of water to reveal a color. The color of the key will match the color of a compartment on the coffin.

The fourth bag contained a coffin purse and a black bat soft-serve ice cream cone. But wait, something’s missing. According to the instruction sheet, and the many YouTube unboxing videos of this doll that I watched, the fourth bag should also have contained a black skullette compact and a pink tube of lip gloss. I double-checked the bag to see if I missed them, since they’re so tiny, but they weren’t in there. How disappointing.

The purse actually opens and closes. It can hold the skullette compact and the lip gloss – if I had them. 😡

Draculaura’s makeup is entirely in pink. It features pink glittery eyeshadow and pink glittery lipstick. Even her trademark heart-shaped beauty mark is pink instead of black. Here she’s modeling the earrings from one of the surprise bags. They’re spheres with bat wings on a chain.

Draculaura’s first outfit consists of a black crop-top with pink spiderwebs on it. There’s a heart at the center of each web. The top features long net sleeves that are puffed at the shoulder then become tight down to the wrist. The “fearidescent” pink A-line skirt has a large ruffled hem.

Her light-to-dark-pink-gradient knee-boots are extremely detailed. They feature open-work heart motifs up to the heart-shaped tongue at the top. The zipper down the front has a heart-shaped zipper pull.

The tips of the boots feature spats with studded straps that wind around up to the ankle, ending in a heart-shaped buckle.

The heels are heart-shaped.

Not having quite recovered from the disappointment of the missing compact and lip gloss, I experienced yet another shock. When I removed Draculaura’s top, I had to take her hands out in order to pull the tight sleeves down. Now I’ve removed hands from Monster High dolls countless times in the eleven years that I’ve been collecting them. In all that time, I’ve never had a hand break on me, not even the spindly G1 hands. When I bought my first G3 doll, I was impressed by how much sturdier the hands were. But Draculaura’s hands felt “off” when I pulled them out, and when I tried to put them back in after I changed Draculaura’s top, they broke. Both of them! Both had the same issue. The soft rubber peg inside the hand that allows for articulation at the wrist split. I tried putting the hands back on but they’re not secure, and they fall off sometimes when I’m trying to pose the doll. So if Draculaura’s hands look a little wonky in the rest of the photos in this review, that’s why.

Nothing a little crazy glue can’t fix, right?

Draculaura’s second outfit consists of a pink sleeveless crop top with a large black heart with corset lacing. Her pink circle miniskirt is printed with a black spiderweb design and has a black ribbon around the waist.

Her jelly platform shoes have pink glittery uppers with double straps featuring hearts and winged hearts.

The black fluted platform heels feature a heart-shaped recess in the center.

After opening all of the surprise bags, I dressed Draculaura in my favorite pieces from the Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent set. I love the first top with the second skirt. The removable lacy collar looks so good with the first top. I removed the earrings because I felt they were a little busy. And I love the boots with this outfit. In this ensemble, Draculaura is perfection.

What appealed to me most about the Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent line was its winter-themed accessories. Sure, it’s the end of July and ninety-five degrees out, but I’m ready for some cooler weather. Here Draculaura models the bat-wing earmuffs.

From the side you can see that the earmuffs are heart-shaped.

She’s added her fur stole to keep the chill away.

So what do I think of the Skulltimate Secrets Fearidescent Draculaura? I love her. She’s a beautiful doll. The coffin-shaped locker she comes in reminds me a lot of the Monster High Draculocker but with the element of surprise. However, as much as I love her, this doll is the first Monster High doll to ever let me down. I was disappointed that the hands broke, and that two of Draculaura’s accessories were missing. Did I just have a bit of bad luck, or is this indicative of a decline in the quality of Monster High dolls? Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with this doll.

Although Series 2 of the Skulltimate Secrets line just came out, details about series three have already been leaked. It’s called Skulltimate Secrets Neon Frights, and it consists of Draculaura, Frankie Stein, Ghoulia Yelps, Toralai Stripes, and Twyla Boogeyman. I’m excited to see another Ghoulia Yelps doll. It looks like Mattel has given Ghoulia her bold-but-brainy personality back. This was a slight issue that I had with the first Generation Three Ghoulia. I felt she looked bland and kind of vacant. I’ll be on the lookout for the Skulltimate Secrets Ghoulia when Series Three comes out.

Bye

Barbie the Movie Margot Robbie as Barbie and Barbie the Movie Fashion Pack with Three Iconic Film Outfits and Accessories

Last weekend Ghoulia13 and I saw The Barbie Movie. We actually did Barbenheimer, starting with Barbie. We loved it! Since then we’ve been on a Barbie the Movie kick. We bought some of the dolls, and Barbie the Album has not left my turntable since last weekend. I bought the Barbie the Movie Margot Robbie as Barbie doll from Walmart.com, and the Barbie the Movie Fashion Pack with Three Iconic Film Outfits and Accessories from Target.com.

Barbie as Margot Robbie is the “basic” Barbie doll, or as Barbie described herself in the movie, she’s Stereotypical Barbie. It retails for $24.99.

Barbie comes in the pink gingham dress that we see Barbie wearing in the beginning of the film to start her Best Day Ever. The doll uses an articulated body, but it’s not the Made-to-Move body. Mattel is using the less-articulated B50 Poseable Body, (a.k.a.the Gigi body because it was used for the Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi Hadid Doll in 2017). The Gigi body doesn’t have the extra joints at the knees and elbows and it’s not articulated at the ankles, waist, or bust.

Barbie wears white floral earrings with a matching necklace and bracelet.

Hi Barbie!

She wears pink pumps with a heart motif on the toes. Unfortunately, the shoes don’t stay on the doll’s feet very well.

The Barbie the Movie Fashion Pack with Three Iconic Film Outfits and Accessories retails for $50.99. The box looks like a wardrobe.

The three outfits are a pink gingham beach romper suit, Barbie’s shorty pajamas, and a blue-and-white sundress. The outfits come in large, flat boxes reminiscent of the original Barbie fashions from the late Fifties through the Sixties.

I didn’t realize when I purchased the Fashion Pack that it’s a part of the Barbie Signature line until I discovered the Certificate of Authenticity on the underside of one of the boxes.

Barbie’s pink gingham beach romper comes with matching shorts and large-brimmed sun hat. Accessories include a pink seashell necklace, a pink bracelet, and cream espadrilles.

The back features a large heart-shaped cutout.

The heart-shaped cutout is in the perfect spot to align with the Barbie trademark on the doll’s back!

The second outfit from the movie is Barbie’s shorty pajamas set. It’s adorable. It comes with a velvet hair ribbon and a hairbrush. The shoes are pink high-heeled slides that look like the shoes that came with Barbie dolls from the Fifties and Sixties.

The third outfit is the blue-and-White ensemble that Barbie wears on her less-than-perfect day. The bodice features a heart motif. It comes with blue striped shorts and a polka-dotted headband, two bracelets, one blue and one white; and white shoes. The shoes are made from the same mold as the pink shoes that came with the Barbie as Margot Robbie doll.

So, I have thoughts about the Barbie the Movie Margot Robbie as Barbie doll and the Barbie the Movie Fashion Pack with Three Iconic Film Outfits and Accessories. Let’s start with the doll. As I mentioned, the body isn’t on a Made-to-Move body. I was expecting better articulation from this doll considering its $25 price point, which is more expensive than Made-to-Move Barbies that retail for about $17. The outfit on the Barbie the Movie is simple and it has few accessories to justify the $25 price tag. The articulation is okay but it’s not the smoothest when posing the doll. Also, the doll’s hair is very frizzy. The doll is cute, it kind of looks like Margot Robbie, and I like it as a tie-in to the movie, but the quality of the doll is more playline than collectible.

As for the Barbie the Movie Fashion Pack with Three Iconic Film Outfits and Accessories pack, while the presentation is reminiscent of the vintage Barbie fashions, the quality of the movie fashions isn’t the same. They do use snaps (albeit plastic) instead of Velcro (unlike the Barbie the Movie doll), but the material is thin, and the Fashion Pack uses the same cheap plastic accessories as playline fashion packs. There is repetition of accessories like the beaded bracelets, and the white shoes made from the same old as the pink Barbie the Movie doll shoes. I expected better from the Barbie Signature Collection lines. In the Nineties, Mattel made collector-quality fashion packs such as the Barbie Millicent Roberts line of dolls and fashion packs. These fashion packs used quality fabrics and accessories that had great attention to detail. The collector dolls and fashions produced today show a decline in quality at the expense of the profit margin.

Did you see Barbie the Movie? Did you buy any of the merchandise?

Rainbow High Gabriella Icely

Ever since I caught the Rainbow High bug last autumn, I’ve been stockpiling Rainbow High dolls. I’ve got so many Rainbow High dolls at the moment that I’ve fallen behind in blogging about them. Gabriella Icely is from Series 3. I bought her at the end of last year, when Series 4 had already been released. Now that Series 5 dolls were released earlier this year, I suppose it’s time to give Gabriella her time in the Dollsville USA spotlight.

Like all Series 3 dolls, Gabriella comes with a second outfit and a second pair of shoes (Series 5 has been criticized for no longer including the second outfit, opting instead more more plastic accessories such as hangers and the same plastic sewing machine that came with the Jett Dawson deluxe set). Gabriella also came with the same stand, comb, and hangers as most if not all of the Rainbow High dolls.

I love the Rainbow High combs. This one came in handy to comb Gabriella’s hair which, surprisingly, didn’t have any glue in it. Excess glue to style hair has been an issue that has plagued many Rainbow High dolls, to the point that many collectors wash their dolls’ hair to get it out. Gabriella’s hair was very soft and easy to comb. This is her hair right out of the box with just a comb-through.

Gabriella Icely gives Wintertime realness. As her name suggests, her hair, makeup, and clothing are in tones of ice blue and silver for a super-frosty effect. And when I first saw Gabriella, I thought she was super-frosty too. She seemed a bit difficult when we first met her. I thought she was going to be one of the Mean Girls of Rainbow High, like the Devious Twins. But Gabriella mellowed out later on, like when she used her skills as a fashion technology major to help her roommates in the first season’s fashion show during Radiant Week. And it looks like love is in the air between Gabriella and Finn.

Her hair is made up of strands of icy blue mixed with streaks of snowy white. It’s secured by two plastic barrettes.

Her eye makeup is done in hues of icy blue and silver.

Gabriella’s second outfit features a sleeveless dress that’s shirred at the sides.

It’s paired with a faux snakeskin jacket and blue strappy sandals.

Gabriella’s faux snakeskin purse from the Rainbow High Mini Accessories Studio perfectly complements her second outfit.

The choker that comes with the second outfit spells “Rainbow.”

While Gabriella seemed to be a mean girl at first, she’s mellowed out over the course of the second and third seasons of the Rainbow High webisodes. So is Gabriella Icely the girl you love to hate, or the girl you hate to love? I like her!

Bye!