Review: Ghouls Rule Cleo De Nile

Ghouls Rule has proven to be a popular line for Monster High. The clothes! The hair! The makeup! It's all so ridiculously over the top, and fans have loved it. Me, I'm not so into it. Sure, these dolls look ready for the kiki, and indeed tea may be spilled, and just desserts served. Fun stuff, but it's not my thing. That said, this line included my golden girl, Cleo De Nile, and I simply couldn't pass her up. Plus, of all the Ghouls Rule dolls, she looked the least like a drag queen on a bender. And sure enough, once I had her in my hands I found myself falling in love.

Cleo has shoulder length, tinsled black and turquoise hair. She has a bump-it in the back (borrowed from a drag queen bestie?). Her eyes are gorgeous -- green-yellow irises surrounded by navy blue shadow, with a gold strip through it that comes to her characteristic prongs. Small circular details accent the top and bottom. Her lips are gold. Both the eyeshadow and lips have glitter over them.

She wears a one piece dress with two layers over the bodice. The outer layer is nude and has turquoise stripes jutting off in geometric patterns, including over short sleeves. Under this is a layer of gold with an embossed print of circles; this layer is sleeveless. The layered effect is impressive, and the patterns emphasize her mummy theme. The bodice ends at the thighs, where a hem connects it to a skirt made of black netting. Over the netting lays mid-length turquoise strips that come to a point. Once again, impressive.

Cleo wears a cape. The neck piece is a gold, curving snake. It doesn't fasten but the curves of the snake's body are close enough to function in place of a clasp. Hanging from the snake's body are shards of black gauze with a shiny gold print. The cape is incredibly cool, especially since you can take the gauze pieces and wrap them around her arms. It's a dramatic look, no doubt -- her queenly friends taught her well.

Her shoes are dark green translucent heels, with nifty gold bricks working in place of a traditional heel. There's also a snake-like strap that wraps around each ankle. I love these shoes so much. They function well but break significantly from standard doll shoe design -- just what we love from MH. Plus they emphasize her Egyptian theme. They're spectacular.

All the Ghouls Rule dolls come with a masquerade ball-style mask. Cleo's is gold and features a twisting wand with molded ribbons hanging off the side. The wand has a working grip so she can hold it herself. If you position her hand and face correctly she can hold the mask up to her eyes and it fits! The design of the eyepiece looks a bit like molded, stylized feathers. When held by Cleo directly against her face the effect is almost eerie. She looks a bit creepy, like she could be in Eyes Wide Shut or something. I really love it.

Her only other worn accessories are gold earrings and a bracelet on each wrist. One earring is a curled snake while the other is a simple "jewel". The bracelets are both rather simple. She also comes with some non-wearable pieces including a molded turquoise... uh ... pumpkin I guess? It has a handle. Is Cleo going trick or treating? Because I seriously have doubts about that. She also comes with a punch bowl containing purple liquid that's held by gold snakes. It has a matching ladle and cup with straw.

The fun thing about this dress is you can "puff" up the netted skirt and it will hold it's shape, splaying the turquoise strips every which way. The same can be done with the gauze that make up the cape. The strips can be wrapped around her arms, her body, you could even wrap them around her neck if you wanted. (I bet Rochelle has considered this a few times.)

After falling so thoroughly in love with this Cleo I went back to the store to check out the other Ghouls Rule dolls, thinking maybe I had unfairly judged them. But no, I still don't like them. That's okay. I couldn't be happier with my seemingly drag-inspired Cleo. I suppose it's fitting that a girl of royalty would find kinship with the modern queens of our world.

Overall grade: A+ Although the other dolls in this line don't work for me I totally love this Cleo! I feel the OTT aspects of the line are tamed down a bit on Cleo, just enough to make it work for me. I also love that her Egyptian mummy theme is out in full force on this doll, and executed quite stylishly. This is one of my favorite Cleo's.