Review: Draculaura - Scaris Budget

Draculaura was one of the very first Scaris dolls we saw out of box pics of. I decided right away that I wouldn't be adding her to my collection, not surprising considering Draculaura dolls in general are among my least favorites. For one to land in my collection I either have to consider her to be pretty damn special, or she is a required purchase with a playset or multipack. This Draculaura is neither of those. Over the last several weeks as I've made multiple doll hunting trips (it seems more new MH dolls are hitting shelves every single week lately, doesn't it?), I had several opportunities to investigate Scaris Draculaura and each time she grew on me a little more. I was ringing out at Toys R Us a few days ago when the clerk told me I could grab a second Monster High doll for 50% off -- Draculaura is now hanging out on my "Scaris shelf" because of that sale (smart move, Toys R Us). Of course, for a guy who finds Draculaura pleasant at best I sure do have a lot of her dolls, so maybe I'm just in denial about something.

Those weird wrinkles to the right are where the box bends.

Draculaura is part of the Scaris budget line. She comes in a slim box and has few extras. Her outfit is much simpler than what you see on the deluxe dolls. Her box features drawings of the budget characters posing on the streets of Scaris; they're accompanied by a blurb setting up the Scaris storyline. Unlike the deluxe dolls there's no info on the box specifically relating to Draculaura.

Scaris Draculaura has a soft faceup combining her standard pink tones with the silver you'll find on all the Scaris dolls (save the new characters). She has silver eyeliner topped by light pink shadow. The shadow also runs under the eye. Her divider line is dark pink while the shadow is topped by a layer of translucent silver shimmer that goes to her brows. Her lips are semi-glossy and come in a dark shade of pink that's close to magenta. After the weirdness of the occasionally smaller 2012 eyes (see Dead Tired Wave 2) it's nice to see her eyes getting back to the normal size. Although this faceup isn't a departure for Draculaura the silver adds some interest. The way it is alternated between the pink shadow and under-eye liner gives the makeup around her eyes a "striped" look. It's really cool! As I mentioned this isn't a departure but nonetheless feels like something new for Draculaura.

Her hair is the standard black with pink streaks. In the bangs black is the base color but the streaks are mixed pretty evenly nonetheless. The rest of the hair is primarily black; the pink comes in very thin streaks that are evenly spaced around the scalp line. The bangs are straight across and have a fat curl while the rest is pulled into a thick ponytail to her back-left. There's a mild wave throughout; the texture is nice. This hair isn't silky but it's very close to it. The hair and makeup come across as semi-formal. They would work just as well with an elaborate gown as they do with the outfit the doll wears.

Speaking of, Draculaura comes wearing a two piece ensemble dominated, unsurprisingly, by pink. Her top is made of a semi-stretchy knit and comes in fuchsia. It has a print of black wrought iron-style detailing. Although it has black, elbow length sleeves, the top is worn off the shoulders. I like this top a lot. The print ties into the overall Scaris theme; I love the fit and that it's off the shoulders. Very stylish. It's paired with a light pink miniskirt featuring a black ruffle at the hem. The skirt is a simple fabric but printed onto it are some details that make it look like denim. I like this skirt okay but would've preferred something a little nicer here. The denim-style detailing adds visual interest but doesn't seem very Scarisian, in my opinion. But it matches the top well and seems very "Draculaura", so I'll give it a pass.

Draculaura's shoes are very simple wedges. They're solid black and feature very little molded detail. In fact the only molding going on here is a lip the delineates the body of the shoe from the wedge, that's it. There's no difference in texture between the two nor any decorative flourishes. The color and style of the shoes match the rest of the outfit so there's that at least.

The only jewelry Draculaura wears are her earrings. They're small fuchsia hearts with molded dripping liquid hanging underneath, I suppose to symbolize that Draculaura's is a bleeding heart. The only extra she comes with is her travel case. It's a hatbox that opens on a wide hinge. The lid is dark pink and features a vampire skullette wearing bows to hold pigtails that are shaped like bat wings. Molded stitching runs around the edge. The handle is attached to the lid and has a large bow "hanging" underneath it. The bottom of the hatbox is light pink and is decorated by two small bows and criss-crossing thread. More stitching runs around the edge. The outside rim of the hatbox is lined with two rows of x's. Overall this case feels a bit cheap (as in, the plastic actually feels cheap to the touch), but it matches the outfit and has some cute molded details that relate to Draculaura's vampire theme.

Overall grade: B+ Of the three budget Scaris dolls I own Draculaura feels the most budget of all. She's lacking in all those small details that give Scaris Ghoulia so much personality. The lack of detail in her shoes is especially disappointing. Her case looks good but feels cheap. With the exception of the "stripey" eye makeup, creativity in general is in pretty short supply for Scaris Draculaura. All that said, my overall feelings on this doll are very positive. Her face is quite pretty and the hairstyle, predictable as it is, works. Quality is rather high on both. The outfit is simple but I like it, especially the top. She may not be especially exciting or unique but, taking into account this is a budget doll, Scaris Draculaura is a worthy addition to any MH fans' collection.

Review: Ghoulia Yelps - Scaris Budget

You know who I was really starting to miss around here? None other than today's review subject, miss Ghoulia Yelps! As the (so far uneaten) brains behind this operation, I have to say I consider Ghoulia a pretty important part of Voicething. Her Scooter doll was Voicething's first ever review subject, she was one of the very first character spotlights I wrote, several of her dolls appeared in my Top 10 MH dolls of 2012 list (most of them in the "honorable mentions" category, but still), and her dolls make continual review appearances here. In my previous two reviews of her she had to share the spotlight -- with Abbey and Draculaura  for my Dot Dead Gorgeous 3-pack review, and again with Abbey for my Skultimate Roller Maze 2-pack review. That last review was back in October, and Ghoulia hasn't had a review focused solely on her since way back in August. Today we're correcting that!

Ghoulia is the first doll I'm reviewing of the budget Scaris line. Although it obviously has a lot in common with the deluxe Scaris line there are some pretty big differences as well. The budget dolls come in slim boxes; they don't have the stands, brushes, booklets, and rolling suitcases of the deluxe dolls. The outfits are a bit simpler than the deluxe outfits and their only accessory outside of earrings and the like is a small travel case. The budget dolls don't have the elaborate set up the deluxe dolls have. With the deluxe dolls they had not only the booklet but also a portion of the box back devoted just to that specific character. The budget dolls, as I mentioned, don't have booklets, but they also don't have the little bio on the box back. The budget boxes feature drawings of the characters and a blurb setting up the Scaris storyline (the exact same blurb found on the back of the deluxe boxes), and that's it. There's no extrapolation on Ghoulia and her place within the Scaris story. I figured this was how the budget dolls would be presented when we first heard about the line so I'm not too disappointed about it. Would you like some box back?

While the proceedings here are understandably much simpler than what we got with the deluxe dolls, I have to say right up front that this doll doesn't look or feel cheap at all. This is a beautiful Ghoulia and while her outfit may be simple, it's also very stylish. Let's start with her faceup. Like all the Scaris dolls that aren't new characters Ghoulia's makeup features prominent amounts of silver. She has silver eyeliner topped by beautiful sky blue eyeshadow. Above the shadow is another layer of silver that goes to her brows while underneath the eye is more sky blue liner. The blue of her irises seems a tad brighter than usual but I might just be seeing things. Her lips are a deep, deep blood red. I love this faceup! Ghoulia looks more gorgeous than ever -- glam, fierce, chic. No doubt about it, this girl is ready to take Scaris by storm!

If you picked up the Toys R Us Fearleading 3-Pack you're already familiar with this Ghoulia's hairstyle; it's a virtual carbon-copy of that Ghoulia's hair. It's pulled into a thick ponytail and has a moderate wave. At the front she has a sidepart on her left, leaving long tendrils to cascade down each side of her face. There are a few very minor differences. Both the hair in the ponytail and part at the front are noticeably shorter on Scaris Ghoulia. Also, on Scaris Ghoulia the tendrils have been gelled. Scaris Ghoulia's hair seems just a tad silkier, but it's not as thickly rooted. Whatever, I loved this hairstyle on Fearleading Ghoulia and love it just as much on Scaris Ghoulia. It's a fantastic look -- if they were gonna do a repeat I'm glad it was this.

Ghoulia wears a one-piece outfit -- let's call it a shirt-dress. It's sleeveless and has a hood. It's solid black except for a sky blue ribcage printed on the bodice (awesome). It also has a pouch over the abdomen of red brain matter. Ghoulia's hands can actually slide into the pouch -- hello, posing options! The hood is black, white, and red stripes and looks great, although it's too small to be functional. This outfit is simple but the ribcage and brain pouch give it an edge. It also feels like authentic street fashion. It's the kind of outfit that would appeal just as much to Gaultier as it would to the Scarisian street thugs whose heads Ghoulia will surely be turning while wearing this wicked ensemble. Vive la mode! Vive l'independance!

Ghoulia's shoes are sky blue sneaker-heels. There's a little white skullette at the top side of each heel. There's lots of molded detail going on here. Is it just me or is Mattel getting lazy about painting these molded details? Two years ago these shoestrings would've been painted black. Oh well. The shoes look great anyway. I especially love the use of sky blue, such a pretty color and it doesn't show up often in Monster High fashion. Ghoulia also comes with a small travel case. It's red with a black lid and handle. It opens and is large enough that you could fit several small items inside. It has some molded gore and a skullette adorning the edges. I really love it! It matches her outfit and the block shape makes it stand out. It's chunky and anachronistic, perfect for Scaris (or hipsters).

Her last accessories are her glasses and earrings. Her glasses are pretty standard - red, horn-rimmed, you know them already. Her earrings are a red repaint of the pink ones her basic doll wore. While these extras are nothing to write home about they at least match, and if nothing else, they don't detract from the look. In this case I like Ghoulia just as much out of her glasses as in them.

Overall grade: A For a budget doll she feels and looks awfully nice. No Dance Class generic cheapness here. She's beautiful, I mean really beautiful, and her outfit is way cool. It's authentically fashionable. I love the introduction of sky blue into the MH clothing universe. Her case is funky and unique. The only drawback is that, as happens far too often with Ghoulia dolls, her glasses have left a small indent on her face from being held against it in the box. I really wish Mattel could figure out a way around this. But it's not horrible -- I've certainly gotten Ghoulia's in the past with much worse indents than what this one has. In any case, I love pretty much everything about this doll. Minus the indent she would've been an A+!

One last note: I had planned on posting this after midnight but something's come up and I'll be busy and away from the computer by then, so today's a double post day! Woo-hoo!