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!