Venus' First Swim

Last week, after picking up all three of the 2013 Swim dolls, I eagerly jumped into reviewing them. You can read about Lagoona here and Draculaura here. I also had a full review of Venus written and ready to go live. The day after I wrote it, but before I had posted it, news about the correct Swim Venus broke. That Venus has the green eyeshadow and light pink lips seen in the box art for the dolls. The doll I had purchased was the first version, basically a re-release of basic Venus with shorter hair in a ponytail and brighter wrist and ankle vines. I decided not to release the review and instead wait until I can get the correct doll to write about. In the meantime, here are the pics I took for that review. It seems a waste not to use them, and these can serve as a sort of teaser until the correct doll shows up. And so here is Venus' First Swim...

Venus' Second Swim, aka the review of the correct doll, coming soon...

Review: Draculaura Swim Line 2013

Happy Valentine's Day, dear readers! Today I'm going to be looking at Draculaura, possibly the perfect character to discuss on this day of romance. If you've read my Lagoona Blue Swim Line review you already know my general thoughts on this curiously unnamed line. That means we can jump right into the Draculaura discussion!

2012 was a rocky year for Draculaura. Yes, there was a slew of dolls released of the character, which could lead one to believe that it was a great year for the diminutive vampire. Unfortunately, for the most part the actual dolls, to me at least, left a lot to be desired. Several of them were only available as exclusives in multipacks, and it seemed each multipack Draculaura was the weakest doll in her respective set. The ones that weren't multipack exclusives were either boring (Dead Tired Wave 2), or just plain tacky (Ghouls Rule). In general there was an air pf predictability surrounding Draculaura in 2012 and I know I wasn't the only one in the fan community who felt this way. There was only one Draculaura doll last year that I out-and-out loved, her JC Penney Roadster doll. But 2013 has, so far, proven to be a different story for the character. Her Scaris doll isn't revolutionary in her design but she's very pretty and in general is of rather high quality. And although I chose to pass on her Picture Day doll, she at least had some colors on her face besides the usual pink and her outfit was interesting. And then we have her newest doll, Swim Line Draculaura.

I'll tell you now, right up front, that I LOVE this doll! She has a lot going for her, from design to theme to execution. Let's talk specifics...

Swim Line Draculaura has a faceup that eschews the pink-on-pink color scheme that left so many of us bored in 2012. Instead this Draculaura utilizes a bold dark-bright color combination. It's a fresh approach to designing this character and it breathes new life into Draculaura! (No pun intended.) She wears very light bronze eyeliner. Her eyeshadow encircles the entire eye and comes in a medium shade of taupe. Translucent silver shimmer travels to her brows. I love these eyes, but even better are her lips. They come in an orange-pink shade so bright it could almost be described as fluorescent! Curiously, this Draculaura has no fangs. Some fans have complained about this but personally I like it. Why? Without the white fang-paint covering her lips you can more clearly see just how plump her mouth is. She kind of looks like she's blowing a kiss, that's how plump these lips are. It's worth noting that Swim Line Draculaura's cheek heart isn't outlined, another change from the usual Draculaura faceup. Bottom line: this is an amazing faceup -- bold, bright, and fitting for this character without relying on so much pink.

Draculaura has bangs and wears her hair in pigtails. We've seen this hairstyle on her a few times already. What makes it so great here is the texture. It's thick and silky, and has fat curls at the ends. Her bangs are black underneath and pink on top. For the rest of her hair the pink is rooted only at the part where it is once again on top with the black underneath it. The length seems a little longer than usual for Draculaura, with the bottom of the pigtails landing just above her elbows. As I already mentioned, what really stands out about this hair is the fantastic texture.

Being part of a swim line, this Draculaura wears a one piece suit. The body is made of a smooth knit with a print of vertical black and white stripes. Scattered throughout are hot pink bats in outline. The straps are made of hot pink ruffles that wrap the neck and form a V over the bust before landing at a hot pink bow over the abdomen. The bow is attached to a matching hot pink belt. Both the bow and belt are made of translucent plastic. More knit ruffles appear at the hem of the legs. Usually so much pink would turn me off but I love it here! And even though pink is the standard Draculaura color, here it somehow feels fresh and new. I think a lot of it is thanks to the contrast of textures between the smooth knit of the suit and the hard but pliable plastic of the belt and bow. The overall vibe of this outfit is very retro; to me it looks like something you would have seen on a circus performer in the 30's. Like Swim Line Lagoona's swimsuit, this is one of the best we've seen to date from Monster High.

Draculaura's shoes look like a highly modded version of Scaris Draculaura's plain black wedges. Here they come in translucent hot pink and have some minor molded detailing. They also have an ankle strap that wasn't on the Scaris shoes. Although they're not the most exciting shoes in the world they match the outfit, and the molded details at least add some visual interest the Scaris shoes were lacking. Draculaura also comes wearing a pair of sunglasses -- they're hot pink and in the shape of bat wings. They're the best Draculaura sunglasses released to date, in my opinion. Unlike Lagoona's (very cool) sunglasses, these fit the doll perfectly. An accessory of Draculaura's that the other two swim dolls didn't come with is her tiny bottle of sunblock. It has an SPF of 500 -- clearly vampires need LOTS of protection from the sun! As you probably already know I love little extras like this. The SPF number cracks me up and is one of those cute little MH touches that make this such a fun doll line. Draculaura's last two accessories are her small beach towel and large tote. The towel comes in a print that matches her swimsuit, except here the black stripes are much wider than they are on the suit. Her tote is a chunky hot pink piece with a grid design. I know it's supposed to look like bat wings but to me it much more closely resembles a butterfly. Whatever the case, I quite like it! The handles are block-shaped hearts, another really cool and uniquely MH touch.

Overall grade: A Draculaura is another slam dunk for the 2013 Swim Line! She's stunningly beautiful! Her faceup avoids the boring, predictable, pink look we've all grown tired of. Her hair looks amazing and the quality is great, too. She wears a vinatge-y swimsuit that cleverly plays around with textures, and her accessories are all good, especially the wicked bat-glasses! The sunscreen is a cute little bonus that is pure MH. The combination of a unique faceup, interesting swimsuit, great hair, and general high quality make this one of my favorite Draculaura releases to date!

Review: Lagoona Blue Swim Line 2013

Another year, another Monster High swim line. This time with a twist: the line has no name! Continuing the trend of trying new things in 2013, Mattel is releasing the new swim dolls without an official name, the first themed line to do this. I figured this would happen eventually; there are only so many "creepy" puns you can use to name a beach-themed doll line. To be honest with you I actually like this approach. After the oddness that was Dance Class, a line that emphasized "dance" in name only, it's refreshing to see Mattel cut right to the chase by just putting the dolls out there sans signifiers. You don't have to be a genius to see that the dolls are beach-inspired so there's really no need for a name, anyway.

The lack of a name isn't the only thing different about the new line. Compared to previous swim lines this one is pretty small -- only three dolls are featured (so far). And the dolls are exclusive to a certain degree. Like last year's Dead Tired wave 2, they're only being sold at certain stores. I don't know exactly which stores are included, but I do know K-Mart and Kohl's are among them. You likely won't see them at Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, or Target.

With her headband and large sunglasses there's a strong retro vibe to this Lagoona. Over at the MHD forums I posited that she was somewhat inspired by the original 1971 Malibu Barbie. That idea never got any traction but I stand by my theory. Although not a direct repeat of that doll, this Lagoona has similarly large sunglasses and a very similar hairstyle. The cut of her swimsuit is vaguely reminiscent of Malibu Barbie's and their color palettes tread similar territory. Take a look...

This is the Malibu Barbie reproduction from a few years ago, but she's completely true to the original doll.

In any case, we have another new Lagoona this year! Like Spectra, she seems to be taking priority in 2013, with what seems to be renewed interest in the character on Mattel's part. I love me some Lagoona so I'm all for it! When the swim dolls were first revealed I was really taken by all three of them, but Lagoona grabbed my attention the most. Once I got my hands on the dolls and had them de-boxed she was still the standout for me, and so she's the first I'm covering for the blog. Woo-hoo!

There's nothing particularly different or new about this Lagoona's faceup. That said, she's quite pretty, as Lagoona dolls always are. She has hot pink eyeliner topped by a purple divider line. Aqua blue shadow surrounds the entire eye while silver shimmer goes to her brows. Her lips are pure pink. What is new about this Lagoona is her hair. It's parted in the middle and is straight except for an extremely mild wave at the neckline. For Lagoona it's fairly short in length, landing just above her rear. Her blue streaks are spaced evenly and are rooted only at the part except for a couple of streaks in the front. At the front the hair is twisted on each side and wrapped to the back where it's banded into a thin ponytail. The texture is nice, especially compared to the curly-haired Lagoona dolls, but it's not as silky as Dance Class Lagoona's hair is.

Lagoona wears a one piece, one-sleeved swimsuit. The body of the suit is white knit with a paisley print in aqua, pink, and black. The paisley is done in a whimsical sketch style, very unique. We never see paisley in MH fashion so it's presence is welcome here, for me anyway. The sleeve is made of translucent, hot pink plastic. Two knit ruffles in aqua with pink polka dots hang below the plastic; more plastic appears at the hem of each leg. I'm totally loving this swimsuit! As I mentioned, the paisley print is new for MH and simply looks great, while the plastic sleeve and hems gives the look an edge. The smooth texture contrasts nicely with the knit. The ruffles give the swimsuit an interesting silhouette and the polka dots are just plain cute.

Lagoona comes with hot pink wedge sandals; they're the same color as the sleeve and hems of her swimsuit. There are some minor molded details but nothing to write home about. More interesting are her other accessories. She wears a hot pink headband molded into the shape of a tentacle. Two smaller, curling tentacles dangle on one side, similar to feathers or beads on a "regular" headband. It fastens closed in the back, similar to the eye patch in Robecca's deluxe fashion pack. Lagoona also wears sunglasses. They're translucent aqua and have tentacles wrapping the lenses, creating a horn-rimmed effect. I like them quite a bit but they're so large I have trouble keeping them in place when she's also wearing the headband. The headband has a habit of pushing them down her nose. Matching the sunglasses is a large clam shell-shaped tote. It has a flat bottom (it can stand up), and seahorses connect the handles to the tote. The plastic is pliable so it opens very widely. Lagoona's last accessory is her beach towel. It's pretty small, about two inches by four inches. It has the same paisley print as her swimsuit. The new swim dolls don't wear wraps -- I'm guessing the budget for them went towards these towels. My only complaint here is the small size. I wish it were just a little bigger so it could be used as both a towel and a wrap. As it is, it's simply too small to be cinched around the doll's waist.

Overall grade: A Aside from a few minor qualms with the accessories I'm very happy with this Lagoona. Her swimsuit looks fantastic and has several interesting elements -- the print, the plastic sleeve, the ruffles. It's a very "Lagoona" outfit but doesn't feel predictable or like a retread. It's easily one of the best MH swimsuits to date. This is a new hairstyle, something I always welcome on these dolls; the texture of the hair is very good. Her faceup is nothing new but Lagoona is always pretty so, for me at least, this isn't a big deal. The combination of the sunglasses and headband give Lagoona a hippie vibe, a fitting look for such a kind, open-hearted character. This is a budget doll so she doesn't come with a stand or hairbrush.