REVIEW: Monster High Core 2.0 TWYLA

 

I'm convinced there are people on the MH design team that love Twyla and Venus more than the others, because they consistently have the strongest dolls in G3. This Twyla is easily the best core refresh doll tied only with Cleo 3.0, and that's because I'm heavily biased towards Cleo in pants. 

Cute art. 

Purse and Dustin bag charm. I love that Mattel is embracing the current trend of bag charms across their lines. 

This is one of the cutest G3 purses. Possibly the cutest? I'm too lazy to compare them all, okay? But it's damn adorable. 

Not particularly functional, as it could only fit a couple things inside and they've gotta be small, but I'm fine with aesthetic over function this time. 

Some sort of yogurt drink and spaghetti with dust mite balls. Brave to take spaghetti to school. Do not get any on that sweater, missy. 

Nightmare Journal. Sigh. Love it. 

Headphones that won't be seen again. I will not risk messing up her hair. 

The back of the phone is cute. I wish the screens were more interesting though. I want to see her talking to Manny or something. 

Precious Dustin. 

She's so perfect. 

This is going to be one of those where I have a lot of pictures and the same praise words I always use. Because I love her. 

Hair: perfect. 

It's not poly, for those obsessed with fiber. Probably saran. The one that feels heavier and doesn't lay flat very well. 

Makeup: extra perfect! I have worn this exact makeup and it suits her so well. 

There's a little black necklace under there. 

I love this outfit. It's like dark academia but cozy, which I think is pure Twyla. The slouchy neckline over the buttondown is so cute.

 

Adorable boots. 

Yeah, she's absolutely gorgeous. 

I think she's now my favorite Twyla. 

Yeah, pretty sure she is. I don't have my MH out yet, so I can't say 100%, but I'm like 99.9% sure. 

If you're a Twyla fan, you need her. 

Sheer perfection. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: Mattel Sparkling Princess Snow White

 

This will be short. 

I wasn't sure I was keeping this doll. I don't have a box picture because she looked so bad in the box that I almost returned her. 

I get what they tried to do with the hair but on mine, the front curls are way too long to look anything like the promo pics. 

This is after a gel wash. I still don't love it, but I don't care enough to try to trim the hair to make it lay better. 

The outfit is decent. I like the cape. Love the shoes. The collar material is really stiff and cheap though. 

I don't see the $33 here. Definitely not my favorite from the line and not up to part with the first ones, even though she looked spectacular in promos. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Bratz X The Craft Nancy Part 2 + Bonnie, Rochelle and Sarah

All right, first, let's finish up with Nancy. 

This is my first Nancy. I decided to keep the second one in the uniform. So this is the same doll you guys saw last time, just in the black outfit. 

The earrings were a bit too distracting for me, so I took them off. She did have them on in the party scene, but Bratz earrings are almost always like twenty times the size of human earrings. Once I get my doll stuff all unpacked, I'll see if I can locate some simpler earrings for her. 

I like it. It's a bit simple. I feel like they could have embellished the dress a bit, and while the material is nice, I would have preferred more flowy. The sleeves are also a little too long. But overall, it does the job well. 

Now for the rest of the coven!

Have I mentioned how much I hate gel? Because I know I have, but let me say it yet again: I HATE GEL. I feel bad for boxed collectors, because this does not look good. 

I'm starting with Rochelle, because she needed no help. 

Her hair is good, but's way too big. Rochelle has shorter hair. But this type of thing is typical for translating live action to doll. I am so thankful they did not do this with Nancy though!

I like her outfit. She has little black suspenders under there. I like the tie, too. Very cute. 

From a doll standpoint, she looks great! She's really pretty and has that bitchy witchy vibe. To be honest though, she's my least fave of the four, and that is 100% because of the hair length. She looks the least like her live action counterpart. This is not to say I don't love her. I do. I just love the other three a lot more, because something about them captures the actors better. 

The painted on fishnets should have been a bigger weave, but this wasn't a terrible attempt. 

Her shoes are super cute. 

This was my surprise of the day. I thought Bonnie would be my least fave. But no. 

Her coat is like windbreaker material and she has a sweater under it. The white top is sleeveless. 

There is something about this doll, once you get that horrible gel out, that just screams (har har) Neve Campbell. I can't even explain it. She just has the pure essence of Bonnie. 

She might be my favorite after Nancy, and that's saying a lot, because I essentially spent the $120 just to have Sarah. 

Best shoes after Nancy's. 

Sarah! 

I love her. 

Like Bonnie, she just really feels like the character. 

I wish they'd done all these girls individually. We were robbed of more outfits. 

Shoes that look boring and clunky from the front, but are not at all boring from the side. 

Time to go call the corners. 

I love Nancy the most. Obviously. I paid $140 so I could have one in each outfit. But I'm so glad I was able to get them all. The nostalgia is so real. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: Bratz x The Craft NANCY Part 1

So on The Craft day, I placed two orders. I went in fast for only Nancy, not even wanting to try to add both things to my cart. Just a quick, paid in full on my card order. I did not want to risk losing her. And it worked. There were a couple oddities, like the item page not updating and then them saying she was sold out. Thankfully, I waited a few seconds and then she turned to available. I think I actually got to her before she even loaded on the site or something. After she was secured, I went back in and put the 3-pack and a second Nancy in my cart. Checked out with a payment plan. (Money's been tight this month especially, but I was not missing out on these peak nostalgic dolls.) Got them. Two orders placed. 

Later that day, Nancy shipped. She arrived today. The second order? Still not shipped. 

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with the second Nancy, but now that she's in hand, I know I'm going to display one in each outfit. Nancy is special. The Craft came out when I was just about to graduate high school. I had already been the odd kid, because in a somewhat rural school full of country music lovers (our prom theme was a Garth Brooks song), I had been into 90s industrial since 1992, when I discovered KMFDM. My wardrobe was mostly black, but also mostly band tees, ordered from paper newsletters I'd gotten in the mail. I saw in Nancy's wardrobe outfit pieces I would kill for. I never saw myself in the character, but I wanted her style. So the movie was fun, but Nancy always meant more to me, because she was yet another character like Lydia Deetz and Dark Lily from Legend, who inspired my future style. 

So instead of my usual review, this one is going to be basic. I want both Nancys in hand before I decide who gets the black dress. The one that stays in the school uniform will keep her sunglasses on her head. And there is no way I want to put this outfit back on the doll. I hate long sleeves into long sleeves on dolls. The struggle. 

I don't have a better shot of the candle and snake than these pics here. I'll try to get all the animals together once the 3-pack comes. 

Cute idea for the certificate. 

Love these. 

There's nothing inherently wrong with the black dress here, but I wish they'd used a more flowy material. 

And the coat needed longer bell sleeves. It's decent, but I think they could have done a bit better. 

She is so good though! I can't believe how much she looks like Fairuza. I hope they contact her and send her one. 

She's so gorgeous. 

I am not normally into hair gel, but Nancy definitely needs it. 

Her arms don't bend very well under the layers of sleeves, but the look is so iconic that I don't really care. 

I wanted this jacket. I ended up with a long one, more like Trinity's. 

 

Nailed the boots. 

From the back. 

She holds the knife well, but not so much the book. It's okay though. 

She immediately went on the shelf with my other current favorite things. Once my second order gets here, I'll be back with photos of one of the Nancys wearing the black dress, as well as the rest of the coven. (They just shipped!)

If you told me I'd be getting dolls of Buffy and The Craft in the same year, I never would have believed you. Now if we can just get Xena and Ever After...

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.