Saw Ari Hauntington + other MH musings

I saw Ari Hauntington for the first time.  The shimmery plastic is lovely, but I think the face is a little bland in person.  The fashion feels like a bargain edition Spectra fashion.  I think Mattel is making a big mistake by not giving every single doll a knockout outfit.

I also noticed the Gloom Beach re-release Frankie, and was surprised by how much bigger the eyes were, and how much less subtle the makeup was, compared to the original.

There's a real comparison on YouTube, made by somebody who deboxed one.  I'm not sure the head mold has changed, but the eyes are definitely bigger.  Gloom Beach Frankie was the first MH doll I bought, and still my favorite Frankie.  Many of the recent dolls don't seem as attractive to me as the early dolls, so I don't mind the reboot as a concept, but I haven't seen anything more appealing so far.

Saw First Day of School reboot Draculaura and Frankie

I saw two of the new First Day of School Monster High dolls, Frankie and Draculaura.  They didn't come home.  The new heads are even larger than the originals.  The worse a line sells, the bigger the heads get.  When will it end?  On a similar note, the reboot Bratz have disappeared from my regular Walmart.

For comparison, here they are next to the reboot $5 Cheerleader versions, and an original doll from the dwindling older stock.  I think it's pretty decent that the 1st Day and Cheerleader lines have completely different eye prints.  At least, if you don't like one, you might like the other.

Monster High Beach Beasties Venus McFlytrap

I was happy to see this re-release, I missed her the first time around.  There are one or two other MH dolls I would like to get before it's over, but the shelves are pretty bare everywhere.

I love the swimsuit, the cool tote, everything.  The Op art print is fabulous, I'm a sucker for fashion dolls with sixties style.  If all the bargain edition doll had been designed as well, sales wouldn't have slumped.  I took off the sunglasses and put them in her bag, so they wouldn't ruin her flocking.  The box pops apart, and can sort of go back together.  I wish all boxes could easily be opened and closed again.

Found the first of the Monster High reboot dolls

Sad to say, I saw the first of the Monster High reboot dolls the other day.  The pictures don't do justice to how cheap Frankie's face paint was.  If MH sales have dropped so badly, I imagine other people bought fewer for the same reasons I did.  The only dolls I could find at retail were old or picked over, no new releases.  The clothing grew cheaper and cheaper, there were almost no separate fashions.  I'm not going to pay $20 for a tiny polyester tube dress.  It turned into a compulsive, unending scavenger hunt, and I got burned out.

I don't know why these kindergarten-friendly editions couldn't have existed alongside the regular line.  From what I've seen, this is the complete end for me, though I might buy some on clearance for their shoes.

They are laying the marketing on thick.  I love dolls, but they aren't friends.

Monster High Ghoul Fair Elissabat

This is the first MH doll I've bought since Christmas 2014.  I got burned out from the constant hunting and the lack of fashions.  I sort of wanted the original edition Elissabat, but I only ever saw one, and she had smudged eyes.  Anyway, this edition is still pretty cute.  I bought her at Big Lots a few weeks ago, I didn't even know about the upcoming Monster High "reboot" at the time.

The ruffle on the dress is hemmed, that's nice.  I think the "cake pops" prop is sort  of useless, because it isn't obvious what it is   The shoes are oddly specific.  I could live without the cherry red hair streak.  I think the price was fair for the amount of stuff in the box.