Monster High - Secret Creepers Critters Chewlian Review

Hello! Today I'm going to show you pictures of my new Monster High toy from the Secret Creepers Critters line. At Wal-Mart I found Venus' pet Chewlian and Twyla's pet Dustin, and out of the two I chose Chewlian. He cost me about $7. I don't usually buy other Monster High toys except the dolls, but this little guy was too cute to pass up!

Chewlian still in-box.

Back of the box.

He's a mini paper shredder that comes with little note papers for you to write secrets on and then destroy them. Not really sure I'd use him much for that reason, but I do have plans for him in my stop-motions.

Venus artwork inside the box.

Inside the box there's a paper containing more instructions, Chewlian, and 6 note papers.

Chewlian and note papers out of the box.

6 note papers.

I actually struggled to find the note papers inside the box. For a moment I thought that maybe there was a mistake and they were forgotten. Eventually I found them of course, but they were hidden and really easy to miss. It's possible that I just suck at finding things though, lol.

Front.

Side with lever.

Back.

This guy is too freaking cute. omg lol.

There's little fake cracks on the sides of his pot that are a little hard to pick up on camera. Inside, there's room for the paper shreddings. Chewlian is able to lock into the pot.

Chewlian with his mouth open.

If you turn the vine at his side, his mouth opens and closes to look like he is chomping on the paper you feed him.

A single blade shreds the paper in half.

Chewlian and Chewlian!

Here's a size comparison of the Chewlian that comes with Venus' basic doll and Chewlian from Secret Creepers Critters.

Barbie - Barbie Accessories 2015 Review

Hello! I bought a Barbie doll last year and it was the first one I've had since my childhood. It was the Barbie and Midge Life in the Dreamhouse 2-pack. I really only wanted a Midge doll, but the Amazon prices of her by herself was almost the same price as the 2-pack with Barbie. So, I figured I might as well have Barbie too. I bought this set on barbiecollector.com for $25 plus about $10 shipping.

Barbie and Midge Life in the Dreamhouse 2pk.

I love Barbie, but at first her wide-eyed facial expression scared me. Her smile looked strained, as if someone was holding her at gun-point and forcing her to smile-- or else! But now that I've taken pictures of her, it appears she photographs well and her face isn't as scary as it used to be. I have them displayed sitting on top of my books on my bookshelf.

Anyway, this review isn't about Barbie and Midge, but their accessories! I found various Barbie accessories for cheap at Wal-Mart and decided to buy one. They had simple dresses, skirts, shirts, or shoes and bags for ~$2.50 or you could buy a clothing set (that included a full outfit plus a bag and shoes) for ~$5.

I bought a $2.50 bag and shoes set.

Barbie cat-themed accessories.

Bag and shoes.

The accessory pack is labeled what it contains on the upper left-hand corner.

The pack's contents.

The pack came with one bag, two pairs of shoes, one necklace, one bracelet, and one headband. There were other cute sets, but this one stood out to me because it's cat-themed and I love cats. I saw a few dresses that I liked, but I wanted to just buy one pack for now and maybe I'll go back and buy more later.

Bag front.

Bag back.

Bracelet.

Necklace.

Barbie makes being a cat-lady look cool. lol.

Cat-ear headband.

Barbie wearing the cat headband.

The headband is really cute, but it doesn't sit on Barbie's head nicely. There's space at the top between the band and her head. I was afraid that I'd break it if I tried bending it to fit better.

Light pink cat shoes.

Where can I find these my size? LOL.

Barbie wearing cat shoes.

Black flats.

wut.

Unlike the light pink cat heels, the black flats stay on my Barbie's feet at all. Maybe it was meant to fit Barbies with rubber feet (or whatever the click-joint Barbie legs are made out of), but it slides right off my doll's hard plastic feet.

Summer Fairy Kurhn wearing the black flats.

Luckily, I had a doll that needed shoes and these were the perfect size for her! Summer Fairy Kurhn did not come with any shoes at all and these black flats are just what she needed.

Up-close of Kurhn in Barbie's black flats.

Kurhn's feet.

Kurhn's foot vs Barbie's foot.

Kurhn's foot has a lower arch making it possible to wear both flat shoes and heels. While Barbie can only wear high heels.

Barbie rocking her new cat accessories!

For $2.50, yeah this set was totally worth it!

I'm not sure what the official name for these little bags of accessories are called since they only say "Barbie" on them, but if anyone else does let me know please! Thank you!

EDIT (25 March 2015):

Barbie headband on Sunny.

Barbie shoes on Sunny.

I tried Barbie's headband and pink cat shoes on Sunny (J-Doll Sunset Blvd) and they both fit perfectly! Which means the shoes can also fit Pullip since J-Dolls have the same bodies as Pullip dolls.

Monster High - Amanita Nightshade Review

Hello! This is my first blog post for this year! Today I'll be sharing my review of Monster High's new character, Amanita Nightshade. I have two other dolls and a playset I bought a while ago that I still have to review, but I've been lazy busy lately. Anyway, I bought her for $24.99 at Wal-Mart. A little pricey for a doll that doesn't come with her pet, but her box has a special design like Catty Noir and Casta Fierce so I'm guessing that's the cause of the increased price. I think she was supposed to be February's "Friday the 13th" doll since it's fits the pattern like with Catty and B&W Skull Shores Frankie.

Front of the box.

Back of the box.

Side of the box.

I like the new boxes. Although I don't like that they're made with more plastic, I find them visually appealing. The doll was still very easy to unbox as well.

"Amanita Nightshade, Bad Seed of The Corpse Flower"

Let's examine her name. Amanita is a genus of poisonous mushrooms and nightshades are a variety of flowering plants from tomatoes and potatoes to the belladonna, or deadly nightshade. But apparently she's the daughter of the Corpse Flower which is neither a mushroom nor part of the nightshade family.

Amanita in the box.

Her colours are close to the pictures of the corpse flower seen on Google images.

"Includes brush & doll stand."

This is the first Monster High doll that I've bought in a long while, but I hope that they continue to hide the stands inside the box like the Ever After High dolls. It looks much more attractive to me this way.

The diary is hidden away as well.

What was this rubber band for?

While de-boxing Amanita's hair, I found a yellow rubber band. I wonder how that got there.

Lorna photo-bombing! lol

I recently read that Lorna McNessie, daughter of the Loch Ness Monster, loves to photo-bomb as a hobby. There she is in Amanita's selfie! LOL.

Amanita sure loves herself. haha. :D

The box art behind Amanita.

Stand and brush.

Amanita's diary.

Amanita's diary is a hilarious read. She's self-obsessed, narcissistic and completely unaware of just how obnoxious she is. Much like the corpse flower which emanates a foul stench of a decomposing animal, her personality makes it difficult for others to want to be around her. She also takes a long time to reawaken (1300 years) like the corpse flower which takes every 7 to 10 years to bloom.

omg lol.

She's her only best friend! No surprises there, but it's also pretty sad.

Amanita out of the box. Front.

With a little practice, I was able to get her to stand on her own.

Back.

I tried out the Monster High stand that came with her, but it looks like I won't be using it. I can tell that over time the clamp will ruin her dress.

Amanita on the Monster High stand.

Amanita front.

Amanita's hair accessory.

I like the flower in her hair, but I don't like the clear rubber bands that keep it in place. It's hard to see the detail of her accessory with the bands in the way.

Up-close of Amanita's make-up.

I love her leafy make-up design. Reminds me of Avea Trotter's feather eye-make-up though.

She has three colours mixed together in her hair: blue, purple, and violet.

Thorny vine necklace.

Both ears are pierced.

Spiked bracelet and purse. 

The purse is attached to the shoulder by a rubber band.

iCoffin.

Details of her dress.

While browsing a Monster High forum, I noticed a few people didn't like her dress. Personally, I love it. I'd love to wear something like it. It's just my style!

Ankle accessories.

The Gloom & Bloom lines seems to be all about ankle accessories. While I think Amanita's ankle vines are pretty, they're just too heavy and fall off easily. I might end up taking them off for good if a rubber band doesn't work (or I could glue them since I don't plan on changing her outfit).

A closer look.

Flower shoes!

I like that her shoes are a solid black. If they were painted with another colour it would have been overkill for me.

All her accessories.

iCoffin.

Purse.

It opens!

I love it when the purses open, but unfortunately I couldn't get the iCoffin to fit inside.

Of course. lol.

Amanita on one of my stands.

I ended up just tossing the Monster High stand. I don't display my dolls on their stands anyway.

Front of Amanita's overdress.

Back of her overdress.

It turns out that Amanita has two layers of clothing on. The mini dress underneath is great for those who like their dolls in simpler clothes.

Leaf design.

Amanita Nightshade and Venus McFlytrap.

I decided to compare Amanita with Monster High's other plant monster, Venus McFlytrap. They're the same height, except Venus' shoes make her appear taller.

Can't decide whose face I like more...

Amanita's skin is a little lighter shade of green than Venus'.

I wish Amanita had the same hands as Venus...

Comparing the ears.

Amanita's ears are pointy and look more like vampire ears, while Venus' ears look more plant-like and resemble leaves.

Same face mold.

I knew Amanita's face looked familiar! It was bothering me as I was taking photos of her. She has the same face mold as the Create-a-Monster vampire girl. It's no wonder she has vampire ears instead of leaf ears like Venus. It's a great mold, but it's still pretty disappointing. Especially since she costs more than the other Monster High dolls.

Overall, I like her. I'm a little upset about her sharing the same face as the CAM vampire girl, and I really do wish she was more unique and plant-like. Without her clothes and accessories, one could have a hard time deciding what sort of monster she is. She should have at least came with her pet maggot if she didn't get a new face mold.

But her clothes, accessories, and colour-scheme save her for me. I love her style. Also, I'm happy to have a new character with such a different personality. Her self-absorbed ways may cause younger kids to dislike her, but I think it'll be fun to see how the other characters deal with her.