Well, Well...Introducing the Disney Store's Maleficent

Growing up, Sleeping Beauty was one of my favourite Disney movies, and Maleficent was one of my favourite villains. She turns into a dragon! Sure, she's the Mistress of All Evil, but who hasn't wished they could turn into a dragon at one time or another, right? When I heard they were doing a live-action movie about Maleficent movie, I had mixed feelings, but as soon as we started seeing images of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, I was definitely on the way to being completely sold. She looks gorgeous in the film, striking and just a bit spooky, and basically perfect, and I knew well before seeing the movie that I was going to need a doll version of her.

And the Disney Store didn't let me down! I heard that she was starting to be found at Disney Stores, and conveniently, happened to be near the closest Disney Store this weekend and was able to pick one up. I'm a bit gun shy about Disney stuff lately, since I still haven't been able to get myself an Elsa doll to go with the Anna doll I got before Christmas, so I didn't want to wait too long to get Maleficent. Though, considering the fact that this doll costs $38.95 in Canada, I doubt they'll be flying off the shelves like the Frozen stuff has! (Speaking of Frozen, my Disney Store had an Olaf bathing suit, and some t-shirts and that was basically it for Frozen stuff. What gives?)

So, does Maleficent live up to her price point and my expectations? Click through to find out!

It's just a jump to the left...My first custom doll!

I've got something a bit different for everyone today! Remember way back when I bought Ghoul Spirit Spectra and screwed up her hair? Well, for awhile after that she sat in my doll storage bins as I thought about what I wanted to do with her, and then one day, it came to me!

My favourite movie of all time is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and my favourite character is Magenta. Attending Rocky is an essential part of my Halloween every year, and about 10 years ago, my husband and I even went to a Rocky Horror convention in NYC, and of course, I dressed as Magenta.

This is me, with one of the actors from the movie, Stephen Calcutt!

Once I decided to turn Spectra into Magenta, it all happened pretty fast! I ordered hair, I bought fabric and paint, and I just went for it. Click through to see how she turned out, and for details on what I did!

From Monster High to Ever After High: C.A. Cupid

Today I have kind of an interesting review. I've loved Monster High since 2010, and have recently come to love Ever After High as well, and the doll I'm going to be reviewing today is actually a bridge between those two worlds. C.A. Cupid began at Monster High, getting one doll release (that is now pretty highly sought after!) but never really becoming a huge part of the webisodes or films. Then, she took a walk through a magic mirror, and now she's at Ever After High, helping the students there to find their happily ever after, now that their futures aren't as certain as they once were.

This is a really neat opportunity for Mattel to reimagine the same character in two very different styles, and since I do have the original Monster High Cupid as well, we're going to do a little comparing! 

I must say, I'm glad I was able to finally get my hands on Cupid, since she took what felt like an incredibly long time to make it across the border into Canada. I had one in my hands months ago in the States but passed her over to pick up Jane Boolittle and Viperine Gorgon, thinking surely she'd be in Canada soon enough. Well, months later, and she finally turned up!

Was it worth the wait? Find out after the jump!

Just Right: Ever After High Blondie Lockes

The latest addition to my Ever After High collection is Blondie Lockes, the daughter of Goldilocks. I will admit to not being especially excited about her when she was first released, and for a long time I was actually planning on skipping her. But then there was that BOGO sale at Toys R Us, and I needed Apple, which meant I could get another one for free...and well, you know how this goes!

I will say right off the bat that I really don't like her name. I mean, could the designers have been less creative? It's like they just took the first idea anyone threw out and went on with their day. In general, I do think that the Ever After High names are a little simplistic (especially coming from Monster High, where there are some really creative names), but poor Blondie definitely got the fuzzy end of the lollipop here! 

Apart from that, there are definitely some interesting things about Blondie, so let's take a closer look! 

Life in the Dreamhouse Nikki (plus her fashion pack!)

Today I've got a bit of a two-for-one for you! I finally picked up Life in the Dreamhouse Nikki, and I couldn't help but grab her fashion pack too, so I'm going to be reviewing all of that in one post. I've been seeing the Dreamhouse dolls around less and less, and seeing Nikki even less frequently, and I was starting to get worried I might miss out on her! She's the last of the Dreamhouse dolls that I really love and feel like I need, and she was the last on the shelf at Toys R Us, so I feel pretty good about my decision!

This will probably be a quicker review, since I've looked at a few of these Dreamhouse dolls before, but there will definitely be lots of pictures of Nikki's beautiful face!

Stick around to see more of the gorgeous Nikki!

Monster High 2014 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Announcement!

Matty Collector just announced that the Monster High Exclusive at this years San Diego Comic Con is going to be a two-pack of popular background characters Iris Clops and Manny Taur. This set will retail for $40 at the convention, and will apparently be available on Matty Collector after the convention, though it will be very hard to get your hands on this set, based on what I know from past exclusives!

Bull in china shop seeks gentle ghoul with the stars in her eye to help navigate the confusing maze of high school love.

I think Iris in particular is adorable, and I love how different Manny is! I would love to get my hands on this set, but at the moment I'm not really sure how likely that is going to be. I'll have to decide how much I want it and how much I'm willing to spend and go from there. It is likely that these two will get later wide releases based on former exclusives like Scarah and Wydowna, so there will probably be another chance if you miss on out on them now.

What do you think of this two pack? Are you going to try to get you hands on them? Better yet, is anyone going to SDCC?

Guest post: Victorian Elegance Barbie

Today I have something different and, I think, pretty exciting for you! A friend of mine from grad school, Maggie, contacted me a little while ago about doing some posts reviewing her small collection of vintage collector Barbie dolls, and of course, I said yes! Today, I've got the first one to post, and with that, I'll hand it over to Maggie, on the other side of the jump.