Long Live the Queen: Ever After High Raven Queen

Well, I have officially reached the end of my birthday gifts! Today I'm reviewing Raven Queen, from Ever After High, and it feels very overdue. From the beginning, Raven was one of the characters that really attracted me to Ever After High, the other being Maddie Hatter. Maddie was the first doll I picked up, but when it came time to buy Raven, I decided to get her Legacy Day version, because she's wearing a really fabulous outfit! I don't regret picking that one up, but I've since decided that I want to stick to just getting the Signature version of each character, so that meant I needed to grab this Raven too! I'd been putting it off, because I did already have one Raven, and there were other things I wanted more immediately, so thankfully my husband knows just what I like, and got her for me. 

And let me tell you, I am glad he did. I can't believe it took me this long to add her to my collection, because I really love nearly everything about her. As usual with EAH dolls, there are a lot of gorgeous details, so click through to get a good look at them!

Here she is in her box! As usual, the box is actually kind of gorgeous. These dolls look so pretty in their boxes, it is tempting to keep them like that...not too tempting though, obviously! Speaking of the box...this is where I'd normally insert a video of my unboxing Raven, however for some inexplicable reason, the video I shot has no sound! So, imagine me opening the box, and then scroll on down.

And out of her plastic prison! She comes with the standard EAH bookmark/diary, and a silver brush and stand. The story is the diary it enjoyable as always; I like the little glimpses into the characters these give us, in addition to the webisodes and the novels (which I'm sure I've recommended before, but they are good reads!)

I really, really love her outfit. All the purples with the shiny black and the weather silver, it's a very strong look, but she carries it off well! I think she looks exactly like what you'd expect the daughter of the Evil Queen to look like, from her fierce eyebrows to her amazing shoes. Of course, that's actually kind of interesting considering that Raven is a Rebel, and doing pretty much anything she can to NOT end up being the next Evil Queen! I think it would have been interesting to see a daughter of the Evil Queen that really "flipped the script" and dressed in something totally unexpected, but at the same time, I do like that they're showing that how you dress doesn't necessarily mean that's how you ARE. Anyways, this is getting a bit rambly, so let's get on with it!

First up, her gorgeous face! I have definitely changed my mind about the Ever After High moonfaces. Now that I have so many, I really do think they're adorable, and it does make them different from the other dolls I collect. The newer dolls and some of the recently released variants made in China do have smaller heads and slimmer faces, so if that's something you're concerned about, check your local shelves! I recently saw a China-variant Raven that looked so different it could almost have been a new doll!

Her face is basically done all in shades of purple. Beneath her strong, dark brows, her lilac eyes are surrounded in rich, plum shadow. I think they used just enough of the shadow to keep her from looking tired, like this colour could possibly do. Her lips are a slightly deeper, redder purple, with three reflection dots in the centre. She has slight blushing on her cheeks that's really hard to see, but I think if it wasn't there, you'd miss it.

Her hair is long, coming to just below her butt and is mostly black. There are two shades of purple rooted around the hairline, a warmer shade and a cooler shade. It makes the purple look like it's shimmering! It's pulled back in two small sections at the top of her head, which really highlights her widow's peak. This style also holds her spiked headband in place!

Her hair is pretty nice. The length of it is soft without a lot of product in it, and after a quick brush it has a nice wave to it. However, the roots feel a bit greasy, and that usually means they're only going to get greasier. 

You can see a bit of the greasiness here, and you can also see that the hair is a bit thinly rooted right behind the hairline. It's like this on both sides. It looks like make some of the hair that's gone into the ponytails shouldn't have, because there is a lot of scalp showing here, compared to what I'm used to with these dolls. Also, her scalp is painted, but not far enough forward, so there's no dark colour to disguise the bald spots. It's not a huge deal since I've seen much worse, but it's something to be aware of.

Her outfit has a lot going on, like all the other Ever After High dolls. Starting at the top, she's wearing this pretty incredible collar which we'll take a bit of a closer look at later. Her outfit itself is two pieces, a sparkly black tank with a pointed hem, and a full skirt. The top is pretty cool, it has iridescent circles on it that shimmer different colours, kind of like an oil slick.

The skirt is made up of three layers, and is a high-low style. The top layer is ombred purple "satin" with a printed black pattern. The pattern is a mix of scrolling black and fishnet, and doesn't really seem to represent anything in particular. It's done in kind of a tulip/wrap style, and sometimes it folds up a little weirdly at the top. You can kind of see that in this picture, where the top of the first layer of tulle is visible in a way it shouldn't be. There are two layers of tulle, one a cooler purple and one a warmer purple, and at their longest, they come about mid-calf. In this photo it doesn't look that long, but the tulle has a tendency to bunch up on itself when you pose the doll. I should have fixed it, but I didn't notice in person!

Her shoes are predictably great! They are made of feathers that follow the shape of her foot, with what looks like snakeskin on the heels. The shape of the heel itself is very elegant! The fronts are made of draping chains painted silver. There's not a lot of colour to these shoes so the detail can get lost in all the black if you don't look closely, but they are really great.

Continuing the theme of chains, Raven is wearing a cuff bracelet made of chains wrapping around her wrist. The chains drape down over her hand and end in a large purple gem, which rests on her fingers where a ring would sit. She's wearing this instead of the rings the other EAH dolls wear. I like it, but unless you have her hand and arm in the right position, it slides back and ends up looking a bit weird, if the ring part isn't actually sitting on her finger.

She  also comes with a little clutch purse, that reminds me a bit of an Alexander McQueen clutch. It's studded all over the front with an ornate silver mirror in the centre, and the handle is made of a winged bird skull. It's odd to be typing "winged bird skull" in a review for a children's doll, but hey, that's why I like these things!

And now onto that amazing collar! That purple gem in the front is the clasp, and once you open that, it slips on and off fairly easily, though her hair can get in the way. There's a lot of texture on this thing, and it's highlighted nicely by the black paint that was rubbed over the top. I like how the tall parts look like fancy embossed metal. It's very cool!

And finally in the world of Raven's accessories, is her belt! There are elaborately embossed metal panels wrapping around her waist, using the same paint technique as the collar, and the front features another bird skull dangling off a chain.

Here's what she looks like without the collar. I'll be honest here and say I don't really care for the outfit without the collar. I think that without it, the top looks too simple to be paired with that full skirt, and the outfit ends up looking a bit bottom heavy. I think the top has great mix and match potential though!

Back in her collar, looking like the queen she'll grow up to be!

She is really so photogenic, I think. Maybe moreso than some of the other Ever After High dolls, though I'm not sure why that would be!

The royal wave!

Hopefully, even if she doesn't grow up to be the EVIL Queen she'll still get to sit on a throne, because she is made for it!

I mean, look at her!

From head to toe, Raven Queen is regal and fierce. In the webisodes, I wouldn't necessarily use those words to describe her, but I don't think there are better words to describe this doll. I love her colour combination, I love the details like the feathers, the bird skills and chains that repeat throughout her outfit.

Ever After High has yet to disappoint me with their signature dolls, and Raven is no exception. I am very much looking forward to adding to my collection, especially with dolls like Lizzie Hearts on the way! Which Ever After High character are you most looking forward to being made into a doll?