I am basically powerless to resist a good deal (something you'll know if you watched my latest toy hunt!), and that's how I ended up with this set. I went to Toys R Us intending to buy River Styxx, but then I saw the sale sign. Monster High dolls $39.99 and over were 30% off, and they had just gotten in the Ghoulebrities in Londoom three pack AND the Love in the Scaris two pack. With the sale, the two pack was less than $2 more than River by herself...so my plans changed, and Garrott and Rochelle came home with me! Hopefully they'll do another similar sale, because I do want the three pack too...but that can wait for another day!
Today, I've got this gorgeous two pack to review, and I am very excited! I've been wanting this two pack since we saw it way back at SDCC, because the Rochelle is beautiful, and Garrott is a brand new character, which is always fun! I know he's been a highly requested character since Scaris came out a few years back, and I was eager to see if they'd do him justice. I also love the idea of these couple two packs, and I hope they keep doing them! I loved the set with Frankie and Jackson, then this one, and we know there's a Gil and Lagoona set coming up as well as a rumoured Ghoulia and Slo Mo set (!!!)...I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, so keep it coming, Monster High!
But this review is all about Rochelle and Garrott and their Scarisian love affair, so let's get to it!
I actually forgot to take in box photos of this set! If you're interested, you can see the box in my video review (linked in the sidebar) but trust me when I say, it's a cute box! It uses the new style with the great, large artwork, and the art is easily removable so you can save it, like I've been doing!
Accessory wise, Garrott comes with a diary and a rose, and Rochelle comes with a purse. They also both come with stands, which is always good!
I'm going to start by looking at Garrott and his accessories, because he's new, and I'm excited! His diary is limited, as per usual with international releases, but it's still nice to have.
The only English text is his bio, but the rest of the diary is full of adorable pictures of him and Rochelle, and I love that!
Garrott himself is quite the handsome fellow! Like Rochelle, he's a gargoyle, so his skin is similar to hers with the speckles, but it's a few shades darker.
I think he has a very handsome face! One thing worth nothing is that it was rather difficult to find a Garrott with straight eyes. I noticed that there seems to be an issue with his right eye being misprinted and not lining up with the mold. I was lucky that there were at least 5 or 6 of these sets there for me to choose from, so this is a set that I would definitely recommend picking up in person, if at all possible!
His eyes are a really cool yellow-y green, and I don't think any other Monster High characters have eyes quite this colour. I like them! He also has a sort of mask around his eyes of a deeper, mossy green, that resembles patina. I think this looks really cool, and it's pretty subtle on my Garrott. I'm not sure if it may be more pronounced on others, but I think it's a neat detail, and definitely something different. His lips are simply a slightly darker grey, and he has very full eyebrows. I think overall, he has a very kind face, and I like the shape of his head mold a lot. That feels like kind of a weird thing to say, but it's true! I don't always love the Monster High boys faces, even if I like the character, but I think Garrott is really a good looking dude.
I also LOVE his hair. It's a blend of a few shades of blue, and it looks almost shimmery because of the blending. It's longer in the front, with a little swoop, and the sides combed back. Of course, it's rock hard with styling product, but short hair is always going to be, and at least it's styled well. It's not like Picnic Casket Jackson, who needed a whole haircut to look presentable!
His ears are very similar in shape to Rochelle's, except his are on the sides of his head instead of the top. He also had a gold ring piercing the rim of his ear, close to his face. This is kind of a unique place for a piercing, at least on a doll, and I think it's a cool detail.
Garrott's outfit is a little more elaborate than we've come to expect from Monster High boys, but it's also a good deal simpler than it looks. It's made up of a pleather jacket with attached shirt hem, a scarf and jeans. The "shirt" is mint green, and I like how this ties into Rochelle's outfit. Would I rather there be an actual shirt underneath the jacket? Yes, I probably would, but this isn't terrible. It looks good, it isn't bulky, and it's well-made, so I'm pretty happy. The scarf is a simple piece of stretchy fabric, with a pattern of spiderwebs and roses, and comes plastic tied to the front of the jacket. As such, there are a couple of tiny holes in the jacket, and I really wish they wouldn't do that! The jeans are just nice, simple jeans with red stitching, and we can never get too many boys in good pants!
His shoes are pretty simple grey dressier shoes, with a skullette atop what looks an awful lot like a Tudor rose, especially one you'd find in stained glass. They have black painted laces, but that's the only painted detail on them.
His wings, unlike Rochelle's, are one piece, and, like Rochelle's, are prone to falling out pretty easily.
When I took his jacket off, I discovered he had plastic sleeves over both of his arms to prevent staining. I wanted to leave them on, because I don't want him to stain, but the plastic greatly limits the mobility of his arms so I've decided to chance it. I'm unlikely to redress him anyways, so hopefully he'll be okay! Rochelle was also packaged with plastic around her arm where she was touching Garrott's jacket, so staining is definitely something to watch out for!
The jacket does up in the back, with a hole for Garrott's wings. I really do wish it opened in the front, which would give a lot more options in terms of redressing, but this choice does make sense. And really, it's a very well-made jacket, so I can't complain too much about the lack of versatility, especially when so many of the other boy dolls come in much, much simpler outfits.
The rose is a pretty simple accessory, but I like it quite a lot. If you've seen Scaris, you may remember that Garrott sent Rochelle rose petals from a rose bush he designed himself, so this is a very appropriate accessory! They can both hold it as well, if you hook one of the leaves around their fingers just right.
I retied his scarf so it looks more like his artwork, and I like it. It doesn't lay as flat as I might like, but I prefer it to the long tails on the way it was tied right out of the box.
He really is a handsome gargoyle, isn't he?
But it's time to move onto Garrott's lovely lady friend, the beautiful Rochelle Goyle. This MIGHT be my favourite Rochelle ever; I think she is just stunning. I love everything about her!
So let's start at the top. She's wearing a VERY large flower on a headband. It's a black rose, and at the centre, you can see a little skullette face.
Would you look at that face? I mean, really. This is such a beautiful doll! Rochelle always has a lovely face, but something about the softness of the colours on this doll makes her look even lovelier. She has pink and soft blues as her eye shadow, and a very light pink lipstick. I think I might be in a minority, but I've always loved how Rochelle's brows give her a soft, slightly worried look. In this set, I think the look translates as very romantic, which is perfect. I also love her hair puller off to the side like this. This is my third Rochelle, but it's my first without bangs, and it really works for her!
Speaking of hair, the majority of her hair is a gorgeous, soft mint green colour. There's a small section underneath that is a very soft pink, lighter than Rochelle's usual hair colour. The texture is good, pretty soft and slightly wavy. There isn't any styling product in it, and hopefully it stays nice, because Rochelle has a history of leaking some serious glue from her scalp.
Her outfit is one piece, but made to look like two. The top is pink and black striped with an off-the-shoulder mint ruffle. The skirt is full but short, with a lot of subtle pattern happening. It's black and white striped, with a swirling white pattern on the black, and a pink and mint pattern on the white. This isn't a super fancy dress, but it's very romantic, and I think it looks lovely on Rochelle.
Her shoes are re-colours of her signature shoes, and I think I like them even more in mint! Rochelle has a lot of great shoes, so I don't mind them reusing them at all.
Her purse is a re-colour of the bag her swim doll came with. I don't have that doll, so this isn't a repeat for me! I will say though, it's sort of awkward for her to hold, so it'll be stored away.
And that is Rochelle! As handsome as Garrott is, Rochelle is easily that beautiful, if not moreso. I just love everything about her, from her colour scheme to her hair style to her gorgeous face.
She's just lovely. We know that Monster High does freaky fab and fierce really well, and it's nice to see that they can do soft and pretty just as well. One of my favourite things about Monster High is how diverse the line is, that we can have characters like Cleo or Clawdeen in the same line as Rochelle. Something for everyone!
And they really do look gorgeous together, don't they?
They only have eyes for each other, and I can't blame them!
After being apart for so long and finally being reunited, Garrott wanted to make Rochelle's trip to Scaris the most romantic getaway she'd ever had...
So her borrowed Ghoulia's scooter, and took Rochelle for an evening ride around the city.
Looks pretty romantic to me!
And that is all for Garrott and Rochelle. I took so many photos of these two, and only a small fraction actually ended up in this post. They're both so photogenic, separately and together, I just couldn't help myself! As soon as we saw this set back at SDCC, I knew I wanted it, but I love it way more than I thought I would, especially Rochelle. I knew Garrott was going to be great, but Rochelle is kind of the sleeper hit of this set, for me. I'm so glad that she's not...boring or underdesigned, as she easily could have been, because many people would have bought the set just for Garrott, regardless of what Rochelle looked like. Both of these dolls are equally gorgeous and well-detailed, and I'm very glad to add them both to my collection!
Will these two lovebirds be coming home with you, or will you be leaving them in Scaris?
They're a photogenic pair!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way Garrott's bright blue hair contrasts with his very neutral skin and outfit colours.
I like it as well! His hair is really something, and I'm glad it's a bright colour rather than something muted.
DeleteI plan to get it eventually and sell Garrot; He doesn't look so much like his Scaris model to me, which I loved, but like some weird impostor.
ReplyDeleteI missed out on Chatter Telephone Rochelle, and since this one is more widely available! She's beautiful.
THis Rochelle definitely has a similar vibe to the Ghoul Talk one, with mint as the accent colour! That two pack isn't available anywhere in Canada, and I didn't care enough to seek it out.
DeleteAnd I'm sure you won't have too much trouble unloading Garrott!
I WANT this set so badly. Sadly, multipacks never make it over here so I'll probably have to resort to eBay (much like my IHF Wydowna...)
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy both of the dolls in these sets are well-designed! Some multipacks feel like they prioritize one doll over the others; I really think MH is trying to make sure these exclusives are up to par with what we expect, even if they do come with some budget-y issues. This Rochelle is so soft and so pretty I can't stand it. Once again, MH has conspired to make me like pastels when I usually loathe them. And yes, I do like her titled eyebrows. They give her a very distinctive, almost sad-clown kind of look.
Garrott's quite the looker, too. He's got such a charming and sweet expression to his face that matches his ghoulfriend perfectly. His outfit is spot on - Mattel really is giving boys more attention, and it shows. This and Deuce's Boo York outfit really give me hope for the future of male dolls in the line. (that said, I kind of like Slo-Mo's faux tux in his upcoming doll, but only because it's so tacky it fits him :p)
One last thing: could you perhaps compare his hair colour to Avea's? I want to see if they are the same shade of blue, but can't find any comparison pics on the internet.
Distribution on Monster High is always so frustrating! Even being in Canada there's a LOT of stuff we never get, about to be more as our Target's close, so I can only imagine how frustrating it is to be even further afield!
DeleteI'm not huge on pastels myself, but mint green is an exception and one of my favourite colours, so this Rochelle was right up my alley! I've always loved her eyebrows as well, she just looks so sweet and sad!
I agree about the boys outfits! Deuce's Boo York look looks to be amazing - leather pants AND the return of the Dawn of the Dance hair/snakes. Very excited! I also love the idea of Slo Mo's faux tux - not only do I think it fits his dorky personality, but I also think that maybe getting into a full tux would be a challenge for someone that moves as slow as a zombie!
And I snapped that photo for you! Their hair is actually identical to my eye!
https://flic.kr/p/rAZwKe
I've seen this set at least 5 times and I keep leaving it behind. I'm not a fan of his or the Rochelle in this set. I will buy them if there is a sale at least to snatch his clothes :O)
ReplyDeleteHis clothes are really great, and are definitely worth it if you can find a good sale! I'd bet it wouldn't be too hard to sell either of the dolls in this set, either, if all you want is the clothing!
DeleteI've apparently got some of this pack at my nearest TRU for only $5, so I'll see if I can snag one. Rochelle's colors her don't weigh her down at all (and I like that her hair and makeup balance is a reversal of Ghoul Talk), and her hairstyle is so much nicer than her usual long with bangs look. Garrott is nice, too, with a proper signature treatment- stand and diary included! I think both of the dolls are equally nice- though it's clear the budget went to Garrott, Rochelle is still lovely and just as strong an incentive to get the pack.
ReplyDelete