Monster Exchange Lagoona Blue

Today I'm finally reviewing the last doll in wave one of the Monster Exchange line, Lagoona Blue! I've had her for quite awhile, but I've been trying to space out my reviews a bit to make up for the fact that I'm not buying dolls very often right now. Anyways, I got her on a fabulous sale, which is always good, and I was very excited to finally bring her home. I think the whole Monster Exchange line was really good, with two unique new characters, Marisol and Lorna, and really stand-out looks for old characters, Draculaura and Lagoona here. It really makes me look forward to wave two, which I already know features some ghouls that are must haves for me (Kjersti Trollson and Isi Dawndancer) and is rumoured to be the line where Finnegan Wake, the merman in the wheelchair, makes his debut! Can't wait!

But that's a conversation for another time, and this post is meant to be about Lagoona. Click through to follow Lagoona on her trip to Madread!

Her box is exactly like the other Monster Exchange dolls, with the cute new box art.

And out of the box! Like the others, she also comes with a large passport/diary, a large purse, and a tiny cardboard passport which I have tucked inside the purse. She also comes with a stand and a brush, but do not brush this hair! That would be bad news bears, guys.

And this is the inside of the passport. I know I harp on the lack of text in the international editions, but it still bugs me. We miss out on so much!

Like the other dolls, Lagoona comes with a very large bag, suitable for travel. It's pink and shaped like a seashell, and the front has a lot of other designs on it. There are roses, tentacles and fan detailing, while the back is a more straightforward spiderweb pattern. This bag is really cute, but the handle makes it difficult for her to hold. It's too small to go up her arm, but just big enough to slide right off her hand, so it limits the posing options if you want to have her displayed with her bag. It's totally not a huge issue, but worth mentioning!

And here's the lovely lady herself! I mentioned in the intro, but Lagoona is going on her Monster Exchange to Madread, Spain, and I think there is a pretty clear flamenco inspiration in a lot of her outfit. Like Draculaura, it doesn't look like a costume, but it's easy to see where the designer took their ideas from.

This is probably one of my favourite Lagoona faces ever, and that is completely down to the brows. I love that they gave her teal brows this time instead of the usual purple, it looks so much better with her hair! I've never understood the purple brows...

Her eye makeup actually closely matches her brows, and is very bold, and it's balanced by a bold, coral-red lip. I find Lagoona can get a bit same-y in her dolls, but this one really feels special for a lot of reasons, and one of those reasons is her gorgeous face!

Her outfit is pretty simple, but very cute. It features a short tube dress with a pink and aqua dot/bubble pattern, and two ruffly skirts/peplums just above her hips. This definitely isn't the huge, ruffled skirts that you see flamenco dancers wear, but it looks like a modern, monster interpretation of that for sure. The dress is topped with a black bolero jacket which again has a dot/bubble pattern in the same pink and aqua colours. The skirt on mine seems to be sewn on a bit crooked, sitting higher on Lagoona's right hip than her left, but I can't be sure it's not supposed to be that way. It doesn't really make a difference in the look, to me anyways!

Her shoes are a translucent dark grey, and embossed with bubbles and swirls all over. On the ankles, there are large pink roses with skullette centres, and the shoes lack heels. These are cute but simple, and I think they'd go with a lot of outfits. I also always love when they use translucent material for things, I just think it looks really cool. Maybe that's my inner 90's child coming out and longing for the days of jelly shoes! (Even though I HATED how sweaty they made my feet, haha)

Lagoona is also wearing a large black rose in her hair, with another skullette face in the centre. How does this rose with this big peg on it attached to her hair, you may ask?

Well, it jams right into a hole in her head! It's an efficient solution, if not a very elegant one.

She's also wearing a minty coloured comb in her hair, which reminds me very much of the ones I've seen flamenco dancers wear. A quick Google tells me they're called peinetas, and Lagoona's actually looks like it would fit in pretty well, style-wise, with more traditional ones.

The comb just tucks into her hair, where it's pulled back into a small pony in the middle of her head. I know I haven't talked about her hair yet, so let's do that! This hair is amazing, and kind of the main reason I wanted this Lagoona. I love Honey Swamp and her great mane of hair, so I'm glad to see them using that kind of tight curl pattern on other dolls. I think these curls look really great on Lagoona as well, and I'm glad to see them already being used again on her upcoming Wheel Love doll. I like to think that maybe this is Lagoona's natural curl, and she's finally embracing it!

Her earrings are little dangling pink octopi, and they are super cute!

Now that we're looking at Lagoona from the front again, you can get a better look at the colouring of her hair. It's Lagoona's usual yellow-blonde, with teal from about the temples down, all the way around the back. And the curls! Man, I just love these curls! This is also the way her arm needs to be positioned to have any chance of keeping a hold of her purse, just to go back to that for a moment. My Lagoona does have slightly loose elbow joints as well, so she has trouble holding up this comparatively heavy purse, but she can manage!

Lagoona always has a very sweet face, with her big, round eyes and full lips, but there's something about this doll that has a bit more edge. Maybe it's the brows, but I feel like this Lagoona is really confident, and totally ready to take on Madread!

And maybe learn a few flamenco moves while she's there?

So, that's Monster Exchange Lagoona! This review feels a bit brief, and I apologize for that. Lagoona here is just a really good, solid doll, despite her issues, and I'm really happy to add her to my collection. I really feel like the designers stretched themselves a bit with these Exchange dolls, especially Draculaura and Lagoona, bringing characters with established looks and styles to a new place, making them new and fresh while still keeping them recognizably themselves. I also really love getting glimpses of different parts of the monster world and filling in gaps on the map, and that's why I'm so excited for wave two of this line, to see even more new monster from far away places!

Let me know in the comments what you think of this Lagoona, and which new ghoul you're most looking forward to meeting, Batsy Claro, Isi Dawndancer or Kjersti Trollson!