Geek Shriek Howleen Wolf

Geek Shriek is one of those lines that I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to see up here in the Great White North. Those lines that go to smaller stores rarely make it to Canada, but finally, some of them have started turning up at the Real Canadian Superstore, and I couldn't be happier! I maybe squeaked a little when I saw these adorably geeky dolls peeking out at me from the shelves, and I brought Howleen home in an instant! I'm considering going back for Abbey as well, but I'm not sure about Frankie...she's cute, but not quite as themed as the other two. I can't wait for wave two though, because Ghoulia is in it, and we all know how much I love her!

But this post is about Howleen, and this Howleen is just too cute! I'm always a sucker for a doll with glasses anyways, and I think Mattel really hit on a great idea with this line. Yes, the idea that wearing glasses automatically makes you a geek might not be the best thing, but I like that they took it beyond the ghouls just wearing glasses, and gave them each a theme. Abbey's is chemistry, Frankie's is electricity/magnetism, and Howleen's here is math. Again, just liking or being good at these subjects doesn't make you a geek, but I still think it's a great thing to promote girls being interested in math and science, so I'm all for it!

Anyways, with that out of the way, let's crack our books and get to it!

 As I've said with all of the dolls in the new boxes, I really love how prominent the new art is. The boxes are bright and eye-catching, and I think Howleen looks especially adorable! It's like she's just on the cusp of figuring out a super hard math problem, and she's very proud of it!

And here she is! These Geek Shriek dolls are definitely budget dolls, as everything that she comes with, you see right here. No stand, brush, diary or accessories that she isn't wearing. I don't mind this though, as the price point matches, and these dolls all come with glasses which are new, as well as brand new shoes! Any budget line that gives us new molds is great, and totally worth it to me.

Something about this Howleen looks different to me than her previous dolls, almost more grown up. She looks a bit softer and "prettier", less cute and sassy. It's an interesting change, but I don't think it's a permanent one, necessarily. I actually think it's because of her hair, which we'll talk a bit more about in a moment. 

I wanted to remove her glasses to give you a better look at her face, and I was met with...

Yeesh...It was like this on both sides! I mean, I appreciate the plastic thing, because it keeps the glasses from denting their faces, and I get that Howleen's ears are not in a location that really help with holding on glasses...but isn't this a bit excessive? The ties are so small and so tight, I really had to struggle in there with nail scissors in order to actually get the glassess off, without ruining them or her hair. If it wasn't for the giant piece of plastic behind them I might have left the glasses attached, but I don't like the plastic. Mattel is really upping the amount of these plastic contraptions attaching accessories to their dolls lately. I guess it helps kids not lose them, but...still, yikes.

Anyways! I was in fact able to get Howleen's glasses off, and without them, you can see how soft and pretty her makeup is. Her eye shadow is pink and a soft grey-purple colour, and her lips match the pink of her hair. It's a nice look, and when I think of Howleen, I tend to think of brighter colours so this seems like a bit of a departure. This is one of the things that I think makes her read a bit more grown-up to me than usual. I do like it on this doll, but I love the idea of Howleen being a bit of a chameleon who changes her look all the time. I hope her next doll has a new and different look!

Speaking of different...Remember when Howleen had orange curly hair, and her diary said she liked to change up her look all the time? But since then, she's only ever had pink (usually) straight hair? I miss that Howleen! I want to see her curls back, and maybe go back to the orange hair, or even try a new colour. It would be fun! That said, this hair IS really nice. It seems like a richer pink than usual to me, and I like that the orange is at least back in her highlights. The style actually seems more like something we'd see on Clawdeen with the big waves, and it does make sense to me that Howleen would want to emulate her big sister. The hair itself is also really nice quality, soft and thick, and it brushed out nicely into this style without having to wash it, which I always appreciate. It's nice hair, I just wish it had more of Howleen's personality to it.

The glasses are adorable! The frames themselves are shaped like protractors, complete with the little hatchmarks around the edges to mark the measurements. The arms have jagged graph lines and little hearts, and they're bright yellow. I'm not going to lie, math has never been my strong suit, but these glasses are pretty awesome, and I love any kind of commitment to a theme! 

Now onto her outfit, which I'm basically dying over. It's just a t-shirt and a skirt, but it's a completely adorable t-shirt! It's a baseball style shirt with black sleeves and a yellow body, with an image of Howleen's pet hedgehog Cushion on the front. Cushion is wearing his own little glasses and even a little bow tie, and it's just so cute I can't stand it. If this shirt was available for real people, you can bet I'd wear it! With her awesome hedgehog shirt, Howleen is wearing a blue mini-skirt with a pattern of various math related symbols all over it. On the front we can see the symbol for Pi, a cube, a graph, a division sign and a compass....

 And around the sides, there are triangles with angles to be measured, light bulbs, among other things. Again, I just love a theme, and this is so themed, and cute to boot!

On her feet, Howleen is wearing very typical Howleen sneaker-boots, in a bright yellow that matches her glasses. On the heels there are compasses, and the toe boxes are decorated with hatchmarks that make me think of a ruler. These shoes don't have any painted details, but I don't think they're worse off for it. I just love that they managed to make math-themed shoes!

 And that's Howleen, off to kick butt and take names in clawculus class!

Who says a ghoul can't look fierce while solving equations? Not me! I have to say, this is another kind of surprising line for me. Monster High keeps knocking it out with these budget lines, and it really makes it hard for me to stick to my "rule", which I've basically abandoned, of trying not to buy the budget lines, and sticking to the more deluxe dolls. I'm all for dolls supporting the idea of these ghouls loving school and being good at subjects like math and science, so while maybe "Geek Shriek" isn't the perfect name for the line, I still think it's a great thing to see on the shelves! So many doll lines, Monster High included, have a lot of focus on fashion and shopping and it's nice to see something like this that varies from that a little, while not bashing anybody over the head with a message.

Anyways, I think this is a really great little budget doll, with a lot of great details. Simple but effective, continuing the trend of 2015 being the year of the amazing budget doll, starting with Freaky Field Trip. What do you think of these dolls? Are they going to join your class?