'Haunted' Kiyomi Haunterly

I'm back with another review, and the one that will finish off my Haunted collection! I have some newer stuff to review next (Geek Shriek Ghoulia and Freak du Chic Honey Swamp!) but I thought it made sense to review the final new character released along with the Haunted movie, even though she's kind of old news.

Being an "older" doll doesn't make her any less cool though, and the "her" I'm talking about today is Kiyomi Haunterly, the daughter of the Noppera-bo.  Even though she was the last Haunted doll I picked up, I'm really glad I finally got her, because she is really well done, with a lot of great details. As I mentioned in my Porter review, I did get these dolls on sale for 40% off which made them a really great price, but I actually think the Haunted dolls are basically worth the original $30 price tag up here in Canada. Some of the upcoming dolls are definitely priced way higher than I think they're worth, thanks (mostly) to the currently terrible exchange on our dollar. But I'm pretty sure I've ranted about prices here pretty recently, and I don't want to complain too much so...let's get on with the show!

Come on through this portal into the ghost world, and check out Kiyomi Haunterly!

At this point, I'm sure you all know what the Haunted boxes look like, but I always show you the box so...here's the box!

And here's Kiyomi! She comes with the Haunted stand and brush, a purse and a diary.

I know it's unlikely that Kiyomi will ever get another doll, but if she does I'd love it if she were a different colour! It's a cool detail that she can change colours with her emotions and it would be fun to have a green Kiyomi or a purple one...or, even though I'm not a huge fan of the Ghouls Alive line, a GA Kiyomi with a colour changing LED light inside!

I love her talking about her dreams and finding out about the portals to the solid world. I'd read a whole book or watch a movie about Kiyomi opening portals to other worlds and the Monster High ghouls exploring them with her!

As with the other Haunted dolls, Kiyomi's colour palette is heavy on the pastels, but something about it seems a bit richer to me. I think it's the mix of tones in her hair and the lovely blue colour of her skirt give that impression, and I really love Kiyomi's overall look. Her outfit is obviously an interpretation of the typical Japanese school girl outfit, but with a Monster High spin, and I'm completely obsessed with her hair, which we'll have a closer look at in a moment.

Even though Kiyomi is a faceless ghost, she still has a really lovely face. My particular doll is a bit wonky, with her left eye being closer to the bridge of her nose than her right, but it's really only noticeable in really close up photos like this one. What is most interesting about Kiyomi's face is that she has raised, molded details that no other dolls do. The line of her upper eyelid, about where eyeliner would be is actually a raised ridge, which gives her dimension to her face without adding in any colour on her eyes. I like how they did this! I feel like they committed to the faceless thing but still managed to give her a very unique look that doesn't appear "blank", and I dig it. I also love the colour of her lipstick! I've seen some people who've wiped off Kiyomi's face except for her lips, and I actually think it looks really neat...I won't do that to my Kiyomi, but I almost want a second to play around with...

A small piece of her hair is pulled back on top and fastened into a small ponytail, adorned with a pale blue accessory. Like most of her other accessories, it has a face on it, along with links of chain decorated with cherry blossoms.

And her hair. HER HAIR. It is just such a gorgeous combination of colours, it's so lovely. It's the same silky smooth fibre that Spectra, Ghoulia and Venus have which is both a blessing and a curse, but it looks and feels nice as long as you don't try to style it with heat. But since I'm not going to attempt to style it, I'm just so in love with the colours, I can't get enough. There's a bright warm pinky-purple with streaks of a deeper, bluer purple throughout, and a softer pink with a softer blue around her face. It's just so pretty!

Her outfit has a lot going on, like the other Haunted dolls. It's a pretty simple dress, but then there is a lot of plastic jazz over the top.

The first piece of plastic jazz is this pastel periwinkle collar. It's made of chain and studded straps, with a large cameo in the centre. On its own, I like this piece, but I greatly prefer Kiyomi's outfit without it. I think it takes away from out cute her dress is.

Around her waist she's wearing a pink belt with a lot of flowing chains. The chain is molded into loops, and looks like it's actually floating.

It's also decorated with little face cameos, stars and tiny cherry blossoms.

The main part of Kiyomi's dress is blue, pink, grey and minty green wavy plaid. The skirt is overlaid with blue tulle, and then there is also a piece of sheer tulle with pink metallic cherry blossoms printed on it attached to one hip, as well as made into long flowing sleeves. At the collar of her top, she has a big pink bow. This is why I don't like the blue plastic collar, I think this pink bow is way cuter, and more fitting to the school uniform look.

On her wrist, she's wearing a pink cuff bracelet with happy and sad faces all around it.

On her feet, she's wearing pink fishnet socks, and translucent dark grey heels. These shoes have a really interesting shape to them, especially the heels which are shaped like masks. One has a smiling face and the other has a frowning face. The painted eyes are a little spooky, but in a good way!

Her last accessory is her purse, which is a translucent purple colour with pink painted details. The eyes are actually cut outs, and on one side the zipper forms a smile and on the other, it forms a frown. It also has chain detailing, tying it in to the rest of the outfit.

And that's Kiyomi! Even though she was the last Haunted doll I picked up and the last I reviewed, she's really ended up being one of my favourites. Her colour scheme is probably my favourite of all of them, actually, I just love the blue of her dress and the colours of her hair.

Peekaboo!

See what I mean about that collar though? I definitely have it stashed away in my accessories box, because I do think it takes away from the outfit as a whole...maybe it's because it's a colour that isn't found anywhere else on her outfit. The bracelet and the belt match, so maybe if the collar matched the blue accessory in her hair it wouldn't feel so put of place.

But I can't really complain, because look at this hair! Even if I hated her outfit, I think her gorgeous hair and interesting face would be enough to sell me on this doll.

This was a fairly quick review, but after reviewing three dolls in the Haunted line, a lot of my feelings about Kiyomi seemed a bit repetitive. I love the line and I'm glad to have it completed, but I'm also ready to see the shelves filled with new stuff, which should be happening any day now!

What do you think of Kiyomi? Did you love the pastel colours of the Haunted line, or are you ready to move on to bigger and brighter things? Let me know in the comments!