Ever After High Madeline Hatter and Raven Queen Review

It should come as absolutely no surprise that I'm a gigantic fan of all things frilly, floofy, and sparkly.  I fell hard for the Ever After High concept and watched their news like a hawk; anticipation doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.  I needed these dolls!  Briar Rose and Apple White, which have already been repainted and rehomed, were my first taste of this line and I was dying for more.

Maddie and Raven

I may be a little late to the game as far as reviewing goes, these girls have been out for a few weeks now.  However, I wanted to expand on the idea from the point of view of a repaint artist, and point out specifically the advantages and disadvantages of customization later on in this post.

The bottom line is that these playline girls rival the quality and costuming of limited collector dolls that fetch many times their price point.  Other than Monster High, I can't think of a single line that even comes close to approaching the detail and design of these girls.

Madeline Hatter has been the girl I was frothing at the mouth over.  Her pastel hair and brightly colored dress were absolutely irresistable!

She's also very tiny compared to the other girls in this series, which is just ridiculously adorable.  I'm a short gal myself, so consider me biased.  The tiny gold flourishes and little painted gloves with cuffs absolutely make me squee.

Raven Queen, on the other hand, is not having any of your shenanigans.  The feathery details of her collar are even antiqued and shaded.   The iridescent sheen to her bodice is very pretty in the light, I love how it changes colors against the black undertones.

Each doll comes with incredibly detailed accessories.  Their rings, however, are loose and very easy to lose (say, if you snip the elastic off when it's not completely unwrapped and it sends the miniscule bauble rocketing across your studio; not that I have personal experience of crawling around for twenty minutes on my hands and knees or anything...).  Their shoes, clothing, and jewelry are just flawless.  They're incredibly well made for playline dolls.  In regards to their predecessor, Monster High, the bodies are much thicker.  Esthetically, I prefer this look, it's more realistic to me, while still maintaining a 'super deformed' cuteness.

As for customization, I absolutely love their face molds.  While these dolls do use the same mold for each girl, their faces are wide, with large set eye areas and pretty, defined lips underneath that pre-shaped eye and lip color.

 Apple White and Briar Rose, makeup removed.

As you can see from the above photos, their eye and lip areas are much larger than the painted shapes suggest.  Also, their eye shapes are not defined as harshly as most Monster High girls, leaving much more room for artistic liberties.  This means that underneath those decals, there's a wonderful canvas for customization!

 Apple and Briar, repainted!

I enjoyed customizing these girls very, very much.  They are extremely versatile, regardless of having the same mold.  With that being said, I'm off to start work on Maddie and Raven and I can't wait to show you the results ❤!