monster high g3 core refresh 2 dolls opinions

so recently these dolls were leaked and they're supposed to be another core refresh for the main ghouls! the last core refresh was absolutely gorgeous and a huge step up from the first designs so i feel like there was a lot of high expectations for these core refresh dolls!

so me personally, i have some opinions on these dolls because in my opinion i think they were a huge downgrade D: ill talk about the dolls one on one and discuss what i like and what i hate and what i could personally do to improve them! im a g3 fan (as i am g1 so i love them both!) this "review" comes from someone who likes both of the generations and is a fan of them! so i wont be complaining about stupid things like how g1 is COMPLETELY better in every way and g3 is a lame reboot and how it all sucks and shit, none of that here omg...

so i actually really love draculaura shes been my favorite and she continues to be my favorite (shes the ghoul i own the most dolls out of like most people but you cant blame me!! she is gorgeous!!), and im usually a fan of the majority of her dolls but this one is a miss for me.

what i dont like: so my main complaint with this doll is that her style is completely different, with dracs core dolls you can tell by looking at her that she is leaning more into the witchy aesthetic and she keeps a little bit of gothic elements and you can still tell shes a vampire. 

--> for example in her first core doll she has v-bangs, her headbang is a heart with bat wings, her bow on her shirt has bat wings, her clothes have patterns that have fangs and bats, not to mention she has a cape accessories that makes it look like she has bat wings, her backpack features bat wings, and had bat sunglaasses, etc, etc, you get the gist. her core refresh doll has a more nu goth aesthetic and although the outfit doesnt have bat or vampire hints in her design she has a giant hat to shade her from the sun, her boots have little bat wings accessories and maybe just from looking at the design you can tell this is a vampire who likes studying witchcraft.

however in this new core refresh design she doesn't really give off vampire with an interest in witchcraft. it feels like her style was completely changed to a more soft and cutesy vibe, which i dont mind, im not saying that EVERY doll has to have that look but also she just looks so... normal? her hair is cute and i like the split dye but she only has two bows on her head? two regular bows, then for her outfit she just has a simple dress with more bows, and her cardigan is cute im ngl im a fan of that but they just glued on some more bows and called it a day, the leg warmers are cute and her shoes look fine but the outfit just feels so.. simple. it truly feel like they could have done more and given more to her because it feels like shes missing so much.

what i would personally add: what i would personally to alter this doll (TO MY TASTE) to make her look more 'complete' would be:

❥ maybe give her bangs? doesn't have to be v-bangs but i feel like having some type of bangs would give off more draculaura vibes (although her hair is not the issue, i think the hairstyle is fine and could work alone)

❥ for the bows i'd give them more of a bat shape and perhaps color some more detail in to make them pop

❥ change her makeup to be a tad darker, like black eyeshadow or darker lipstick

❥ paint more details in the earrings

❥ give her a corset and put some more black on her dress, probably change the colors of some of the ribbons (or make some a tad smaller!) i'd keep the cardigan the same just make the ribbons a little bit smaller

❥ give her leggings

overall, as a huge drac fan im not really a big fan of this doll and it feels like such a huge downgrade from her other core dolls :[ i can see why'd people like her doll but me personally i wouldn't see myself buying her, i would give her a 4/10

for me, clawdeen g3 has some dolls that are a huge hit or miss, some dolls are absolutely gorgeous and some are such a hot mess. personally i think clawdeen is really pretty and i can like her seperately from her g1 self, she sometimes may not have the best dolls but sometimes her dolls are breath taking, shes an overall 50/50 when it comes to her dolls! so this doll was personally not it.

what i dont like: tbh her outfit in general i just dont like. the best way i can describe her is that shes just a hot mess. i can see what they wanted to do but it just, failed. the shirt isnt really all that good looking, i feel like the leather jacket could have been any other color, the skirt feels so random and looks like it really doesn't belong and the boots are an interesting choice? it really feels like they just threw anything on her and called it a day because none of this looks like it matches and it just all seems so random. her earrings are also an interesting choice!

i have to give them some credit though, i adore her hairstyle and her makeup isnt that bad, the belt is kinda cute same with the necklaces and the bracelets. i can enjoy those aspects of the doll and i feel like she could be a really easy fix!

what i would personally add: 

❥ i'd keep her earrings gold but i feel like maybe changing them more into not so out there? perhaps just a crescent moon like her core refresh doll, or just regular hoop earrings?

❥ i would change her lipstick into something more natural (like her core doll) or just darker

❥ change her leather jacket into black or a really dark purple and have the sleeves be ripped (perhaps some accents in there to not keep it one solid color)

❥ change her top in general, id have it be similar to her core refresh doll but if she really wants to keep the wolf image on it maybe change the color to purple or gold since the teal looks weird

❥ remove the fluff from her skirt and replace it with something else entirely

❥ same with the boots, replace it with any other boots, any platform boots or just boots with belts on them would look so much better, you can even replace the belt buckles with stuff like crescent moons or just anything similar to that

in conclusion im not exactly the biggest fan of this clawdeen doll, this one for me was a big miss. i really prefer her core and core refresh dolls over this and once again, this feels like such a downgrade. i would give her a 2/10

okay, so the last two weren't exactly my favorite but this one is more positive! frankie in g3 really has some good dolls and i love the majority of them! i enjoyed their core doll but their core refresh doll was gorgeous, and although i don't think this one is an upgrade from their core refresh this one, at least out of the bunch, this one is the one i like the most! 

i don't really have much to complain about this doll, i really like their outfit and wish that there could be a bit more to it, its a good design in my opinion. maybe the leg being green was a bit of a weird choice but as someone else said, having it grey all the time would be really boring so i understand why they made it a different color. i love their curlier hair and the fact that they have pink under their hair. i wish their makeup could be a little but more bolder and that their shoes would be a tad different but besides that, i don't really have any complaints about them! i'll give frankie a 7/10

unfortuantely we are back to not being a fan of these dolls because once again im not really the biggest fan of this doll. i get that the core refresh cleo was such a huge upgrade from the core doll so literally anything after that doll looks like a miss (exaggeration!!) but i REALLY do not like this doll.

what i do not like: so off the bat, she has no head accessories which makes her look really bare, then probably my least favorite thing on this doll is her makeup? maybe its this specific image but im not a fan of her makeup :') her eyeshadow is okay, but the blush? the shine? it looks very weird (at least to me) and it makes her look like those roblox faces, im also not exactly a fan of the pink lipstick. her top is okay, same with the fishnets but my problem is the pants, i saw someone say that they're maybe supposed to resemble lapis lazuli and i can see that but maybe im just not a big fan of cleo with these pants on. the shoes having really little detail is also really.. lame.

what i would personally add: okay so i can suggest some little things here and there but i dont exactly know what i would do to personally 'fix' the doll (to my taste) so don't take these suggestions as like im saying 'yep if she had these she would be PERFECT!!!' just as small things id change for her but im not even sure what i'd want for her </3

❥ head accessories!! could just be anything simple like hair pins (similar to what she had in her core refresh!!)

❥ darker lipstick and pleaseee get rid of that weird shine she has

❥ more detailing to the boots like please.

❥ im not sure what i would do to the pants to make them look more appealing? if anyone has any ideas... lemme know id love to hear :)

so overall, im not the biggest fan of this doll, i wouldn't buy her but maybe i just think this way because i think core refresh cleo is perfection and nothting could top her, so i'd give this doll a 4/10

last doll! and this one im really torn on because i like most of her but then there are some parts where i just dont really like. and im a g3 lagoona lover, like most dolls some of lagoonas doll are a hit or miss, some are so cute and some are... questionable! for example her core doll i dont really like, but her core refresh is one of her prettiest dolls in my opinion! so lets get into this doll!

what i dont like: basically just her bottom half lmao. i have no complaints about her top half but the bottom half is what i dont like. whatever shes wearing (skirt?) just looks really random. it looks like it opens in the bottom too? her shoes im not gonna complain so much about that but i just feel like there could have been more to it. thats really it, i adore everything else from this doll!

what i would personally add:

❥ change whatever she is wearing on the bottom to shorts, i would not mind it if they added fishnets under the shorts like they did with g1 lagoona!

❥ and for her shoes probably just paint more details into them? or make them look more like sandals, i dont have much against them, they just need a little bit more flair!

i do like this doll but i don't like her enough to buy because of my small little complaints, but she isnt as bad as the other ones to be honest, i'd give her a 5/10

so for my overall thoughts, im a little bit disappointed with these dolls. i understand that coming from core refresh which was a 10/10 line, it can be a little bit hard to beat those dolls but these are just a major downgrade. it really feels like they were on a tight budget because most of these dolls just dont have much going for them. i wouldn't really go out of my way to buy these dolls, so personally i dont think they're for me! if anyone has any opinions on this doll then tell me! i'd love to hear other opinions on these dolls and would love to discuss what you all think about them!

happy collecting!!