Freaky Fusion Line - May 2014

 
We're getting experimental now with the Monster High ghouls and I had to stop and think for a second if ClawVenus counted as a Venus McFlytrap doll! I eventually decided that even though she has BARELY any resemblance to Venus, she still counts. First impressions? Ugly. But now I have her in my possession, she's actually got a cute face, so I may grow to love her in time!
 

 
Straight away I noticed how cool the box is! I love this new design, I hope they'll use it for future dolls too :)
 

 
The box art is unlike the art used for other lines, I think this is due to promotion for the movie, which will come out some time in the Autumn. It's cool but I would have liked to see it in the regular, 2D art.
 
Appearance:
 

So as previously mentioned, this is ClawVenus, a fusion of Venus and Clawdeen Wolf. The first thing I really disliked about this doll was her skin colour. It's not a nice green like Venus's or a pretty brown like Clawdeen's, it's a swampy, muddy, blergh. Personally I think they should have picked a colour rather than trying to mix them, but that's just me.
 

Her makeup is way OTT. Not sure where her purple eyebrows come from as both Venus and Clawdeen have brown, but they match her hair. She has pink and green eye shadow which relates to Venus and there is some leopard-print detail on her cheeks that is more Clawdeen's style (and I love it, it looks very cheerleader-y!). Her eyelashes are purple leaves which in my opinion are a nice mix of Venus and Clawdeen together :) ClawVenus's eyes seem to be Clawdeen's shape but the same colour as Venus's. She has Venus's pink lips and SEVEN fangs (Venus usually has six, Clawdeen two).
 

 
I'm not an expert but I think she shares the same face mould as Clawdeen, I doubt that they've made new moulds just for this line.
 
Her ears are up on the top of her head like Clawdeen's, but have a leaf-like appearance. Freaky. I love them! However I wish they'd done something about the strange gap on her head where Venus's ears were supposed to go, it looks a bit weird. Maybe they could have brought her hairline lower?
 
She wears an earring in each ear, in the left is a gold spiral and in the right is a gold spiky hoop.
 

 
ClawVenus's hair is really something. She has Venus's shaved pink patch but over the entire front of her head. She then has Venus's long green hair neatly pulled into a sleek Mohawk in the middle and one on each side and is then wrapped around to act as a hair tie for Clawdeen's lovely long purple ponytail.
 

 
What stuck me most about this outfit was the fluffy jacket. I think they wanted to include Venus's signature denim jacket with a Clawdeen twist and this is what they got. To me it looks a bit cybergoth which is not either ghoul's style, but they've tried to include colours that both Venus and Clawdeen would enjoy.
 
Moving on. Under this, ClawVenus wears a thigh-length dress. The top of the dress is made from a tight black net fabric which I can't place... Is this more Venus or Clawdeen? The rest of the dress is silky and has a purple leopard-print design which fades into a green plant / Venus Flytrap design, a blend of both. Venus almost ALWAYS wears a belt around her waist, but this belt looks a lot more Clawdeen than Venus to me, just because of the thickness and the colour of it. It looks like four studded, gold belts all clipped together with one big gold buckle.
 

 
Not the greatest photo here, but ClawVenus's shoes are black, peep-toe and cut out at the ankle. They have simple laces at the front, I would say that these are quite Clawdeen. She also wears an anklet on both legs which are pink and spikey in true Venus fashion.
 

 
ClawVenus wears a gold spiral bracelet on her left arm and a gold spikey bracelet on her right, which are Clawdeen and Venus's styles respectively. Even ClawVenus's bag has been fused! It's a very simple bright green clutch with leopard spots and a long vine handle. None of the buckles / zips have been painted silver unfortunately :/

Just take a second to notice ClawVenus's hands, they have long fingers and the leafy pattern on the back of them like Venus's but have pretty nails like Clawdeen making them appear even longer... I quite like them!
 
 

 
ClawVenus also comes with a yellow Monster High brush and a yellow stand (which you can JUST about see on my terrible photo!), along with a diary.
 
So there she is! She sure has given me a lot to write about!
I got my ClawVenus from Monster High One Stop Shop (they also have a Facebook page) who are great for UK fans :)

I like:
Ok, her face is cute.
Her shoes
Her yellow hairbrush and stand :)
Her ears
Her earrings and bracelets
Her hands
Her box

I dislike:
Her skin colour
Her outfit :(
Her hair. I think they could have done a lot better
Her bag
Her art work

Conclusion? It's a proper mixed opinion! I half love, half loathe her but I'm glad I have her. I had a chat with a few more fans about her appearance and they agree that she would have been better paired with literally any of the other ghouls in the line!

There's only one more Venus to wait for this year that has been confirmed so far and that's Coffin Bean Venus! I'm really looking forward to getting her, she looks so grown-up and lovely :) And of course I'll let you all know if there is any word of any more Venus's being released :D

'Til then!