This doll is themed after one of the newer episodes, appropriately titled "Heartstruck"; Cupid accidentally loses her bow and love arrows, which Hunter uses to blithely cause romantic havoc among the student body. It's never explained why Cupid is decked to the nines in this episode, but I'm not complaining.
The rest of the review is after the jump!
Miss Cupid here is a Toys R Us exclusive, with a MSRP of $24.99; you can pick her up on the website and get free shipping, which is always a plus. I stumbled across her while hunting for a reasonably-priced "Fairest on Ice" Duchess, and decided to pull the trigger, lest I get burned in the future. No regrets. NONE.
I am not a fan of the new box designs, but I've heard rumblings that this may change in the near future. The pale ivory color they've been using actually works nicely here with the pale pink for a very spring-like feel. The top of the box is heart-shaped, which is cute.
The back of the box features artwork of Cupid in her cute new outfit, along with a description of several magical flowers. There's no explanation of why this is included, but it makes sense if you watch the webisode. To provide some clarity: Cupid hands out "mood roses" in the "Heartstruck" episode, so I guess that Mattel is trying to say that Cupid does a lot of gardening with love-related plants? Maybe she has a side gig as a florist? Who knows!
The bookmark has the same adorable graphic of Cupid that's on the back of the box, along with a cheesy little poem. It's kind of cute, and definitely more interesting than the other side, which basically has Cupid soliloquizing about love and attraction. Yeesh.
OH MY EVERLOVING GEE THIS WAS COMPLICATED. I had to essentially pull her arms apart and twist the wings around to get her out of the box. She is rubber-banded in here with a vengeance, and this is the one thing that I will forever hold against Mattel: HOW STUPIDLY DIFFICULT IT IS TO GET THE DOLLS OUT OF THE BOX.
The stand and brush are par for the course, nothing exciting or novel here. They seem to be offering the bases in colors that complement or match the outfits, so I can see why they picked a warm gold tone. The stand itself is clear, which is nice since it doesn't detract from the doll's presentation.
Cupid's wings are glorious. They almost look like butterfly wings to me, in the way that they are shaped, that is. Her wings are a pearlescent, gleaming ivory with masses of roses in deep and pale pink with strands of heart-shaped pale pink beads. The bottom-most sections, which can't be seen clearly in this picture, but are clearer in the next one, almost look like branches or leaves, furthering tying into the flower theme. I really love that Cupid's wings change in each iteration. Kind of makes me think that her character doesn't have permanently attached wings, but instead a closet full of attachable, functional wing accessories. I love that mental image. (These clip on, by the way, with a halter that looks like a garland of pink roses and bronze leaves.)
My only gripe is that the back seems a little too plain. I would have at least liked those pale pink bead strands to be colored from the back as well, since it seems odd that they have different-colored sides.
She is so super adorable. Her eyeshadow is the same hot pink as the highlight in her lipstick (which still bugs me), and it looks like she's been experimenting with face paint, since she's got a little heart painted below one eye. Cupid's rocking flowery jewelry, with a yellow rose headband, and some flowery, vine-like earrings that look a lot like ear cuffs. She has some seriously bold taste in earrings, which I approve of.
The dress is a multi-layered confection that HALLELUJAH was NOT tied to the box because it is made of that super-stiff shiny fabric (or at least the top layer is). The topmost layer has a sweetheart-style and has a skirt that pulls apart in a peplum-like way. The fabric has a bold rose print that's basically hot pink on hot pink with splashes of white. Below that is a layer of thin, glittery tulle of the palest pink that shimmers beautifully. Fitting closely under it, like a petticoat of sorts, is a pale yellow skirt with jagged edges. I'm guessing they chose that on purpose to look like flower petals?
I absolutely adore the garlands covering her arms. It reminds me a lot of her outfit for Thronecoming and just suits her so well. Cupid looks GREAT in bronze! (Must be the pink hair!) I had to pull her hands out in order to take the garlands off, but they're not really in the way. Can't say the same for the...belt thing? It's really bizarre, looks wise, and when you have it clipped on her, it's a struggle to get her clipped into her stand, because the belt and stand clip are in the same area. Grrr. I may end up taking it off, because I think it looks so dumb.
Her one accessory is a little flower bouquet. Props that they included a molded message card in it. I'm guessing that the bow and arrows were left out because Hunter still has them? Maybe? The vase they're in has a handle, allowing you to sort of wedge Cupid's hand in there so she can hold it. I'd advise leaving the rubber band on so that you can tie it to her hand if need be.
I must confess that I dislike these shoes, primarily the coloration. The shade of pink doesn't match anything in her outfit, and the random splotches of color just make the whole thing look so discordant. It's all very cotton-candy frou-frou, and it just isn't working.
And let's talk about her hair for a moment. Cupid's hair is its signature shade of hot pink, plus some faint lighter pink strands. It falls to her waist in these soft curls, but a portion has been done in this gorgeous tight bun up on top, which I adore. It just looks so good. It's much better than her hair in the webisode, which has this Lizzie Hearts-esque rolled twin buns thing that sounds better on paper than it looks in practice. Part of Cupid's hair got smushed from her time in the box, so I ended up brushing it out a bit to fluff out the curls. Looks way better. Her bangs and curled tendrils are super heavy with product and it's hard to make the tendrils look good if they get smushed. (Take it from me!)
Miss Scarlett suggests: Pick this up if you enjoy Mattel's deluxe-style dolls; Cupid makes a beautiful display piece.
