Flourescent Dances, Second Chances, Part 1: Monster High Neon Frights Twyla by Mattel

Today, we're doing a bit of a hybrid post--one of two. We're looking at two selections from Skulltimate Secrets Series 3, Neon Frights, which happen to be the second dolls released of each G3 character. I like them for themselves, but I wanted to see if they can surpass their original dolls or resolve the issues I found in them through their bases or stock for restyling purposes. 

I'll be talking about both Neon Frights Twyla and Ghoulia, but Twyla is the only one in this post. She was the first Neon Fright to arrive, but I thought I'd get out her signature Creepover doll again to establish a baseline. Read her review here in my first post about Twyla!

While I felt like Creepover Twyla was styled too juvenile for the character, my biggest complaint with her was her hair, which was a terror. It was horrifically snarled as packaged, and even after fighting and combing and washing the hair, I was left with the distinct impression of it feeling a little too wiry and plasticky. After learning about the bane of polypropylene hair fiber in G3, I was forced to retroactively conclude that Twyla had poly hair as an explanation for how bad it was. and I bemoaned the choice and gave up on it looking good.

But...it feels like her hair has changed in the months since I've gotten her, or maybe I was wrong about its fiber type?

Creepover Twyla today.

I can't explain it, but my impressions of her hair after taking her out of her storage bag were very different. Her hair feels a lot softer and more hair-like to me today than I ever recall it being, and even though it's still hugely voluminous and a bit tangly at the ends, the overall texture feels much more natural, more like it's saran or whichever fiber signature G3 Lagoona used. Is this not poly after all? Or was it, and something about it relaxed with a bit of age to feel like proper doll hair? I guess I can check on Fearidescent Frankie or sig Abbey after some more time to see if their hair ever seems to change, but maybe I was just wrong. All I know is that I swear this hair felt worse to me before and I had seriously considered culling her from my collection at one point, with the hair being a major factor. Obviously, for the purposes of this post, I was glad I didn't, but now she doesn't even feel worth getting rid of! This magical better second impression might be fortuitous because I confess I have low hopes for this newest Twyla's hair being very nice based on IRL photos. Honestly, I feel like I've just been conditioned to expect disappointing hair from Twyla, but Creepover's seems to have gone through something of a turnaround!

If you want to know a little more about how Skulltimate Secrets works as a doll format, please read my first review of it, covering Series 2 Frankie and Cleo, here. This project ruminates less about the format and more about the content of the dolls.

Skulltimate Secrets Series 3 has the primary gimmick of every character featuring glow-in-the-dark elements with a neon color effect. Each doll has the glowing effect featuring on the same equivalent pieces--choker necklace, purse, and boots. Twyla is a very appropriate choice for this lineup as the only MH character who glows even when she's not in a doll line full of glowing characters.

Creepover Twyla's glowing eyes.

The Neon Frights dolls also have very consistent wardrobes with each other. We'll see the pretty uniform design scheme they all follow since we'll have two ghouls to demonstrate.

Here's the box for Twyla. Creepover Twyla was curious but nervous.

Series 1's designs and boxes were pretty vivid and colorful, so the Neon Frights boxes aren't the most dramatically distinct, unlike the Fearidescent dolls' monochromatic gradient theme. (I really really want to see a greyscale-themed Skulltimate Secrets series! Shadow High did greyscale playline dolls first, but I say, the more the merrier!)

The box advertises the glow feature, which is a much better gimmick than The Simple Presence of One Iridescent Fabric Clothing Piece. 

Here's the box without its sleeve.

There's something wrong with the top door where the lock hub keeps falling to the open position and the door swings open on its own--the door was open without me doing anything. There's no click like there should be when it's turned back to the locked position, so nothing stops the door from opening by itself. That's why the hub was already turned while the case was sealed. It's a little spooky and poltergeist-y as it keeps opening, but it's just a manufacturing flaw. I didn't have this issue with the Fearidescent boxes. We'll see if Ghoulia's has the issue.

The doll door has pyramid studs as its texture theme as well as flourished spiral and spiderweb framework, and the cardboard insert features a black-to-mint gradient with a swirling botanical print. I imagine the pattern is unique to Twyla given its antique-wallpaper look. 

The Series 2 lockers had a faceted crystalline texture and starburst framework on the doll door, and a simple color gradient door insert with no other design work, though the gradient colors were coded to the character and locker.

Series 2 Cleo's box door compared to Series 3 Twyla's box door.

Series 2 introduced the visual of one of the locked doors being translucent and glittery. In Series 2, the glitter door seemed to be arranged to always be the last opened in the sequence, and the glitter keys were thus unobscured by paint. This was, at least, the case for Frankie and Cleo. I may have selected a misleading sample size. The glitter door was located on the bottom of those lockers. The glitter door is located at the top of every Series 3 box, and the color is the same on all, being translucent black.

It's rumored that Skulltimate Secrets Series 4 will be ballet-themed and that the dolls will have a different case shape altogether, with it being compared to an elevator from first reports? Abbey will be getting what seems to be her second doll in that series, though I tested and found that she would have been able to fit in the Series 1-3 boxes, so her height wasn't a factor dictating a new lock-box design. I'm not at all excited for a ballet concept, but the new cases sound intriguing and surely the second outfits of the dolls won't be tutus and leotards, so they might still get me to buy in when I know what they look like.

Creepover Twyla opened the doll door.

Twyla's hair appears to be polypropylene, but it's not as dismal a sight as Fearidescent Frankie's was when I first saw them behind their own door. 

The illustration on the inner panel of the door is jam-packed with detail and Easter eggs and is more busy than I'd expect for Twyla...though there's a certain familiarity to it. I can relate.

Up top, you can see the "Intro to Talismans" textbook from her Creepover Party doll, her earbud case, and a 2011 G1 Fearbook. It doesn't make canonical sense for a G3 2020s student to have this, but it's a great callback. There's also some kind of fabric object (a plush? A tablet case?) shaped like a bitten toaster pastry which is similar to the look of the food version her Creepover doll had, but not identical. Bookworm Twy naturally has her library card on the shelf.

Further down of note, there's some tabletop gaming paraphernalia and magnets, the doll's lantern which we'll see in physical form soon, a sensory Skullette pop-it toy (likely a fidget for Twyla to stim with), a box-set of novels which might be referencing the Lisi Harrison Monster High book series that ran during G1, and her Creepover mug. 

At the bottom, Dustin is fanging out! There's also a Rubik's cube and some textbooks, at least one of which Twyla has stickied to remind herself that she's relying on a loan from Manny Taur. 

I love how much was packed in here. The illustrator must have had tons of fun, and it's a great way to include characterization as well as callbacks and Easter eggs for longtime and attentive fans.

With this doll, I was able, with lots of care and patience, to pry the cardboard backdrop out of the doll compartment intact.

Like all Skulltimate Secrets dolls, the inventory/instruction leaflet was at the doll's feet, but I had taken it out before this photo. The leaflet was not needed for me, but I checked and found that it does not specify which pieces of the doll glow, which I think would have been good to include. 

Here's the backdrop bare. It's very pretty, but the bright neon scenery could be a lot to experience as a real setting. Twyla's hypersensitivity is only clarified to include audio stimuli, so maybe neon intensity is no problem for her, but I know some autistic people can find themselves overwhelmed in settings like this.

Here's the contents of the doll compartment.

Neon Frights Twyla has a different color palette than Creepover in ways I didn't even expect. While I knew her makeup was much more dramatic, I wasn't sure if her hair would be different, but it's immediately clear it's much bluer, after G2 and G3 sig had already made her hair bluer than G1! Furthermore, I was surprised to find Neon Frights Twyla's skintone a little richer and more saturated, as if she had gotten the purple-toned equivalent of a tan!

And here they are with G1 sig.

I'm willing to bet Neon Frights' hair color shift is a one-off for effect and not a sign that she's going even bluer from now on, so that doesn't bother me. 

Her hair is straight and appears to be polypropylene, with a thin line of straight bangs in the middle of the forehead that doesn't lie completely flat. Her hair had zero product in it and if it's poly, it doesn't offend me that badly. Fearidescent Frankie's hair felt worse to me. 

The bangs are cut and rooted a little stupidly, but they look less awful than I'd expected and I do like them more than Fearidescent Frankie's. There's not a whole lot that can be done to reshape poly hair, but I can definitely live better with this.

Here's the hair combed.

I do want it to fall a little flatter so it covers her ears, so I'll be boiling it later. 

Twyla's face is possibly the most visually dramatic any of her dolls from any generation have had. Even her Freak du Chic doll had softer aspects.

It's her first doll ever with a really dark lip, and her makeup is quite heavy, with dark purple on her lid crease and violet under her eyes, two wings of bright blue, and violet above that. Her mascara is also quite heavy and thick bands of shadow have been painted on her eyes to make them look even darker. This makeup design feels very G1 to me, and overall, I've been delighted to see G3 becoming less fraidy-pants about being edgy and spooky in its visuals. Out the gate, G3 was very colorful, but more and more G3 dolls have had restrained color palettes, more extravagant makeup, and even more edgy alternative fashion choices. Either G3 is deliberately trying to win back the G1 audience after lukewarm reception, or it was always their plan to scooch things a little darker over time after making a tamer first impression. I don't know, but I'm glad to see visual drama like this again.

Twyla's brows are greener than her hair.

Here's the face comparisons again. Creepover suddenly looks way more like her G1 doll to me, whereas my first impression was that she looked much more youthful and cartoonish. Neon Frights being so exaggerated changes that. The power of makeup is always fascinating.

I think I'm seeing much more of G1 Twyla in the Creepover doll nowadays. I don't think I realized her distinctive cheekbones were still present in her sculpt like that, and maybe her hair finally flatters her and gives her a comparable "Twyla energy". That comforts me because I resonated so strongly with the G1 incarnation and didn't want her unique traits lost, and I think I have much more affection for Creepover now.

I mean, let's be real--factory Creepover feels little like cartoon G3 or G1 Twy.

Neon Frights' first outfit here doesn't thrill me.

Over her shirt and shorts, Twyla has a lavender suspender belt, but it honestly looks more like some kind of harness by being a separate vinyl piece over her clothes. 

The emphasis on buttons and stitching is cute, and the Dustin patch is nice. There are also some nice charms hanging on the side.

The back of the piece has a simple pin closing it.

I'm not in love with the pale color of this piece, and the vinyl isn't very well-contoured to her body and kind of hovers around her shoulders. 

Under the suspenders, Twyla has a sleeveless cropped top and a pair of vinyl shorts with a scalloped shape.

The top is really nice. I like the pattern and the pops of color, and the typical Twyla black bow at the neck. It's a fun modern update of her antique wallpaper patterns. I don't think cropped pieces make much sense for her, though, and the piece would be far more useful in other combinations if it was longer. The belt helps by covering the gap in pieces. 

The shorts are cute enough, but I think the color is too pale. I also don't think vinyl fabric makes sense for her even if it's a theme of this doll series.

Twyla's boots are knee-length pieces in translucent turquoise and feature Dustin designs at the top and lots of sewing-button straps sculpted in.

She's packaged with plastic sleeves under them to protect her legs, which I think is out of concern for the shadow paint design. There's no reason to think the pigment of the shoes would leach into her. I don't expect Ghoulia to have these.

The heels of the shoe platforms feature parted curtains and a figure I couldn't quite decipher. I gathered it was maybe rabbit-shaped, but its texture really confused me. It almost looked like some creature poking its head out of a hood?

The soles have a spiraling wisp pattern.

Twyla's boots are one of her glowing pieces, which will all be this translucent turquoise color. The color they glow in is the standard green, but other dolls have been advertised to have glow in different colors to better match the lit colors of their pieces. I don't expect to be able to show that off here, since Ghoulia's glow pieces are green and I expect their glow to look identical.

I liked to see the boots glowing, but while I took this photo, I was shocked to discover that Neon Frights Twyla does not have glowing eyes!!! WHAT? 

Not only is it disheartening that G3 Twyla's eye glow is not being treated as a constant feature of her dolls, but this is precisely where her glowing eyes would have fit the very best--on a doll you're supposed to see glowing anyway! Twyla's glowing eyes have never been advertised and I've always adored that they were left as a surprise, and this was the perfect way to get more people to notice that hidden visual gag because they'd already be looking for glowing features! 

That's a huge, huge, and flat-out baffling disappointment. Was this some kind of budget restriction? Well, get rid of the cookies or something, then, to trade off. Eye glow should have been prioritized for this doll above any other edition.

This doll's shadow paint has shifted more purple than pink/mauve, but is also harder to notice. 

Why do I feel like the hands might match the shadow paint of the opposite doll better?

I still truly wish the shadows stayed grey. Or hey, mint on Neon Frights could have been a fun switcheroo. And outright black could be incredible.

Now to look at the next door!

The Neon Frights keys have the same pyramid-stud texture as the doll door, and Twyla's is coated in turquoise temporary paint. It's visibly chipped off in parts, spoiling its underlying color.

Here's a comparison in texture with the polygonal Series 2 keys.

I like the color of the dissolving paint--it feels like Twyla's shadow magic, and the dissolving cloud matches her G1 palette.

Given the dinged paint layer, it was no shock to discover the key was glittery black. I guess this means the glitter door isn't saved for last in this series, though I can't speak for if that was truly the case for the Series 2 dolls I didn't get.

The door got opened more officially even though it's prone to opening itself unaided.

The paper packets are better than they looked in Series 2. Series 2's packets were misprinted so the question-mark symbols were backward, and they were an ugly mush of colors that suited none of the individual dolls and their limited color schemes.

Series 2 Cleo's packet design.

The Series 3 packets seem to be printed correctly, and, going by Twyla's, are color-coded to their specific doll's glowing pieces. I imagine Ghoulia's packets will be medium green with lighter green decorations.

I like the lighter printing on dark for a neon effect. Twyla's heart symbol has smoky wisps and sparkles.

Here's what was in the packet-- the fabric parts of the second outfit.

I don't know what that folded cardboard piece was for, but it was in there.

Twyla has her Neon Frights cropped hoodie...

...a pale blue cropped tank with a scalloped edge and a cartoon tee graphic...

This'd be cute modern sleepwear. Twyla's no stranger to pajama-esque clothing!

...and a vinyl skirt with an amazing spooky eye pattern which opens all the way down the back. I love it, except it comes across as a bit of an insult when worn by a doll whose eyes can't glow in the dark like this!

I would wear a jacket of this pattern in a natural fabric.

Here's how they wear.

You know...it feels so strange for Twyla to feel this modern, but I really like the look of this outfit on her. I'm almost reminded of the New Scaremester doll line and the way it gave more modern or edgy looks to some of its characters who got their second dolls...never mind that Twyla was one of those dolls and didn't have an edgy theme! (read about NS Twyla here!) So I guess this is more "New Scaremester Twyla" than New Scaremester Twyla!

I scolded G3 Deuce for trying to wear a net-sleeved hoodie just recently, but it really works for Twyla and her dark makeup. It probably helps that her hoodie is a jacket shape and is much cleaner with no gradients or graphics on it! The ruffle vinyl around the neck is pretty fun, too. 

Here's the hood up. 

Each of the Neon Frights dolls has translucent vinyl accents in an ear shape on their hoods, save for Toralei (who's working with real cat ears). I kind of wish they didn't have these. These feel a little silly to me and I think the mature, modern look of this Twyla would be suited better without anything changing her hood silhouette. The ears also had to be pinched and folded a little to stand up correctly.

This may look a little better with some hair pulled forward out of the hood...

...but I prefer to just leave the hood down. She looks great without it.

She really carries this energy well!

The next door is pink, and it's looking like I might be having a repeat of Fearidescent Frankie, where the first doll I'm opening in the series has a boring straight-down-the-locker opening sequence.

In the third door were her earrings, purse, and choker.

The earrings are a silver lock and key, something which was previously a Spectra motif in G1 but makes sense for Twyla given her overlapping haunted-house details. I previously used a Spectra key earring to make an Alice in Wonderland scary-tale Twyla, so this is another case where I feel like my personal instincts for her character have been validated!

These would look nice on Creepover Twyla to further her visual parallels to G1 signature Twyla, since that G1 doll's earrings were silver doorknobs.

Twyla's choker is one of her glowing pieces and features a chain and a cushioned spider design similar to her Creepover earrings.

I found this piece to fit awkwardly and sit too high on Twyla's neck. 

Twyla's purse is another glowing piece and has a chain handle, another motif she seems to be co-opting from Spectra.

The handle loop is small, so it's easiest to take her hand off first to be able to hang it on her wrist. The piece is so thin and small that absolutely none of Twyla's accessories will fit inside it. 

Here's the accessories added on.

And now that we have every glowing piece, here's what that looks like.

You really can't see the necklace. It didn't catch much light. 

Here's a crude image edit to show the glowing I wish I was seeing.

And here's Creepover with the purse for a real photo of the glowing eyes with one of the glowing accessories.

It's spooky how much further away the eyes look from her hand!

The third key is purple, so this unlock sequence is entirely linear.

The packet contained the keyring and Twyla's second pair of shoes.

I tested it out, but the teal pieces of Twyla's case and the keys do not glow in the dark.
The shoes are very typical of Twyla, and feature a pattern on their front which directly references the top her G1 signature doll wore.

Love it.

The platforms and soles of the shoes have a spooky-library theme, fitting G3 Twyla's bookaholic nature. 

The last door is on the bottom, with the teal key. Inside were Twyla's earbuds, book, cookie plate, and lantern.

I was really happy to see the earbuds were included on this doll. For Twyla, these are a noise-cancelling aid device to mitigate sensory overstimulation, as a facet of Twyla's autism is hypersensitivity to sound. I'm glad these are being included, because they're important to her character and her representation. 

The earbuds themselves have no pins or anything that physically sticks into the ear--they're designed to wrap over the top.

While the pieces are shaped well and I could get her left earbud on fairly securely, her right earbud got pushed up by the hair rooted just under it and fell off constantly. Neither earbud is very secure and these pieces pose a massive risk for being lost. Don't expect to find these pieces easily on aftermarket copies of this doll!

It's a shame these don't work that well because they're such a significant inclusion. Maybe if the wrap curves of the buds had to squeeze or really pop onto the ear contour with some tension, that'd have made them stable. Here, they're very gentle to slide on and thus have no real grip, so they can be pushed by Twyla's hair or unsettled by motion. Otherwise, a design that plugged into the earring hole somehow, like the Rainbow High/Shadow High dolls do, would have been better.

Rexx McQueen's earbud, which surreptitiously plugs into an earring hole at the bottom.

Twyla's cookie plate is very cute, with cookies of the types seen in her locker artwork. One of them has a bite taken out!

The underside has a Skullette cutout and a small hole, which I assumed was for her thumb to slot into so it can balance on her hand.

While that may or may not have been its intent, it certainly functions that way!

Adorable.

Twyla's book made me light up because the cover immediately illuminated the mystery of what was sculpted on her shoes--the "Shadows" title refers to shadow puppetry!

The inside confirms it beyond a doubt, showing a diagram of the hand poses to create the rabbit form on the cover. Sure enough, the posed hands are exactly what was molded on her shoes.

Shadow puppetry is such a brilliant theme to give Twyla and a really fun way to channel her boogeymonster conjurations. I almost feel like this should have been the motif of her Creepover doll, though, since shadow puppets sound like the perfect kind of noise-free sleepover party game for Twyla to bring to the table!

The opposite page shows an image of Dustin next to a beastly creature, suggesting some kind of transformation. This alludes to a G3 arc for Twyla in the cartoon. She becomes tormented by the beast, known as a night terror, that threatens the dreams of her friends until Twyla chooses to grow up and defeat it in a boogeymonster rite of passage. Twyla is afraid growing up will mean choosing to sacrifice her personality and identity until she realizes that doesn't have to be the case and masters her dream powers to transform the night terror into the friendly dust bunny Dustin! I do enjoy that the origins of the pets get backstories and focus in G3. 

The back of the book is molded with a Skullette and spiderweb.

The book stays closed with a small pin-and-loop clasp.

I then got sidetracked to try to see if I could make any form of shadow puppet with Twyla's hands and a spotlight, but her hands are not sculpted like the diagram and weren't amenable to creating anything else, unfortunately. It would have been really amazing if the doll could re-create the rabbit shape in her book.

Twyla's lantern is her last piece. It's translucent glittery purple and open at one side, and the candle can be pushed out from above if you wanted to do that.

The handle is tight, so it's again easier to pop Twyla's hand off if you want it around her wrist.

Huge missed opportunity for this to have been one of the green glow pieces. I know the Neon Frights dolls follow a tight formula and it wouldn't make sense for the other dolls' accessories to glow like this, but a glow would have made this spooky lantern so much better and it would make complete sense for this. Or at least let the candle be a glow piece!

Alright, here's some mix-and-match!

I really like the look of the green top and eye skirt together. They have a lot of modern fantasy pop that really excites me and suits the neon theme as well as the goal of modernizing Twyla's Victorian look. 

Here's the skirt and graphic top alone.

Here's the pastel pieces together. This works, but I don't love it for Twyla.

The hoodie doesn't help a whole lot.

Neon Frights is quite striking in the Creepover stock! This is honestly closer to what I had predicted they'd do with G3 sig Twyla. I had thought they might make her more dramatic than before. The Neon Frights hair and makeup bring a lot of punch into this costume.

And here's both dolls swapped.

I also figured I'd try the suspenders on Creepover to see if she suited them better, and I think she does. Her lighter coloring and wavy hair channels an old-timey simplicity in a way that flatters the style and color of the piece more. 

After this, I boiled both Twylas' hair. Neon Frights' lands much better now, and even Creepover's seems to have improved over the first time I tried to do so. I also put her barrette back in her hair, and I swapped their hands with each other.

I had a Clawd Wolf newsboy cap lying around, and I tried that with the suspenders on Creepover, and I think that helped despite its earholes and poor fit.

I then tried Skullector Sally's headband on Neon Frights because it's black, botanical, and has a bow, and paired it with the mint top and eye skirt. I think this is an incredible delicate look.

I had to take some portraits with it.

And this was the cover image, playing with image editing to make the colors glow more neon.

I was also still possessed by the idea of playing with shadow illusions, and I realized Creepover Twyla's bunny hood would create a fun inhuman silhouette trick--maybe that was even their intention?

That's a super fun effect with the shadow being creepier than the real person!

Trying the newsboy cap with the modern outfit suddenly made Twyla feel dated in a new way--this is extremely 90s or 2000s and I'm amused by it.

But this is how I like her best, without the hat. I think the green purse and silver earrings suit Creepover's G1 homage better, and the backpack and purple earrings work great with the modern look of Neon Frights. The graphic tee also helps lean her into this new territory. If she's going atypically modern, she's going all the way!

Well, this was a lovely time with G3 Twyla that overall improved my outlook on her dolls, which is reassuring after I had previously felt like my favorite G1 MH character wasn't really herself anymore.

I found a whole new love for the Creepover doll after her hair finally gave up on fighting me and agreed to be nice somehow, and a few of the Neon Frights pieces give it more of the nostalgia I love, especially since I can recognize more familiar things about the doll's energy than I did before. She felt worth the portrait treatment I gave the G1 doll now because I can see her more as Twyla today--a different Twyla, but not foreign to my understanding of her.

And Neon Frights Twyla is a really fun divergent ensemble for the character that introduces a really solid pop-vintage modernization of her more directly antique look from before. Neon Frights is edgy, modern, and dramatic in a totally new way that really works! 

Neon Frights does have her issues. Her poly hair isn't ideal. I don't like that both of her tops are cropped because that's a modernization that truly doesn't fit with my sense of Twyla, and pastels don't flatter her to me. I also don't feel satisfied with her earbuds, which are cleverly sculpted but not securely functional. Something with a tighter pinch or something using the earring hole would have been superior. For a character-important piece like those, failing the execution is really disappointing. 
Lastly, this doll had to have glowing eyes and she just didn't. It's a disappointingly quick abandonment of the detail in G3 after I was hopeful her Creepover doll meant it was back for good, and it would have been an absolute no-brainer to include it in a glowing doll series! 

In the end, though, my G3 Twylas have given me lots of welcome surprises. The first doll feels magically better and the second shows off some exciting possibilities. I'm here for the long haul. My two most-collected doll characters, Frankie and Twyla, have ensnared me in their newest versions as well!

Twyla times Twola is Twys as nice!