Shadow High Series 2: Zooey Electra

January 16, 2023.

The state of playline fashion dolls in the past couple of years has been great. MGA's doll line, Rainbow High is one of many brands making high-quality fashion dolls available in the toy sections of many common stores. Shadow High is a spinoff of the brand, producing fashion dolls with fantasy skin tones. The line impressed me last year with its series 1 release that featured entirely monochromatic dolls. After a few new releases here and there throughout 2022, series 2 was released around the start of 2023.
The series 2 dolls feature dolls of varying hues, all with great designs and clothing quality, but the minty colored Zooey Electra was the one that caught my eye.

Zooey comes in a box with a big window in the front. She comes with a stand and hangers, which are hidden in the side of the box. The box is shiny and colorful, making a nice display for your doll if you keep them in the box. I, however, tore it apart in seconds like a wild animal.

She's got minty skin and hair in nearly identical colors. Her hair is partially tied up in three knots on top of her head, while the rest of it is left down, long enough to reach past her knees. There is also some silvery tinsel in her hair! Tinsel hair is controversial in the doll and pony world, but I think it's cute.
Her miniskirt is made in a faux-leather material in a similar color to her hair and skin, which looks a little weird to me. Her ankle socks are sparkly and she wears heels with cute powercord bow knots on them. I adore her astronaut-inspired jacket with patches all over it. Interestingly, her jacket, shirt, and accessories sport a Novi Stars logo, which is a long-defunct toyline that was produced by MGA from 2012 to 2014. The dolls were aliens and sci-fi creatues, which suits Ms. Electra's space theme.
Her accessories include a laptop, thermos, smartphone and phone case. The phone fits in the case and the laptop is also hinged, so it can open and close.

Those familiar with the Rainbow High series may notice that this Shadow High series 2 doll only comes with 1 outfit. This is a reduction in the usual number of outfits that these dolls come with (two, generally), which is disappointing. I do like the one she has on, but I hope that the reduced number of outfits is not a trend that will continue in future releases.

Her face is really lovely. Her blue eyeshadow is glittery, and the white dots above her eyebrows are cute. She has some cool white eyeliner detail on her eyelids and in the corner of her eyes. Her regular eyeliner is sharp and dramatic, and she has rooted eyelashes, as all Rainbow High dolls do. She has pink blush and lipstick, as well as moulded baby hairs at her hairline. She has brown eyes, which are rare by Rainbow High standards, and look really nice contrasting with her primarily blueish design. She's a really pretty doll with an unique look that I enjoy having on my shelf.
Hopefully, Shadow High continues to have some good releases this year. It would be disappointing if future dolls only come with one outfit, but as long as the great attention to detail and design continues, I will keep looking forward to future Rainbow/Shadow High releases.