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Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette ($39.00 for 10 x 0.03 oz.) is a limited edition, Sephora-exclusive eyeshadow palette for the holidays. It comes in a metal tin with a hinged lid with ten eyeshadows and a travel-sized eyeshadow brush. These are the shades included: Rockstar (deep eggplant with metallic base), Gunmetal (gunmetal grey with silver glitter), Skimp (pale nude with gold shimmer), Infamous (shifty mauve), Wreckage (shimmery dark taupe), Haight (shimmering mermaid blue), Money (silvery pale green), Mushroom (shimmering fawn), Spotlight (medium taupe with gold sparkle), and Limelight (bronze with gold glitter). New shades include Infamous, Limelight, Spotlight, and Wreckage. All other shades are repromotes.

The exterior of the palette is nice; it’s a good size, too–small enough to travel with but large enough to be easy to use with regular, full-sized brushes. There is no mirror in this palette, which is unusual for Urban Decay’s palettes. It’s not as slim as their six-pan palettes (like Dangerous, Feminine, etc.), but it is significantly smaller than the Book of Shadows volumes. It stays shut quite well, as the lid is kept on by hinges. The brushed metal finish of the tin hides fingerprints well. I don’t love the interior; it’s cardboard that shifts around a bit when you’ve plunk a brush into one of the eyeshadow wells. It just feels a little… cheap to me, and I generally don’t have issues with cardboard-based packaging so long as it feels sturdy.

  • Rockstar is a smoky eggplant purple with very subtle red undertones; it’s not a fully neutral purple, but it’s close. Giorgio Armani #3 is darker, less purple. theBalm All the Way Annie and Make Up For Ever #142 are similar but neither has the blackened base. theBalm Kissy, Kissy is closer but not quite as red-toned.
  • Gunmetal is a dark charcoal gray with silver glitter. This shade is part of the permanent range. If you feel like you’ve just seen this shade, it’s true–it’s also in the BoS 4. It is similar to Inglot #451 but a bit darker.  Because it does have glitter, it may have some fall out (I have found it less so than some of the really glittery shades).
  • Skimp is a beige-peach with a pearled sheen. It, too, was most recently in the BoS 4. It is similar to Bare Escentuals Serendipitous but lighter than MAC Brule. The quality seemed better here–it didn’t feel dry at all.
  • Infamous is a bright, plum-tinged fuchsia pink with a satiny sheen. This had a slightly drier texture than a lot of the other shades in the palette but the color payoff was still decent. It isn’t the same as Urban Decay Woodstock, which is much redder, brighter, and deeper. This is more like Woodstock and Fishnet got together and had baby. It is closer to Make Up For Ever #52 but muted and slightly purpler.
  • Wreckage is a muted, medium-dark brown with subtle yellow undertones and a subtle golden sheen. The color payoff was decent but not as dense as most Urban Decay eyeshadows. It is very similar in color to Bare Escentuals A-Ha. It is reminiscent of Urban Decay Toasted but not as warm.
  • Haight is a teal-tinged, medium-dark blue with a frosted finish. This shade is part of the permanent range, but it is a little duller than my individual pot of it. It will take on a more of a teal appearance when near greens. I can’t think of a great dupe for Haight.
  • Money is a silvery green-gray with a cool-toned gold sheen. It’s a really cool, complex color. It does have silver sparkles in it, so there may be some fall out. I find Money has less sparkle than really glittery shades like Midnight Cowboy, though. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this shade either.
  • Mushroom is a dark taupe–a little silvery, brown, and gray. It is a little less brown compard to Giorgio Armani #4 and grayer compared to theBalm Come Hither Heather.
  • Spotlight is a pale champagne-bronze with gold glitter and a rather chunky texture. This was the worst shade in the palette–it was dry and chunky, not just from the glitter, but the powder itself didn’t adhere smoothly. It resulted in poorer color payoff and lots of fall out. Bare Escentuals Magnetism is a touch darker (and doesn’t have glitter).
  • Limelight is a lightened coppery bronze with a warm golden shimmer and glitter. It’s more orange than Urban Decay Blunt but not by much. It’s a lighter version of Urban Decay Half-Baked. Funny enough, some of the lightness of the shade is due to the drier texture and uneven color payoff (which is decent but not great). I had similar issues with this shade as I did with Limelight, just not to the same degree.

Long-time collectors and fans will find this palette with too many repromotes/similarly done shades. I think Urban Decay might want to cut back on creating more browns/bronzes, because they’re starting to run together. I don’t want more Half-Baked eyeshadows, but if you’re going to just make one-offs of it, I’d rather the original so I know I’m not getting anything new. They could consider doing more browns, even in the same tones and shades, but with different finishes–like satins or mattes.

I had major issues with Spotlight and Limelight and minor issues with Infamous. I would say that two of the ten eyeshadows were misses, but the other eight were varying degrees of good to great. Like other Urban Decay palettes, though, it’s a good deal–it has $102 worth of eyeshadows, plus a travel-sized version of the shadow brush ($26), so I’d approximate the value of the whole shabang for around $120.

Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

B+
9
Product
9
Pigmentation
8.5
Texture
9
Longevity
4
Application
88%
Total


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Mariposa Eyeshadow Palette


Urban Decay Rockstar Eyeshadow


Urban Decay GunmetalEyeshadow


Urban Decay Skimp Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Infamous Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Wreckage Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Haight Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Money Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Mushroom Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Spotlight Eyeshadow


Urban Decay Limelight Eyeshadow

58 Comments

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Freddie Avatar

I remember I first wanted this so badly and now I’m like “eh”. I’ve been doing this a lot with UD palettes. I already have Naked and Dangerous. I feel like I’m good on UD shadows, hahaha.

Olivia Avatar

Hmm… this is really pretty, and I love UD eyeshadows, but I don’t know about this one. I already own three of the shades and have Half- Baked, so I don’t know if I really want to spend my money on it. I guess i’ll just have to see for myself. 🙂 But thanks as always for the honest review Christine, they really make life a whole lot easier.

Marie Papachatzis Avatar

I am looking forward to the palette, because the UD shadows are generally quite good. Too bad Spotlight wasn’t good. Infamous looks gorgeous, as does Rockstar. I too would love some more browns and shadows with two-tone sheens.

Grace Avatar

I am completely new to urban decay. Would you suggest this, or the urban decay naked palette? Can you create enough variety in looks just with the neutrals in the naked palette? I cant afford the 15th anniversary palette/book of shadows.

AS Avatar

In the past you have listed when a shade was included in a past palette or if it is exclusive to this set. Would you be willing to do that for this one? Having it in some set from 3 years ago is the ultimate dupe, and it is easy to forget if we already have it. I would like to know how many of these shades are unique to this set to determine if it is worth getting. Thanks!

heidi Avatar

Here’s my thing UD. If one of these shades was matte I’d be all over this palette! I need a mix of finishes in my palettes. I like to be able do my entire look with one palette and I don’t want to look like a disco ball!

Elena Torres Avatar

I went to a master class yesterday that was held by UD with mater artist Eric, he said next year, they would be putting out a all matte palette, probably spring time. On December 1, Naked 2 will be launching on their website.

Elena Avatar

Its ok, on December 1, Naked 2 will be launched on ud.com. This palette is suppose to have lighter neutrals, compared to the original that has lots of bronze colors. So excited, cant wait to see what is looks like!!

Elena Avatar

He said that is been ready for awhile now but with the success of the original and demand of it, they wanted to make sure everyone got their naked palette.

Melissa Avatar

At this point, I’m pretty much ignoring Urban Decay’s palettes. I wish they spent half the time on developing new shades as they do producing the packaging. I can’t deal with the constant regurgitation of shadows. It’s a shame because some of their shades are among my favorite.

Mariella Avatar

I’m so disappointed that there are issues with Limelight and Spotlight as they were 2 that looked nice to me and I’m sort of determined to get this palette for Mushroom, so was hoping a few other new shades would be “keepers”. I wish UD would knock it off with the obnoxious glitter – the type that falls all over your cheeks and under-eye area. I so love Maui Wowie but find it almost unwearable because of the shower of glitter everywhere but where it should be.

Anaatasia Avatar

This isn’t completely related to this eyeshadow palette, but I was going through my eyeshadow collection and I realized I had an exact dupe for Urban Decay’s Gunmetal; the dark grey in Tarte’s eye couture day-to-night eyeshadow palette. I’m not sure if you’ve done a review for that palette, but I just wanted to let you know because you have a dupe list. 🙂

Jill Avatar

This is rare for me to say about UD products, but I LOVE the packaging, and yet I have no interest whatsoever in the shadows….usually it’s the other way around. I got caught up in the packaging but now that I see the swatches and really see the colors, I’m liable to skip this set. I was looking forward to seeing new shades but looks like they’re just variations of pre-existing shades. Oh well, more money in my pocket. I’m still holding out for the final 15th Anniversary Item (pleeease be brushes!)

Jill Avatar

I wish UD would release Skimp as its own shade in their line, aside from when Sephora had the Beauty In A Box with it as a single along with Romp. Skimp totally looks like MAC Brule and Creamy Bisque blended together. I wish decent highlighter shades were not only more permanent but freestanding outside palettes. Hmph, lol.

Emma RZ Avatar

If you can get hold of it (I found it at a Cosmetics Company Store) I think that Sweetjoy from MAC VV looks to be a very similar shade to this one.

Jenna Avatar

I agree with some others that I am looking for a palette with some matte shadows in it (not all, but some) so that I don’t have to use all shimmers or switch between palettes. I also would love to see a palette of similar shape to Naked, I hate the big akward ones.

Ashley Sarah Avatar

Unlike a lot of other people. I own 1 UD item, so this is something that interests me. I doubt I will be getting it, but if I could I would. The rockstar shade is my favorite.

K Avatar

I love the Rockstar shade and I think Money is really unique. Other than that, I personally would not wear the majority of these shades so the palette is a pass for me. I do love the butterfly-embossed tin, though!

Monica Avatar

Actually the Wet n Wild “spoiled brat” palette has a silver very similar to that but a bit more bluish and pure silver like. Also elf “drama” quad has a silver very close to that as well. Hope that helps. 🙂

Monica Avatar

Some of these colors are very similar to the colors in some of the ‘wet n wild’ palettes. For instance “Infamous” looks like a mixture of the purple from the ‘lust’ palette and the pink from the ‘spoiled brat’ palette. Another thing is that “Rockstar“, “Skimp“, and “Gunmetal” are similar to the colors in the ‘lust’ palette but the finishes are a bit different. Does anyone else agree?

Lori Avatar

I might get this one but I already have four of the shades in other palettes. Gunmetal is in the Naked palette and Rockstar, Money & Haight are also in the Book of Shadows volume 3. The other six shades are very tempting though.

Rachelcarlene Avatar

I am so excited to get this for skimp mushroom and MONEY in particular. I owned tons of colors from bos3 so I couldn’t justify spending $55 for money though I was entranced. I even tried to find someone who had depotted shades and was selling on ebay. No dice.

Barbara M Avatar

Hello

it’s me again , hoping anyone sees my question 🙂

is the taupe side of the Nars duo eyeshadow palette , in the limited shade ” grand palais” is a very good dupe to mushroom from Urban Decay?

thanks

Laura Avatar

Oh, how I wish Urban Decay would make Mushroom and Rockstar available as singles in the permanent line. AC/DC too. They are three of my absolute favourite shadows!

Sandra Avatar

I’ll defiñitely be buying this palette. I got Naked but returned it. Just hated it. But this I’m already in love with this just looking at the swatches, and the the price is great.

Christina Davis Avatar

How sad that most of the problems in this palette are from new shades. You could easily skip this palette if you are a long-time collector of Urban Decay. What I don’t understand is that they continue to repromote shades already in the permanent line/palettes on sale now despite the fact that countless UD fans are frustrated and have complained about the issue. This is not a new complaint. UD has done this for years and may lose customers if they continue. So sad, since I’m a lover of the brand. 🙁

Khristine Talactac Avatar

Hi Christine! I’ve been really debating about this palette.. I already own the UD NYC edition palette and just recently acquired the UD 15th anniversary palette, is this palette worth getting just because of the new 4 new shades? or you think with the palettes i already own, can skip out on this and save some $$? 🙂 your input would be greatly appreciated! <3

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