Urban Decay & Oz: Theodora Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:39:34 +0000

Urban Decay Theodora Palette

Urban Decay & Oz: The Theodora Palette

Urban Decay Theodora Palette ($49.00 for 0.43 oz.) includes Broken (pale cream satin), Beware (warm brown matte), Bewitch (dark charcoal brown satin), West (deep metallic brown shimmer), Spell (black satin with green and gold shimmer/gold metallic with tonal glitter), Jealous (pale green pearl/dark green pearl), Theodora Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color (bright red cream), and Zero 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil (black).

The eyeliner is 0.03 oz. ($14.25 value), while the lip pencil is 0.10 oz. ($19.00 value). There are six eyeshadow pans containing 0.05 oz. each ($108.00 value), though two of the six are split-pans, meaning they contain two eyeshadows in a single pan. The total value is $141.25. The eyeliner and six eyeshadow pans are housed within Urban Decay’s “Build Your Own Palette” interface, so all six pans can be popped out and you can insert another Urban Decay eyeshadow instead. The “empty” 6-pan palettes retail for $18.00 but include a travel-sized shadow brush and Walk of Shame eyeshadow (so it’s a wash, since you are getting an eyeshadow and an eyeliner instead, but I’ve already accounted for the value of those items).

Broken is a soft, pale beige with a satiny finish. It had good color payoff, and it was soft, smooth, and applied well. Urban Decay Illusion is warmer, darker, and has a stronger sheen. Cinderella A Wish is similar. Urban Decay Anonymous is more matte and slightly pink in comparison.Urban Decay Kinky is lighter, less warm-toned, and matte. MAC Dazzlelight is more shimmery. Urban Decay Skimp has a stronger sheen and is more peach-tinted.

Beware is a medium caramel brown with soft, warm undertones and a matte finish. The pigmentation was spot-on, and the texture was soft enough to allow for easy blending and application but not so soft it became powdery or prone to fading. theBalm Allegro is browner. MAC One to Watch is slightly shimmery. MAC Moleskin is browner. MAC Tete-a-tint is just a touch lighter.

Bewitch is a dark brown with subtle reddish undertones, but it almost looks cool-toned against my warmer complexion. The texture of this one was slightly powdery, and I thought it wasn’t quite true-to-pan in color initially, but when I applied it to the lid, I had no problem getting color to show. Chanel Variation #3 is a bit darker. Wet ‘n’ Wild Sparkle ‘Til Morning #8 is richer. Urban Decay Muse is a bit darker, cooler-toned. MAC Buckwheat is a touch warmer.

West is a rich, deep red-toned brown–almost burgundy-brown–with a metallic sheen. It had very intense pigmentation, and it applied very smoothly and evenly. Wet ‘n’ Wild Sparkle ‘Til Morning #8 is browner, less red-toned. theBalm Presto is matte. Urban Decay Barlust is less red-toned and warm-toned. MAC Sable is browner, warmer.

Spell contains two shades. The first half of the pan is a rich, metallic yellow gold with a strong, dirty brown base–it’s not quite antique gold, but it’s not an orange-y gold. The color payoff was fantastic, but there are stray bits of micro-glitter that get lost when swatched as well as when applied on the lid. When I used it, the fall off seemed to occur primarily during application, as next to no glitter transferred onto the lid. Urban Decay Blitz is lighter. MAC Old Gold is warmer. NARS Paramaribo #1 is a bit darker, less metallic. The other half of the pan is a deep bluish-black with multi-colored shimmer. It had fantastic color payoff, and the texture was buttery and smooth. MAC Tall, Dark, & Handsome is less intense. Tarnia Tarantino Diamond Dusk #5 is similar.

Jealous is another duo shade. The first half is a yellowed green with an olive brown base and softly frosted finish. It had good pigmentation, and it applied smoothly. Urban Decay Mildew is very similar to this shade–perhaps a touch warmer. Tarina Tarantino Dandy Lion is darker. Wet ‘n’ Wild Earth Looks Small From Down Here #1 is more muted. MAC Sumptuous Olive is slightly browner. The other half is a lightened, not-quite-pastel green with warm, yellow undertones and a golden sheen. It had good pigmentation and applied evenly. bareMinerals Wicked is a touch lighter. MAC Juxt has more of a satiny finish. Inglot #412 is more metallic.

Theodora is a cherry red with ruby red shimmer. I think it leans just a smidgen warm. It’s extremely rich in color and has a glossy shine. I thought Urban Decay F-Bomb was darker/bluer-based, but when I swatched the two side-by-side, they were actually the same! Chanel Coromandel is more orange. MAC Eden Rouge is a touch cooler-toned. Edward Bess Midnight Bloom is a bit darker. MAC Ruffian Red is less glossy. I’ve worn it for four hours so far, and it’s going strong, so I’m expecting six hours or so of wear.

Zero is a black with a mostly matte finish. It’s a classic black; not super, deep dark black, but not too soft that it looks gray. I have no problems with the wear–a solid eight hours without fading, migrating, or smudging.

Again, Urban Decay packs their palette with pigment; there were no weak performers in the pigmentation department within this palette. Like Glinda, the only problem I really had was with respect to the micro-glitter found in half of Spell, but it contained far less micro-glitter than Oz (from Glinda), so the impact of it was much, much less both during application as well as when worn. I found the majority of fall out occurred during application, but I only found one or two stray glittery bits beneath my eye (on that side of the face) after wearing it for the past eight hours. All of the shades I wore (all but West and the black shade in Spell) lasted for a full eight hours without creasing or fading (no primer). The textures found in this palette were easy to blend and apply, with the exception of dealing with some of the glittery fall out of Spell.