Urban Decay eyeshadows clockwise from bottom left: Freakshow, Flash, Romp, Frigid, AC/DC and Ecstasy
Last night when MBB reader Steph B asked this about the Urban Decay Cowboy Junkie Palette ($38), I thought it was a perfect excuse to paint my arm purple. 🙂
“Romp is the only color in the set I really want. How does it compare to some of the other UD purples you can buy as singles? Is it close to Ecstasy or Purple Haze?”
-Steph B
Hmm… Good question. To get to the bottom of it, I busted out some of the similar Urban Decay purples in my stash to do a quick comparison.
I don’t have Purple Haze, but Flash, Freakshow, Ecstasy and Frigid are currently available as singles in UD’s permanent line; AC/DC is from last fall’s Book of Shadows Vol. II.
From the left that’s Romp (from the Cowboy Junkie Palette), Flash ($17), Freakshow ($18), Ecstasy ($17), AC/DC and Frigid ($18).
I’d have to say that of these colors here, Romp most closely resembles AC/DC in its pan, but I think it looks more like Frigid (a dark purple with hints of navy blue and black) on the skin.
Flash and Ecstasy aren’t nearly as dark as Romp, and Freakshow looks a lot more plummy (plummier?) to me.
If you like AC/DC, I think you might also like Romp, AC/DC’s moodier emo cousin.
For those about to rock, we salute you! 
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Yay! I have Frigid, so it makes me happy to see that Romp is similar on the skin 🙂
Thanks for this post Karen! My mom loves purple eyeshadow (and she wears Urban decay eyeshadow every day) so I just had to forward it to her. 🙂
Your mom sounds pretty cool, Jenn!
If you haven’t already — get her a stick of Ransom liner. It’s purple AWESOMENESS. 🙂
purple eyeshadow is <3333 … and i think UD makes some of the best purples around!
I think so too. I can’t seem to get enough of my Ransom/Flash combo! 🙂
You forgot Ransom! That’s the one I have and I’m curious how it measures up haha. Is it wrong I suddenly want to go out and buy all those other purples?!
I don’t have that one on hand, unfortunately. 🙁 It’s a good color though!
swoon, purple is so lovely! man, that is an exact dupe of frigid! they just renamed it lol
These purples are gorgeous!
I love purple and I’m just now getting into eyeshadow. I think there’s a purple in the BOS III that I can try out.
Hi Miss Mimi,
Rockin’! One of these days you’ll have to try UD’s Ransom 24/7 Liner topped with Flash eyeshadow. It’s the ultimate purple combo. 😀
Thanks for the suggestion!!!
You’re welcome!
Freakshow is very pretty!
I love it. Have you worn UD shadows before?
You rock! Thanks so much for posting these swatches. I think a Sephora trip is in my immediate future.
You’re welcome! Thanks for asking such a good question.
Sooo does that mean Cowboy Junkie is gonna be yours soon?
No — Cowboy Junkie is waaaaaaaaaaay too glittery for my boring, old self who lives and works in a conservative makeup environment. Seriously, the number of women I work and play with who wear no makeup boggles the mind — the colors and textures are too much fun to skip entirely.
But I can push things with Frigid. Pair it with a tamer peach, like Bobbi Brown’s Nude, for a similar, but tamer, look.
That sounds like it would work. I bet you could even get a way with popping a lil’ bit of green or gold in there (maybe along the inner corner?)… just blend like CRAZY!!!
Thank you for the comparison. I love purple shadows and looking at all these purples is awesome and makes me very happy. Had a feeling I might seek out these shadows one day. Another shade of eyeshadow that I am crazy about is yellow!
Hi Vonvon,
You’re so welcome! Purple is now one of my favorites, too… I can’t believe I used to be so afraid of it.
BTW, I’m still too scared to wear bright, banana yellow eyeshadow out in public. I love it for around the house though. 🙂
Would love to see some looks with yellow eyeshadow from you one day. 🙂
I love yellows. Somehow I feel it brightens up the whole look and face!
my favorite UD purple is asphyxia, but i also love AC/DC wet as a liner. And the best pencil is 24/7 in LUST. deep purple that lasts all day. looks great with brown eyes 🙂
Hi Rosie,
I haven’t tried that shade yet; will have to check it out!
Have you ever worn Ransom liner beneath Flash eyeshadow? It’s the frickin’ bomb.com!
Thanks for doing this post! It’s very informative in addition to being chock-full of purple goodness! Of all the shadows you swatched, ransom is the one I have, so yay! I’m still gonna play with the set the next time I’m at Sephora though…
Do you have the Ransom liner? Please, PLEASE say yes!
omg WANT! if only just for Freakshow!! I’m always on the hunt for a nice plummy purple, which suits my green eyes better than a bluish purple. you are a bad influence!! 😉
I really like AC/DC, for the sparkle, of course. I only have the UD liners, but like both of the purples. I do get a bit more use out of Rockstar than I do Ransom, which is weird because I know it’s reddish. I think it’s because it’s darker. Anyway, the right purples have been my friends because of the green eye thing. 🙂
Some people can rock the reddish purples like nobody’s business! It’s a difficult shade for me personally to wear (makes me look like I’m crying), but I’ve seen it look stunning on so many women.
Since you like the reddish purples chances are you might alos like these shadows from MAC: Sketch, Cranberry and Beauty Marked.
Thanks! I’ve written them down. You do know that you’re like the Ultimate Guide to MAC colors, right? They need to be paying you. 🙂
I haven’t met a purple eyeshadow I don’t like! Thanks for the swatches. I also really like the 24/7 pencil in Crash (though it has some fine glitter to it) and shadow in Ransom. Romp looks lovely though and I hope they release it in a less glitterbomb-like palette :).
Hi HautePJ,
It would be fab if they did it as a single. I like the Cowboy Junkie glitter shadows, but Romp seemed like the most wearable, ya know?
I wonder if the U/D Queen from the Alice in Wonderland palette would compare to Ecstasy?
Hi Katie,
I have the Alice Palette… would you like a comparison swatch? I can do one for you in the morning (it’s night here right now). Just let me know.
That would be awesome! Thanks Karen! :0)
Romp actually comes in the Sephora Beauty in a Box set I saw at their website too. So if you aren’t a big midnight cowboy fan, you could get romp with a lipstick, mascara, a vanilla shade of eyeshadow, primer potion and a zero pencil and avoid all the glitter.
Hi JessM,
This is great news. Thanks for the heads up! 😀
Thank you so much for the swatches, Karen! It’s awesome to see a blogger that takes requests. 🙂
You’re welcome, Lana! 🙂
Do you see anything here that you like? As you can tell I’m kind of a freak for purples, LOL!
I LOVE purple shadows and I am drooling at all this purple-y goodness! Too bad we can’t Urban Decay here in Australia 🙁
I love urban decay shadow the only problem I have is with their primer potion it dried out my eyes like crazy, think I’m allergic 😉 love you site by the way just found it xo M
Hello all. Just a question, is the shade AC/DC only available in the book of shadows vol 2?
Many Thanks x
That’s a good idea for a palette right there! Now they have neutrals, they should come out with green, pinks, purples, and blues!!!! =D
Karen, can you do an updated post about purple eyeshadows for NC42 aka brown girls?
I really want to wear the color purple, but i don’t know if i should go warm or cool, matte, or satin or glitter? should I get a single shadow or shud i go crazy and get a purple palette?!
I have no clue except that purple makes my almost jet black eyes look like a darker brown, and I love that effect. I”m just not sure how to rock it!
some do’s and don’t would help as well as your favorite purple eyeshadows 🙂
pretty please and thank u! xoxo