Barbie Mariposa Screening Variants

Hi! Hello!

I’m Luis and Mariposa is probably my favorite Barbie doll to ever exist.

 

My Mariposa, although used second hand, had all accessories and no sun damage whatsoever which is what I was looking for because I didn’t want to pay the prices of inbox ones that are available online (the only way I can buy second hand dolls, really) and cheaper options tend to be missing a lot of stuff to even be worth getting as my first one. So I consider myself lucky!

 

After receiving my Mariposa doll I did what any reasonable person would do and I bought 2 more…

I already had one display worthy, so I didn’t mind in what conditions the others were in or how many stuff they were missing. I was more interested in how different each one looked in the photos provided by the sellers, each font different websites, different continents even.

 

I’ve known about the concept of ´Variants´ for quite some time, impossible not to if you are following at least 2 other collectors no matter what SNS you use, so after looking at some listings I decide to get more only to have those differences in screening on my hands.

 

So far I only have 3 Mariposas heads (as one doesn’t even have a body anymore… the neck of the 2007 fairy body is EXTREAMLY prone to breaking, something fixed in the deluxe doll that had a thicker neck like the regular Barbies of the 00s era) so far but it’s just enough to at least list all the differences.

 

1. Mariposa:

Budget Mariposa.

• Matte skin.
• Pupils are big.
• Catch-light is star shaped.
• Lips are overlined, painted bigger than the face sculpt. Something really unique for the Mackie sculpt by the time she was released.
• Makeup is cut-crease but the shadow above the crease isn’t as prominent.
• Low set eyebrows, slightly curved but appear straight on the face.

The one that I have on display with all her accessories, even the rubber bands of the dress look really good and no sign of dry-rotting. Feel like her previous owner really cared for her judging by the almost flawless state shes in for an out of box doll. Glad shes in her second loving home.

Her overall look is really dreamy and is my favorite of the three I have, her eyes are just a tiny bit off-center but she’s still my favorite even when I first got her and her hair was a mess she still looked the prettiest to me.

 

2. Mariposa:

Budget Mariposa.

• Matte skin.
• Pupils are big.
• Catch-lights are circles.
• Right eye is smaller than the left one, creating this slight lazy-eye look but it’s mostly hidden by the fringe.
• Lips are overlined, painted bigger than the face sculpt.
• Makeup is cut-crease but the shadow above the crease isn’t as prominent.
• High set eyebrows, slightly curved and appear angled on the face.

Her neck broke off completely beyond repair. Got her while I was in Italy from a local online seller.

 

3. Mariposa:

Magic Wings Mariposa.

• Shimmery skin, similar to early Rainbow High dolls.
• Pupils are big.
• Star catch-light.
• Lips are not overlined, painted the same size as the face sculpt.
• Makeup is cut-crease, there’s more shadow above the crease.
• High set eyebrows, slightly curved and appear angled on the face.

Missing her train and wings. Her overall look is more closely to what other Mackie dolls looked like in the early 00s, I suspect its due to the size of the lips.

 

4. Mariposa

One last prominent variable I do not own is the Small Pupils variant as I named it.

As the name suggest the eye pupils are smaller and rounder, rather than big and oval shaped pupils of the other variants. It gives the eyes a more facing forward alert look instead of a dreamy looking up one.

Wont be posting pictures directly in the blog as I don’t like to put things that I don’t own but you can see this Insta Post by user kukumirun_ with this variant on the Deluxe doll, compared to the Budget doll in the same photo which is similar to my Mariposa N° 2 but with Low set Eyebrows.

 

With this las one of of the way I’m introducing…

 

The most common variables found in the Mariposa dolls:

(Pictured Mariposa N° 2 Left | Mariposa N° 1 Right)

• Shape of the catch-lights: Circles or Star
• Symmetry of the eyes: Right eye is smaller than the left or Symetrical
• Placement of the eyebrows: High set or Low set
• Lips: Small or Overlined
• Face finish: Matte or Shimmery

 

The variable I cannot talk about is the amount of eye shadow after the cut-crease as lighting can affect how much is seen and most listing dost have optimal lighting and I don’t own a big pool of samples to compare. At first I believed the shimmering skin could be something only found in the deluxe dolls but I recently found a listing of a Budget Mariposa with it, however is more uncommon compared to the other variables.

 

Lastly, I noticed while looking through listings for both the Deluxe and Budget dolls on eBay, Mercari US and Vinted; almost all of these variables are interchange and can be found in multiple combinations. Some dolls with Asymmetrical Eyes had Star Catch-lights and others with Low set Eyebrows had the Small Lips for example.

For the Small Pupils variant however, I’ve been noticing that it only comes with the Circle Catch-light and Low set Eyebrows combo.

 

One day I’ll have one to compare as well!

 

As an extra or fun fact I’m sharing that the Budget doll wings reflect direct light like crazy, almost like reflective tape/jackets.

In the photo taken with flash you can the dolls almost looks like a shadow is cast over her while the wings look overexposed, this also happens if you put a flashlight over her not just in pictures.

I thought it was because of the glitter in the wings but you can tell it apart from the subtle glimmer of the glitter in her dress so it has to do with something of the paint used on the wings.

 

Tank you for reading if you got all the way here!

And hoping for something else doll related to share soon!