This year’s Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year collection has been out for a few months (since March), but I haven’t really been “feeling it” — until now, that is.
With the weather finally warming up & the sun coming out from behind the clouds, 2013’s vibrant collection of Emerald products is (finally!) in-season and on-trend. Perfect for creating a summer smokey eye, or adding just a touch of bright green, now is the perfect time to pick up a couple bold green products to add to your summer makeup kit.
Blogger’s note: so, this post ended up at around a thousand words. Click here or scroll past all the pretty pictures for a two-sentence rundown of each product.
The product: SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE Color of the Year 2013, Emerald (assorted products)
Color Watt Highlighting Mascara
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Watt Highlighting Mascara ($22 CAD)
Funnily enough, I thought this was the best and worst-performing product in this year’s Color of the Year collection. Dry, matte, and intensely pigmented, the Color Watt mascara really does show up green on the lashes — even short, dark, sparse lashes like my own.
There’s a lash photo of this at the end of the post, but in a nutshell: yes, it absolutely does show up, but the gorgeous green pigment is its downfall, too. It sits in tiny, dry clumps on the lashes, adding neither length nor noticeable volume, and stains for days if it touches the skin.
The stain can be avoided if you carefully remove your mascara with an oil-based or micellar remover on a cotton pad, rubbing down the lash against a halved cotton pad covering your undereye area, but it’s a hell of a hassle for a single effective-but-kitschy product.
Lightspeed Glitter Dust
Sephora + Pantone Universe Lightspeed Glitter Dust ($17 CAD)
On the polar opposite end of the spectrum is the Lightspeed Glitter Dust, which is dry, loose, and milled just large enough to stay on this side of shimmery. The green base is very sheer, and the plentiful sky blue shimmer really predominates, giving it an almost turquoise tone overall.
Like any glitter dust, this really needs a base to stick to, so be sure to have one on hand! On completely dry skin, it comes right off, but on primed or even just freshly-moisturized skin, it adheres like a charm.
L-R: Color Watt Highlighting Mascara, Lightspeed Glitter Dust, Color Cube Lid Liner Stain (x2), Color Code Prismatic Shadow, Graphic Sculpt Waterproof Jumbo Liner
Lightspeed Glitter Dust
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Liner Stain ($19 CAD)
May I please introduce you to the Sephora + Pantone Universe 2013 cream of the crop? The Lid Liner Stain (which, despite its name, absolutely does not stain) is gorgeous — a well-pigmented shimmery-or-metallic emerald, it makes me think of all the best parts of the Emerald City.
The smooth, light texture of this Color Cube “stain” blends out easily as a wash of green with finely-milled shimmer, but works as a seriously stunning metallic emerald liner, too. Basically, it’s everything the Color Code Prismatic Shadow (below) hopes to someday be.
Color Cube Lid Liner Stain
