The much buzzed about Sephora + Pantone Universe collection may not hit stores until March 27, but New Yorkers can get their hands on the full collection now via the Sephora + Pantone Universe Pop-Up Color Shop. Impossible to miss, I stopped by the striking Meatpacking District space, which is open now through March 30, to check out the collection. The facade mimics the Pantone Color Book (the innovative color chip matching system created by Pantone founder Lawrence Herbert in 1963) and has a 23-foot-high door that opens like a fan in the same way the book does. Further, it boasts photographs taken by David Sims featuring a model decked out in the collection.
Pantone, the color forecasting and matching firm, named Tangerine Tango (“a vibrant orange reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset”) the 2012 Color of the Year and so the entire collection is based around tangerine and orange shaded cosmetics and beauty accessories. Ranging in price from $16 to $68, the lineup includes a lipstick ($18), a gloss set ($20), an eye shadow quad ($28), an eyeliner set ($22), blush ($16), a blush duo ($26), a nail color set ($24), a brush set ($68), a woven makeup bag ($28), an eyelash curler ($18), a faux lash set ($28), and a Collector’s Edition kit that includes eyeliner, a shadow quad, lipstick, lip gloss, the blush, and the blush duo ($68).
While most women will find it hard to resist the orange nail kit, even if it calls to mind Halloween as much as it does summer fun with its four finishes, it’s easy to be somewhat intimated by orange shaded lip and eye products; to that end, Pantone color experts are on hand for consultations and Sephora beauty experts are offering anyone who wishes for one, one of three different Express Services to learn how to work the shade into their look (think smokey orange eye).
What surprised me most when I was at the pop-up was how many varieties of tangerine there are. In fact, looking at the nail and the lip gloss sets, there were two shades that, until I swiped them on my hand, looked 100% identical! It’s fascinating to see how you can get so much variety and so many looks from one color and I loved seeing the vibrant photographs that Sims took of the model completely decked out in orange shaded products. Even if you think orange isn’t for you, this is definitly one shop worth popping into.
The Sephora + Pantone Universe Pop-Up Color Shop, Chelsea Plaza (North of 14th Street at Ninth Avenue) is now open through March 30.
- Sun-Wed: 10am-9pm
- Thur-Sun: 10am-10pm
On a side note, Sephora is offering mobile checkout to purchase the limited edition collection on site and if all goes well, there are talks of future Sephora and Pantone collaborations.
