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Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Collection for 2016

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection

SEPHORA and Pantone proudly introduce the PANTONE Color of the Year 2016 Collection featuring PANTONE Serenity 15-3919 and PANTONE Rose Quartz 13-1520, an extraordinary new assortment of cosmetics for eyes and lips that interprets the colors of innocence and expressionism into a bold new palette of modern watercolors. Now in its fifth year, this collaboration brings SEPHORA’s innovative textures, finishes, and product forms to a limited-edition collection that makes a fearless declaration to embrace the bold and subversive expression of individuality.

“With the whole greater than its individual parts, joined together Serenity and Rose Quartz demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute™. “Additionally, we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design, opening our eyes to different approaches to color usage.”

With Serenity, trailblazers will discover that any color can be worn in any way, anywhere. The soft shade relates well to sister shades of blue, and is elegant with gray, olive, orchid and taupe. It takes on an earthier feel with deep lichen green, sage, cedar, shitake and sepia brown, and is easily compatible with more vibrant greens and yellows.

Traditionalists will find Rose Quartz to be a comforting favorite, pairing well with dove gray, lilac and violet, or juxtaposed against deliciously deep chocolates, greens and apricots. For something more unexpected, turn up the heat with pale gold, and warm tones of peach, orange and tan, or add dramatic contrast with peacock blue and deep jungle greens.

The exclusive cosmetics collection, designed by SEPHORA, evokes the sleek, modern lines of the iconic PANTONE Color Chip with a captivating watercolor design inspired by abstract art. Each item features Sephora Collection’s high performance formulas that offer rich color payoff and a luxurious feel during wear, with refined finishes like matte, shimmer, satin and shine.

December 2015

The Details

Color of the Year Layer Lipstick, $18.00 (Limited Edition)

Dress up your lips with creamy, bold coverage and an unmistakable attitude with a high coverage pastel in the timeless shade of Rose Quartz. Encased in a luxurious ombré component, the ultra-moisturizing formula is enriched with a blend of emollient oils and waxes for a velvety feel and high-shine finish.

Color of the Year Matte Lipstick, $18.00 (Limited Edition)

Explore the adventurous side of this modern color story with Serenity, a rich pastel blue. A high concentration of ultra-thin pigments incorporated into the same ultra-hydrating lipstick formula offers a radically intense, satiny finish on the lips.

Color of the Year Modern Watercolors Lip Gloss Set, $28.00 (Limited Edition)

Bring out your playful side with the perfect pop of pastel color. This set of 6 high-shine glosses is a beautiful synergy of unique but wearable shades, including Serenity and Rose Quartz, which impart a luxurious and cushiony feel to the lips.

Color of the Year Modern Watercolors Eye Palette, $39.00 (Limited Edition)

Discover 24 deliciously enticing shimmer and matte eyeshadows in a sleek, sophisticated palette. The range of fresh colors includes both Serenity and Rose Quartz, as well as unexpected neutrals, chic pastels, and pops of color that work together brilliantly to provide varied looks. Mix and blend any of the long-wear, high-pigment formulas to create soft focus effects, pastel smoky eyes or gradient looks.

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year 2016 Collection

75 Comments

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Tessa Avatar

I like both colors, but I’m a much bigger fan of each separately than together. Together they give me a serious ’80s bathroom wallpaper vibe. What, no wicker toilet paper holder and questionable potpourri?

Julie Avatar

Haha! When I first saw the color combo, I told my sister it was straight up MiamiVice! I was excited to see the eyeshadow palette, but now….hard to judge by promo pics, but instead of eye shadows, it looks like a paint palette for a dentist office from 1987. After last year, I was hoping they would go more cool-toned, with some grays, silvers, etc. but this just looks like a random hodgepodge of mid tone & pastel shades.

Carrie Avatar

Who thought it’d be a good idea to have the promo picture of the palette look so incredibly different from the actual palette?

I actually like the colors of the washed out photo- it gives it a pastel vibe that would go lovely with the colors of the year. The actual palette looks much more bold and saturated and I’m not sure I’m feeling it as much. Either way, this is one I’m 100% waiting for a review on so I can see ACTUAL colors and wear since Sephora is so hit or miss in these things.

js Avatar

I have the palette and to be honest neither picture is accurate, its sort of a mix between the two and even then some are a little different. It is very much so a pastel palette and not brights though (the dark rose and bright blue in the bottom corners are the only truly vivid colors, also that blue has a small amount of glitter.) Most of the colors that look bright go on sheer (they really are like water colors). I haven’t found them to be chalky at all, some of the nicer pastels I’ve used. My skin tone is fair and peachy.

Dee Avatar

I have a Maybelline eyeshadow palette from several years ago that has these colors in it. They were some of the few shadows that I hit pan on and bought a second one. It’s the Maybelline twilight rays palette.Since I’m almost always disappointed with Sephora products, I highly recommend trying the Maybelline one first.

brittany Avatar

I NEED THIS WHOLE COLLECTION IN MY LIFE!!!! OMG. I’M SO EXCITED (not sorry for my happiness…lol) can’t wait for your reviews Christine.

Anne Avatar

I want these lipsticks and the eyeshadows so bad! I’ll probably skip the glosses as those aren’t my thing. Do you think you’re going to be reviewing and Jeffree Star lipsticks any time soon? He’s coming out with some highlighters next year and I’d love to see you review them!

Rachel R. Avatar

I second this second. Love, love, love the Velour liquid lipsticks. I saw a picture of Jeffree holding an icy blue highlighter, so I’m hoping he comes out with a lot of unusual shades when they launch.

Bonnie Avatar

Whoa that sounds amazing!!!! Omg that’s exciting. If anyone would do that tho, it’s definitely him, right?? I have 6 of his velour liquid lippies now and I’m totally in love with most of them (Blow pony emphasizes lip lines quite a bit but I looooove the color! The new holiday set is really good I think, but I haven’t worn all the shades yet)! Some of the shades online that I don’t have look kinda dry so I’m weary about ordering without Christine’s reviews!!!

Rachel R. Avatar

His liquid lipsticks are my absolute favorites. I don’t have Blow Pony yet, but it should arrive tomorrow. It sounds like a lip primer under it would be a good idea to help fill in my lip lines. The only color that’s been tricky for me is Unicorn Blood. It bleeds more, so I have to be careful to prime and line before using it. It’s a fantastic color, though.

So far I have Weirdo, I’m Royalty, Redrum, Unicorn Blood, and Dirty Money. I ordered Blow Pony, Mistletoe, Anna Nicole and Prom Night from the last sale (I missed out on the blue 🙁 ), and those should be arriving tomorrow.

Bonnie Avatar

Nice collection you’re gonna have!! I was just thinking about ordering Unicorn Blood since it got restocked on Beautylish, but it sounds like it’s really liquidy. Idk if I’d like the formula of it since I tend to like thicker, more mousse-y textured ones (like OFRA, another brand I super wish Christine would review!) I wore Colourpop’s Dr. M the other day and really did not like the texture & application of it. It felt like I was putting super glue on my lips, TBH! The color is amazeballs though. How is the feel of Unicorn Blood?

Rachel R. Avatar

Bonnie: Unicorn blood is a little more liquidy than the other shades I own, though not as runny as a lip tar. It dries down and doesn’t feel sticky. The others are really more thick and creamy, so I’m assuming it’s something about the pigment in Unicorn Blood.

I really love CP’s Dr. M and find it my most comfortable Ultra Matte. Sundae and Trap turned my lips into shriveled raisins, and felt really tight and dry, although everyone else seems to rate them among the best shades. I really think CP has quality and/or formula inconsistencies with them.

Nicole Avatar

Eye palette potentially could be nice. I’m really curious to see how the light blue lipstick turn out. Hoping it doesn’t read “dead”. It would be nice it they actually made it more sheer instead of opaque for that one IMO. I like the colors. Just not sure how flattering in makeup they are for everyone. I’m excited to check it all out though! 🙂

Hannah Avatar

I AM SHRIEKING. This is lovely. I really hope December 2015 is truly when it drops, as I’ll be home in the states then and will be able to snag it!

Lorrin M Avatar

That eyeshadow palette is gorgeous! I really love how they took inspiration from the colors instead of just a literal representation of blue and pink. I think this is the first year I might buy something from the COTY collection!

Katherine T. Avatar

Well, I’m really excited to see some pretty pastels BUT I’m really skeptical. First, pastel shadows are really hard to get right, as they can look chalky, sheer, frosty, and dry, and Sephora usually doesn’t have the best formula for shadows. Also the same with pastel glosses — remember BITE Watercolors Lip Gloss Library ?? That got poor reviews (sheer, pulled into lip lines) and was eventually marked down on sale. I mean, if BITE can’t get pastel glosses right, I’m not holding much hope out for other brands. Ditto with pastel lipsticks. And I don’t want to buy anything without seeing reviews first, but by that time, everything will be sold out. That’s what happened with the Sephora Marsala Panetone Eye Shadow palette, which reviewed well, but sold out within a nano-second and was never re-stocked. Ditto with the Marsala blushes and lipsticks. It was a joke because it was suppose to be “color of the year” but it was more like color of the “few days”.

Katherine T. Avatar

Sorry I sound so negative, but I really love makeup, but it’s frustrating when products don’t perform as promised, or quantities are so limited, people can’t get their hands on them. I’m really hoping Sephora does a good job with this collection because I would love to get some of the more unusual colors

Rexcatz Avatar

I have to agree with you. The Marsala was in, gone, and not restocked. I managed to get the lipstick and it’s a very pretty shade. Nevervfound anytjhimg else. The first couple of years “colors of the year” were in stock almost all year. That’s on Sephora. Pantone is the color matching system for 4 color printing., which is used in all printing. The color numbers are so you get the same exact color for your printing every time. You know how you sometimes see four squares of color on the inside of a food box lid? That’s the four colors from which all colors are made.- black, yellow, magenta, and cyan. Pantine has nothing to do with fashion other than to probide the formula for printers so the ltags/ logos always match. You can go to an art supply store and buy all the colors/formulas in a thing thats like paint samples strips. As a former commercial artist this whole color of the year for makeup business is silly to me, and especially since it’s a 5 minute wonder and then forgotten.

Florence Avatar

The same thing happened to me with Marsala. I really wanted the blushes and possibly the eye shadows and lipstick but they were gone in an instant. They were right up my alley! This time I ordered the eye shadow palette and lip glosses as soon as they came in even though I’m not sold on pastels for me. I’ll keep them in the package until I decide whether or not to keep them. I passed on the lipsticks because I’m not Malibu Barbie.

Kelly Avatar

I can only hope that the blue gloss and lipstick are opaque.

Not feeling that eye palette though… It looks so… Random. Like, go with pastels like the sigma creme de couture palette did and go strong with it, or don’t bother. The colors don’t look pastel enough to be true pastels but they’re… I don’t know.. Muddy looking?

I’m interested to see how it rated it I’m not expecting much out of any of this collection

MGH Avatar

OMG, flashback to the 80’s (imagining blue eyeshadow with pink lipstick) – Not my year for Pantone….Watercolors look nice on canvas NOT cosmetics.

Tara Avatar

Yeah, when I heard what the Colors of the Year were I was like “Oh….”. I’m not really a fan of either blue or pink, and these shades especially make me think of babies (don’t get me wrong, I am a mom and I love babies, but I don’t want adult fashion to remind me of them, lol).

KJH Avatar

So, which do you guys think it really is, washed down/muted or vivid? Wonder if they’ll ever produce enough product, for people who wait longer than 2 weeks? And why no blush or colored eyeliner? S does the liners well, in general. What I wish is that S continued to do collars with Pantone OTHER than COTY. I have big liked some of those. Better drag ’em out.

Katherine T. Avatar

I think I found an actual picture online, looks like a mix of soft pastels, some bright pops, and a lot of muted colors, very spring-like. Definitely a very unique set of colors, so I’m really hoping it performs well, but a lot of them are tough colors to get right. Might have to bust out the “big gun” the NYX Milk pencil for this one

Whitney Avatar

They do other collabs other than COTY, quite a few in fact – I remember I got a brush set that was a collab between them, and I’ve also seen a few others. They’re much more low-key, so you need to look out for them.

KJH Avatar

Idk what I goofed on the comment, but, yeah, I think the operative verb is DID. Don’t think they made any other color offerings last year, as they had in previous years. I likes that one with the four elements, and the one with purples, crans, and bronzes, where they are all in stripes, not panned individually. Good for this time of year. Color Authority can/should come out all year round!

BooBooKitty Avatar

This looks like a fun collection. I’ve been wanting a blueish/periwinkle lipstick for like forever. I’m a little disappointed there is no blush(es) with this collection. I’m signing up to get everything.

MissJae1908 Avatar

I’m not thrilled about the color(s) of the year at all…but I do see potential with this palette. It’s going to be perfect for spring.

GK Avatar

I’m usually excited about the Pantone/Sephora collection & can’t wait to buy it. This looks like a child’s first makeup. Hope the Rose Quartz lipstick has same texture as Radiant Orchid did. Last years Marsala was dry & had bad aroma.

Lauren Avatar

It looks interesting, but I don’t predict that they will test well, especially the lip products. Pastels are SO hard to do well, and most of the lip products look like they’ll probably turn out patchy, sheer, and washed-out.

Bonnie Avatar

Ok, when I first saw the Pantone colors on social media earlier today I was like “oh heck no. What is this, Babies r Us year?” BUT. Seeing their collection with Sephora, I’m totally in love and want literally every. single. item. Sephora+Pantone did an amazing job with the conception of this, I’m so impressed. I hope it reviews well, because I will buy it all if it does!!! Blue lippies FTW!!!!!! (Btw I’ve never bought anything from Sephora+Pantone collabs before, because I’ve always been like “meh”. So that’s big! haha)

Kayle Avatar

This is a colorful release, I’m looking forward to it! The colors are so not me but I love that we’re seeing more unconventional lip colors in mainstream brands. Hopefully the glosses are pigmented and not disappointingly sheer like those glosses from that Bite watercolor set.

Cat Avatar

After the misleading images from last year, I’m wondering what this palette actually looks like. :-/ If the colors actually are the they appear in these photos, they would make me look so washed out. I used to get away with pastels when I was younger but now I need contrast in order to look alive! 😉 I’m very interested in seeing how these swatch.

Zoe Avatar

I feel like MAC coincidentally used this color combo in spring of this year? The “lightness of being” collection or whatever?
That blue lipstick though…

koolchicken Avatar

I actually love the combo. I know everyone’s looking at it and saying dated, but we’ve seen the return of feathers in hair, leg warmers, leggings, etc, so why not pastels? I actually think they look rather fresh after some of the colors we’ve been subjected to over the past several years by designers and I’ve been doing a lot of pastels on my own lately. I’m glad they’ll be easier to find now.

I think the palette will work really well for me, and so will the pink lipstick. I don’t know about the blue, I suppose it’ll depend on if it’s sheer or what have you. My lips already go blue (slight problem I have there) and it’s not a good look. If this is opaque then it’ll be a pass for me. But I’m excited about the rest. I really hope this releases before my Sephora “gift card” expires.

Phoebe Avatar

I don’t think I have ever wanted a collection as much as this, I was already well happy about pink and blue (sorry rose quartz and serenity) being colours of 2016 as that is my favourite combination! I just want to be awash with pastels and colours. Shipping to the UK please!!

Jules Avatar

I love the idea of the pastel multi-color lip glosses, but they need to perform better than that awful Bite collection that tried similar colors!

Amy Avatar

I’m not going to go out of my way to get this, but I think I like the eyeshadows! Pale pink (preferably sheer and matte so it just brightens slightly) is my fave browbone shade, so I’m hoping there’s really one in there. I’ll be waiting on reviews before spending anything on it, however.

I do wish they’d gone all out Pantone on the packaging – the actual PMS numbers printed on like a real swatch, and arranged with the darkest colors at the bottom and palest at top, like the color books. I’m a graphic designer at a printer, and I’d have to show that off at work, LOL!

Gillian Avatar

Not a fan of the 2016 colors. Way too ’80s. What were they thinking? I suppose it will save me some shopping money if clothiers follow suit. Next year I’m expecting magenta and thalo green.

Dani Avatar

I don’t think I’ll be picking up the eyeshadow palette, but I’ll definitely get the two lipsticks. I’m on the fence about the glosses right now.

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