Sephora

At the Intersection of Makeup and Microprocessors, the Sephora + Pantone Color IQ Foundation System Promises To Help You Find a Better Foundation Match

July 30th, 2014 by Karen 37 Comments

The Sephora Color IQ Foundation System — The Sephora + Pantone Color IQ Foundation System. Goooooo science!

Ah, technology… It’s not just for sending obnoxious text messages to your best friend about how you really feel about capri pants anymore.

At Sephora tech is also helping women (and makeup-lovin’ dudes) get a better foundation match.

At the intersection of makeup and microprocessors, the Sephora + Pantone Color IQ system promises to put processor cycles to work to help you find an exact foundation shade match.

At least that’s the idea.

“Color IQ is the first and only beauty service to scan the surface of your skin, assign it a Color IQ number, and then find your scientifically precise foundation match from over 1,500 options.”

— sephora.com

How does it work?

I’m glad you asked! 🙂

A Sephora makeup artist places the Color IQ device, which basically looks like a hybrid handheld camera/Star Trek tricorder, against your skin in three places to take color readings.

You can match to either your face or neck. I opted to go with my neck, because my face is much redder (I use a lot of exfoliating products).

[Continue reading…]

You Only Get One Shot 24 Times With the New Sephora Formula X Press Pods Single-Use Nail Polish System

May 30th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

The part of me that takes indecision to epic heights would have a field day with this set of 24 — yes 24! — single-use nail polishes.

That’s right, single use. As in one use each. That’s the idea behind the Sephora Formula X Press Pods set ($39 for 24 shades). You open a bottle, paint yo’ paws with it, and then ditch that one when you’re done.

“Why settle on one color when you can have 24? Meet the Press Pods — travel friendly, single-use manicure capsules — and play your way through a vast color spectrum with one tiny, groundbreaking innovation. The set includes a variety of polish-filled pods in a covetable collection of standout shades, including vibrant classics, elegant neutrals, and modern metallics. One capsule paints all 10 nails in two generous coats of superior lacquer. For a flawless manicure on-the-go, simply pop, press, and paint.”

— sephora.com

Just think of the possibilities. You could be like, BOOM! I’m the Jack Bauer of the nail polish world, and I’m gonna paint my claws a new color every hour for an entire day!

Or, you could sit there, like I probably would, and vex over whether you should start with the colors you want to wear the most (life is short, why not?), or save the ones you want to wear the most for last.

Hmm…

I came this close to picking this up at Sephora yesterday, but I just couldn’t figure out where I’d start. Nail polish indecisiveness, #thestruggleisreal!!

The Sephora Formula X Press Pods are available now at Sephora stores and online at sephora.com.

Cleanse, Prime and Shine Your Claws With Sephora’s Formula X “The System”

February 28th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

I usually lack the wherewithal for multi-step manis involving a base and top coat when I’m painting my paws (read: I’m too lazy, yo), even though my rational mind fully recognizes the prudence of taking the extra time to extend the life of my polish.

But ever since I started using Sephora’s Formula X “The System” $32 nail kit, I don’t mind going the extra mile at all.

Sephora Formula X the System Nail Cleanser — Nail Cleanser

This is partly due to thinking that the bottles in the kit look kind of sci-fi and cool, like they belong in an Apple store beside the latest iMacs, and also because they just plain work.

Sephora Formula X The System Base Coat — Base Coat

The kit gets high marks from reviewers on sephora.com, and I can see why. I used the Nail Cleanser (a brush-on liquid that helps remove residue from your nails so the products you layer on top bind better), Base Coat and Top Coat with Tom Ford’s Viper Nail Lacquer this week, and my nails have definitely handled the hell I regularly put them through better.

Sephora Formula X The System Top Coat — Top Coat

[Continue reading…]

Sephora + Pantone Universe Spectral Lacquer in Waterfall

July 27th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

There’s a waterfall of holographic shimmer at the heart of the Sephora + Pantone Universe!

It’s called Waterfall.

Just Waterfall. And it was released earlier this summer at Sephora along with two other Spectral Lacquer holographic nail polishes.

It shifts between purple and blue in the light, and the holographic effect’s pretty visible, too, which I like. If you’re going to wear a holographic nail polish, might as well be able to see the colors change, right?

I’m wearing two coats here…

If ya wanna chase this Waterfall, look for it now at Sephora stores and sephora.com. 🙂

Sephora’s IZAK Bag Collection

December 17th, 2012 by Karen 7 Comments

A couple of the bags from the Sephora IZAK Bag collection (bags range from $15-18).

I think they’re sassy, stylish and sturdy, and the price is right. I like that they’re easy to clean, too.

You may have to hunt them down at your nearby Sephora, though. Last time I checked, there were only slim pickings online.

PRICE: $15-18
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Sephora and sephora.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- (wish they had zippered interior pockets)

Sephora’s $16 Flashy Eyeliner Set

December 9th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

I really wanted to love this affordable limited edition holiday kit, with its five 0.028-ounce pencil liners in brown, blue, deep black, violet and gray (so creamy, so pigmented!), but none of the liners stick to my water lines at all.

Not one iota.

On my lash lines, I can eek out about six hours from them, but that’s only as long as I don’t rub my eyes (which I have a bad habit of doing).

PRICE: $16
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Sephora stores and online at sephora.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

I’ve Got Designs on the Soft Brushes in the New $38 Five-Piece Sephora Collection IZAK Brush Set

December 7th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

Since the world’s first beauty fanatic triumphantly shouted, “Eureka!” while thrusting her makeup brush into the air, faces and makeup bags everywhere have been plagued by boring brushes and stiff bristles.

For (what seemed like) millennia, brushes with boring black handles and scratchy bristles bothered beauty lovers, who dreamed of living life more colorfully, and comfortably, with brushes like the ones in the new $38 five-piece Sephora IZAK Brush Set.

Not only are the foundation, powder, eyeshadow, brow and liner brushes in this new limited edition holiday set super soft, they’re also quite sassy.

And the source of that sass? New York-based French illustrator Izak Zenou, who’s worked with some of the biggest names in beauty and fashion, including Chanel, Henri Bendel and Laura Mercier.

I love his illustrations and the work he’s done here. The black, white and hot pink brushes in the set, and the illustrated gal gracing the accompanying zippered pouch, are so glam yet oddly approachable…

The illustrated girl on the front looks like she’d be fun to hang out with — chic and totally down to earth. I bet she wouldn’t judge me if I showed up to our lunch date with two-tone matte lips and cat fur stuck to my suede ankle boots.

[Continue reading…]

The Four Universally Flattering Shades in the $15 Sephora Mini Ultra Shine Gloss Set Pack a Seriously Shiny Punch

December 6th, 2012 by Karen 11 Comments

The new Sephora Mini Ultra Shine Gloss Set — Sephora’s new $15 Mini Ultra Shine Gloss Set

Sephora calls the four petite pink and nude shades in their $15 Mini Ultra Shine Gloss Set universally flattering.

I call ’em perfect for purses and sunglasses, on account of their diminutive stature (0.1 ounces each), their easy, breezy sheer-to-medium coverage and a finish that’s brighter than the sun!

sephora mini ultra shine gloss set — From the left: Precious Pink, Pin-Up Pink, Rose Petal and Perfect Nude

sephora mini gloss set swatches — From the left: Precious Pink, Pin-Up Pink, Rose Petal and Perfect Nude

sephora mini shine gloss set — Pin-Up Pink

[Continue reading…]