April 4, 2013

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain Review & Swatches

PR Sample
This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain Spring 2013

Loving the new Splash eyeliner from Tarte’s Summer Collection? Check out the Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain…! I know you will LOVE it. This bright emerald beauty can be used as a cream eyeshadow or a liner.

You must get it!

Sephora Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain ($16) is a bright jewel shade of emerald (Pantone’s Color of the Year) that works as a powerful creamy eyeshadow or a striking eyeliner.

It is packaged full of pigment kids so a little goes a long way. The formula is creamy and very emollient with a super quick dry down formula so you have to work fast to get this into place. This is a challenging formula to use but might just be worth the effort because the color is stunning once applied correctly. I will warn you though it does have a staining effect on eyes that worried me but a little elbow grease and some good oil based eye makeup remover helps to whisk it away quick enough!

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Stain Swatches

I ran into uses using it as both a shadow and a liner. As a shadow it sets very quickly which doesn’t leave room for a ton of blending or building. The color applies easy enough but likes to glide and slide around lids as you work at blending it which means you’ll want to add more color on to build the intensity. The faster set time doesn’t really have room for building so you have to work quickly to get it into place. As an eyeliner it has an easy to apply formula with a tug free application however, it’s SO very creamy that it tends to apply patchy and parts of my lash line show through thus I have to go back and re-apply another layer to get the smoothest finish.

With these hiccups some of the effort might not be worth your time especially if you’re rushing about in the AM to apply makeup however, the color is so strikingly beautiful, so intense, and so pigmented it MIGHT just be worth the issues.

I’m not going to lie, it’s gorgeous, problems and all!

It’s available now at Sephora and Sephora.com

PR Sample
This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • EliCaroline

    I must be really tired bc the first time I read this I kept reading it as “lip stain”. I thought surely it’s not really green….then it all made sense. Can’t wait to try this out as an eyeliner…and not on my lips 🙂

  • Kim

    I hate to say it, but i am not a fan of the color of the year in any form. I loved the tangerine line last year and was hoping for something just as versatile and flattering this year.

    • amy

      I’m the complete opposite; where I find the emerald green a far more versatile choice, as far as being flattering on more skintones/ coloring, I found the orange to be less so. Granted, orange can “translate” better to a wider variety of product, but what’s the point if not everyone could (or would) wear it?

  • Quinctia

    I misread this initially as LIP stain, and I was about to be all WOW at Sephora’s daringness… Oops.

  • TwirlyGirly

    The reason I didn’t purchase the Sephora + Pantone Color of the Year Emerald Capsule collection was because of what appeared to me to be a lot of redundancy in the products in the collection.

    For example, the Color Cube Lid Stain, Color Code Prismatic Shadow Block, Graphic Sculpt Waterproof Jumbo Eyeliner, and Graphic Etch Waterproof Eyeliner are all emerald green cream-based formulas – so any of them can be used as a shadow, eyeliner, or base. (The Graphic Etch Waterproof Eyeliner is not a part of the capsule collection – it’s sold separately).

    It seems to me Sephora + Pantone were scrambling to develop enough products to call this year’s offerings a “collection” because they were hampered by the fact that emerald green is pretty limited as far as makeup goes; the market for emerald green blusher and lipstick is probably pretty small.

    That’s why I only bought the Colorbyte Lip Wands and Glitter Strobe Eyeliner set. I was tempted by the Lightspeed Glitter Dust, but Coastal Scents sells a gorgeous glitter in the color “Bedazzled” (looks more blue on their website than it actually is) – which coordinates with the Sephora + Pantone Emerald very well (and is only 4.95 as opposed to 14.00).

    I also have a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in the color Rocky Mountain Green (4.50) which matches the green in the Glitter Strobe Eyeliner set – so there’s my base!

    I understand Sephora has no control over the color Pantone chooses as the “Color of the Year,” but putting together a group of products that are pretty much identical in how they can be used (because the chosen color doesn’t translate well to certain types of products) irritates me and makes me feel like Sephora thinks it’s customers are too stupid to notice and will buy the stuff anyway.

    • the Muse

      you’re right twirly it’s a lot of cream going on! so really you can buy one of those three products and be set with your emerald fix 😀 a palette of some sort would be nicer…with shades of green 🙂

    • amy

      You’re right, they could have done sooo much more. I think whoever was on the team just didn’t look outside the box. While it isn’t a shade that lends itself well to a lipcolor, why not develop a shade that coordinates well with the emerald, and create fancy packaging? Also, why not develop more eyeshadow trios/quads that incorporate the emerald? There is seriously so much more that could have been done. It seems to me that perhaps last year no one planned this to be an ongoing thing, therefore, not enough planning went into it.

  • kenya

    I love the color, not much of a fan of cream shadows but i’d def use as liner!

  • Suzy

    Sephora is always coming up with something unique and fun. The color is beautiful and would definitely highlight my blue eyes. Sephora here I come!

  • Nat

    Oh man Muse, I should have paid more attention to your instructions – I loaded my brush to put it on, HOLY COW it is pigmented! LOLZ I had to wipe off and start again, but man is it pretty. I wish there were more cream/gel formulas with this kind of colour pay-off. 🙂

    • the Muse

      nat be careful lol! it is intense 😀 I agree! and it sooo creamy! it also sets SUPER fast ;-D

      • Nat

        I tried again today – turned out much better! I did soft pink colours, and then a thick line of the green just above my lashes – love the way it looks! 😀

        • the Muse

          sounds nice ;-D! I did a smoky eye and a little on lower lash line, it looked pretty funky ;D

          • Nat

            Ohhhh, that sounds cool! You should put a section in your blog where you post pictures of stuff like that you do with your makeup :3

          • the Muse

            i suck at application so I tend to stick to reviews for FOTD ;-D I’m sadly not an expert hehe!