24
FASHION
BEAUTY
CULTURE
Any beauty enthusiast will tell you that one
In theory, this is an incredible and
The Sephora x Pantone Color IQ is
of the best parts of shopping for makeup
revolutionary service, but in practice,
definitely an interesting look at how beauty
is the colors. Cosmetics companies spend
customers and employees alike have mixed
and technology can go hand in hand to
months picking shades for highly anticipated
reviews. Common complaints amongst
make customer experiences easier and
palettes, and every Sephora and Ulta is filled
users are that results are often darker due
more seamless across all platforms. For
with excited people running around with
to detection of freckles or birthmarks. The
someone who struggles with makeup, it may
countless swatches on the backs of their
colors chosen are inconsistent between
be a lifesaver, but for the more advanced
hands. The only time when color doesn’t
devices, and that the color that is their
beauty connoisseur, manual shade-matching
bring quite as much excitement is when
“true match” is not the color they wish to
may still be the way to go. Despite these
it comes time to shop for foundation. Not
use. For example, a customer with rosacea
shortcomings, this integration of beauty and
a single person on this planet looks the
or similar reddish discoloration may be
technology is an exciting look into what the
exact same, so how are people expected
calculated to have a very pink-toned, warm
future holds for makeup.
to match their incredibly unique skin tone
skin tone, when in fact they would rather
to one of 20 or so flesh-colored fluids? The
their foundation mask discoloration instead
simple answer would be to just try on the
of mimic it. Many Sephora employees are
foundation before leaving the store, right?
aware of the issues with the devices, and
But this is easier said than done, considering
will test the foundation on the customer’s
most drugstores do not have samples, and
jawline and adjust accordingly.
in higher-end stores that do allow you to try
This is what happened to me about
makeup on, lighting is often unhelpful. With all of these factors, how is anyone supposed to find a shade that matches them? Sephora sought to solve this very
a year ago, when I went into Sephora looking to get shade matched for the Too Faced Born This Way foundation. The Sephora
problem in 2012 when they collaborated
employee matched me with the
with the highly esteemed Pantone Color
Color IQ device, and upon
Institute to create Color IQ, a system that calculates and catalogs customers’ skin
Warm No. 20
Neutral No. 00
tones to find the perfect match across all Sephora products. A handheld device is used to scan several parts of the surface of the skin, averaging out to a four-digit code that is allegedly the exact skin tone. Of course, most skin is not all one shade, but Color IQ is meant to find the shade that, when applied, will bring about a flawless and even complexion. If the customer is a Sephora Beauty Insider, they can store the code in their account, and from then on any complexion product that they browse through will be the color they have been
swatching the color on my face, grimaced and said, “Noooo.” Since I had gone over the summer, my tan and freckles had given a false read of a much too dark skin tone. After making this observation, the Sephora employee matched me to the correct shade and sent me on my way with a great new foundation.
BEHIND THE SCENES
matched with.
Cool No. 10
W H AT’S Y O U R C O LO R I Q? by C A R O L I N E D U F F Y
