Tangerine Tango: A Chip Off The Old Chip

As a graphic designer, I was super excited when I heard about the Pantone collaboration with Sephora. I almost wrote about it right away, as a “coming soon” sort of thing, but that was approximately when the shit hit the fan with work right before I went on vacation, so I waited. And I’m so glad I did. Now I’ve had the chance not only to try it, but to thoroughly geek out over the packaging.

The packaging! The hero shot on the Sephora website does not do it justice, and neither do the special displays set up in the Sephora store where I spoke to a salesperson whose enthusiasm was even greater than my own. I was torn between the set of lipglossesand the lipstick (and the set of the entire setof products.) I ended up getting the lipstick, which came in a fancy box.

It seemed like kind of a lot of box for a lipstick. And maybe it is, but, WOW. They sure know their customer: Other design geeks like me.

The box slides open, matchbox style, which is something I’ve loved since I was a kid, I don’t know why. It might be because The Borrowers and The Littles used to sleep in them. Also, cartoon mice.

Once the cover is off, everything is white and silver. The lipstick tube is presented floating in a block of stiff white foam, faced with hard white paper/plastic like the Apple products we creative-types (and everyone these days, really) love so much. It has a piece of clear protective plastic over it, adding to the gloss, and the bottom part of the box serves as base, literally putting this product on a pedestal.

The lipstick tube is square, heavy for it’s size, and printed with both brand's logos separated by + signs. But not all in one spot! That would look too cluttered. (The lower panel of the box is, indeed, a little cluttered.) On the tube each mark has it’s own plane. Simple, clean, gorgeous.

One of the things that might add to the heft of the tube, is the magnet. There is a magnet in there! Returning the lipstick to the case produces a very satisfying click. It’s a really nice touch and adds to the specialness of the piece. It feels very high quality, and that’s just the case.

The product design is beautiful and well thought out. It might be a little derivative of Apple, but it’s done so well. It’s very impressive. Even my husband, whose only concern about lipstick is ending up with some of mine on his face, was impressed. Especially by the magnet.

I swear, the packaging itself is almost enough for me. But I should tell you about the lipstick. The quality is really nice. Smooth, silky, a little sheer. It feels really good, even two coats doesn’t feel heavy. The color is definitely orange. Pantone’s “Color of The Year” is Tangerine Tango (PMS 17-1463). Yep, this lipstick is Tangerine Tango alright!

There is no shimmer at all, but it does have a nice amount of shine to it. One coat can skew coral, depending on the color of your actual lips. Two coats is definitely orange. But it’s not a chalky or opaque orange, it’s a fresh, juicy orange, leaning a little toward red. When it’s on your lips, it does not actually match the Pantone chip printed on the back of the box, though in the tube, it matches almost exactly. Leave it to Pantone! They match like it’s their job! Because it is.

The color is surprisingly flattering, though I've only seen it on dark brunettes so far. Like I said, it’s not really opaque, so it doesn’t look crazy-bold. It’s still a little bold though, being orange and all, but from a few feet away, I don’t know if someone would even know you were wearing orange lipstick.

cheese!

 You know how sometimes they say “wear bold lips with a bare face”? I wouldn’t necessarily do that here. Unless you naturally have flawless skin, some color in your cheeks, long, thick, dark lashes and very white teeth. (If that’s the case, you are probably young and attractive and anything you do will look good, so go for it.) In my experience, the orange looks kind of out of place and unnatural on a bare face, unless it’s a fake-bare face that you’ve made out of makeup.

Anyway, this thing is awesome if you love design and lipstick or lipstick and orange. And if you love all three of those things, get thee to Sephora! It’s limited edition!