Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match

I was going to write about the Birchbox that arrived over the weekend, but I just heard about the new Sephora + Pantone Color IQ system, and I need to talk about it right away!

As someone who has spent who-even-knows how many hours poring over colors, squinting at shades, carrying swatches around to see how they look in different kinds of light, and generally trying to decide which of 500 shades of blue is “the right blue”, a pantone system for skin color matching is very exciting to me. They developed a system that tells you exactly what skin color you have! You get your own pms number! And it’s not just a swatch book where there is a margin for error, it’s an actual tool that scans your skin. How cool is that? Very, I assure you.

Assuming it works. I’m dying to try it. Right now it’s only available in the Sephora on Powell St. in San Francisco, and the one in Times Square in NYC. This is the one thing I am not excited about, because Times Square is one of my least favorite places in the entire city, due entirely to the quantity of tourists and the speed, or lack of, at which they move. (Though if someone has never seen it, it’s really fun to take them there and watch their face.) I’m sure they’ll have the system in more stores in more states before long. Think of all the money they’ll save on returned bottles of foundation!

SO! The amazing new gadget is a handheld device that scans your skin for less than 2 seconds. Ambient light doesn’t affect the reading, which is AWESOME because every light has a color and any color will affect how your skin color appears. This thing sees your true color (shiiiining throoough.) It also eliminates other variables like freckles, skin texture, undertones, and ethnicity, which can also make finding the right foundation difficult.

After you are scanned, the machine will assign you one of 110 numbers, which is a pretty decent range, in my opinion. And then you know your pantone color!!! I can’t be the only one who has ever wondered what my pantone color would be, right?

Once you have your pantone color, you can use their exclusive app to find your “scientifically precise foundation shade” among Sephora’s 1,000+ foundations, brands, and formulas. When you think about how large that number is, having some precise guidance seems REALLY important. Almost worth braving Times Square.

I am going to try to work up the zen to tolerate Times Square, while simultaneously wishing they start matching at the Sephora in SoHo or Union Square, or literally ANY other Sephora in NYC except Herald Square which is also awful. We’ll see which happens first. If anyone tries this, get in touch immediately!