Sephora + Pantone Universe Collector's Edition Set: Tangerine Tango

Hey hey!

Today I'm bringing you my latest obsession: the Sephora + Pantone Universe Collector's Edition Set in 2012's Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango. Oh my goodness this is awesome.

So Tuesday, July 3rd was my fourth dating anniversary with my boyfriend. Since he usually gets me polish, I told him to let me make some suggestions as to what I wanted instead of him going in blind to look for himself. I sent him the link of this on the Sephora site and didn't get to send him anything else because I couldn't make up my mind as to what Illamasqua polishes I want =P

Then, on Tuesday, I thought I'd have to feign shock as I opened up one of my gifts since I knew what it was, but I really was shocked because this thing is huge! Here's a picture. It's 14 x 8 inches for reference.

Seriously? This thing is gorgeous. And all of the individual pieces are huge as well! I thought that since this was a set the components would be small-ish, but these are huge even for individual pieces.

The inside:

Taken from the Sephora website:

This set contains: - 0.02 oz Color of the Year Eyeliner in Tangerine Tango Twist
- 0.31 oz Color of the Year Eyeshadow Quad
- 0.35 oz Color of the Year Prisma Chrome Blush
- 0.38 oz Color of the Year Blush Duo
- 0.1 oz Color of the Year Créme Lipstick
- 0.17 oz Color of the Year Lip Gloss


Six pieces for $48. Can you beat that? These pieces retail for $118! Let's take a closer look!

Super blurry picture of the eyeliner. My camera did NOT want to focus on it. But it's a really soft point that writes very easily and twists up. I'd say it's a true Tangerine Tango shade - a very red-orange - that isn't as coral as the other pieces of the set. The name on the liner is "Tangerine Tango Twist." It has microglitter in it that is barely noticeable but flickers when you move; the particles are so small that it reads as a shimmer. Love this and can't wait to rock it on my upper lash line!

Um, yeah, this quad is gigantic. The frosted top of this attaches by the four magnets that you can see at the corners. They are super strong, maybe even too strong (you really have to pull to get it to come off), and you definitely do not have to worry about it coming off accidentally. They 'snap' fiercely into place. The cool thing about this closure is that you can also twist the top to expose the shadows and have it attached by just two adjacent magnets. Clockwise, these shades are Carnelian, Scallop Shell, Sparrow, and Pavement. They're all shimmery, Carnelian with coordinating shimmer, Sparrow with magenta shimmer, and Scallop Shell and Pavement both with multi-colored shimmer. Love.

Next up is the Prisma Chrome blush. I've seen tons of raves about this product, and it's super pretty, especially the 3D design. This color is called Apricot Brandy and it's a peach with gold, orange, and perhaps green microglitter. Again, they are glitter specks that you can pick out, but the blush reads as a shimmer. I found the packaging a little hard to open at first, but like the other pieces, it's definitely secure and won't open unless you want it to. Love it.

Here's the lovely blush duo, featuring Desert Flower and Coral. Desert Flower has mostly a flat finish with very sparse shimmer particles and Coral features the same shimmer/glitter as in Apricot Brandy: gold, orange, and green. This duo has the same strong magnetic closure as the eye quad. Again, how huge is this? 

Here's the gloss! The shade is Tangerine Tango Luminous and it's a light-medium orange with a red undertone and some orange, pink, and gold microglitter. Despite the name I wouldn't say this is a true Tangerine Tango shade as it's not dark or red enough, but it's still really nice. Note the unique, flexible applicator! This shade is pretty but I'm not sure if I'm sold on how sparkly it is. In my experience, even after the gloss is gone, your lips are still sparkling. Oh, another thing: this gloss has an almost fruity scent to it and no taste. 

Next up is the lovely lipstick in Tangerine Tango Cream. Unlike the lipgloss, this is the true TT color: a deep red-orange. This has the same fruity scent as the gloss and I love the ridges in the bullet. Another awesome thing about this lipstick is the magnetic closure; you can hear it click shut as the pieces attach, so it's really secure and the cap won't come off in your purse (cough experience). Very pretty and bright. Can't wait to wear it!

Finally, here are just two swatches: the gloss and eyeliner. Imagine the gloss swatch (top) a bit more of a true orange; it photographed a little too coral and too bright. Oh, and don't mind my translucent skin. I'm an NC 15/20ish for reference.


So yeah, I'm obsessed with this and keep opening it up to play and swatch. I didn't do formal swatches of the shadows or blushes but i did apply a bit to my fingers and rest assured that these are pigmented. I can't wait until there are more colors of the year so I can have more collector's sets! They're still available as of today on sephora.com if you're interested! I highly recommend if you don't mind shimmer.


The only negative thing I can think of, and it's just a technicality, is that the orange pieces of this set are not all true Tangerine Tango shades, but I can understand that that shade is not as flattering or wearable for all skin tones, and the coral/apricot/carnelian derivatives are much less obnoxious. That being said, I love that they all aren't true TT shades; it gives variety and compliments the shade instead of the user drowning in it. I just had to think of a negative so this post has some authenticity =P It's only a negative thing if you want to drown in it.


PS. My nails in this post are my berry ombre from yesterday!


Do you have anything from the Sephora + Pantone Universe line? And another important question: When you have collector's sets or LE pieces, do you hoard them and leave them pristine, or use them? I'd love to hear!


Thank you so much for reading! What do you think of this set?


Janna