The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #907 (Pale Mint)

A couple of times I've mentioned about lipsticks looking "too coral" / "too yellow" / etc. Though they've now mostly discontinued it, many manufacturers used to make what are known as "color adjusters". Search eBay for "color adjuster", or check the wholesale lots for lipsticks, as they're easier to find. (Mine came in a box of 300 other discontinued Sephora lipsticks.) Mary Kay makes color adjusters as well, and makeup companies that sell primarily to stage and theatrical troups usually carry at least black and white color correctors. If you're a clever shopper, you might be able to find inexpensive lipsticks that can be used for color correction. Most lip color correctors are relatively sheer lipsticks in a set of colors:

-- Blue/purple, which mutes yellows and turns a "too yellow"/"too orange" lipstick into a plum/brown color, depending on the depth of application;
-- Yellow/orange, which does the same thing to a lipstick that's "too blue/too purple" lipstick, pushing them to the rust/brick shade--both of these first two correctors are designed to change the cold or warm tones of the red pigments in a lipstick;
-- Green, which offsets the red in a lipstick and slightly darkens it--depending on the darkness or lightness of the shade of green, the overall tones in a green-corrected lipstick tends toward hot pink/fuschia/magenta/raspberry;
-- Black, the ultimate shade darkener;
-- White, the ultimate shade lightener.

This review describes Sephora's pale mint green color adjuster in satin finish (#907).

The short review: It took one barely coral red and turned it into a brilliant fuschia. I'm sold.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...


Candidate: Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #907 (Pale Mint)

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: Box of 380 discontinued Sephora lipsticks was $79.95, making each tube about $0.21

Brand Info: http://www.sephora.com/
Born in France in 1969, Sephora has become one of the largest cosmetics retail outlets in the world. Since its first store opening in America in Manhattan in 1998, Sephora has filled a niche for the fashionistas who just have to have the latest lipstick/perfume/hair product/etc., which only seems appropriate, as Sephora's parent company is luxury standards corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy). Sephora has their own house brand of cosmetics, including a massive selection of lipsticks in four coverages: Cream, Shimmer, Metallic, and Gloss. The Satin finish lipstick was discontinued several years ago and is often found on the secondary markets like eBay.

The Tube: Black lacquer tube with a clear acrylic bottom that ostensibly contains a bit of product that resembles the actual product in the tube. Modern Sephora lipsticks have the name "Sephora" in capitals applied in silver ink around the bottom of the lid at the join, and a long, stylized "S" on the bottom of the clear acrylic; earlier versions had neither of these features. On the barrel of the tube is the name "Sephora", the product's code number, and a batch number, written in white on a small black sticker applied to the barrel.

The Product: It's mint green with a lot of white added to make it icy pale, not pastel pale. (The difference is in the pigmentation used; icy pale colors are more silvery than pastels.) Typical bullet shape with a fingernail-shaped delivery point.

The Application: Sephora lipsticks are incredibly moist and go on extremely smoothly. The lack of a pointed top prevents some sculpting of the corners and Cupid's bow, but, hey, this is not a lipstick you'll wear solo. In fact, you'll either put it on first in a very thin layer, or you'll apply it last the same way. Either way, not much product is used. Some makeup artists who use color adjusters recommend you mix the two (or more) colors you want to use on the back of your hand and then use a lip brush to apply the finished color.

The Taste: Raspberry, like most of Sephora's earlier lipsticks. It's very pleasant.

The Blot: Depending on whether or not you use the color adjuster as a lip primer, you'll either get a blot of pale mint or a blot of the mixed color that you created by layering blue on top. The pale mint blot is practically invisible.

The Wear: On their own, Sephora lipsticks have a color retention issue (the color is either 100% on or 100% gone). However, when using a thin coat of this adjuster under a coat of the coral-red Clarins Rouge Éclat lipstick #46 ("Red Red"), this way-too-coral color suddenly became a very acceptible fuschia, which is exactly what color adjusters are supposed to do. Clarins is a better-wearing lipstick, and the Sephora color correcter underneath lasts just fine.

The Verdict: It's after seeing it work miracles on a color I was initially dissatisfied with that makes me wish even more that Sephora would bring these back full-time.