Going Green—Emerald Named Pantone's Color of the Year for 2013

Pantone announced Pantone 17-5641 Emerald, a lively, radiant, lush green, as the color of the year for 2013. Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this hue has been a color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. It’s also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity—no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.

“Green is the most abundant hue in nature; the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”

Emerald for Beauty

Harmonious on the cosmetic color wheel, Emerald dramatizes all eye colors as it enhances green eyes, is compatible to blue eyes, emphasizes the green undertone in hazel eyes and intensifies brown eyes to make them appear deeper. Emerald is also a perfect complement to peaches, pinks, roses, ruby reds and aubergines, offering a variety of lipstick and blush options. For those who want to sparkle and stand out, Emerald is the perfect punctuation point in nail color because of its complementary nature.

With this background, Sephora and Pantone are also announcing the Sephora + Pantone Universe 2013 Color of the Year beauty collection featuring Pantone 17-5641 Emerald, which will be available exclusively at Sephora in March 2013. Sharing a strong passion for how color can transform a face, mood or even an attitude, Sephora and Pantone continue to change how consumers wear, feel and think about color through the second annual radiant and modern Color of the Year beauty collection.

“At Sephora, we pride ourselves on giving our clients first access to what’s on trend, whether that’s a color, a formula or an ingredient story. With the 2013 Color of the Year collection, we achieve all of the above and we couldn’t have a better partner than Pantone,” said Margarita Arriagada, senior vice president of merchandising for Sephora.

The limited edition 2013 Color of the Year beauty collection features a variety of products in Emerald, including eye shadow, nail polish and accessories, and will be available at Sephora stores across the U.S., Sephora inside JCP and Sephora.com.

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