For maximum fun the next time you feel the familiar urge to buy yourself a new lipcolor, drop in to your local Sephora. I recently tried its Color IQ for Lip service, which color-matches your complexion to find a panoply of shades just right for you. Your face and neck are photographed with a special camera that captures your skin tone; the results are uploaded to a computer. Once you're matched, you can filter by brand, color family (berry, coral, nude, red, etc.), finish (high shine, shimmer, matte), ingredient preferences (paraben-free, SPF), and price range. I thought I knew all about which shades are good for me—come on, I've been wearing makeup for 50 years—so when the computer suggested a purplish lip gloss (
Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Mystic, $16.50), I said, "You're crazy." (Yes, I said that to the computer.) The color was exactly the kind of thing I would never wear. But with gentle encouragement from the saleswoman, I tried it. And you know what? It wasn't weird at all—in fact, it was subtle and flattering. I even think my own color IQ went up a couple of points.
