"Bright tangerine" is not a color I usually put on my face. It's not even a color I wear in clothes. I'm sure The Nail Ninja could recommend a few tangerine polishes I'd use, and the shade is great for pops of color in decorating... but there's no way I'd be able to pull-off tangerine (especially of the "bright" variety) on my lips.
Right?
Wrong.
Somehow this gloss, in Illamasqua's Intense Lipgloss gloss formula, works - and it doesn't even make my teeth look dingy or yellow. Temper is not for the faint of heart. Or maybe it is! Maybe we all need to choose a few shades for our alter ego and really rock 'em. I'd never have picked this for myself, and yet I adore it. I can't wait to wear it on my vacation with a black sundress I just picked up. (I am quite fair- the black dress and tangerine gloss should really accent that! I like confusing the tan people.)
Some tips for wearing this ultra-pigmented, uber-glossy, delightfully non-sticky lipgloss formula: While the applicator is amazing, it's best for filling in the full parts of the lip. You may want to try a lipbrush to line the margins of the lips if you don't have a pencil that coordinates with the gloss shade. While we're talking about pencils, you may want to try one. In my quick swatches, below, you'll see that this would have helped greatly in making the look seem more polished. Luckily, this didn't ruin my morning of dishes, laundry, and toy-sorting. Also, you can apply this a bit more sheerly if you're careful, but it's hard to get it even. If you want to try to tone-down the gloss factor, I'd suggest filling in the lips with a lipstick or pencil first, then topping with a bit of gloss.
You can get Temper at Sephora in the US or through Illamasqua elsewhere.
PS: Congrats to Illamasqua for launching in Australia!
Now that I've finally embraced this lipgloss shade and formula (I've had mine for months and just eyed it nervously from time to time) I fully intend to dive into more Intense Lipglosses. Maybe Femme (coral pink), Frenzy (fuchsia), Fume (rose red), Move (muted thistle pink) or Petulant (magenta pink)?
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