Here is my favorite orange I've ever tried, Illamasqua- Gamma!
Gamma is a super bright, traffic-cone-type-of-orange creme. It's also got sort of a tangerine quality about it. It was released as part of the Toxic Nature collection in 2011. (That whole collection is amazing, by the way!)
Artificial light, three coats:
It is really almost neon- it's that loud! It's also one of those colors which will make your skin appear tanner- which is strange, for me, since I never imagined an orange would look flattering against my skin tone.
It dries to a semi-glossy finish; it's not as matte as Illamasqua's Rubber Brights finish, as there is still some light reflected, but it's not quite as shiny as a normal creme. (Shown under Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat.)
Window-filtered daylight:
Outside, shade:
Outside, partial sun:
Now that I've worn this on my hands, I can't wait to try it on my toes this Summer!
Formula: The first coat is slightly streaky, but it self-levels very well, and isn't difficult to glide onto the nail. The second coat goes on really smoothly, but doesn't quite obscure the nail line, although many people will be satisfied with the two-coat opacity. Three coats was the sweet spot for me.
About wear: I'm used to bright/ neon formulas like this chipping as soon as you look at them. I will have you know that I wore this for a full 36 hours before swatching it, and it wore super duper well for such a bright color! I had no chips and no tipwear, and was surprised about that. There is a hairline crack on my index nail, but I remember smacking that nail into something pretty brutally at work. The reason my tips don't look wrapped is because I shaped my nails right before taking the photos, but there wasn't even any tipwear to file off anyway. Just thought I'd mention the great wear!
Illamasqua wins again (shocking, I know)!
Ok, this is such an awesome orange!!! WOWZERS
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