March 2, 2011

Etude House Miss Tangerine VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips Review, Swatches, Photos

My run in with the lip products released with the Etude House Miss Tangerine Collection is turning into a downward spiral of bad picks. I really was hopeful that some of the orange-y shades would prove wearable but sadly, so far, it’s just not happening for me.

The collection is a release of several products themed around the orange trend that takes hold of us almost every Spring/Summer from popular Korean brand Etude House.

Let’s take a look at some of the Miss Tangerine VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips and see if these shades worked for me!


A moisturizing lipstick with a twist of tangerine taste!


Of course, the main appeal for me here is the packaging but I admit the entire tangerine theme really draws me in as well. Considering how hydrating Korean lipsticks are I was hopeful this would mean louder shades of orange would apply sheer and possibly a bit opaque therefore rendering them quite easy to wear but not the case so far. As with the LuciDarling Lipsticks I recently reviewed, the VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips pretty much sports the same formulation in pigment so you’re getting bold, vibrant color pay off here with a cream finish.

I’ve been asking myself if maybe the problem with wear could be the cream formula as I don’t wear such a finish to well. Perhaps a bit of shimmer would ease the harshness of the tangerine shades and make them more wearable for me. Hopefully I’ll have my answer when I try the Shawer Lips, another product in the Miss Tangerine release that promises a more moisturizing formula.

The shade that’s the loudest and bolder is OR 207, C’mon Miss. This is a true tangerine orange with a cream finish. As I mentioned formula wise it’s very moisturizing and glides on beautifully but the color is really bold and the cream finish does nothing for me. I notice it pulls a bit as well since my lips are a bit dry so the finish is a tad chalky and gross due to this. But that’s not an issue with the formula, it’s an issue with my dry, cracked lips!

The second shade OR 205, I say Peach is a more subdued shade. I wouldn’t call it completely peach but more a lighter orange. It does falls victim to my dry lips and applies badly. And the shade simply does nothing for my complexion.

As I said above the appeal of the product is the darling packaging as well. Each lipstick is housed in limited edition peach tinted tubes. They look almost like a little girl’s makeup and obviously won’t appeal to those with more sophisticated tastes. As for me, well, I love anything that brings the kawaii so I think they are darling.


The shades will probably fail to work for many complexions. You seriously have to have a really special way with lipstick to sport orange and I’m of the mentality that few people can pull it off. These shades are even harder due to the creamy finish. I’ll spice things up with some lipglass to see what new shade I can create with them but it does defeat the purpose of the orange trend when cocktailing with other shades eh?

The formula, although moisturizing, tugs on dry, cracked lips so be sure you have a smooth canvas to work on prior to application!

Etude House is sold in Korea and a few select Asian countries so online purchases are in order to haul these lippies or anything from the collection!

  • Those who rock orange!
  • Those who want some great shades of tangerine, orange, or lighter citrus-y shades for Spring/Summer.
  • Those who simply adore sweet makeup pieces (the packaging and the shades are just so luscious and hard to resist even if you can’t rock ’em)!

  • Those who can’t wear orange or tangerine shades (I was hopeful these would work but sadly can’t rock them so well).
  • Those who are sensitive to fragrance or flavor in their lipsticks (these have a tangerine scent/flavor).
  • Those unwilling to shop online and deal with airmail costs (these are not available within the US).


So far, the Miss Tangerine lip products are proving a hard pill to swallow. I thought the shades would prove wearable but they are pretty bold so I’ll be playing mad scientist with them to see what new shades I can create when I add a few different colors of gloss on top of these.

The formula is fab, the tangerine flavor is endearing, and the packaging simply wins my heart over but the colors definitely don’t work and probably won’t for most folks.

Sigh.

Oh well!

Hopefully the Shawer Lips prove a better experience as they are the last lip products in the collection that I have yet to try.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Inês

    The Shower Lips are definitely great, I got the shade 3 (the darkest, shimmer free orange) and it’s just lovely, not bold at all 🙂 It’s semi sheer, pigmented enough for the tangerine shade to show up on my dark lips.
    I want to pick up all the other colors very soon!

    • the Muse

      awesome Ines ;-D I haven’t gotten them yet. Waiting on my second shipment :-/ which contains those and a few other goodies ;D!

      • M

        Oooooh I am waiting for your take on the Shower Lips. I went to Etude House on Tuesday and swatched them and fell in love with the #02 shade, which is like a coral-red with a touch of pink. Gorgeous.

        Did I get it? No. Waiting for my friend to go to Seoul so I can save some change, LOL.

        And you are right. The other lip products are just meh. The tangerine shades turn kinda chalky on me.

        • the Muse

          chalky on me too M. the cream finish kills it. I think if they weren’t a cream they would be AWESOME! Can’t wait to try the others and hope they are nicer ;D!

  • kawaiinailart

    Totally cute packaging. I don’t think I can pull off those colours though XD

    • the Muse

      love the packaging too kawaii ;-D yeah, the shades are TOUGH!

  • April

    Muse,
    Where can I buy Etude online? I am just getting into some of the Asian lines and I always look to you for reviews/recs.

    • the Muse

      Sorry April no recs/suggestions for Korean shops sadly 🙁 I like and shop at a few online shops for Japanese cosmetics but none that I’d recommend for Korean products sadly. I really don’t know a safe, legit seller of Etude House. If I find one, I’ll def post it 😉

  • Casey

    Haha wanna sell these to me? I’m having an obsession with orange makeup, which also happens to look great on me lol.

    • the Muse

      hi casey not really comfortable selling products on my blog plus it’s used/swatched, kinda gross 🙂

  • Nunuiviet

    Skinfood , etude , baviphat, Tony molybdenum etc… All Korean products have such great and cute packaging! For skincare I have to say the quality is pretty good, but for makeup I think you should turn to higher brand like laneige which I think the quality is far superior . I never bought lipsticks from étude house , neither other products just a few shimmering eyeshadows which colours were so attractive, but alas they terribly crease so yeah you have to use a base. I’m saying this but other western brand have eyeshadow that crease. I tried some of their lipsticks and they are too sheer and don’t have much pigmentation, so I don’t like them. Muse if you want a nice texture and quality orange lipstick I think you should try the coral lipstick from Bobbi brown rich lipstick collection. It gives such a nice orangey look but not overdone on my lips. The texture is super great, not too Matt , not too sheer, just the right one. It is also very pigmented and last for hours on your lips, as for me it last over 6 h for sure!

    • the Muse

      laneige makes some great makeup nunu but I really dig the cuter options from Etude House, Baviphat etc…;-D yup I have some of the rick lipsticks from BB they are fab ;-D

  • neutralgirl

    Maybe if you just took a lip brush and lightly put some color on the middle of your top and bottom lip and blended out and then put a clear gloss over it so u can still see the orange? I dunno, just a thought.

  • Kim

    Lovely shades, but just not for me hehe.
    Have you gotten/ are you going to review the Soda Tints?

      • Kim

        Oh yay 😀
        I’ve been wanting to get that and the powder veil
        Anyways can’t wait for the review 😀

        • the Muse

          kim the powder veil looks nice, I HOPE it smells like tangerines ;-D!

  • Viki

    Muse, you are going to love the Shawer (Shower, as written on the box, actually) because it is actually sheerer! The texture is a bit lighter, I’d say, compared to Fantastic Rouge, but it’s definitely not as bold as the VIP Girl lipstick. I also love the taste of it as well. 🙂 Can’t wait to read what you think of it though!

    • the Muse

      oh viki yay so glad to hear they are fab ;-D I was worried! I’m waiting for them to arrive along with the Mineral Veil :D!

  • Krys

    Excited! I’ve been going crazy trying to score orange lippies. Shu Uemura’s beautiful OR556 (VInyl Unlimited) is out of stock here in Manila. I’m hoping these Tangerine babies will look good on me, since I’m yellow like Dara Park 😀

    • the Muse

      krys I hope they work for you ;-D keep me posted, love to hear how they look on you!

  • Thu

    I am so gonna dish out the $14 on ebay to get the orange one…I friggin’ love the concept of orange lips and I like how it is more of an artistic statement than a face-enhancer…it’s the right attitude and artistry to stop it from making you look crazy! So that’s why I’m gonna lose the money…for a stupid experimental purchase haha…

    • the Muse

      Thu, that’s the best attitude ;-D makeup is supposed to be fun and artsy too!

  • Purupu

    If you look at the Etude House Philippines Miss Tangerine contest, surprisingly a lot more people than I thought can pull it off! But then again, like in other reviews, the bright tangerine color does wonders for our skintone kehehe. :3

    • the Muse

      absolutely does pururpu! Asians can wear orange so damn well, jealous!