If you want your undies to be a bit extra, Aussie brands Cosabella and Luminoglow have the answer.
Picture the scene: it’s finally Friday and you’re in a rush to get ready, your make-up was not playing ball, and your hair? Well, that’s a whole other story… but all is well, your moisturiser/fake tan has finally absorbed and you’ve chucked on the first set of underwear you can find under your banging new dress – a quick selfie and you’re off. So far, so good, right? WRONG. As the Uber drives away your friend tugs at your bra strap, which has exposed itself in a tacky (rather than edgy) kind of way – marvellous – oh well, it’s just a bra strap, not the end of the world…
Oh wait, your friend has just tagged you in an Insta selfie and your entire brassiere is visible through your dress, which is more sheer than you thought… Well, that’s not ideal, but it will be dark inside the club – phew – you’re in the clear! Still a classy gal (debatable). You make your entrance, remove your coat; heads turn, jaws drop, smiles stretch and laughs are poorly stifled, you look down…
Oh, sweet *****! You’ve accidentally donned your glow in the dark undies, and your boobs are lit up like a Christmas tree.
Yep, buy glow in the dark lingerie they said; it will be fun they said! And in fairness, Cosabella’s Desert Glow collection does have a rather cool ring to it. Call me old-fashioned, but I can’t help feeling you can ‘highlight certain portions of a woman’s form,’ (as the brand claims) without literally lighting them up. This bralette is so cute though…
Founder of other lingerie brand Luminoglow, Jan Hawley, commented;
‘One of the greatest parts of the collection is the confidence it can give women by feeling sexy and slender in the dark.
Slender is certainly one way of putting it! Another would be ‘invisible, aside from a neon glow…sexy’.
Perhaps giving the lingerie a whirl on a non-suspecting partner would be rather fun, but to me neon screams more traffic warden than sex siren. Also, a word of warning – if you go for Cosabella’s range the colour of the illumination depends on the lighting you’re in. If exposed to fluorescent or black light the garment’s lace will appear white or blue, but if worn in complete darkness the collection will appear a neon green – a shade that brings to mind the Hulk or the Grinch, perhaps. It could work for St.Paddy’s day though, leprechaun lingerie anyone?
You can’t fault the science behind the panties though; photo-luminescent pigments have the ability to glow after being charged via direct access to a light source (such as sunlight or a lamp) leaving you on glow for at least an hour.
However, it is rather tricky to photograph the underwear; that is, if you had a nudey photo shoot in mind! As Lumina Glow founder Hawley discovered; “It’s really hard for the camera to capture the glow, the model actually has to stop breathing. She can’t move or we get blurred images.”
The answer? David Attenborough. I bet you weren’t expecting his name to pop up! After watching the program: Attenborough’s Life That Glows, a nature documentary on creatures that glow in the dark, Hawley called Attenborough’s UK office and asked just how they captured that all-important glow. As it turns out, a lot of post-production editing and a big budget are key, so sadly no Attenborough-inspired lingerie videos just yet… I hope that model is okay.
Want to rave it up in your undies? Then get shopping! Just remember to wear with care, this collection probably isn’t an appropriate set for Mother’s Day. Shop luminous lingerie at Cosabella.com or Lumina Glow.
To glow or not to glow? Comment below!