New Stuff: Rouge Louboutin Nail Lacquer

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Hi everyone! Yes, I’m finally back from my vacation, and after a few nights of sleeping 10+ hours I finally feel ready to be human again. This morning when I woke up, I was greeted by an email announcement for this: the first beauty product from Christian Louboutin. A beauty line from CL has been rumored for a while – at least a couple years at this point – so I’m incredibly excited to see it actually happen. The screenshot is a bit small, so here’s the product description from the website:

Rouge Louboutin… a timeless, vibrant red suited to any skin tone. A true objet d’art of a dramatic 8-inch height inspired by the tallest heel Christian Louboutin ever created- the Ballerina Ultima. The iconic Rouge is encased in a faceted, weighted glass bottle with an unique ombré effect. The tall slender cap, inspired by calligraphy, turns the application into a luxurious experience, inviting women to take their time. The custom-designed, patented triangular brush picks up the right amount of formula, without air bubbles, to deliver flawless, chip-resistant coverage. A highly pigmented, super glossy formula delivers in just two coats the effect of 20 layers of traditional lacquer. Enclosed in a patent leather like finish presentation box with a red reveal.

So as always, I have some thoughts on this (in no particular order).

• That bottle is incredible. I want to put it on my vanity and stare at it for at least an hour.
• I wonder if it’s close enough to the color of CL shoe soles to use as a touch-up for nicks?
• What exactly is “the effect of 20 layers of traditional lacquer”? On the rare occasion that I use more than three coats of polish, it starts looking really bad, really fast.
• Wow, that’s $50 for .44oz/13ml
• For that price, it better be ridiculously amazing.

Louboutin has always been a brand that cultivates a very definite sense of luxury and exclusivity, and the aesthetics (and price tag) play into that concept perfectly. If slipping on a pair of those red-soled heels makes you feel incredibly sexy, it can only be that much better to show off a glimpse of a matching pedicure through the peep-toes. You can certainly get red polish at price point that’s much more… practical – but I think we can all agree that the brand has never had practicality as a top priority. After seeing this, I’m dying to see what the rest of the beauty lineup will look like. They’ve set a high standard with the packaging for the nail polish, so I’m expecting nothing but gorgeousness from here on out. I haven’t seen any rumors about exactly what products will be available, but if I had to put money on it, I’d guess a capsule collection with red lipstick and the essentials for a smoky eye. I’m a little wary of how the prices will end up – $50 for nail lacquer is high even in the luxury beauty market, in my opinion – but presumably they’ll be reasonable enough to draw in people who are interested in the brand’s mystique but haven’t felt inclined to part with $600+ for footwear. Side note: I’d absolutely love to see this as a gift with the shoes, even just on a limited time basis or with certain styles (for example, open-toed pumps, maybe). I don’t have any reason to think that would happen though, since off the top of my head I don’t recall them doing any gwp’s in the past. What do you think of this release? Pounce on it, or wait and see? The polish is available for pre-order now at Saks.