Louboutin Nails – a 20th anniversary tribute with inspiration from Adele! (swatches & review)
When Adele took the stage at this year’s Grammy Awards, I naturally looked at her nails … then couldn’t STOP looking at her nails. It seems I’m not the only one to have done so, as all I read the next day was talk of Adele’s 6 Grammy wins – AND HER NAILS!! It appears that there was more to the story than that; what the rest of us couldn’t see, was that she was sporting a stunning pair of sparkly Louboutin shoes under that gown – obviously the inspiration behind this creative mani! I was determined to re-create this look, as after all, I am a beauty addict … and Louboutins certainly qualify as beautiful!
Christian Louboutin
As Christian Louboutin celebrates 20 years in the luxury shoe business this year, he has produced a fabulous 20th anniversary book chronicling some of his most unforgettable styles – I’m thinking that I need to get my hands on this chef d’oeuvre!
Adele and her ‘Louboutin’ inspired mani (the ring isn’t too shabby either!)
Adele’s Louboutin ‘Aurore Boreal’ pumps
Celebrity manicurist Mike Pocock decided to raise the bar on celebrity manis, by giving Adele an unforgettable nail look, inspired by none other than her über-luxurious Louboutin pumps. By applying Ciaté ‘Jewel’ on the nail surface, a glittery steel blue confection, and Ciaté ‘Mistress’ on the underside, he so perfectly captured that trademark Louboutin “red-soled” look, coveted by beautistas and fashionistas alike!
Never having attempted anything like this before and not having access to the shades used on Adele, my first step was to select the lacquers that would duplicate the ‘Louboutin’, and to that end I finally opted for the following four shades (all swatches are with base & top coat):
- a-england ‘Merlin’ (previously reviewed here)
- a-england ‘Excalibur (previously reviewed here)
- Deborah Lippmann ‘Today Was A Fairytale’ (previously reviewed here)
- CHANEL ‘Dragon’ (previously reviewed here)
in sunlight
in sunlight, alternate angle
indoors
with flash
view underneath
alternate view underneath
surface closeup, in sunlight
surface closeup, alternate sunlight view
indoors
Final thoughts: I’ll begin by taking my figurative hat off to all professional manicurists out there – you people totally rock! I had deliberately allowed my nails to grow so I could try and re-create this look, thinking that once the tips were long enough it would easy-peasy. I was totally WRONG. The surface was a breeze to accomplish, but let’s just say that the level of difficulty involved in applying nail polish to the underside of one’s nails, took me by surprise – combine that with the fact that I used a super-pigmented red nail varnish (I’m still sporting remnants of it, in case you’re wondering) and I’m fairly certain that I won’t be attempting this look again anytime soon! That being said, I absolutely loved, loved, LOVED the way my nails looked in this style … making me feel as glamourous as a 6-time Grammy winner! NOTE: As of March 2012, Ciaté lacquers will be available through Sephora.
*Shoes – my own
Now I want to let my nails grow a tad bit more just to rock some designer nails! Yowza. This mani was gorgeous. Your skills are sickening in a great way.
Hahaha! Thanks, Tiff! I can’t wait to see you rocking some outrageous looks! PS: did you read the part about what a pain it was to obliterate all traces of this look when I was done?!!!
That’s a first I’ve ever seen matching nails and shoes! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
That is some SERIOUSLY gorgeous nail work. o.O
Lol…thanks, Maggie! It’s always nice being appreciated!
Hey here I am:) I am drooling…Your blog is exceptional- love, love, love it! Just took a little break from reading to post this quick comment (and then back I go to my reading!). The Loubou-nail look is fabulous-I must definitely try that out. Thanks for this detailed how-to- post ; you nailed (hee hee) the Adele look. Oh and that slick shimmery Mermaid’s Dream in your previous post is simply…dreamy.
So glad to have found you here.
Hugs xoxo
Hahaha! Thanks Lucy! I am totally (and I mean that!) thrilled that you enjoyed your reading (lol….returning the pun!) The Louboutin mani is definitely special and worth giving a whirl but be warned that it can be a chore to remove the colour from the underside of the nail! I look forward to many exchanges!! Hugs back! xx
FABULOUS, dahling!!!!!!! I absolutely love this look, and love that you tried it out, because I totally believe you when you say it was majorly tricky to do the underside. I’ve considered growing my nails long to do something like this too, but the task seems so daunting I’ve never gone ahead and done it. Thanks for taking one for the team
It really looks great, I hope you went out and did something as equally fabulous as your nails to show them off!!
Lol….thanks, my friend! Taking one for team, sums it up perfectly: I finally got all the “residue” off yesterday, believe it or not! As to doing something equally fabulous — I wish!! Hahaha! Still, it was fun to do and I’m glad I gave it a go!
Wow amazing look! I’m going to have to try this!
Love your blog btw~ I’ve followed you on twitter
Thank you so much! Be sure to send me pics if you do try this…I’d love to see!
So, so, so freaking gorgeous, Eugenia!!! I was transfixed by Adele’s mani, too, but I am also afraid of painting the underside of my nails :p I saw a link about doing them with false nails, which I have stored away in a Thursday post somewhere…
Thanks, my friend! I assumed that these were fakes on her, primarily for the effort I now know it takes to remove the colour underneath! I finally got all the vestiges of it off today, using an assortment of tools, acetone, lemon wedges, and finally hydrogen peroxide
!! On the upside, my nails have never looked cleaner, lol!! If ever I do this again, you can bet that it’ll be with fakes!!
Tremendous effort, Eugenia!!! I actually didn’t care for this mani on Adele but I like your interpretation and breakdown so much.
Painting the underside of the nail has me running away in total fear though!
Of course, I love the Loubies in the first pic the best, and some day I’ll own a pair. That is, if I can still walk in heels by that point, hehehe.
Hahaha! Thanks, Liz! The only thing I didn’t care for on Adele, was the “pointy” aspect of it – not a fan of talons (unless it’s on an eagle), but I still had to see if I could duplicate the look just the same. As to the shoes, you will NEVER be too old to wear Loubies!!
Oh my!! Soooo beautifully done!! Love it!!
Hahaha! Thanks Angie! Glad you enjoyed! Hugs!
Well, I tip my hat off to you for trying and pulling off such a gorgeous manucure! I consider Louboutin manicures to be one of the most difficult to achieve and most likely to turn very ugly and trashy when done wrong, and you really did something beautiful.
As for Louboutin shoes, *sigh*… out of curiosity, I went on the website a couple of weeks ago because I had no idea of the price range, and then, two awful things happened: I fell in love with a pair of shoes (Black suede Vicky Janes) and realised that for “luxury” shoes, the prices were far from being as crazy as I expected them to be… Still completely out of my reach, but not far enough not to appear on my “if I ever manage to make a decent living out of my job” list…
Thank you so much, Lélie….it was something I absolutely was driven to do, lol! I’m glad you liked it and that you consider that it came out well!
Louboutin shoes……they WILL be my ultimate weakness…and Jimmy Choos….and Manolos….and Brian Atwoods….and don’t even get me started on designer bags………!!! (may I should do a post on all these babies instead of cosmetics, lol!)
I love that you did this! You have the perfect nails to try this look on. I will have to live vicariously through you since my nails will never be long enough to try this out for myself. Bravo, Eugenia! <3
Awww….Maribeth, you’re such a sweetheart! You know that I’m a “colour purist” and rarely dabble in anything resembling nail art & such, but from the moment my eyes picked out Adele’s mani, I was obsessed with trying it out for myself!
I do adore this look … on other people. I mean for real, red can be a total bee-otch just to get off the surface of the nail, I can’t fathom underneath. O.O … Omg like a bloody mess LOL
A bloody mess, you ain’t kidding! Lol!! Something tells me that those were NOT Adele’s actual nails, and if they were, then she probably also had someone else remove the polish for her after! Even though I expected the fuss, I’m glad I gave it a whirl! (gives me a juicy story as well, lol)
Waaahhhh!!! My nails are short right now. I really want to do this. It’s so ridiculously beautiful.
Awww….Danny don’t be upset; do the top part, then when your nails get a little longer, you can try it again but with the “red soles”!! So glad you liked it, my friend!
Oh that’s a good idea. It can be something I look forward to. Yay!!!!
*high five-ing*!!
*High five right back*
Great job on mani! I love the shade of red by Chanel. You’re making me want it. So, I am not a shoe person but how much does a pair like those run for?
Thanks, Lissette….that CHANEL is a total classic and ‘Dragon’ is one of my favourite red crème lacquers. As to the shoes, Louboutins don’t come cheap, that’s for sure; if you’re in the US, you would most likely pay a lot less than we do here in Montréal (our prices are higher & we have a 15% sales tax), so you could expect to shell out anywhere from $750.00 – $1,000.00 for a similar style. The more complicated shoes command significantly higher prices. Ouch, I know!
Love Love LOVE everything about this. From those fantastic-ly gorgeous shoes to your grammy award deserving nails. I think if I tried the red underneath business, I would end up with red polish all over everything – I am just much too clumsy! Anyway thanks for sharing this with us. In case I didn’t make myself clear enough… LOVE!
Awwww….thanks, my friend! Let me tell you, when I finally forced myself to remove this mani, my hands looked like they were prime suspects at a crime scene, lol! Glad you liked the “Loubs”!
Those are HOT HOT HOT!!!!!!!! Did I add enough exclamation points? Hot HOT HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I may have missed a few of them…lol! I’m guessing you’re referring to the shoes, right?! I so love that pair, you have no idea – and while they’ll never be as comfy as slippers, they still hold their own….but who cares when you’re wearing killer heels, right?!
Gorgeous. All you need is Adele’s ring…and I would think I’m looking at her hand! I love the shoes, but I’m afraid I would fall on my face wearing them!
I would sooooooo love a ring like that (saw one similar at Tiffany’s last weekend and already started dropping hints – don’t think it’ll happen, though)! As to the shoes, you’d be surprised at how easy they are to walk, dance & even run in (yes, I’ve done that!)…it’s all in the platform!!
Love it! Unfortunately my nails never get long enough to be able to attempt something like this. I really love the polishes you chose.
Thanks, Rebecca! You can always try to duplicate this look using fake nails – I’m guessing that it may be easier to apply the colours and prevent staining that way!
I love it but I’ve always been reluctant to do this style of mani exactly for the reason that I know my under-nails will be red (or whatever color) for a long time! I could definitely try this though; I have a great silver foil and “Today Was A Fairytale” and of course a great red creme.
We wear the same size shoe, Eugenia! If you ever feel the need to re-home some of your shoes…hahaha. One of my favorite things is to go to Neiman Marcus or Last Call by Neiman Marcus and put my feet in the Louboutins, Lanvins, Valentinos, etc on the sale rack (which I still can’t afford!), since for now that’s as close as I can get. Embarrassing story time, though: at the beginning of the year I was in a Neiman Marcus with my mother and I was looking at their sale shoes with a large iced coffee in my hand. The racks were really really close together and between my winter clothing, purse, and iced coffee, I got stuck on a rack and the ENTIRE iced coffee flew out of my hand and spilled all over the carpeted floor (luckily not on any designer shoes)! It was just us and a single sales associate on the other side of the floor, so my mother and I picked up my empty cup and shuffled out of the store in ignominy. It was the most embarrassed I’d been in a while but I have mustered up the courage to go back since–the beauty counters are on a different floor, after all! Don’t think I’ll visit the shoe department for a while though…
Oh my God, Julia….you had me in hysterics with this *wheezing from all the laughter*!!! First of all, glad you liked my mani, and you should definitely give it a whirl — maybe you’ll have an easier time than I did with removal (PS: if you do try it, I’d love to see pics!). Next, Louboutins are funny; I wear different sizes depending on the cut & style (don’t even ask….I’m not cobbler), but this particular pair I went half a size up that I normally would wear so my daughter can wear them as well (twofer). As to your coffee incident, at least it gives you a fabulous story to talk about….I probably would have peed on myself laughing after that debacle!!!
I’m not very graceful so I’m pretty good at embarrassing myself. I was so relieved that I managed to graduate from both high school and college without having a pratfall on the dais! The sad thing is that as a child I had it drilled into my head that you shouldn’t bring food/drink into stores but I see people do it all the time and I figured that I’m an adult now, I can handle it…clearly not! Part of me is tempted to go back and see if there is a stain. Honestly though, once I got over my initial shock and embarrassment I was mostly disappointed that I spent $4.50 on a yummy iced coffee and I hardly got to enjoy any of it! I have priorities, lol. Reminds me of a less extreme version of when in Sex and the City Carrie goes to Paris and it’s raining and she goes ricocheting into Dior head first!
Yes, you certainly do have priorities! (I would have been so mad that I never got to enjoy that coffee, as well) If you ever do go back, make it a point to check for a stain & then proudly claim it as your own (you’ll be forever a part of that store’s history, lol!). I never did see that episode, or if I did, I don’t remember, but I can visualize it….thankfully yours WAS less extreme…and no major damage involved!
You killed it with this look Eugenia!!! I’m seriously in love right now. ^_^
Hahaha! Thanks Rie…high words of praise, coming from you!
Love it Big Sis! You did a great job! I think I like it even better!
You can get Ciate Polish on eBeauty.ca here’s the link: http://www.ebeauty.ca/Ciate/Nail-Polishes/Ciat-233-Paint-Pots-Jewel/pages/productdetails?nav=R:971240
Lil Sis….you’re a doll! Thanks for the link….and for liking my “Louboutin”
love the combination !!! This mani rocks!
Thanks so much!
Eugenia this is a great nail art! Thanks for choosing a-england as complement to Chanel and D. Lippman. x
It was a no-brainer, Adina: only Merlin & Excalibur would do! I may have had a hard time picking the other 2 shades, but I was set on my beautiful a-englands from the start! So glad you liked it!!
Gorgeous! I was scared to try recreate this for the reason you listed; the staining of the red underneath.
It’s been a trial trying to get it all off, let me tell you…there’s got to be a better way (other than using fake nails), but since I’m not a nail tech, I’m not privy to the secret! Still, I really had fun admiring the look, lol!
This is absolutely stunning!!!! Such a beautiful mani. I love it!! And your shoes are HOTTTT!!!
Hahahaha! Thanks, MariJo! It was worth it just to see the finished effect! Those shoes are my faves….just don’t try standing in them for 5 hours straight like I did once!
Haha!! Those are the sit down and look cute kind of shoes ;0).
No, no, no…they are most definitely “walk-around-and-get-noticed” kind of shoes (although sitting down & looking cute works for me too); I wore them at my niece’s wedding in September, and as they were running late, I ended up standing up in them for over 5 hours straight….and paid the price for it later! I did a lot of dancing in them though!