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)

Preparation: To start things off, I first coated the skin right beneath my nails with a thin layer of petroleum jelly to try and help avoiding any staining (more on that later on), then I carefully applied two thin coats of ‘Dragon’. On the nails’ surface, I began with base coat, then proceeded to apply one coat of ‘Excalibur’, who’s excellent pigmentation gave such complete and perfect coverage. I then added a layer of ‘Merlin’, for its uniquely irregularly shaped silver glitter, finally topping it all off with one coat of ‘Today Was A Fairytale’ whose steely blue base colour and variously shaped glitter pieces added that extra level of visual depth. Each nail was then coated with 2 layers of top coat for an ultra-smooth and glossy surface.

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.