When the sun is high and the mood is hot, make-up offers an opportunity for some artful colour-clashing using strong, vibrant shades – and Loubigraffiti, a limited-edition nail and lip collection (from £38 for a nail polish) by Christian Louboutin Beauty, really pushes the boundaries on this front.
The beauty arm of Louboutin was formed in 2012 – those legendary patent red soles the perfect launch pad for expanding into the cosmetics market. Nail polish is housed in bottles with highly elongated lids – looking every inch like a stiletto heel – while lipstick cases, inspired by Middle Eastern antiquities, are jewel-like and opulently heavy. In fact, each lipstick is furnished with ribbon to be worn around the neck if the owner so wishes.
The colour palette for this latest nail collection includes the lapis blue of Baraboum, fuschia-on-acid Bengali and the orange-crimson of Edgypopi. Louboutin claims that two coats of its lacquer is equivalent to 20 coats of conventional polish – whether 20 coats of polish sounds appealing, the effect is in fact one of glamorous high gloss. The ultra-long lids, which I had thought might be a hindrance, offer beautiful control – a bonus if you’re inclined to wobble when applying.
On the lipstick front, thickly stemmed bullets deliver an abundance of pigment in a sweetly fragrant matte formula that stays put for hours at a time. For contrasting lips and nails, try strawberry-red Altressa Velvet Matte (£70) on lips with Bengali lacquer on tips, or contrast the swimming-pool turquoise of Batignolles on toes with a pop of pillar-box red Diva lipstick. Or simply revel in the boldness of the colours and wear them exactly as you please.
Jane Cunningham is a beauty journalist and blogger. An early adopter of beauty blogging, she has been posting on her website Britishbeautyblogger.com for 10 years, providing (sometimes brutally) honest product reviews and beauty news. Cunningham collaborated with Marks & Spencer to produce a limited-edition make-up range and is currently working with Makeup Revolution on an eyeshadow palette. She is also a creative consultant to beauty brands. @britbeautyblog.
