Christian Louboutin Enters Beauty with Nail Polish

The Christian Louboutin nail line

The Christian Louboutin nail line

The story goes that Christian Louboutin’s signature red soles were born out of the designer’s impulses: he painted the sole of one of his designs with a bottle of nail polish snatched from one of his assistant’s desk. Whether that’s the truth or fashion folklore we don’t know, but the designer is going back to that famous bottle of polish and releasing his own line of nail lacquers. The nail polish marks Louboutin’s first foray into the beauty world, but the designer promises that the nail line is just the beginning of a larger rollout. The whole line is set to appear on shelves August 31, but Louboutin is teasing the full launch with the early release of just one shade: Rouge Louboutin, the famous lacquered crimson that’s on the sole of each of his designs. If you happen to be in New York today, you can snatch up the sure-to-sell-out polish at Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship, where the label has set up a special shop-in-shop just for the line’s debut. 15 Christian Louboutin boutiques will also have the polish available today. But if you don’t happen to live near one, you”ll have to wait until August 6, when the line rolls out to Nordstrom stores, Bergdorf Goodman, select Sephora locations and Neiman Marcus beauty departments around the country.

Rouge Louboutin

Rouge Louboutin

Priced at $50, Louboutin’s nail polish is one of the most expensive polishes in department stores (for comparison, Chanel rings up at $27 and Tom Ford is $32). But you might be able to justify the price tag with the knowledge that the bottom-weighted, pointy, calligraphy-inspired bottle — designed by 400 year old French glass company Pochet — has 16 facets and is designed to be an “object” when it’s not in use. The formula boasts the highest percentage of pigment in the industry and the bottle is finished with a hand-held flame and takes 22 weeks to complete. “If I do beauty, I have to do it my way,” the designer said to WWD. “I am someone who likes objects.” Louboutin teased at the next step for his beauty line — lipstick, perhaps? — but wouldn’t reveal any further details just yet.

Images courtesy WWD

Tags: , ,

Author:Christopher Luu for Fashion Trends Daily

Christopher Luu is a Fashion Trends Daily Senior Writer and Menswear Editor.