Something wicked this way comes – wickedly good, that is.
I’m normally of the opinion that Halloween is a bit of a waste of time… unless it gives me an excuse to break out a brand new nail polish of course – and Deborah Lippmann’s Weird Science is exactly the kind of special sauce that spooky season screams out for!
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Tagged best glitter nail polishes, best green nail polishes, best metallic nail polishes, Deborah Lippmann, Deborah Lippmann nail polish, Fantastical Holiday Collection, glitter, gold, green, Halloween manicure, Halloween nail polish, Holiday 2014 Collection, manicure, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, review, swatch, Weird Science, where to buy Deborah Lippmann in Hong Kong
Autumn is coming! OK, that doesn’t sound quite as epic as Game Of Thrones had led me to believe it would, but the sentiment is still the same… which means it’s probably about time I brought you my review of the final polish from Christian Louboutin’s Red Nail Extensions Collection – Jazz Doll.
Jazz Doll is actually the most unique of the scarlet trio (which totally sounds like it should be the name of a jazz band… or potentially a criminal gang from the 1940s), a cool-leaning cherry red with an underlying seam of pink shimmer. This is definite Snow White enchanted apple territory – except if Snow White met her fate via a bunch of poisoned cherries, or perhaps some enticingly shiny boiled sweets. Yes, all my references are edible!
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Jazz Doll, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, Christian Louboutin Red Nail Extensions Collection, Jazz Doll, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, manicure, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, red, Red Nail Extensions Collection, review, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
Red – the colour of danger, love, anger, fire, blood, lust and, in Chinese culture, luck. You can see red, paint the town red, raise a red flag, catch someone red-handed, celebrate a red letter day and discover a red herring… and that’s before we’ve even got onto scarlet women, strawberry fields, crimson tides and ruby slippers. Basically, that’s a lot of connotations for a simple three-letter word!
So it’s no surprise that my second pick from the Christian Louboutin Red Nail Extensions Collection manages to be quite so different from the first. Lady Peep is dark and brooding where Edgypopi was bright and fresh; it’s the arched eyebrow of maturity to the fist pump of youth, the sophistication to Edgypopi’s sass. This is a long-winded way of saying it’s a dark red.
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Lady Peep, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, Christian Louboutin Red Nail Extensions Collection, Lady Peep, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, manicure, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, red, Red Nail Extensions Collection, review, scarlet, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
I probably have over 100 nail polish reviews on my blog – but you might have noticed one colour that’s conspicuous by its absence. And that colour is red.
Red nail polish comes next to a standard French manicure in the boring stakes for me. Why opt for boring, conformist, crowd-pleasing red when there are glittery turquoises or colour-shifting metallics to play with instead? So if I’m going to do a red, I’m going to do it right… which can only mean Christian Louboutin.
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Edgypopi, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, Christian Louboutin Red Nail Extensions Collection, Edgypopi, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, manicure, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, red, Red Nail Extensions Collection, review, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
Over the festive period, I was lucky enough to be invited to quite a few Christmas parties – so I felt it only right to put slightly more effort into my look than my usual pyjamas accessorised with cookie crumbs down the front… so hello new mani!
For Christmas party number one, I went with Essie Dive Bar, an inky blackened teal – very cool, very rock n’ roll, but darkly sophisticated with it. It’s one of those intriguing polish colours that looks black from far away, but reveals glittering depths on closer inspection. It’s super easy to use; like most Essie polishes, it flows onto the nail beautifully and is pretty much opaque in one coat (although I always seem to do two out of habit). I did find it dried a little dull for my tastes though, so I added a slick of top coat to give it a glossier finish. Amazingly enough for a polish this dark, it doesn’t stain either so well done Essie.
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Tagged best flakie nail polishes, best flakie top coats, black, Dive Bar, Essie, Essie Dive Bar, Essie Luxeffects Collection, Essie Shine Of The Times, flakies, glitter, Luxeffects Collection, mani, manicure, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, review, Shine Of The Times, swatch, teal
I love blue nail polish at the best of times… but there’s something about it that just seems so much better in summer. So with the first hints of an autumn breeze swirling through the air here in Hong Kong, I thought I’d better bust out Christian Louboutin Scarabee II before our long hot summer was over for yet an other year (*insert lament about how quickly time flies here*).
Scarabee II is another colour from the limited edition Christian Louboutin Scarabee Collection of gorgeous duochrome polishes inspired by the iridescent shell of an Egyptian scarab beetle – and it might just be the most instantly striking of the three. Or it might just be that I’m an eternal sucker for blue nail polish!
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, blue, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, Christian Louboutin Scarabee II, duochrome, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, Louboutin Scarabee Collection, manicure, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, review, Scarabee Collection, Scarabee II, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
Do you believe in magic? Well, if not, may I present you with Christian Louboutin’s Scarabee I.
Duochrome colours – metallic shades that shift different colours in different lights – are certainly nothing new in the nail polish world, but that certainly doesn’t stop me feeling a giddy sense of wonder every time I wear one… and Scarabee I is no exception.
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, Christian Louboutin Scarabee I, copper, duochrome, gold, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, Louboutin Scarabee Collection, manicure, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, review, Scarabee Collection, Scarabee I, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
There’s just something about Chanel nail polishes.
However many similarly coloured nail polishes you own… however little room you have for yet more nail polish… however many times you claim to be on a nail polish ban… Chanel nail polishes are just impossible to resist. Every. Single. Time.
Chanel Mediterranee is yet another example of a Chanel polish rendering me utterly helpless in its glossy gaze. As soon as it started appearing on U.S. beauty blogs, I knew I needed it – and once I went in-store, the shop assistant may as well have just opened my wallet and started helping herself!
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Tagged Beauty, best blue nail polishes, best teal nail polishes, blue, Chanel, Chanel Mediterranee, Chanel Mediterranee Collection, Chanel Summer 2015 Collection, Chanel Summer 2015 Mediterranee Collection, make-up, Mediterranee, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, review, Summer 2015, swatch, swatches, teal
I think it tells you a lot about the type of person I am that when I saw the name of this Christian Louboutin nail polish was Lova, my first thought was “Mmm… pavlova”.
Of course, being a nail polish, Christian Louboutin’s Lova contains zero meringues and is definitely not edible – but it is kind of delicious in its own way. [Disclaimer alert: an entirely visual way and rachttlg.com takes no responsibility for anyone that tries to eat their nail polish!]
Lova is a straight-up medium indigo shade; part blue, part purple, all awesome. In the bottle, Lova might be even yummier – a soft wisteria-iris purple that sings of spring. It’s somehow much darker on the nail but nowhere near as dark as the other indigo in my stash, Zoya Pinta, because it somehow still manages to be a bright clean colour-pop too.
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Tagged Beaute Louboutin, Beauty, Christian Louboutin, Christian Louboutin Hong Kong, Christian Louboutin Lova, Christian Louboutin Nail Colour, Christian Louboutin nail polish, indigo, Louboutin nail lacquer, Louboutin nail polish, Louboutin nail varnish, Lova, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, NOTD, photos, purple, review, swatch, where to buy Christian Louboutin in Hong Kong, where to buy Louboutin nail polish in Hong Kong
When it comes to manicures, I’m more of a DIY girl (in case you hadn’t guessed from the previous 100 or so blogs); as for the rare occasions where I have brought in the professionals, I discovered my mani manna with The Nail Library and have rarely strayed from them since.
However, when I heard that the Four Seasons Hong Kong was opening their very own Nail Bar, my polish-loving ears pricked up. The Four Seasons is easily one of the best hotels in Hong Kong and definitely one of my personal favourites; everything they do, they do to perfection. So if they were trying their hands (perfectly polished, natch) at a Nail Bar, chances are it was going to be done right.
If you’re talking first impressions, then the Four Seasons’ Nail Bar definitely deserves a standing ovation. On walking in, you’re immediately greeted by a knockout view over Victoria Harbour through a sweeping wall of windows; in fact, Four Seasons even has sunglasses on hands for when the view gets too blinding – now that’s service! The space itself is small but far from squashed, and the whole place positively screams chic, sophisticated luxury – five plush leather chairs for treatments, gleaming marble surfaces and glowing nail polish bottles displayed in backlit alcoves like treasures in a jewellery box.
My media partner-in-crime Charmaine and I were booked in to trial The Nail Bar’s signature Luxury Manicure – a divine hour of hand heaven. In fact, since we had the room all to ourselves, the Four Seasons had laid on a special Nail Social for us, complete with afternoon tea and champers. Afternoon tea and nail polish? I’m not sure the day could have been more tailor-made for me unless they’d laid on a litter of cute puppies to cuddle as well. And don’t worry, even if you haven’t booked a Nail Social, the Four Seasons still lays on complimentary beverages for all guests; champagne, cocktails, whiskey, smoothies, wheatgrass shots, fresh juices, tea… you name it, they’ve got it!
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I'm Rachel Read, a Hong Kong-based freelance writer and editor, make-up addict and general layabout. I'm powered by bacon, cupcakes, nail polish and the needs of two cute Yorkies.
All products/meals were paid for by me, unless otherwise stated.
Contact me at
rachelmread+ttlg@gmail.com
Photo by Sabrina Sikora Photography
© Rachel Mary Read and Through The Looking Glass, 2010-20.
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Through The Looking Glass 