The Lubu Manicure
Originally created by Zoe Pocock of the Charles Worthington salon in London, the Louboutin Manicure received a lot of press and attention from the fashionistas and nail lovers alike.
Inspired by this sensation, China Glaze has come up with their own take on this fashion forward look. Using the uber sparkly Ruby Pumps as the “sole” and their newest creation, Lubu Heels, for the “upper”, the Lubu Manicure is a glitzy, more Hollywood version of Ms. Pocock’s design.
Lubu Heels is a shade I know a lot of you have been waiting for. For anyone with Rescue Beauty Lounge Revamp or Revlon Black Strobe on your wish list, you can cross it off. Lubu Heels is the black polish with red glitter that you’ve been dreaming of. As is typical of most glitter polishes, Lubu Heels has that familiar bumpy texture and I’m sure it will be a pain to remove but that’s the price we pay for glittery glam.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I wonder how they paint the red on the under side of the nail without getting it all over the finger. Does anyone know they technique?
Maybe they just get it all over the finger, and remove with a q-tip?
Back onto the topic, I love this polish! Literally drooling over it…
I’m going to quote Zoe from when she commented on the original post I made about her creation:
“I can honestly say that I have only ever performed the Louboutin inspired manicure on long nails once and that was for the famous picture itself. I am a firm believer of short, chic natural looking nails and in my salon thats what most of my clients have. I have cut the brush of my red enamel just leaving three hairs which makes it much easier to achieve. If you run the red around the free edge of the nail it leaves a slight glow on the skin under the nail which I think makes the look. Hope that all helps.”
I love Lubu Heels! I looks even better than RBL Revamp there. Revamp was such a letdown, so excited for the ChG version!
I LOVE how both of these polishes look, but I never keep my nails long. I’m not sure I’d have the patience to do it on short nails!
i just bought a new one from sally hanson called glossy. it is a black with VERY tiny red shimmer flecks…just like the Rescue beauty lounge one minus the price tag. I have it on my toes right now, and the shimmer is so fine that there is absolutely no bubbling.
Mmm. I love this manicure. I wear my nails long to begin with. I wanted the look of red and black but I couldn’t manage to get it to work. Using 2 coats of base coat and 2 coats of polish under my nail (I tried I’m Not Really a Waitress, Rudolph Red…) and each time it became too dark from the colour on top (Light My Sapphire). Eventually I gave up and used DS Shimmer for a simpler look.
I did one coat of base and one coat of black on top. Then 2 coats of base underneath (I really didn’t want stained nails) and 2 coats of polish. Then I finished up my mani with the second coat of black on top and top coat. That way if any errant colour trailed on top it was soon covered by black (and I could still use my nails to remove black polish around my cuticles).
As for application, the key I guess is to remove any excess polish from the brush. I scraped it against the sides so the only polish on the brush was that held within the bristles. Then holding my nail upside down (cradling it by wrapping a finger around it) I did a few light strokes outward followed by one side to side (to remove any pooling polish). If there was too much polish, I used a small stick (in this case a q-tip stick) to gently roll it along the nail to pick up goopy polish pools. Then I just used a q-tip to remove any polish from my fingertip. This wasn’t nearly as difficult as I expected.
The only thing I’d like to know is how to get a true bright red underneath. Any special topcoats/base coats to prevent the darkening?
I have an idea that might work for the bright red underneath for the louboutin manicure – try painting the top of your nails with a solid white cream first as a base, then black on top of that. As a result the underside of your nails won’t be dark and the red will show up better. I own I’m Not Really A Waitress (absolutely love it!) but it might be too dark. Try a brighter red cream something like OPI Red Hot Rio.
Wouldn’t using Red Pumps over your favorite black have a similar effect as Lubu Heels without the awful bumpy texture?
Red Pumps is the perfect red, dries so smoothly and is sheer enough that the base color would peek through…
It sounds so good, I may have to try it right now!
Late to the party here, but I’ve been just recently using the Lubu Heels as well as layering Black with Ruby Pumps, love them both but the later is more intense.
Late to the party, I know! I own lubu heels but I find that the red glitter doesn’t really show up in it very much. I like Kris’ idea of layering black with ruby pumps (or even mixing them together and testing the desired colour as you go to get the desired effect). I have often thought of doing that, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.