I’m not sure there’s ever been a nail polish so out of my comfort zone. A black gel suspending large chunks of garish golden glitter, Deborah Lippmann’s Cleopatra In New York is no shrinking violet in the nail polish world. But something about it called out to me. Forgotten were the memories of the industrial strength removal process it took to take off the last glitter varnish from my tips and instead the way that the flecks sloshed around in the bottle and caught the light were at the forefront of my mind. On it went and, yep, it’s love. A completely different love to my usual Nail Inc Porchester Square–y or CHANEL Rouge Noir–y shades – this is more of wild shade that you want fellow tube passengers to eyeball as you grasp the bars to steady yourself, you know? Subtle, it is not. The only downer is that it took a patience-testing four coats to work up the colour/glitter combo to what you see here. The first coat is so seriously lacking I ended up googling swatches to see what I was going to end up with. Persistence pays off though and you’re left with some of the most ‘in-yer-face’ but still chic nail looks I’ve ever seen.
There’s a price to pay for such a kick-ass shade; £18 to be exact, from Look Fantastic. But for such a one-off piece that’s destined to be the star of your lacquer stash….. stuff it, I’ll let the pictures provide your justification.
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