MAKEUP | Christian Louboutin Limited Edition Lunar New Year Gift Set #LUNARFEBRUARY

Growing up in Vancouver, Chinese New Year, or the Lunar New year, as I now need to call it because it's the new year for more than just Chinese people, is HUGE. When I first immigrated to Canada in 1988, there were virtually no Chinese people. My family and I were struggling immigrants, my parents worked hard to give my sister and I a home, clothes and toys. We were on our own save for the handful of people we knew and integrating into "white" society was how my family and I chose to survive. My parents spoke to my sister and I ONLY in English which in retrospect was a mistake as being multilingual will ALWAYS be an asset, but I think my parents were afraid that we would be ostracized just by the colour of our skin.

Thankfully, Vancouver was very open to all cultures and I wish now that we had spoken Mandarin at home. The closest I have to any Asian language is understanding child level Hokkien (kudos to those of you who know what that is!), but as Vancouver has gotten more and more Chinese immigrants, I have never been so acutely aware of what animal we are celebrating this year. The Lunar New Year is bigger now than I ever remember it in Canada and I can't help, but miss the small intimate family celebration we used to have just the four of us. I almost want to go to T&T and pick up all that food just for hubs and me!

What is also incredibly different now, is the number of North American brands that have decided to do special limited edition runs of certain products whether it'd be a new product entirely or having red and gold packaging. You may remember the Christian Louboutin Metalissime Collection from the holidays, but now only at Holt Renfrew can you get this exclusive three piece set for $305 CDN!

The set contains the Rouge Louboutin Metalissime Nail Colour, a stunning metallic red with a silky two coat formula. I purchased this over the holidays and the red and gold bottle was well worth the addition to my collection!

The Rouge Louboutin Metalissime Loubilaque Lip Lacquer is a thick, high pigment metallic red lip gloss that is high shine and gives your lips a total glam look. It's not too tacky and has an almost multi-dimensional shine because of the fine microglitter embedded in the formula.  

The packaging reminds me of a dragon and though it is made of a heavy plastic, it looks just so pretty on my counter. The pointed doe foot applicator picks up just the right amount of product while being able to get right into the corners of the mouth and along the lip lines without too much trouble. This is a gloss so it will transfer quite easily.

The Rouge Louboutin Metalissime Silky Satin Lip Color* is a satin finish metallic red that I honestly did not think would look good on me. I guess I was thinking that it would be TOO metallic, but then I put it on and loved it! The metallic finish is fairly subtle and instead adds an inner light to the lips. The formula wears well through meals and is a shade of red that would be brighten up any makeup look.

The packaging of this lipstick is much heftier as it is metal and feels quite substantial.

Final verdict: Considering I bought two out of the three pieces, I like this collection both for quality and the luxe factor. I am mainly a polish fan, but both lip products were incredibly impressive!

You can find this collectible gift set for a limited time exclusively at Holt Renfrew.