Ode to Deborah Lippmann’s Across the Universe

As a make-up junkie since my teenage years, I’ve always had a highly covetable item in my personal wish-list. It has been a lipstick, most of the time, an eyeliner or a blush, but a nail polish has been firmly sitting on top of my list for a long long long time. I’ve finally got my hands on it and I cannot explain my sense of fullfilment. It’s just a nail polish, one might say, but let me disagree: Deborah Lippmann’s Across the Universe is NOT just a nail polish, because it’s mystery and poetry and drama in a bottle.

Here it is in its transparent plastic box (my heart is quivering). “Luxurious nail color” reads the writing on the box and I couldn’t agree more.

Here it is in all its glittering glory. Here my heart goes “boom” with excitement and the urgency to try it on. A few words about the bottle: I’m a sucker for anything vaguely old-fashioned, so this one has totally won me: it’s like using a beauty item from a long time ago. Its squared shape and the cap curved on top are both lovely.

Many Lippmann nail polishes are named after famous songs and this one is no exception. Across the Universe is probably my favourite Beatles song ever and this is surely one of the reasons why I’m hopelessly in love with this nail polish. Now, don’t judge me, because I know that many out there are ready to fall (or have fallen) for a make-up item with a catchy/intriguing name.

Sparkling explosion! The websitesays this shade is blazing blue and metallic green glam in sheerest navy, a very accurate description. Sorry for my crappy application abilities 😦 I should have cleaned the dirty finger tips with some remover, but I was so eager to snap some pictures and I left them there. As you can see, the amount of glitters in different sizes is intimidating and the complexity of the colour is impressive.

The only downside? You have to apply four coats to get a perfect coverage. If you like sheer nail polishes, you can apply three coats, but let me tell you you can’t achieve this multi-dimensional effect with three coats only.

This picture is a bit out-of-focus, but I’ve decided to post it anyway, because it gives you the idea of the depth of the colour. If I had to use a poetic description of it, I would say Across the Universe is like diving deep into the ocean, where the dark blue waters turn into green when they’re pierced by sunrays. To be honest, I would have called this nail polish Down by the Water (hey, this is another music reference!), because I think the deep water effect is so much present.

The best way to close this ode to an amazing nail polish is posting a very intense rendition of the song it’s named after. Rufus Wainwright, Moby and Sean Lennon sang Across the Universe during the event Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words and Music, which took place in 2001. Originally written by John Lennon in 1967, it was first included in No One’s Gonna Change Our World (a charity compilation album) in 1969 and, later, in Let It Be (in a different version),  the last album released by the Beatles. It’s incredible to see how Lippmann has been able to translate words and music into colours and into a nail polish form; she did the same stunning job with other two of my favourite shades from her collection – Marquee Moon and Glitter in the Air – but in general her artistic sensibility is amazing.

Just before closing, many many many thank yous to Chiara, a friend of mine who lives in London, thanks to whom I’ve finally turned my nail polish dream into reality!