The Dictator

The Dictator rules: What's not to get? Practically every other woman who follows United States news has admired Michelle Obama's style since she first hit the campaign trail. That's not new. Neither is grey nail polish. It's been trendy for years. What is novel, though, is seeing a mom, OK, and first lady, rocking the look. It matched her US$450 Tracy Reese dress, which looked better and cost less than Ann Romney's US$1,990 Oscar de la Renta, but that's another matter. The blogosphere went wild over which polish coloured Obama's gesticulating digits. OPI rushed out a press release saying it might be the I Don't Give A Rotterdam (HK$132; Mannings, IFC Mall, Central, tel: 2523 8326). But, no. Was it Sparitual's Living in the Moment (HK$160; Harvey Nichols, Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 3968 2668)? OrLancôme's Gris Angora (HK$140; Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, tel: 2196 8321)? Give up? It was Artistic Nail Design's Colour Gloss Soak-Off Gel Colour in Vogue, a grey lilac (www.artisticnaildesign.com), but we haven't found a Hong Kong-based or online source yet. Autumn-winter is all about darker shades, anyway. Try Deborah Lippmann's Stormy Weather (HK$170; Joyce Beauty, 16 Queen's Road Central, tel: 2869 5816) and Dior's range (HK$190; Harvey Nichols). Or focus on what people say, not what they wear. It takes longer to remove a president than it does nail lacquer.