Shoe designer Christian Louboutin to launch a beauty collection

The state of today's economy has meant that many big-spending women, who used to not bat an eyelash before dropping thousands on a new dress or a pair of shoes, are now thinking twice.

Since high-end fashion designers aren't bring in as much revenue from their traditional clothing lines as they used to, many are turning to mass-market collaborations with companies like H&M and Target, and others are deciding to enter the beauty sphere. The latter companies are banking on the fact that women who say no to shoes, will say yes to a $20 designer lipstick or the season's hottest nail polish colour. The justification: They get a little bit of luxury without breaking the bank.

The latest designer to make the leap into beauty -- on the heels of others like Gareth Pugh, Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana -- is Christian Louboutin, the French shoe designer known for his trademark red soles.

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Partnering with the New York company Batallure Beauty LLC, Christian Louboutin Beauté will consist of multiple, yet-to-be-disclosed, product categories, scheduled to hit stores globally beginning in late 2013, reports Women's Wear Daily (WWD).

"He was really the only fashion designers with high success and high visibility that has not yet entered the beauty arena," says Robin Burns, chairman and co-founder of Batallure Beauty, to WWD, adding that "his understanding of women and femininity, and their desire to be sexy and beautiful" will be a definite asset as he transitions to the beauty market.

Louboutin is said to be taking his time with this project because of his very high standards and his expectations for this line to "break the mold," reports WWD. And in the designer's own words, we can expect a range of products that are, "Very constructed, quite different and unexpected," avoiding any talk of specific product categories. He explains that his beauty products will have "to mirror the quality of the shoes, of the bags, of all the DNA of the brand."

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While the designer has been approached about beauty ventures in the past, since his signature red shoe detail would translate so seamlessly to both lipstick and nail polish, he tells WWD that the offer from Batallure was appealing because Burns understands his creative vision for the project and his need to be in control of the brand image.

Nail salons have already been borrowing the designer's name for the popular new "Louboutin Manicure" involving long, rounded nails, with the underside of the tip painted the same shade of red as Louboutin's shoe soles -- even British songstress Adele sported the look at this year's Grammy's. So it's probably time that he created some nail lacquers of his own.

What do you think the trend of fashion designers launching their own luxury beauty lines? Are the products worth the extra money?

Watch the video below showing some of the fashion fails at this years Met Ball.