Saturday, December 7, 2013

CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir review + swatches



         This past week, I attended a screening of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard at work. This classic standard of American film noir paints a bizarre picture of the fantasy world of faded silent film star Norma Desmond, through the eyes of out-of-work screenwriter Joe Gillis. Though our purpose for watching was an exercise in formal psychoanalysis, I was reminded of how much I enjoy the genre-defining cinematographic interplay between light and shadow of 1950's film noir!

          When it comes to nails, I've always had a penchant for the dramatic. Building on the spirit of noir drama, there's nothing that says femme fatale quite like a dark rouge lacquer! Today I'm sharing my most recent acquisition in the genre : CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir, a shade I'd been eyeing for quite some time. When I saw that Rouge Noir was available as a limited edition release in Les Coleurs Culte de Chanel, I had to pounce!


         By now you know I'm very particular about my colors, especially dark reds. My preference leans heavily toward true blackened crimsons, as opposed to reds with burgundy, purple, orange, or cherry tones. (I suppose it's due to my perfectionist tendencies!) As you can imagine, I get pretty excited when I come across the 'right' red!

        CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir is a dark, dark red. I find that it takes three coats to reach full opacity, as shown below. Two coats can be sufficient, though you may notice an occasional streak; the red can come across a bit lighter and brighter from the barely perceptible show-through. (This might account for some of the variability in web swatches).

       

Three layers of CHANEL Vernis Rouge Noir are required for full intensity!
           I've swatched CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir next to an assortment of colors in my dark red polish collection. At a glance, you can see it's one of the darkest in my collection. It's significantly darker than NARS Jungle Red and Essie Bordeaux, both of which look a bit lighter below than they do in person. Initially, I was concerned that CHANEL Rouge Noir might be too similar to my favorite shades, NARS Chinatown, and Revlon Vixen, however you can see it's still quite a bit darker than both. China Glaze Prey Tell is the closest in intensity, but leans slightly more purple than red.


         CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir is the perfect blackened red for channeling femme fatale at my fingertips. Though, unlike Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, I'll be avoiding the postured talon look; I prefer to keep my dark nails short and chic!

         Thanks for reading! Do you have a bottle of CHANEL Vernis in Rouge Noir in your polish collection? What are some of your favorite dark red lacquers? What are your must have CHANEL shades?

Love, Dovey.

14 comments:

  1. I love dark shimmery reds, actually - my favorite is Lippmann's Through the Fire! :D

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    1. Hi Larie, Shimmery is definitely pretty - I'll have to take a peek at Lippmann's Through the Fire!

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  2. I love a-England Lancelot just a touch more than Rouge Noir, but RN is well worth owning! So glad that you have it at last. :)

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    1. Hi Liz, Oh, I have yet to try an a-England, however Lancelot sounds fantastic!

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  3. Hey Dovey, I have some darkened reds but nothing AS dark as this one! I can totally see why this shade is such a big deal now! I really like Taboo and Mysterious from Chanel. I just wish they would change their brush, because I personally find wider and tapered ones easier to use.

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    1. Hi Sunny, I was definitely surprised by how dark Rouge Noir was as well! Taboo and Mysterious are gorgeous; I would love to have them in my collection one day :)

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  4. Wow, that is a beautiful dark red! I've only recently begun to experiment with red cosmetics in general (lipsticks, and now nail color) so I am still finding my favorites. Love that Nars Chinatown as well.

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    1. Hi Jen, I hope you've been having a good time experimenting! NARS Chinatown is definitely one of my favorites!

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  5. This polish looks stunning! I haven't seen a red this dark before, its perfect.

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    1. Hi b&te, Thank you! I love it too :)

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  6. I ordered a D&G shade that beauty look book posted about ages ago as a possible dupe to this :) Can't wait to try it!

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    1. Hi Joyce, Ooh, that sounds fantastic! Hope you enjoy it!

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