I know vampy is not quite in season yet, but after having to be neutral (for fingers) for the past ten days or so with non-stop interviews, I was starting to crave something dramatic. Research, preparation, anticipation, having to think quickly on my feet and respond to endless situational, behavioral and technical questions have all left me exhausted. I feel lucky to even get interviews in this economy, even luckier to make it past the first few rounds at more than one company, however a mani/pedi was just what I needed to wash away my anxiety from the past few weeks.
Today I chose Chanel’s Rouge Noir 18 for my manicure, a deep dark chocolate cherry kind of shade. If you apply coat, you can definitely see the burgundy/cherry red. If you add more coats, you get a darker finish that gets closer to dark black-red-brown. Here it is with 2 coats.
The bad news with Rouge Noir 18 is that it is no longer available in the US. The good news is that Rouge Noir is coming back this holiday in one of the Chanel Holiday sets (see KarlaSugar for details on the set). I’m not entirely sure about the history and background of Rouge Noir 18. The famous Vamp Le Vernis also has the number 18 on it (see my vampy shades compared here). They are definitely different even though they share the same number. I have a couple variations of Vamp as well.
I don’t know if there is a dupe for this shade. If you click on the link above to my vampy nail polish post, you will see that Diabolic and Forbidden from Chanel are different from Rouge Noir. As this manicure wears off, I will do a little experimentation with some other RBL, OPI and Rococo shades I have to see if I can find a dupe. At this time I cannot do an extensive search for a dupe outside of what I already own – things are bit hectic with my schedule.
I’m pleased with the results of my manicure, however, in hindsight, I think this was better in theory. It’s definitely still too early in the year for this kind of color on the nails. Toes are ok, but fingers just stand out too much.
