Chanel Rouge Noir Le Vernis: Can You Dupe It? – The Beauty Look Book

Where has the time gone? In August, I featured a Chanel Rouge Noir 18 manicure with the intention of writing a dupe post shortly after. It seems I have lost track of time. Chanel Rouge Noir is one of those shades that has reached cult status as one of the most highly sought after shades. Is it simply because it’s hard to find? I’m not entirely sure. It is indeed a gorgeous dark chocolate cherry vampy kind of shade. I love how it will look reddish with one coat and get darker and more vampy with each progressive coat.

What makes Chanel Rouge Noir unique is the reddish base which prevents it from appearing like a straight black. It has a flawless glossy finish with 2 coats. It’s pure love. It’s currently available in the US in one of the Holiday Trio Nail Sets (with Rouge Noir, Gold Lamé reviewed here and Coromandel reviewed here ). For those who don’t like Chanel, can’t find this shade or don’t want to splurge on a trio for 1 color . . .

The question is: Can you dupe it?

I pulled shades I thought would be similar. Some turned out to be very close, others not so much so. Here is Rouge Noir compared to colors from OPI, NARS, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Rococo Nail Apparel and Dolce & Gabbana.

I’ve swatched these with 1 coat and then 2 coats so you can see the reddish base in virtually all of these. What I find intriguing is Chanel Rouge Noir vs. Chanel Forbidden. In the bottles above, Rouge Noir looks darker. However when swatched the results are different. (See more vampy swatches here in different lighting.)

With a high flash you can see the reddish base colors come out:

One Coat Swatched:

Two Coats Swatched (Thick):

The verdict: Yes, it can be duped! My take: the closest colors I found are Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat and Dolce & Gabbana Dahlia (with 2-3 coats applied).

If you cannot find Chanel Rouge Noir #18 individually, no need to fret. There are quite a few colors that are similar. Even if the colors aren’t an exact dupe, the effect of each are similar enough that you can barely tell the difference from arm’s length. Hope this helps many of you!

A Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat manicure will be featured shortly. Enjoy the last bits of your weekend 🙂