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onsdag den 19. marts 2014

Chanel Rouge Noir 18 - Vamp 18, 5 x 18, The Vamp Triology, comparisons and much more

During the last months I have been trying to collect as much information on the 5 x 18 from Chanel as possible, a development leading to the Chanel Rouge Noir 18 and Chanel Vamp 18 as we know them today - 20 years later!
And since our theme in this Artsy Wednesday is “nerdy”, I thought this story would be a good choice, because the pure joy of being able to post this  probably only makes sense to a true Chanel nerd…

1994:
The first Chanel Rouge Noir – Vamp 18 was released.

The two first bottles in this photo are the original old ones "Made in USA" and "Made in France" - the last bottle is the new bottle, like it looks today!
And viewed from the back - notice that the "Made in USA" had the polish name on the back...

The original Rouge Noir "Made in France" in the middle is a little bit lighter, the other two are basically the same, but the Rouge Noir sold today has a stronger pigmentation - click to enlarge.

The "Made in the USA" version had both names on the bottle and the "Made in France" version was called Rouge Noir 18, without the word Vamp.
It became a huge success, the first year alone the sales surpassed the $ 1 million mark, and no nail polish had ever before sold like that.
When it allegedly was worn by Uma Thurman in the movie Pulp Fiction, it added to the craze.
It even has it's own page on Wikipedia.

- it lead to the "cousins"...
soon (probably not until 1995) Very Vamp and Metallic Vamp were released (I presume as US Limited Editions)  – and the 3 polishes was known as The Vamp Triology Collection.
I will show swatches of them all shortly, but until then you can visit Ommorphia Beauty Bar in this excellent post to see swatches of The Vamp Triology coll.

Apparently Rouge Noir - Vamp 18 was discontinued late 90's, but I do not know for sure if and when - nor if Rouge Noir 18 "Made in France" also was discontinued.

2003:
Vamp 18 (with shimmer) is released and only sold in the USA.

The first version was “Made in USA” and had 780.010 on the box, it is slightly lighter and has a slightly thinner in the formula than the Vamp 18 we know today.
This version was sold from 2003 until late 2007 or the beginning of 2008, thank you so much Kate C. for this piece of the puzzle.
The second version, the one sold today, is “Made in France” with 180.116 on the box, but it is still only sold in the USA.

See comparisons of both versions of Vamp 18 below:


I hope some of you found my nerdy post at least slightly interesting...
When I am truly interested in something I love to dig out as much fact as possible. The Rouge Noir/Vamp search has brought me around the world through the internet, where I met a lot of other caring and sharing Chanel collectors, who believes in sharing information for the mutual benefit of us all.
Having found all the polishes has cost me a fair amount of persistent stalking and money, but is a complete dream-come-through, and I enjoyed every minute of it!

For the holidays 2015 the Chanel Rouge Noir Absolutement collection was released to celebrate Rouge NoirRouge Noir 18, Le Top Coat Lamé Rouge Noir and Rose Fusion 757 - see the swatches HERE!
The caps has red CC's and the box red top and sides:

Swatches of Rouge Noir 18 - Vamp 18 first version with shimmer - Vamp 18 current version

My Chanel links: Stash & swatch list - Collections by year Wish- & swap list  

37 kommentarer:

  1. Very nerdy Maria! I wonder why they didn't just rename the polish when they added shimmer? I guess marketing-wise, they were taking full advantage of the "Vamp" infamy, but they could've easily just called it "High Vamp" or something similar! I have a pet hate for reformulations that aren't renamed, it makes it so tricky to work out whether you're buying the right one.

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    1. Thanks Michelle :)
      Well this all started 20 years ago, and a lot of things change in that time span, also in regards to the components in nail polish. In the US it was called Rouge Noir - Vamp - here in Europe only Rouge Noir, so the basically just cut away the French we reintroducing it in 2003.

      Slet
  2. I agree with Michelle, and have to add that Very Vamp doesn't seem very vampy to me. I'll be looking forward to seeing your swatches.

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    1. Well most of my reply is the same as to Michelle, so please have a look ;)
      I agree that in my mind Vamp is more vampy than the brown/copper toned Very vamp :)

      Slet
  3. If you'd ask me, I'd take them all ;D.

    Kind regards,
    Elena

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    1. Well I don't - I spent so much time and money, so I'm keeping them LOL
      But it was so much fun and very interesting to piece all of this together...

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  4. This is very interseting :) thank you :*****

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    1. I was hoping that thee might be Chanel nerds that like it, thanks Karo!

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  5. god info... synes bare "old made in france" er en anelse lysere, hen i mod vinrød, men det andre to mere brunlig ;-)

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    1. Tusind tak Pia, jeg tror det er din computerskærm der snyder dig ;)

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  6. You are a real Chanel nerd!!! :-)

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  7. ahahha, you seriously amaze me!

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    1. I'm so pleased to hear that LOL - thanks a lot!

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  8. Now that certainly was interesting. I never knew any of that just watch me impress my colleagues

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    1. I'm dying to hear what they said, hope it was fun ;)

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  9. Hi Maria, I haven't kept up with my favourite blogs for such a long time and I'm glad to see you are still Round.

    Some really interesting stuff there, I'm needy just like you and I'm interested in all that too lol. I'm just going to have a look back Nd see some of your pretty nail art X :-)

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    1. It's so very nice to see you back, welcome - I hope you maybe also get back to blogging again :)
      I'm so pleased to hear that you too are nerdy with stuff like this :)

      Slet
  10. I'm not into posh polishes. but this post is very interesting =)

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  11. History of a nail polish, totally love it :)

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    1. Yes, you can call it that too - thank you so much Irmak!

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  12. That's so interesting! Your passion for these polishes really comes through, too.

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    1. I am so happy you find it interesting Nidia - and yes, I am quite passionate about them :)

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  13. lol I love your Chanel "nerdy-ness" :D

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    1. Thank you so much Traci - I am so happy to hear it :)

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  14. Very interesting! :-)! My Rouge Noir bottle looks like your tester, but it also says "13 ml 0,4 FL.OZ." on the front. Now I wish I still had my empty first bottle...

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    1. I'm so glad you think so!
      I think the only difference is that it has been replaced with the tester bit - because normally there would be "13 ml 0,4 FL.OZ." on bottle for sale...

      Slet
  15. Woah, this is an impressive post! I am staggered :)

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    1. Aww, thanks a lot *Ky*, I'm so pleased you found it staggering LOL

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  16. this was fun and educational ;)
    i hate new version of polishes with old names, essence does it regularly :P

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  17. Wow! I didn't know about the shimmer version, really interesting!
    My friend lent it me and I swatched it, but she bought it recently so it's the pretty "new made in France". Stunning shade, anyway!

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    1. I'm so pleased you found it useful, - and yes, it's an amazing shade!!

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  18. Thank you Maria, your post explains much to me. I wondered when i got my Vamp polish recently why it didn't look like the swatches i saw before. Now i know from looking at the box that i own the older 780.010 version made in de USA. And that makes it extra special to me!

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    1. Oh thank you for telling me this smeyanka, it makes me really happy that it was of help to you :)
      And it is very special, and I'm so happy for you, it is a gem :)

      Slet

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