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 Noir: Rouge 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