Manicure trends come and go, but Rouge Noir sticks. First seen on Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel autumn/winter 1994 ready-to-wear runway, the deep, moody red that veered towards black felt radical at a time when pastel shades were trending. It existed in a liminal space—not quite gothic, not quite classic—and the ambiguity made it intriguing, a little dangerous, and immediately iconic.
Back in the ’90s, it was released as Vamp in some markets (so accurate) and it quickly took on a life of its own. Madonna wore it in the ‘Take a Bow’ music video that November. The same month, Nicole Kidman stepped out with Vamp on her fingertips at the Interview with the Vampire premiere. It was even long rumoured to be the lacquer on Uma Thurman’s nails in Pulp Fiction; the myth was later debunked by timelines, but the association stuck. It became a bestseller—a cult shade that hasn’t left the cultural conversation since. What makes Rouge Noir enduring is the balance. There’s enough black to make it feel neutral but enough red to avoid gothic cliché. It works with just about every skin tone, outfit, and nail length, and has earned permanence on countless vanities.
Now, Chanel has given the cult classic its own universe, anchoring a full limited-edition collection for eyes, lips, and nails, developed with Ammy Drammeh of the Cometes Collective.
Rather than simply splaying the shade across different formats, Drammeh took Rouge Noir apart—both emotionally and chromatically. “Rouge Noir is such an emotional colour—deep, mysterious yet full of light,” she says. When she began studying it closely, holding it up to the light, she noticed unexpected tones hiding beneath the surface: flashes of magentas, soft pinks, even purples. “That’s what makes it universal,” she explains. “Every skin tone brings out a different nuance, a new emotion.”
The idea of contrast—light and dark, softness and intensity—became the backbone of the collection. Drammeh’s moodboard drew from art, food, nature, and old Chanel campaigns, all feeding into a colour palette that feels more dimensional than literal. “I wanted a palette that could move between moods. The metallic red, the soft pink, the magenta, and the duo-chrome highlighter all come from the hidden spectrum within Rouge Noir itself.”
At the heart of the collection is the Rouge Noir Confidence eyeshadow and blush palette, and while it looks bold, it’s surprisingly easy to wear. For those vary of bold colour, Drammeh suggests starting subtly: a wash of the soft pink across the eyelid, then working a touch of magenta or metallic red into the lash line. “It gives a subtle edge without feeling heavy,” she says. Even the highlighter can be worn alone, swept across lids or cheekbones for what she calls an effortless, natural, and luminous Rouge Noir mood.
