Chanel Rouge Noir vs Revlon Vixen (Comparison!)

Chanel Rouge Noir was first released in the mid-90s and officially brought into cult status when Uma Thurman wore it in Pulp Fiction. If you don't believe how iconic this polish is, check out it's own Wikipedia page. I think the best way to describe this sexy blood red polish is in one word: classic. So of course, there has to be a dupe... right? Enter Revlon Vixen; a deep, vampy red. Let's take a look at how they compare.

I don't think my skin has ever looked this pale !

The main difference in between the two is that Vixen has a sort of jelly quality, whereas Rouge Noir has, dare I say, a blood-like consistency. Rouge Noir's application is fantastic, I can not gush enough about it, it is just amazingly buttery and pigmented. On the other hand, Vixen takes a lot of patience and practice. It leaves bald spots, no matter how long I wait between coats, and takes a lot longer to dry. It is frustrating to work with... I think the bald spots are still apparent in the picture above! Just to show the pigmentation, here they are with one coat each:

Final thoughts: Color wise, unless you inspect the polishes closely, they are identical. Rouge Noir is shinier than Vixen but it is nothing a top coat can not solve. I love Chanel Rouge Noir and I do recommend it over Vixen. As a nail polish fanatic, I feel like I own a piece of history with a bottle of this. However, if you don't want to spend upwards of $25 on dark red polish, and don't mind the application issues, give Vixen a go ;)
Note: Rouge Noir is part of the permanent line up at Chanel counters here in Canada, but I believe it is only released as part of certain collections in the US.

Edit- Eugenia from OmmorphiaBeautyBar has an excellent post on the history of Chanel Vamp. Click here to see it!