Late-Night Swatches : Chanel Le Crayon Khôl 17 Rouge Noir

When the Chanel Rouge Noir Holiday 2015 Collection arrived, I was steadfast in the studio, finalising design concepts and preparing my boards for D-Day. I was lusting over the Illusion d'Ombre Rouge Noir on Safari while CAD-ding on another desktop, and immediately placed my order at my local Chanel counter before it gets sold out. After 10 days straight at the studio, with only 3-4 hours of sleep every night, I have successfully pitch my design on the Sungai Lembing VIC (A/W15 still pending, but you can view it here), and it was finally the day I could pick up my personal Chanel trinket as a reward for being a relentless CAD machine. 

I reached the counter..... My heart dropped. 

Chanel has placed my reservation on the wrong Illusion d'Ombre. 

I was still adamant to own something from the Rouge Noir line. Come on, Rouge Noir is the epitome of Chanel. It celebrated their iconic Le Vernis de Chanel Rouge Noir which was their best selling nail polish, a beautiful blackened red, up to this day. Rouge Noir wasn't just a "trendy winter colour", it was a celebration of history and the success of Chanel. Something about the way this colour was created, fascinated and inspired me. But then again, I was a zombie for a couple of weeks, and Rouge Noir (in a way) has motivated me during my finals, so there's that. Since I wanted to still be a part of the Rouge Noir comeback, I picked up Le Crayon Khôl 17 Rouge Noir (MYR75), and never looked back. 

It. was. So. Much. Better. 

I swatched the Illusion d'Ombre Rouge Noir in stores, many many times. I expected the iconic blackened red, but it swatches a deep chocolate instead, with red and gold sparkles added to the colour. It was still gorgeous as a wash of colour, but reminded me so much of a similar colour in the Illusion d'Ombre, Ebloui , which is a part of their permanent collection. I'm a little let down with the Illusion d'Ombre Rouge Noir because it did not really live up to its name, but Rouge Noir Le Crayon Khol was exactly the Rouge Noir that I wanted. 

Left Photo (without flash) : heavy swatch, blended out

Right Photo (with flash) : light swatch, heavy swatch, blended out

Chanel Le Crayon Khôl 17 Rouge Noir has a complexity and elegance to the colour. It swatches heavy as a blackened red, and blends out beautifully with tinge of plums and chocolates to it. When blended out, you will notice a faint wash of classic Chanel sparkles - a mixture of lilacs and silver sparkles. The liner glides on smoothly on the lid without any tugging, and is easily smudged out for a wash of colour. Sometimes I feel like I'm using a cream shadow because it is so soft texture-wise. It isn't a waterproof liner, so you may want to prime the lids well to avoid having panda eyes. I would suggest to set your eye makeup with the faintest amount of the Chanel Loose Translucent Powder, too, just to be sure. 

Left Photo : applied as a liner

Right Photo : blended out for a wash of colour

I find that you also need to line your waterline with a nude beige/white liner to counteract any redness from your eyes. Since I'm applying this at 1.00 a.m. in the morning, and I was super tired, the redness in my eyes was quite obvious on-camera (with flash). It isn't something to put me off this liner though because it is a solvable issue. I've paired the look with a wash of Mary Lou Manizer on the mobile lids to add more shimmer to the eyes, as well as the inner corners. I've used the Chanel Inimitable Mascara which I have purchased together with Le Crayon Khôl 17 Rouge Noir. 

Photo : Rouge Noir 

I absolutely love this liner and will be purchasing a back-up, just in case it won't be added on to Chanel's permanent collection. I heard that the Rouge Noir Collection might make it, so let's hope for the best *fingers crossed*. Definitely recommend this liner. If you particularly have hazel eyes like mine, please give it a go!! It is such a beautiful product with an affordable price tag, too. Seventy five ringgit. It's way cheaper than Aiman's vape flavours. Yes, that is how I justify most of my purchases. Hahahahaha. I hope you've enjoyed this session of Late-Night Swatches! Good night.

x FARAH