Chanel No. 5 Rouge Allure Velvet Review & Swatches
No. 5
Chanel No. 5 Rouge Allure Velvet ($37.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a rich red with subtle, cool undertones and a satin finish. It had nearly opaque pigmentation with a smooth, velvety texture that was incredibly lightweight and thin without feeling clingy. The color applied evenly across my lips and never dragged or tugged on them during application. It wore well for over six hours, left a faint stain behind, and was hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay 714 (P, $19.00) is less glossy (95% similar).
- Chanel Rouge Cosmique (148) (LE, $40.00) is more shimmery, glossier (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever C404 (DC, $22.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (95% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Goddess (202) (PiP, $30.00) is darker, warmer (95% similar).
- Maybelline Ruby for Me (P, $7.49) is lighter, glossier (95% similar).
- MAC A Rose in Harlem (LE, $19.00) is darker (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Santa Sangre (LE, $19.00) is less glossy (95% similar).
- MAC Patrick Woo (LE, $19.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Hourglass My Icon Is (P, $34.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Clinique Roses are Red (P, $19.50) is warmer, glossier (95% similar).
Formula Overview
$45.00/0.12 oz. - $375.00 Per Ounce
The Rouge Allure Velvet formula is supposed to be a "non-drying matte lipstick" with "intensely rich, long-wearing colour" and has a "velvet matte finish." Over time, I felt like the formula has improved and is actually non-drying (the original launch did not wear well on me) to lightly drying (seen more in shades that have lasted six to eight hours). The pigmentation varies from shade to shade but is usually semi-opaque to opaque with a semi-matte to satin finish. The texture had a velvety, glide-on feel that doesn't feel particularly creamy or wet, yet the lipstick is comfortable to wear over the four to six hours it typically lasts for. Like most Chanel lip products, they have a rosy scent but no discernible taste.
Browse all of our Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet swatches.
Ingredients
YUMMY.
OMG. It looks so gorgeous and sexy on you Christine! Paired with that eye look and black outfit…is to die for! I guess this lipstick is coming with me. Not too cool, not too shiny, it seems like it’s a winning formula.
I don’t need another red Chanel lipstick. Or any red lipstick, for that matter. But this one sure is stunning!
Ok. I need help!!
In this general basic red shade range, I already own Chanel Pirate, Guerlain #21, MAC Russian Red, Ladybug, and Ruby Woo, KVD Hellbent, and ABH Ruby. But I am starting to feel that “need” for Chanel #5.
Can anyone either talk me out of it or give me a good justification for buying it?
Kind of feel like you have a good amount of reds already! It’s a nice red, to be sure, but it’s not a crazy variation on a traditional red, IMO.
So how long does a lipstick last if you don’t open it? I see this is a limited edition, so maybe I can buy it buy it and put it away until I use up one of my reds. Yeah, right…that’ll happen!!! 😀
No. 5 looks very, very close to Russian Red when I do “compare any two” on my computer screen. Does it seem that way in person?
Yes, they are very similar!
Well, that’s good news and bad news! Lol Thanks for checking!
Because…it’s called Chanel No. 5. 😉
I’m with you. I need no more reds. But I’ll be buying this red. LOL.
Lol, exactly…the name. And the red tube! I just noticed that. (But honestly, I don’t like Chanel’s pushbutton design. I prefer their Rouge Coco tubes.) I am going to try to resist this one.
I did it. I couldn’t help it. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. 😀
Where did you find it? I’ve been unable to find it anywhere online, through the affiliate links and elsewhere?
I bought it directly through Chanel’s U.S. website. No shipping charge and two perfume samples included!
That lipstick is absolutely stunning – a perfect red that can be worn in any season. And I love your eye look too.
Red perfection! If I hadn’t seen MAC x Selena Como La Flor as a possible dupe for this, I would so have to have this! ??
Just this afternoon, I was going through a small cookie tin of red l/s, and had put aside 3 to ‘retaste,’ (I have limited sense of smell) and wear. One was, you guessed it, Chanel Red #5. Nothing like this. The formula is Hydrabase, more sheer and more shimmery, and the color is a pinky red, very cool. Too ironic. They don’t even hit the 50% dupe level…but have the same name. Hardly surprising that Chanel recycled it, it being their most iconic scent. Looked I the ‘fume up up: May, 1921, to selected clientele, by the couturier/nose, Coco. 2018 says #5 better than the oldie. I wish I had the habit of writing the month/year of acquisition on l/s the way I do for batteries. I suspect it was a 90s color.
Hydrabase must have been discontinued a solid five years ago at this point, I think. I know I purged through a 100 or so Chanel lipsticks about a year ago because they had too many formula reiterations since, lol, and I knew they had to be old!
Old is very relative, when you’re 70, lol. And staying power seems to be a factor of the preservative. #5 is not bad, but may be going… No color change at all. Some throw aways are instantly obvious. The core color isn’t the outer color, ick. Some, like Nars, the rubberized case deteriorates far before the product. Unlike most…I think…i’m a big fan of preservatives. Old has more memories and associations.
True enough, KJH!
This is a to buy. Just for the name itself. Color is nice too.
Also, not like Tom Ford $60 for a limited red lipstick.
Dang! Gorgeous. What can I say? I do have 999 but rarely wear it due to that Dior scent. Always loved Charnel and resisted buying it. Hmmm
I ordered this the minute it was available. How special to have a No 5 lipstick, a beautiful strawberry red on me. I’m enjoying the 3 lipsticks that I have from this red case numbered collection.
Christine, how faint is the stain left behind? I love stains!
I don’t have much natural pigment, so it shows up visibly on me, but it would come off with remover easily.