Everyone's wearing Chanel's iconic Rouge Noir nail polish for fall—but I found the *ultimate* dupe for under $10

For all my dark red nail lovers out there, I've discovered an almost identical replica of Chanel's iconic "Rouge Noir" shade for $20 less.

The famous hue has, of course, been named as a must-have 'Quiet Luxury' nail color for fall 2023, but alas being that it's Chanel (and not to mention its illustrious reputation), this afore-named nail polish does come with a pretty steep price tag—$32 to be exact. 

And because of that, I'm not about to gatekeep this Chanel Rouge Noir dupe because it's just too darn good and most importantly, affordable!

MIL's fave Chanel Rouge Noir nail polish dupe

While green nails and barely-there nails have been getting a lot of love lately, fall is ushering in an era of classic red hues, with Chanel's shade range leading the way.

Rouge Noir as the name would suggest, coats your nails in a deep, merlot-like maroon color that just looks soo sultry and expensive-looking. There's a reason why it's one of Chanel's signature and perhaps most famous shades—well a ton of reasons actually, one being that it never goes out of style and that it never fails to invoke autumnal vibes.

Annoyingly though, it's $32 for just 0.4 oz which is a hefty price to pay for a nail varnish. This is why, our beauty writer, Naomi Jamieson (aka moi!) has instead turned to Essie's nail lacquer in shade "Bordeaux," which for just $10 offers a very similar wine-red hue. Here's the proof...

For a close Rouge Noir payoff, the sweet spot is three coats of Bordeaux—this will give you that red, almost deep brown look. Alternately, two shades will give you more of a dark crimson look, which is also very in right now. 

The shades are not completely identical, but for a $20 price, any minor difference in Essie's hue can be easily overlooked!

We'd also suggest opting for a short, squared nail look for this shade and applying a layer of nail strengthener (like this one from OPI at Amazon) before your dark red coats, to ensure your nails stay healthy.