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Thursday 24 October 2013

Veracious Product Review: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup

Hey, everyone! A few weeks ago I gloated about shared with you my latest haul, which included a few (pretty much free!) goodies from Chanel. Among them was an ever-popular foundation, Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15. While heavier coverage, matte-finish foundations are my comfort zone (hence my years-long love affair with Revlon ColourStay), I've been motivated to let some sheerer bases into my life. The philosophy of letting your natural skin shine through while only using heavy coverage where it's needed (for me, on blemishes and post-acne marks) really appeals to me, especially now that my skin has been mostly behaving. So I thought Vitalumiere Aqua would be a good option to help me embrace that makeup mentality!


My first experience with Vitalumiere Aqua was at a Chanel makeover this past summer, where the makeup artist went for a colourful smokey eye and luminous, natural-looking skin. I was really impressed with how the foundation left my skin even and glowy without a greasy feel and without masking my natural skin. Ever since, I was curious to give the foundation another go, so I was happy to bring it home!

Vitalumiere Aqua comes in a sleek, reflective black box with white text and gold accents, as do all of Chanel's offerings.


Here are the full ingredients. As you can see, the formula is water-based, features titanium dioxide as its main sunscreen ingredient, and has alcohol relatively high-up on the list:


The bottle is rectangular and plastic, coloured to match the shade inside. The graphic on the back reminds you that it's important to shake things up before using!


The shiny black plastic cap twists off to reveal a dropper-like spout at the top of the bottle. A definite foreshadowing that the foundation will have a fairly fluid texture.


Here's what a drop or two of the foundation (in B10 Beige) looks like on the back of my hand. I was actually a bit surprised that the texture wasn't more liquid at first! It came out as a little bead of product that didn't quickly drip down my hand:


But upon blending, Vitalumiere Aqua quickly becomes more fluid and sheer, as you can see below!



So I'll first let you know what Chanel has to say about the foundation, then I'll give you my breakdown!

Chanel promises that Vitalumiere Aqua offers "A new-generation texture. An unprecedented sensory experience. A unique makeup result. Rapid and easy application" (from Chanel.com). Dramatic! Vitalumiere Aqua is designed to have a fluid texture, a second-skin effect that evens and brightens, and UVB sun protection. 

Colour Match- B10 Beige is a great colour match for my fair NC15-20 skin. It leans slightly warm but is not too yellow. It's slightly lighter than my summertime skin, but it blends perfectly now that my subtle tan has faded. 

Texture-When squeezing the foundation out of the tube, it isn't instantly fluid. It's more like a light-weight lotion. But upon blending, the watery texture is much more apparent. It feels extremely light and comfortable on the skin!

Application- The first layer of this foundation really blends like a dream! The recommendation is to use fingers to apply, which I find works quite well. It melts right in! You can apply a second layer to add a bit more coverage, but when doing this there's a slight risk of the foundation clinging to dry patches and pores. So exfoliated and primed skin really helps with this. 

Coverage- One layer of this foundation offers light, natural coverage. With a second layer, it builds up to a medium coverage. This will definitely never be a full-coverage foundation, but it's far from ultra sheer. A perfect balance!

Finish- The best way to describe the finish is luminous and natural. It's not quite dewy, not quite matte. Just gives the illusion of skin that's glowy, but not remotely greasy. 

Wear- For a non long-wear, non oily skin-specific foundation, this lasts quite well! It looks  flawless for the first 6 hours, then starts to break down slightly and gradually (begins to disappear from top of forehead, becomes slightly cakey on oilier areas). It does a surprisingly good job at keeping oil at bay, while not drying out the skin. It may not be my pick when I have something to attend after work, but it gets me through the 9-to-5 nicely :)


Here are some pictures of me, completely bare-faced, before giving Vitalumiere Aqua a go:


As you can see, I have some redness to my skin and some reddish marks from past breakouts:


And here are some shots of me wearing Vitalumiere Aqua only! You'll see that it's evened out the redness quite well, while leaving a glow and not completely masking my natural skin:





And here it is in the context of an entire makeup look, topped with powder:



And that's it! This foundation really has been a pleasant surprise. No, it doesn't cover every single flaw in my skin. No, it doesn't stay flawless for 12 hours. But what it does is gets me through the 9 to 5 with natural-looking, radiant skin while blurring redness and imperfections with minimal shine and cakiness. It really is a winner in my books! Chanel products rarely disappoint, and this really is no exception.

Have any of you tried Vitalumiere Aqua? What are some of your favourite natural-finish foundations?

Thanks for reading! :)

43 comments:

  1. The foundation looks so natural on you and evened out the redness so well! I have not tried this but would love to one day. So lucky of you to receive this for free!

    Louise | Vanity Corner

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    1. Thanks! It definitely was one of my best beauty deals ever :)

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  2. wow it looks great on you! I wish i had finer skin so I can use this. but its too sheer for me so i just use the perfection lumiere and its my holygrail so far. :)

    i have new post up! maybe u would like to drop by . ;)
    xx,
    Yappy | littledreamersavenue.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! My skin is far from perfect but this still gives a nice even coverage. Will stop by your blog soon! xo

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  3. I've always wanted to try this but have always worried that it would be just that little bit too sheer, but it actually looks like it gives a nice natural coverage :) xx

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    Replies
    1. It does! Definitely not as sheer as expected. Thanks for stopping by, Sadie! xo

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  4. Thanks for reviewing this! I totally dig the fact that it's quite sheer - it looks really natural on the skin. Thumbs up :)!

    xx
    http://gita-oddsandends.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. It really is natural-looking, but offers decent coverage! :)

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  5. This makes your skin look beautiful, Jen!

    http://maliberrymakeup.blogspot.co.uk

    x

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  6. Thank you for this in depth review. I got the Vitalumiere foundation not too long ago and it was awful. This sounds like a great alternative!
    xoxo
    Kate

    kateberlinsays.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Kate! This really is lovely. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  7. Amazing review! This foundation looks great on you :)

    AddictedtoOPI

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  8. Eeek! I've wanted to try this, and it looks so good on you! But my skin may be too problematic for its lighter coverage. THANKS for the review!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! My skin definitely isn't perfect, but this still works quite well on me! :)

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  9. Wow! What can I say? ... intimidates me!
    Great post! I congratulate the ability and talent to curiosity to me!
    I will always be coming back for more: *


    Regards,
    Katherine Unique


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  10. Great thorough review, This is 1 of my 3 favourite foundations of all time! I don't know if you can get my other favourites in Canada but check out my blog for my fave foundations post :)

    www.tigerlilybeauty.blogspot.com | UK Beauty Blog

    xx

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jennifer! Glad you're loving this too :)

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  11. Hey,

    I am inviting you to enter my Mignon Mignon Giveaway..
    http://www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com/2013/10/mignon-mignon-sunglasses-giveaway.html
    last day to enter and win sunglasses..
    Kisses,
    www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. great post! would you like to follow eachother?
    xx
    daniella
    simplybeautifulelegant.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great post :)

    http://joanasstyle.blogspot.com.es/

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  14. I have heard great things about this foundation and I know that for many people it's a total HG. I haven't tried it myself yet though. I do want to. But I am not sure if my oily skin will get along with it...

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    1. You should! It surprisingly works quite well on my oily skin :)

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  15. perfect for your skin! flawless.

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  16. Wow this makes your skin look so fab! I haven't tried many Chanel make up products but the ones I have tried are really good. I prefer natural finish foundations so I'm really intrigued by this.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Izzy! You should give this a go for sure :)

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  17. This is actually one of my HG foundations... no matter what I do, I always go back to this one :)

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  18. This is a lovely review.. I was ABOUT to buy that foundation but mom said it was too expensive.. above 40 euros in France, INSANE!
    I really like how natural you look with it but my skin has some purple and red hyperpigmentation as I had acne this year and it's very oily. So far I have not found any foundation as good as the revlon colorstay!

    xxx

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    1. Yeah, this is pretty expensive! I didn't think it would work well on my oily skin, but was pleasantly surprised. But ColourStay is definitely still my go-to! xo

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  19. It gives a nice finish! I think you could compare it with Bourjois Healthy Mix?

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    1. Thanks! I find it a bit lighter and thinner than Healthy Mix, and a bit longer-lasting! :)

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All of your lovely comments make my day! Thanks for taking the time to share your musings, ideas, and opinions. Feel free to leave a link to your blog- I'd be happy to check it out :)