New Foundation! Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet

I don’t think I’ve met a CHANEL foundation, I didn’t LOVE!

And now, here’s another one to add to my list of CHANEL beauty faves!

This April, CHANEL launches their latest foundation, Perfection Lumière Velvet! It’s their “lightweight second-skin foundation that naturally smoothes and evens out the complexion with a luminous velvety matt finish” .

I got to sample this beaut and really love it.

First of all, the packaging is gorgeous! It comes in a sleek black, square plastic container and you can definitely see Karl Largerfeld’s influence on this design. I like the fact that it’s plastic, since it makes it easy to travel with, and it’s quite compact as well. Even though its compact, it holds 30ml of product – much like most foundations.

The nozzle is a really great feature as well. How it works, is you squeeze the bottle, and it will release the foundation. A real plus since you don’t waste much and you also don’t end up with those cakey bits of old makeup on the nozzle.

Ok, now for the good stuff!

The consistency of Perfection Lumière Velvet is light and melts into the skin for a flawless finish. It blends beautifully and transforms to an almost powdery finish, but not at all drying.  You don’t feel caked, if you know what I mean.

The only other foundation I have found to have a similar consistency and “transformation” effect is Chanel Vitalumière Aqua, but Lumiere Velvet has a little more coverage, and a little less radiance than aqua.

I tried applying it using numerous methods, but my favourite is with my fingertips or lightly dabbing it into the skin with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

For a smoothing effect, Perfection Lumière Velvet is amazing! It’s got fairly decent coverage and made my skin look doll-like, by tightening up pores and making the skin texture just perfect.

I did need to conceal my uneven pigmentation – but that’s a pretty normal thing for me. My little trick, since this foundation makes the skin quite matt, is to use Vitalumiere Aqua on my forehead (where I have sun damage), just to create more of a glow and add a little light to that area.

Perfection Lumière Velvet  is also lovely if you want to customise your coverage and stick to one to foundation. Since the finish is sheer and adaptable, you can apply it very light for day and then add a few (individual) layers of product, building the level of coverage.

This works I’d say on skin that just needs to even out those minor imperfections, but for something like pigmentation, you’ll probably still need concealer to disguise it.

Colour-wise, the shade I used (B40) is a perfect match to my skintone, and this number is consistent throughout the Chanel Foundation range. I hate having to buy different colours of foundations within the same brand, so I really think that’s a plus with Chanel.

This foundation also has an added SPF 15 and retails at R555.00

Perfection Lumière Velvet launches in South Africa on the 14th April at all Chanel counters.

Try it out when you find yourself at the mall next, and let me know your thoughts.

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