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| Perfection Lumière |
As I mentioned earlier, and in the other post, I've been using this foundation for the last two weeks. I've tried to use it differently every time; with a sponge, with a dampened-down sponge, with a flat foundation brush, with my fingers, with a stippling brush. This foundation is replacing both the older Pro Lumière and Mat Lumière foundations (which will then be discontinued). It's not, as some people mistakenly think, an "upgrade" to Pro Lumière, it's a different finish altogether - this is a semi-matte foundation, not a dewy finish.
The Formula
This is a medium coverage, buildable, semi-matte foundation. It contains powders, so it sets, and it sets pretty quickly. It imparts a luminous semi-matte finish to the face.
Best Application
I found that this foundation applied by far the nicest, and the easiest, and blended the best, and I got the most gorgeous finish with a dampened sponge. Applied with a foundation brush or a dry sponge works fine, but you do need to work a bit quickly with it. Applied with fingers, it can look a little dryer on more mature skin or dryer skins and be a little harder to blend. That said, you can spritz it with something like MAC Fix+ when you've finished applying it, and the finish will look a little less powdery. It contains two different types of powders, so it is self-setting, so you may find you don't need to powder it (I don't, and I have an "active" t-zone). Considering the amount of silicone in it, it's a little tricky to blend, but you just need to remember to work quickly with it. It didn't apply any more particularly easy over a primer, or a moisturiser (you do need to at least moisturise before you apply it).
Buildability
Chanel claim that this foundation can be layered. I agree, as long as you're applying it with a sponge or brush, and letting it set each time in between (which happens quickly enough). If you use a damp sponge you can vary the coverage from a little more sheer to a medium coverage base. If you mix with a little luminiser and a little moisturiser, you'll get a very usable sheer foundation. There are twenty shades (of which we'll see sixteen in Ireland) so there are a lot of shade and tone variations. I have found that this foundation tends to wear-in a little darker after a few minutes on the skin, for example, generally I would wear a 30 in Chanel foundations (B30 in Vitalumière Aqua), and about a half shade lower than that in the winter (mixing a 20 and a 30), but I use a 20 in this and it looks fine on me with just the tiniest bit of warming-up after with a bronzer.
Wearability
It wears beautifully. Chanel claim that it can give your skin a radiance and translucency and luminosity. I don't agree with the first two claims, but, I do agree that it does give skin a certain luminosity considering it is a semi-matte formulation (I would say in the same subtle way that the Chanel Lumière Sculptée highlighter imparts a luminosity, but not an obvious highlight). It's not dewy or "glowy" or "sheeny", but it's also not a dead chalky matte look. Once you know how to use it correctly.
Lastability
This is a long-wear foundation. Purporting to last fifteen hours, I can certainly confirm that it has lasted me all day, everytime I used it, with no wearing- off. It's a serious contender for long-wear makeup bases. It looked just as fresh and flawless at the end of the day, with either cream or powder products on top, and irrespective of how I'd applied it in the first instance. I've been using it on my (extremely) combination and (slightly) maturing skin for the last two weeks, so it's safe to say that it will work on most skin types.
One caveat. It contains silicone. This is a Pro if you want long-wear no-budge makeup. This is a Con if you don't like silicone, or if you don't have a decent makeup-remover (it takes a bit of effort to remove this stuff; I have found that oil-based or melting-type makeup removers work best). For this reason, I won't wear it every day. Another (really minor picky) Con - it does have a faint scent that I really don't like. But I can live with it, and it fades after about a half an hour.
Skin Care
It contains SPF10. Ten. This is completely and utterly pointless. I will say no more.
Recommended?
Yes. I will repurchase. I like this, there's a ramp-up in terms of knowing how to use it correctly, but once you're past that, it's a brilliant foundation. Previously, I would have turned to Makeup Forever Mat Velvet+ but I think I shall be using Chanel Perfection Lumière from now on (when I want a matte base).
Disclaimer
Many thanks to the Chanel marketing rep for sending me out a sample of this foundation (Perfection Lumière) for my trial. Note however that all the other Chanel foundations mentioned in the first post were all 100% purchased by me for my own use.