Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet - review

This launched in-store on the 11th of April and I've been using it on and off for the last three weeks.  I personally think that this is a great foundation if you want an off-matte finish that feels weightless on the skin.  Bear in mind though, that this won't work for everyone...

Coverage

This is a reasonably decent medium-coverage foundation that employs some trickery to make it look (and feel) like a much lighter coverage foundation, but still (courtesy of some phenomenal levels of pigmentation) with wonderful coverage for blemishes, redness and hyper-pigmentation.  It's even recommended that you can use this (dab it on with your fingers) as a concealer - this works reasonably well, bit it's still no replacement for a heavier duty concealer, if that's what you need.


Finish

Per Chanel, this is a "really lightweight second-skin foundation that naturally smoothes and evens-out the complexion with a luminous velvety matte finish".  That describes it to a tee.  In the same way that Perfection Lumiere has a gorgeous luminous (but extremely matte) finish, this has a beautiful luminous velvet finish - an off-matte (somewhere in between satin and matte) slightly textured velvet finish.

Wearability

I get more or less a standard eight-hours wear out of this.  Maybe an hour more.  It fades reasonably uniformly.  You won't need a primer, but feel free to wear one to extend - slightly - the life of the foundation on the skin (just make sure it's a silicone based one).  This foundation feels lovely and light, almost non-existent, on the skin.


Shades & Undertones

There aren't too many of these - Beige Rosé 22, Beige 10, Beige 20, Beige 30, Beige 40 , Beige 50.  There are a few darker shades available in the US market, and there are a couple of lighter shades available in the Asian market.  Beige 20 (as with most Chanel formulations) works perfectly for me, if anything I'd say it might be very slightly paler on my skin than most Chanel Beige 20 shades of other foundations.


Best Applied With

Fingers are recommended for application - and they work fine - but I have found that I prefer a paddle brush or a buffer brush.  I don't particularly like this with a sponge, and it doesn't really work with a damn sponge.  It blends very nicely, and builds up somewhat from light-medium to heavy-medium coverage, but no more.  It doesn't really sheer-out terribly well, in my personal experience.


Formulation

This is a water-based foundation, with quite a thin formulation, slightly creamier than liquid.  It needs a decent shaking-to before using it.  It contains a hefty dose of silicones.  And alcohol.  A smattering of minerals, mica, talc and silica.


Best Suited To

Normal through combination through slightly oily or slightly dry skin types will work fine along with this foundation.  It won't work with extreme skin types; given the alcohol and silicones, it's not going to suit anyone with particularly dry skin (but to be honest very matte foundations don't tend to).  It's not going to suit anyone with very oily skin either.  After a week or so of constant use, I found that some of the oilier ares of my skin (around my nose) were drier and very slightly patchy.  I'm not convinced that this was due to the foundation, but it was the only change to my regimen at the time, so it seemed likely.


Skincare, Flashback, SPF, Price?

This contains SPF 15 - I haven't found it flashes back particularly however, despite titanium dioxide presenting very high up in the ingredients listing.  €39.50 will buy you a 30ml bottle.  Look here for more info.  Recommended?  Why not.  But it really is a one-usage one-coverage foundation, it's not a multi-use, and it's not for all skin types.