Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Review

And I'm back with another high end foundation review. Today, I'm trying Chanel Vitalumière Aqua, a very popular foundation among make up artists and beauty bloggers. If so many people vouch for a product, it must be good, right? Well, spoiler alert: it is. 

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua retails at 33.61€ at Ici Paris XL, and comes in a relatively limited range of shades. The BR (Beige Rosé) shades have a cool undertone, the B (Beige) shades have a warm/neutral undertone, and the BA (Beige Ambre) shades have a warm undertoon. I'm using the lightest cool toned shade here, which is BR12. This shade is a great match for my skin, even though I thought it would be too pink when I saw it in the tube. 

The product has a water base, which means you have to shake it well before you use it as the product can separate in the tube. This is not an issue for me. The foundation is thin, light and somewhere between creamy and runny: not watery, but not dry or thick either. Velvetty would be the word I'd use to describe the texture.review and swatches chanel vitalumière aqua

As you can see, Chanel Vitalumière Aqua actually has very good coverage for a foundation that claims to be light! However, its coverage is completely different from the one I got from Clarins Teint Haute Tenue in a way that is remarkable but hard to explain. Let me try: whereas Clarins HT visibly covered my uneven skintone with a layer of colour, Chanel VA seems to simply make any sort of imperfection disappear. It does not look like I've covered anything up, because the texture and finish are so skin-like: it just seems like I have perfect skin. I usually get product buildup in the pores next to my nose, but the Chanel Vitalumière Aqua just glides on and leaves me with the skin I wish I was born with. You simply don't see anything that points to "hey, she's wearing something on her face!". And that's pretty amazing.

As you can see, the colour match is very good, but there's still the tiniest difference between my jawline and my neck. However, this was not noticeable in real life, and since my face is several shades darker than my neck, I sort of feel like this actually makes the end result more realistic? It reduces the colour discrepancy without removing it completely. I also love how this closeup shows how Chanel Vitalumière Aqua seems to give the skin along my jawline a luminosity that is simply not there in the skin along my neck, which seems much "flatter".

As always, I also show the product with a full face of make up on. Products used:

- Sleek Face Form kit in Light (contouring and highlighting powder)
- Gemey Maybelline Volum' Express mascara
- & Other Stories eyebrow powder "4"
- Mac lipstick in Velvet Teddy
- Park Avenue blush "01"

The beauty of this foundation is even more clear when you see it incorporated in a full face of make up. I literally ran up to my boyfriend (I can get a bit hyper sometimes) and enthousiastically told him that I didn't think my face had ever looked this amazing. Satin/velvetty, glowing, perfect, zero imperfections to be seen. A close up shows this even more clearly.

Like, woah. I'm in love.With my own face. I also made an effort to photograph this foundation after a full day of wear, 12+ hours. The lighting is artificial, but it still shows what it needs to show.

Of course, like most foundations, Chanel Vitalumière Aqua wears off after a certain amount of time. The satin finish becomes more dewy after a few hours of wear, but this can be remedied easily by applying a prime or using blotting papers/setting powder during the day. If you don't use any of those, you'll end up with what you're seeing here. Aka great skin. I can't get over how fresh and healthy this products makes me look throughout the day, as no other foundation has ever done that for me. Sure, Clarins had better staying power, but it did not make my skin look like it was naturally amazing. Just compare the end of the day pictures for Chanel with those that I took for Clarins Teint Haute Tenue. The glow makes all the difference.

Time for a comparison of all the four products I've reviewed up until now.

Let's recapitulate: after trying multiple different drugstore (Hema, Max Factor Smooth Effect, Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse, Bourjois Healthy Mix, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream) and high end foundations (Lancôme Teint Miracle, Diorskin Nude, Clarins Teint Haute Tenue and Chanel Vitalumière Aqua), I've discovered what makes a foundation perfect for my aesthetic preferences and fair, prone to redness, cool toned, dry-normal skin.

I don't like a true matte finish, because it only emphasizes my skin's imperfections (dry patches, uneven skintone) rather than make them disappear. A true dewy finish isn't my thing either, because a foundation that applies dewy just ends up feeling oily after a few hours, and melts off my skin in the T-zone. For me, a satin finish is best because it has a "glow from within" look that closely mimics perfect, make up less skin. This doesn't stay as well as matte finishes, but I don't mind using some powder throughout the day.

With regards to wear, I don't necessarily need my make up to remain as flawless as when it was first applied, but I'm sick of drugstore foundations leaving my face look patchy at the end of the day because some bits have retained product while others have not. I prefer make up that fades evenly.

Colourwise, I feel like I've often used foundations that are either slightly too dark (which makes me look obviously made up) or slightly too pale (which makes me look ill) in the past. Experimenting with different colours is definitely worth it, because the right colour will make you look healthy and glowing. A good colour match remains imperative. I'm lucky to have a cool undertone that leans neutral, which means I can wear various undertones well, but a cool undertone makes me look healthiest.

THE VERDICT

- dewiest finish: Lancôme Teint Miracle

- best coverage: Clarins Teint Haute Tenue

- best staying power: a tie between Clarins Teint Haute Tenue and Diorskin Nude

- most natural: a tie between Diorskin Nude and Chanel Vitalumière Aqua

- best balance between matte and glow: Chanel Vitalumière Aqua

- most flawless end result: Chanel Vitalumière Aqua

WINNER

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua

I think I'm going to buy this product to use eeeeeveryday. I'll be so pretty ALL THE TIME
I hope you've enjoyed these reviews, and if you have questions/recommendations/requests: keep em coming!