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

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.

review and swatches chanel vitalumière aqua
review and swatches chanel vitalumière aqua

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"

review and swatches chanel vitalumière aqua

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.

review and swatches chanel vitalumière aqua

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.

review chanel vitalumière aqua
review chanel vitalumière aqua

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.
review chanel vitalumière aqua vs teint miracle diorskin clarins teint haute tenue

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!

18 comments

  1. I enjoy reading your reviews, Annebeth. Eerlijk, informatief én met duidelijk voor en na effect. Veel beautyblogs promoten nu gewoon merken voor 't geld zonder echt resultaat te tonen (enkel een foto van de verpakking), zetten er enkele zinnen erbij die neerkomen op 'I love it' en dat vind ik eerlijk gezegd een beetje (veel) misleidend... Jou geloof ik dus echt wel. Kan ook niet anders: wat een resultaat! Ik denk dat ik ook iets van Chanel ga vragen aan de Sint ;-) Btw: meer beautyposts graag!

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  2. fijn dat je ze goed vindt! ik vind het ook superleuk om beauty posts te doen (vooral reviews), jammer genoeg ben je voor reviews wel telkens toegewezen op het bespreken van iets "nieuws" en ik zie mezelf niet meerdere malen per week iets nieuws kopen gewoon om te reviewen, dus tenzij ik ineens vanalles toegestuurd krijg kan ik er niet iets vast/regelmatigs van maken :D

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  3. Hmm heel overtuigend Annebeth! Ik overweeg er zelfs mijn bobbi brown BB even voor in te ruilen.. :-) Spannend!

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  4. gewoon even ici paris xl binnenspringen voor een tester! vragen of ze een potje vullen met jouw kleur, dan kan je em zelf een dagje testen :)

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  5. Goed idee! Ik ga normaal altijd naar INNO en daar geven ze geen testers zonder dat je iets koopt :-( Ici Paris, here I come ;-)

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  6. what laura said! maar ik blijf erbij dat je EERST NOG EFFE SNEL jane iredale moet uittesten ook!

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  7. ga proberen doen! deze week druk, volgende week spring ik binnen bij parfuma :)

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  8. Mooi review :) Ik zocht zelf ook een nieuwe lightweight foundation, dus na deze review even bij ici paris binnengegaan. Zelf heb ik ook de lichtste kleur nodig, maar eenmaal aangebracht: OMG it oxidises like a mofo.
    serieus! ik geraak perfect weg met bourjouis healty mix 51, dus ik sta voor een raadsel hier.

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  9. - heb je goed geschud voor gebruik? Je moet echt vrij lang schudden als het product al een tijdje niet meer is gebruikt, anders zijn de bestanddelen gescheiden
    - welke tint was de lichtste in jouw ici paris xl? want ik heb bij sommige de B10 niet gezien, bijv, en die is echt het allerlichtst

    ik heb niks gemerkt van oxidatie, ik heb daar ook een bloedhekel aan. Ik moet wel zeggen dat de Bourjois Healthy mix 51 aan de lichte kant is voor mij, en de Chanel VA BR12 ietsjes donkerder is dan mijn nek, dus die twee zijn niet even licht.

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  10. These reviews have been great! Rather than a mish-mash of comparisons in one post, each product got it's own review all with pros and cons, as well as notes about how the foundation worked best for *you* which is always great to include :) and I loved this summary! It's always great to be more informed about (what I consider) high end products as it's a lot to spend if they don't work out.

    Thanks!

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  11. Happy to help! And yeah, especially for high end products it's SO nice to have some review from other people before you take the plunge.

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  12. This is so awesome. I feel like our skin is really similar. I tend to have dry skin with areas of redness around my cheeks and nose. I bought Baressentials which looks great in summer when my skin isn't as dry but tends to show off my dry patches in winter. I'm going to try this foundation! It's great to have someone with similar skin help you to pick something! Especially when they aren't cheap.

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  13. I can definitely recommend Chanel VA if you find a good colour match, it's SUCH a beautiful foundation and it works great for my skin!

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  14. Flawless indeed! Helaas kan ik mij geen 30+ euro foudation permitteren dus ik hou het voorlopig bij Bourjois Healthy mix serum ;) maar ik hou zeker je reviews in het oog!

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  15. In mijn Ici Paris XL was B10 de lichtste, en die heb ik getest. Aangezien ik een sample potje had gekregen kon ik hem natuurlijk niet echt schudden maar hij zag er toch helemaal niet gescheiden uit toen ik hem later op de dag testte…
    Ik heb eigenlijk een vrij normale huid, in de winter misschien ietsje droog langs de kaaklijn. Eigenlijk niet droog 'genoeg' om een écht dewy finish elke dag te gebruiken.
    Gebruik jij een primer? Ik nooit, misschien dat het daaraan ligt…


    Thanks voor de awesome-ass reviews!

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  16. normaal zie je ook echt wel als de formule gescheiden is, dus dat kan het niet zijn. Misschien is de PH waarde van je huid niet compatibel met de foundation of zo, heel vreemd dat hij zo reageerde! En nee, ik gebruik geen primer.

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  17. Can u tell is vitalumeire Aqua more natural or diorskin nude which of them doesnot show off on the skin??

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  18. Hi Kinza! I'd say they are pretty similar in being light and very skin-like in finish, especially if you can find a good colour match. Diorskin has a drier finish and will remain non-shiny longer, while Chanel VA becomes a bit dewier after a while. I also feel like Chanel VA has slightly more coverage. Hope that helps!

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