Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Review

I'm so totally late onto the Vitalumiere Aqua bandwagon, but I'm going to post this anyway.

I picked up Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation from Boots last month.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

I was matched to B30 - Beige Sable which is generally a good match for my skintone. Although  the Beige range is supposed to be for skin with yellow undertones (as opposed to the Beige Rose, or BR numbers) it does still lean slightly pinkish on my incredibly yellow complexion. However that is probably a good thing as I don't really want to look so sallow, so this perks up my colour a bit without making me look odd.

I won't beat about the bush. I love this foundation. The texture is very light and creamy after you've given the bottle a good shake. This is the key, you MUST shake it really well to mix the components together. It's a water based foundation so it separates easily each time you put back in your make-up bag. Remember the shake and you're all set.

The bottle is compact and plastic, light and easy to carry which I love. It's still the standard Chanel foundation size of 30ml, but minus the heavy glass bottle which I find impractical and bulky. I'm all about convenience, me.

I like to use this with a standard flat foundation brush, but it works fine with fingers too. It blends into my skin beautifully leaving a gorgeous natural matte finish. It's not a glowy foundation like the original Vitalumiere, which I used to use a good few years ago, but it doesn't make the skin look completely flat either. As it settles and 'warms up' the skin takes on a very natural 'glow' without going shiny.

Coverage is good and there is obviously a decent amount of pigment in such a light feeling product. I would say that it gives light coverage which is buildable to medium. It evens out the skin so beautifully and makes concealing those darker blemishes and scars much easier as it minimises them significantly with just one thin layer.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (B30): Straight out the bottle (left), blended in slightly (centre) and blended out to almost nothing (right)

I find I don't need to powder at all when I use this. I rarely powder anyway, but sometimes with the Vitalumiere original and with the Prolumiere too I needed to add a dusting of powder. For your reference my skin type is combination-dry but I reckon that oiler skin types could use this happily with just a small amount of powder if necessary.

It has a fresh, slightly floral scent which I really like. I generally don't like face make-up to be scented but this is a really pleasant, non-headache-inducing smell. 

Staying power is between 6-8 hours of perfection without a primer. To be honest I haven't tried this with a primer yet, partly because I've been lazy and haven't been using one. For special occasions I will prime, promise!

This has been such a great everyday foundation for me when I don't wear my BB cream. It's natural, makes me look 'fresh', and feels so light on the skin. When I look in the mirror and forget that I've put foundation on I think that's the best sign of all.

Knocks spots off Pro Lumiere and Vitalumiere (original). My sampling of the new Perfection Lumiere tells me that I still prefer Vitalumiere Aqua. Perfection Lumiere is geared towards medium- heavy coverage and is more matte. What you would prefer pretty much depends on what you're looking for in a foundation but in my case Vitalumiere Aqua wins hands down. 

£31.00 in the UK from department stores and Boots

€39.50 (prices vary) in Belgium and the Netherlands

Have you tried this?