Chanel Perfection Lumière Foundation

For the past few months, I didn't wear any foundation because it didn't seem to make any noticeable difference to me.  But when Chanel launched their new foundation, Perfection Lumière, I decided to give it a try.

I have used Mat Lumière and Vitalumière Aqua previously.  They were good but not good enough to make a huge difference - Mat Lumière was ok but I found lasting power wasn't that great, Vitalumière Aqua was a bit too much like a tinted moisturiser for me.

I was offered two samples at the Chanel counter, Beige 30 & 40, and was very glad the sales assistant did so.  Perfection Lumière offers an unprecedented colour range for Chanel foundations, and as a result I found colours vary from the usual shading scale.

In the photo below, you can see Perfection Lumière is more yellow based than Mat Lumière & Mat Lumière.  There is also a big difference between 30 Beige & 40 Beige.  Beige 30 ended up being a better match for me - the UK winter made me a bit paler and Perfection Lumière runs a bit darker than the other foundations.

Colours aside, what impressed me was the finish and the lasting power of Perfection Lumière.  I would say Perfection Lumière is medium/full coverage (depending on how much you apply) and gives a slightly velvet matte finish, whilst still reflecting light in such a way that made my skin look almost perfect.  Even my boyfriend noticed I looked better than usual but couldn't quite point out what it was.

I have oily/combination skin and this foundation lasts the whole day for me.  Usually I look shiny by mid afternoon but with Perfection Lumière, sometimes I wouldn't need to touch up until six o'clock.

The only thing I dislike about this foundation is the smell.  The foundation is fragranced and smells like the Hydramax moisturisers (a fresh peachy smell which I love).  But I've found the fragrance serves to mask a smell that is apparent when you first apply the foundation.  The strange smell only lasts for maybe two seconds but it still bothers me.

I personally love this foundation but have read conflicting reviews on Makeupalley (emphasising flakey skin/oxidisation etc), so please try this foundation while they still have samples of every shade at the counters.