REVIEW: Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

Hello, gorgeous girls! I apologize for my inactivity (reading your blogs) lately. I've been feeling a little under the weather and unmotivated to do much with makeup (besides shop for it... somehow that never gets old!). So, I've managed to acquire a lot of cosmetics recently but haven't felt up to blogging about them or reading every blog in my blogroll.  I hope you'll forgive me.

What I have been managing to do is put this $55 Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation in Beige 30 through the paces! I've worn it over regular moisturizer, tinted moisturizer, silicone-based primer, silicone-free primer, and bare skin.  I've worn it with and without powder. I've applied it with the Sephora Airbrush #55, beauty blender sponge, and good old fingers.  How did it fare? Read on!

The colormatch is awesome, probably the best I've ever had.  This is essential because this is a medium-to-full-coverage foundation and you don't want any lines.  The foundation blends beautifully with any application method (brush, sponge, fingers), but I do have this complaint: it dries quickly so you'll want to apply it a bit at a time rather than dabbing on each facial region like you might with other foundations.

Applied over tinted moisturizer with fingers:

From this angle, the coverage looks great in the photo but it seems my neck and face don't match (in person they do, I promise.  I actually applied the foundation all down my neck so the issue must be with the light).

I feel that the appearance of foundation was lightest and most natural with the Sephora #55 brush, medium with the damp beauty blender sponge, and heaviest-looking applied with fingers.  What's unexpected about this is I needed 6 pumps for brush application, 4 pumps with the sponge, and less than three pumps with my fingers!  It goes to show that the brush provides the best look, in my opinion, but wastes the most product.  You'll want to consider that with this foundation's $55 price tag.

Applied over non-silicone primer with the Sephora #55 Airbrush, topped with Rimmel Stay Matte powder in 001 Translucent:

It's actually a great match in person, but I believe the powder and lighting throw off the color slightly.

Even though it wastes the most of this pricey product, I much prefer the brush application with Perfection Lumiere because the coverage looks the most natural in the end and it's the easiest to work with.  I think I'll alternate days using this and Boscia BB cream applied with the beauty blender (my favorite application method with that product) so I don't run out of Perfection Lumiere too quickly.

One thing that must be mentioned about Perfection Lumiere in regards to the feel on the skin is that it is nearly weightless with any application method! There is slightly more "non-existence" to its feel with the brush application, but even applied the heaviest with my fingers it feels much lighter than Revlon Colorstay or Photo Ready, or MUFE HD.  It can transfer but I found it to be much more transfer-resistant than those foundations as well.  Of course, if you put a primer underneath you'll feel the weight of that which is kind of a bummer.

I could nearly wear this foundation over bare skin in the warmer months. I wouldn't call it "moisturizing" by any stretch of the imagination, but my skin can pack enough oil to make it possible to wear with nothing underneath when the weather isn't drying it out and causing flakiness. 

If you have normal-to-dry skin, of course you will want to apply a moisturizer underneath.  I saw no difference in wear-time with any kind of moisturizer I tried (I used Dermalogica active moist, which has no tint and supplies the most moisture of those tested; My HG, Origins Vitazing which gives the most "dewey" appearance of moisturizers tested; and Stila Illuminating Moisturizer, SPF 20, which is the least moisturizing but on its own imparts a slight shimmery glow to the skin).

Not only did I not see a difference in wear-time with the different moisturizers I tried, but I also did not see ANY difference in coverage or finish! This is quite unusual for me.  Most of the time my foundation is affected by what I put underneath but I just didn't find that to be the case with Perfection Lumiere. It really stands alone.  I think if you use a really heavy moisturizer underneath, as needed, it also will not sheer the foundation out or leave you greasy in a few hours.  I think this foundation would be wonderful for any skin type!

I find this lasts about 12 hours, which is as good as anyone could hope, and its lasting power seems unaffected by any tricks to elongate it (primer under or powder over).  Actually, when I wear it with powder it seems like my skin gets shiny far more quickly than without (strange, I know, but it happened a couple of times with different moisturizers and primers underneath!).  I have therefore concluded that this foundation lasts best on its own without a setting powder. As you can see from the photo in which I'm wearing powder, I also suspect the color is affected by the powder as well.  The finish is nice enough that I don't think it needs a finishing powder for aesthetic reasons, anyway.  It gives a kind of natural, fabric-like finish that has no visible shimmers, even though it blurs imperfections to the naked eye, but...

MAJOR FAIL:
I've noticed this foundation doesn't photograph well on acned skin. If you have smooth skin with discolorations, it shouldn't be a problem for you because I find the coverage wonderful for any redness or dark spots. 

Applied with a beauty blender sponge over Dermalogica Active Moist:

I couldn't see these zits in person, but when I took the photo they re-appeared!  To be fair, though, there are more zits and discolorations on this cheek than the photo shows.  It's dependent upon the angle of light, like those HD translucent powders, I suspect. Also, that zit-looking bump by my mouth, about an inch away, is not a zit but a mole... sigh.  I'm brave to show this, right?

I, however, have active acne bumps and some pitted scarring, and this foundation doesn't hide those from the camera at all.  Even my husband was suprised, saying my skin looked great and then looked at a photo and was shocked you could see all the bumps again!  Maybe there aren't any foundations out there that can successfully hide bumps from a camera in every photo, but if I'm attending a picture-heavy event I'd MUCH prefer to wear a different foundation... maybe dermablend?

I can highly recommend this foundation for a lightweight-feel, excellent discoloration coverage, lovely scent, non-irritating formula, luxe packaging, blendability, every-day wear for those not stalked by paparazzi... I just wish I could call it my HG, but my bumps on view in photographs is a deal-breaker.  I LOVE how it looks in the mirror but I'm scared of catching an unflattering angle in a photograph.