Friday 21 January 2011

Chanel: New Vitalumière Aqua Foundation

Although I’ve not had much luck with Chanel foundations in the past, the glowing reviews I read for their new Vitalumiere Aqua one intrigued me. At the counter I was surprised to see they only had the B shades as I had wanted to look at the BR ones which were meant to be more pink toned with a dewy finish. The SA informed me that the UK only got the B shades as everyone here is yellow toned, well thats news to me, as I was pushed for time I said nothing....
Somehow my just going for a look turned into a purchase. I was slightly concerned about the alcohol listed but have not experienced any dryness or irritation as yet but would be hesitant to recommend this to those with sensitivities as the alcohol is listed quite high up.
Due to the silicone content this goes on feeling very smooth and blends nicely. Coverage is sheer, possibly buildable to a medium at best. It does not highlight dry areas and the finish is natural, rather than matte or illuminating.
Lasting power is average, I need to powder over this to get it to last so I don’t know how well this would fare on oily skin (my skin is dry).
I should mention its quite a watery texture so you do need to give the container a good shake before your dispense any product.
I bought the lightest colour, B10 (£31.66). Although a shade too dark and very yellow toned I thought I could get away with it, this thought was shattered when in natural light my husband turned towards me and asked what was wrong with my face.

Swatches below L-R: Burberry Trench 01, Chanel B10,MAC Pro longwear NC15 (I was very cold at the time so I think that is why the foundation texture looks a bit strange)
If a foundation is too dark I find extreme blending and balancing of other colours can make it workable but if the tone is wrong as well then its not happening.
In terms of formula/performance this is a nice lightweight natural looking foundation and I find it applies extremely well. However, its just too yellow/warm toned for me and I think if you are very pale or very dark you will struggle to find a match in the B shades.

12 comments:

  1. How deeply distressing that they are not carrying the BR shades. I am sort of betwixt and between yellow and pink, yellow neck and pink face, so no idea what will work here. Thanks for the review. Jan x

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  2. The beige ones do look a bit dark/yellow but I swatched the Rose version and it looked great. Next time ask at your counter for a sample of the rose toned version R10. Its more suitable for NW (as opposed to NC) but may just work for you!!

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  3. We're all yellow here? What a very odd thing to say! What a shame you can't make it work for you. There's nothing more crushing than the husband's input in these situations. It lets you know you're well and truly busted! I have to say the Burberry foundation looks very appealing.
    Jane x

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  4. Agh just saw that they said uk will only get yellow. I will see if I can get my hands on my mums (and post swatches of the rose version compared to the beige one -although shes a r10 and im a b30) before she goes back to the states. Must ask her though if she bought hers in Germany or the US. Im curious which one was the 'pink' country.

    Im not that surprised as I hear in Spain.. Chanel doesnt sell any colors lighter than 40!!! So it makes sense this would happen. My mum's eyeshadows also look different to mine.. turns out the US have a different formula (which I prefer!)

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  5. Oh, I just hate it when brands supposedly come out with a wide range of shades and then limit them for each country - in Slovenia we got only 6 shades, my tone should be 20 but they only have the pinker BR20 and not the B20, however in 10 they only have the B10. Too annoying! Thank you for the review!
    x Klara

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  6. I was so annoyed when I found we only had the yellow toned shades as I was so hopeful when I knew they were making different colour families in this formula. For some reason, the tester I had worked much better on me than the lighter shade that I bought. It is probably just because my acne has got a lot worse this week and there is no hiding skin texture, but I can't help but feel disappointed. What with le Metier not releasing the same kaleidoscopes over here I'm beginning to feel the Americans are very lucky when it comes to cosmetics, and that is not enough counting their amaing returns policy over there. It is about time the UK caught up! Jennifer X

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  7. Hi Jan,
    I should have known better really, still I'm going to give it to my mother so at least it won't get wasted! She tends to end up with a lot of my makeup/skincare so I think the only thing she buys herself is mascara's x

    Hi Tali,
    I bet the BR would have worked better for me. I don't really get this only having certain shades for certain countries, being as how the majority of places have a diverse mix of people these days. You know I have heard that both the Chanel eyeshadows and blushers in America are a different formula and that its better than what we get here.

    Hi Jane,
    My husband does not usually comment so I know its not good when he does! I do like the Burberry, my shade would be too light for you though but when I deign to get some travel pots I can always send you some (it comes in a pump so is hygenic)and you could wear it inside to get an idea as to if you like the texture/coverage? x

    Hi Klara,
    That is annoying and like you say when they first talked about the foundation it sounded like it would cater for a lot of skintones, I think I need to ignore their base products in future ;)

    Hi Jennifer,
    Do you mean the white packaged le Metier kaleidoscope, I really wanted that one, ack! I would love if we could return things here, I hate to think of the money I have wasted on the things that have not worked for me.
    If you skin is not good at the moment I wonder if you have tried MAC prolongwear? I'm not normally a fan of their foundations at all but really like this, as I have a lot of old acne scarring and two old cystics that just won't die, this foundation seems to give good coverage without looking really cakey or dry.

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  8. Its a shame Chanel in the UK doesnt stock shades suitable for darker skin tones. Ive been wanting to try the vitalumiere for ages but to no avail. What other foundations would you say this is comparable to?

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  9. Ooooh, the Burberry one looks lovely (and like it actually might match my skintone)!

    Adele

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  10. Hi Imo,
    The only foundation I would say this was similar to it would be the original version of Illamasqua liquid light foundation, but they have since changed the formula so I don't know that it would be the same, thats not very helpful is it! I think there are quite a few high end ranges that don't cater for darker skin, which I have never understood.

    Hi Adele,
    The Burberry would be a great match if you find foundations like MAC too dark, I was surprised it was so light to be honest as I have a hard time getting a match.

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  11. Aagh had all but made up my mind to buy this today and now reading your post I am back to not being sure, it's a big spend for me and I would need it to be seriously in hg territory for me to make it worthwhile. Back to the Bobbi Brown, maybe!

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  12. Hi Debbie,
    I do think it would be best if you could either try and get a sample or at least get it applied on your face by the SA before putting your money down, it is a good lightweight foundation but not sure it excels over others of similar type tbh.

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