Purchase Review: Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, especially those living the U.S. and anywhere else in the world who celebrate it. I would like to start off this post with a big THANK YOU! We've been so blessed to have started this blog and see it grow into what it is today. Mai and I only had the intnetion of starting this blog as another way of keeping in touch with each other, especially with the makeup and skincare items that I either get a sample from at the store or purchase. Although we see each other often enough, sometimes I want to tell her about something that I've tried right away but doing it in a text message or trying to catch each other on the phone is difficult with our schedules. We have (especially me) have met so many wonderful people through beauty blogging whom I am proud to call my friends. Thank you to each and every one of you who takes the time out to read our posts.

Now on to the review...

Along with mascaras, finding the perfection foundation is my nemesis. Shade match is always difficult and then finding the finish and coverage that I like--it's so frustrating! Along this journey, I've learned several things about adjusting and adapting to shade matching and knowing what I like. Also along this journey, I've tried many brands, both drugstore and high-end hoping to find the one that I liked. Of course, I was hoping that I'd find it in the drugstore or lower priced brands.

One of the major frustrations with shade matching is that SA's will look at me and automatically categorize me as being yellow toned and needing foundation with yellow coloring, all because I'm asian. I always get a skeptical look when I tell then that I need something way less yellow based and more pink based and that I'm more cool toned than warm toned. Scary, naked face picture coming up but here you can see that my skin tone is cool with pink tones in it.

I finally found a SA/MUA that agreed with me and in all places at Neiman Marcus. A couple of week prior to going to Neiman Marcus, I happened to be in Macy's getting a sample of a Clinique foundation and ended up at the Chanel counter for something else. The SA there gave me sample packettes of the new Perfection Lumiere foundation in a couple of shades. One of the shades was 42 Beige Rose and when I tried it, I thought that the color was a good match for me. When I went back, another SA there insisted that I needed the Beige line and not the Beige Rose line so I left. At Neiman Marcus, the SA that helped me is very good at color matching individuals and she agreed that I belong in the Beige Rose line. At the time I thought that 42 was a bit too light so she gave me a sample of 52. It was way too dark! I ended up purchasing 42 Beige Rose.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation is a long-wearing, flawless fluid makeup that also contains SPF 10. It is an everyday foundation suitable for all skin types. It is oil-free and noncosmedogenic and is available in a range of 20 shades. It dries to a matte finish. It contains 30 ml/1 fl oz of product.

Click on the above ingredient list picture to get a larger image for easier reading.

I had read some reviews online and was a bit worried since it was getting mixed reviews. Another thing that worried me was the fact that it is a matte finish because I prefer a more dewy finish. I also prefer not to have SPF in my foundations but that is getting to be harder and harder to find.

I love the fact that it comes in a pump dispenser. It is also really easy to control the pump so you can just as easily get a full pump or pump out just a dot of foundation. As I read on some of the reviews, it is a foundation that it not easily blendable if you are using a brush. I usually use a Sonia Kashuk flat top brush to stipple on my foundation but I have found that it doesn't evenly distribute on the brush. This brush is a little narrow and stiff. I discovered that ELF Powder brush, which is a flat top, works quite nicely. It is much wider and softer.

The foundation does dry to a matte finish but there is a slight luminosity or sheen to it but it doesn't make one look oily. I've had some that make me look too shimmery. While it does dry matte, I find that as long as I moisturize well, it won't settle into or bring out fine lines.

There is a slight scent to it, which is a kind of flowery or fruity scent, but it isn't unpleasant and it dissipates quite quickly.

Coverage is light to medium, depending on how much you use. I get decent coverage and don't use much foundation at all. That is good because the price of the foundation is on the higher side. I believe that it is the highest priced in Chanel's line.

The longevity of the wear of the foundation is great! I've worn this foundation for over 8 hours and didn't do any touching up. In this picture, I took it after 8 hours of wear with no touching up. It also doesn't oxidize very much at all.

Overall, I think that this foundation is a good match for me. I had tried another Chanel foundation a few months ago and debated whether or not to purchase it. I decided not to because I didn't like the feel of the foundation on me after wearing it for several hours. It was one of those that felt heavy and felt like you were wearing foundation. As a result, I kept on touching my face throughout the day as it would feel a bit uncomfortable. The only con for me is the price. It is a pricey foundation at $55.00.

As you could see in my before and after pictures, I have a lot of imperfections that need covering up and this foundation does a good job of it, along with my pre foundation and foundation application routine. Would you like to see a post on what that is? It would be long a rather picture heavy. Please let me know in the comments.

*Kat*

P.S. I thought that I wouldn't be doing a post again until after Thanksgiving but I was up at 4:00 this morning getting the turkey into the oven. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I wrote this post instead.