Chanel Perfection Lumiere SPF 10 - Review

Almost every day since the beginning of March, I've been wearing the Tarte Amazonian Clay Balancing foundation. While I like the foundation, the color has never been just right - it's always been just a touch too dark. Blended out, it's fine, but with fall and winter stealing the sun away, it's been harder for me to blend enough, and I'm a foundation ho, so commitment is hard.


I've used Mat Lumiere from Chanel in the past and loved it (so much that I finished the bottle completely), I set out to repurchase it (flush with overtime money). At my Macy's Chanel counter, I was met with a somewhat sour faced girl who recommended their newest foundation, Perfect Lumiere, instead. I'm fairly certain she was just trying to sell a bottle of it, but I agreed to get color matched. Within a few minutes, she'd removed my foundation and applied Perfection Lumiere (using whatever Chanel's equivalent of a MAC 190 brush is). She, of course, applied powder and blush (after trying to tell me I wouldn't need to set it with anything - yeah, right). I liked the coverage, and knew I could always return it if things went sour, so I bought a bottle.


Chanel says:

Effortless to apply, with seamless blendability for a naturally flawless effect, this breakthrough foundation is the ideal all-day, everyday formula – suitable for all skin types in a diverse range of 20 shades.

Packaged in Chanel's standard fair for foundations, you get 1 fluid ounce of foundation in a frosted glass bottle for $55. The over cap comes off to reveal a pump (yay!). This is a liquid foundation that's a bit on the thin side, and I need to use one full pump to cover my face. This has a strange but pleasant florally-tea scent. I love it, though. More than Mat Lumiere, which had a border-line cloying rose scent.

Chanel touts this foundation as long wearing, and I agree. It lasts all day, and for the most part, stays in place. Because I have oily skin (and I've been experimenting with primers), I end up a little shiny by the end of my day. This causes the foundation to transfer somewhat easily, but I can't fault the product for my skin's own short comings. When first applied, my skin appears matte but luminous, smooth, and eventoned. The redness in my cheeks is greatly diminished (with help from MUFE's green primer). I've used the huge brush that came with the Amazonian clay foundation, and my Sephora 55 Airbrush brush; both work equally well. 

From left: Tarte Amazonain Clay foundation in Light, MAC Matchmaster in 1.0, Maybelline Fit Me in 115, Chanel Perfection Lumiere in 12 Beige Rosee, MAC Select MoistureCover in NC15 - with flash

The color match, as previous mentioned, is amazing. I've never, EVER, been matched to a pink-toned foundation. In MAC terms, I usually wear NC15 in the foundations that run a bit light (Studio Stick [DC'd], Studio Sculpt). In Bare Escentuals, I wear Golden Fair in the original formula, and I can't find a match in the Matte version (Golden Fair Matte is a hair dark). In Matte Lumiere, I work 02 Porcelain, Intensity 0.5, which was a touch pink. In MUFE's HD foundation, I've worn 110, which was a bit light, and a tinsy bit pink.

From left: Tarte Amazonain Clay foundation in Light, MAC Matchmaster in 1.0, Maybelline Fit Me in 115, Chanel Perfection Lumiere in 12 Beige Rosee, MAC Select MoistureCover in NC15 - without flash

Overall, I really, really like this foundation. I've heard others say it caused breakouts (none for me, after using it daily for almost a month now). I wash my face, and use my Clarisonic every night, though, so I know my skin is super clean. After a normal face washing, however, I don't notice a ton of makeup on my Clarisonic. I'm curious to see how long the bottle will last me, since I didn't need to use as much Mat Lumiere. At this time, I'd definitely repurchase!

Haul!

I've been neglecting this blog because I've been working overtime for the last, oh, 2 months or so. It's been tiring, but, now that those overtime paychecks have been rolling in... I've been taking advantage of my free money!

The stuff pictured above is all from QVC. It's what's left from the last Tarte TSV kits I received (including the 8th Wonder set [which had the Amazonian Clay foundation], and the Glow Your Way to Gorgeous set [which had the Maracuja Oil Concealer]). I kept only a few pieces, opting to sell off the pieces I wouldn't use. I kept the bronze Amazonian clay eyeliner, the Shimmering Moss Amazonian Clay Waterproof eyeshadow, the quad (which will make a great neutral eye look!), and the make up bag from the Glow Your Way to Gorgeous set. The rest sold on eBay last week, and I was able to clear enough to pay for two kits. I also picked up the next Bare Escentuals TSV (which will be promoted on 11/18/2011), because it included one of their Ready 2.0 eyeshadow duos, and their Round the Clock eye liner pencils. I'll do a review of these pieces later.

These items came from Macy's and Nordstrom. I needed a new foundation, because I was finding the Tarte foundation to be a little on the dark side (apparently, I had picked up a touch of color over the summer - who knew?). I decided to get two (I can't live with just one!), so from Macy's, I picked Chanel's Perfection Lumiere in the shade 12 Beige Rosee (which is an awesome match,) and because I'm a weak person, I also got the Illusion d'Ombre in Illusoire. From Nordstrom, I picked up Matchmaster in 1.0, and then preordered (and subsequently retrieved) a few items from Glitter & Ice, the holiday collection. I decided on the a Dazzleglass in Dressed to Dazzle, the lighter of the two nudes. I also got the beauty powder in Snowglobe, the Mineralized Eyeshadow in Snow Season, and a paint pot in Morning Frost.

I swatched everything from Glitter & Ice, and honestly, nothing else grabbed me. I had 2 of the Dazzleglasses already (and really didn't like She-Zam! at all - it was way to cool-toned for me). The other two paint pots were super thick-almost-sticky in texture, a lot like Blackground. The other beauty powder didn't wow me at all, and Snow Season was the only MES that I honestly loved. The others were not pigmented, or super cool-toned (which makes sense - who's hear of warm ice?). I can't buy any more lipsticks, since I never wear them, and hate Technikohl liners - they fade almost immediately, or, smudge themselves away. I'm super happy with what I got from Glitter & Ice, though!

NOTD - Chanel Particuliere

I love this polish. It's my new favorite neutral polish. It's a clean, on-trend, taupe-mushroom color. I've found that it wears well on me - this is 3 days after it was applied. It's pigmented, too. With a super careful application, I can get away with one coat, but I prefer two, because the color becomes a bit deeper after that second coat. I know some people complain about Chanel's polishes and their application, but this one's a winner! In case anyone is wondering, I used 1 coat of Orly Bonder, then two coats of Particuliere, and topped everything off with Sally Hansen's Instra-Dri Anti-Chip top coat (the base and top coats seem to work like magic for me!).

Chanel Ombre D'Eau Seashore # 747 - Review

I swear, I love Chanel products. Especially their nail polishes... and their eyeshadows... and their blushes are pretty good, too... but, I digress. I love the concept of cream shadows, but they're always a bit of work to make them wear well on me. I need to set them with powder, have UDPP under them, and even then, they may not work - they make like David Copperfield and vanish, taking any other shadows with them.

I tried explaining this to a makeup artist for Chanel a while ago (maybe 2 - 3 years?), and she smiled at me, and said "You need to try these!" She was doing a makeover on me anyway, and used their Ombre D'Eau in Seashore. It's gorgeous. It's a liquid-to-powder, shadow that can be applied over or under other shadows, depending on the kind of finish you're looking for. Oily lids limit you, however, because I have to set this with a powder to get 10+ hours wear.

Packaged like many other brand's lipglosses, you get a short, frosted glass tube. Had I not shaken the tube, you would've seen how these are in the "natural" state. The pigment settles to the bottom of the tube, and you have shake these before using them. The applicator is a doe foot.

Chanel knows how to make everything so classy!

Seashore is a golden-peach color with a metallic bent (and it appears to be discontinued, since it's no longer on Chanel's website). The swatch on the left is unblended, on the right it's blended out a bit. I dab the doe foot on my lid, and then blend a bit with my finger.

The trick with this product is to work quickly, because it sets quickly, and then it's staying put. It lasts through a normal, non-crazy warm day most of the time, meaning for me, it'll stay 8 - 10 hours if unset. If I set with a powder eyeshadow, the wear time is 12 hours or so. What's awesome is that you don't have to wear this sheerly. You can have it on, full strength, and the performance is just as if you applied it sheerly. For most non-powder shadows, I have use a thin layer (like Clinique's old Quick Eyes Cream Shadows), but not with Ombre D'Eau. I bet it's because it's a liquid, not a true cream. It's very runny in the tube, and it looks like it'd be terrible, but I promise it's not!

For $32, you get what seems to be an impossibly small amount of product. But, very little goes a long, long way. I love this product, and have a second color waiting in the wings until I finish up another cream shadow. I can't rave about this product enough!

NOTD - Chanel Peridot

Ahhhh. I love green stuff. Eyeshadows, nail polishes, etc... no green blush or lips, please! In January, I think, I saw a very poor swatch of some upcoming Chanel polishes. One of which was called Peridot, which is a green, semi-precious gemstone. I wrote down "Chanel NP - Peridot... MUST OWN!" and then sort of forgot about it. last month, swatches surfaced of this magical nail polish, and my lemming was reborn. I had to have it. I happened to get the 3rd to last bottle from my local Nordstrom (after turning down the SA's hard-sell offers on the quad, cream eyeshadows, etc. She was not amused, and I kept thinking "Hello? This is still a $50 sale for you!"). Anyway, this polish is stunning. It's olive, emerald, and gold in one, depending on the angle and light. I would've loved to see a little of the blue that appears in the bottle, but I'm not that picky. Love this polish, but it doesn't wear particularly well on me. You can see some tip wear already on my pointer finger.

NOTD - Chanel Graphite

It's been said that Chanel regret is bad regret. And I find that to be true, as I think many people do. Remember how quickly Chanel's Jade polish sold out? It was listed on eBay for literally hundreds of dollars. So, I don't mess around. A Nordstrom Note for $20.00 and a gift card left over from Christmas helped me get a hold of two of Chanel's fall 2011 polishes. This is one of them, Graphite, a glitter-dense graphite grey polish. As soon as I saw it, after feeling so confident I wouldn't fall for it, I had to have it. I'm so, so glad I did. This is a 1-coat polish. Seriously, how many glitters can say that? I love how it looks textured, but it's smooth as silk on the nail. It's not a straight-up grey, as there's a gold hue in there. It's a slight hue, but I think it makes this polish wearable for warm-toned me. The picture above is without flash, just natural light. The picture below is with a flash, so you can see how shiny and glittery this polish is.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

NOTD: Chanel Black Pearl

I'll admit it. I am a sucker for Chanel's nail polishes. I know they're expensive ($25.00 - the first colors I purchased from this line were $19.00, and I couldn't believe I was willing to pay that price!), but I just love them. They wear decently on me, and I usually only get colors that are unique (with only 1 true exception - I own Black Satin, but it's my only cream black), so I don't actually own too many.

As soon as I had read that Chanel was releasing a color called "Black Pearl," I knew I had to have it. I didn't care if I had to sell all of my worldly possessions, I would own, and love it. I waited patiently for details, hoping this color would truly mimick the hues of natural black pearls, and I haven't been disappointed.

Black Pearl was released with Chanel's Spring 2011 line, and leave it to Chanel to buck the typical pastel pinks and lavendars every one else is releasing, and include a rich black with a green/blue pearl. Black isn't even the right word. In the worst case, this color appears as a gray with a hint (very subtle hint) of green. In sunlight you really see the duochrome black/green.

The formula on this was standard Chanel - not thick nor thin, perfectly in the middle. I couldn't get away with only 1 coat, though. For full color depth, I used 2. Two coats of Black Pearl topped with 1 coat of Nubar's Diamont stayed about 3 days with 0 chips or tipwear.

My Accomplishments!

It's the end of another year, and I have to wonder - what have I done this year? Well, I got a slightly better job (less stress, the same amount of pay, though). Adopted 2 cats (one moved out of our house as soon as he could - he's around the corner. He left his poor brother behind, though). And... um... that's about it.

Well, that's not fair to me. I've gotten close to finishing a couple of things. And, I've done a great job at sticking to my mascara no-buy. Using up all of the freebies I've accumulated feels great! Let's see what else I've finished, or almost finished, or.. at least hit pan on! These are my daily eyeshadows. I couldn't live or breathe without them. From the top left, there's Sumptuous Olive (I had to repress it, so *now* there's no pan, but I swear it's 50% or less). Then there's Shroom (top right), which I've had for a bit over a year and it's almost gone!
Finally, Wedge (bottom) - it's the perfect, soft, neutral crease color for me. Loves it.

So I haven't finished either of these, but seriously. Look at the size of them compaired to the stand MAC eye kohl cap. On the top is Clinique's Chocolate Luster Cream Shaper pencil, on the bottom is MAC's Teddy eye kohl. The Cream Shaper is okay, but Teddy is sooo much better. The perfect bronzey-brown for green eyes!

So this still has a ton of life left in it, but... hey, there's a significant amount of pan showing! It's Stila's Convertible Lip and Cheek color in Gerbera. This has been my go-to blush (obviously).

There are other products, too, like several Dazzleglasses, a bottle of MAC's brush cleaner, and a bottle of Chanel's Mat Lumiere Foundation.

What've you finished?