Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Liquid Foundation Review–It’s possible to have it all

This time last year I was looking for a foundation that would offer great coverage, at the same time take care of all my annoying variable skin issues by being moisturising for my dry patches, oil free for my oily blemishy patches, and be light weight enough so that it wouldn’t look I was wearing any makeup at all. But as I quickly learned with makeup, it’s often not possible to have it all in a single product. When I listed my seemingly unreasonable needs for the nice lady at the Chanel beauty counter, she immediately passed me a vial of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, Chanel’s ‘ultra-light skin perfecting makeup’.

Though I generally prefer to wear BB cream for its light natural look and skin health neutrality, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua feels to me like the next step up from BB cream or a tinted moisturiser, due to its excellent coverage per product ratio. For this reason this has definitely become my foundation of choice!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua comes in a rather unassuming plastic bottle with the classic black Chanel slightly rounded rectangular cap and embossed double c’s in white. The size is 30 mil, which I did think was rather small for its price, $79. However, I found that this product has last me a very long time! I’ve also heard some comments that the plastic packaging seems a bit cheap. But I think there is a practical reason for the plastic packaging, and I suspect it has something to do with the watery consistency of the product, as explained below.

Like most counter products in Australia, the packaging is mysterioso about the product ingredients, but the back of the bottle does provide a brief description of the product in several languages: ‘Ultra-light skin perfecting makeup’. A diagram also indicates that Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua needs to be well shaken before use. This is because, being water based, the components of this product will separate when sat still.

Twisting open the lid reveals a small nozzle opening. This is perfect for the consistency of the product, which is very runny, so that you can easily control how much comes out by squeezing the plastic bottle.

Now lets have a look at the foundation itself. When well shaken, the formulation of this product is thin and watery, but thick enough to not run. Really do make sure to shake this very well, especially if it’s been sitting unused for extended periods.

The foundation is very easily spread out and blended. The feeling on the skin is like a slightly grainy moisturiser. While I love the moisturising but non-oily feel of this product, it does make my skin feel a little tight and tingly. The colour, B50 Beige, has a pink undertone, but matches my skin tone quite well.

Fully blended, you can see that the skin is smoothed out, and pores are concealed.

As for the coverage, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua performs extremely well for such a light weight product. Have a look at the comparison shots below. As you can see, all my discolouration and blemishes are completely covered. This product is also extremely effective in covering up redness.