Testing out Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation!

I got a hold of a couple sample packets of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua a couple of weeks ago and finally decided to try it out today. When I asked for a sample, I expected they were going to pour some product directly from their counter tester bottle, but they actually had sample packets of each shade. I was a little disappointed because the packets are so small, I figured I'd need both to cover my face. With the little bottles they fill up from the testers, they can typically last me a week - sometimes more if I'm lucky.

Anyway, the Sales Associate matched me to B30 Beige Sable. My shade in the regular Vitalumiere is 40 Beige. Right away, I noticed that B30 looked a little light, but when it was applied to an area of my face, it was undetectable. I'd say it's a good MAC NC30 color match.

I've read several reviews for Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, and the majority of the reviews stated that this particular foundation looks best when applied with the fingers. I tend to use more product when I use my fingers, and considering I only had a couple of small packets, I wasn't about to waste any product. I first moisturized my face with a little DDF Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew and then I applied the foundation like I normally would any foundation. I squeezed out a small amount and placed a dot on each cheek, nose, chin and forehead. Then, with my Sigma F80 brush, I lightly buffed it in my skin with small circular motions. I then placed a tiny bit more product on my cheeks to build the coverage and again, buffed it in with my brush.

The consistency is a bit different than any foundation I think I've tried. I figured because it's water based, it would be really thin and watery. It's incredibly light and has an airy, whipped texture. Once applied to the face, you can really tell it water based because it has that slight cooling sensation of water. The color seemed to oxidize slightly after a few minutes, but it didn't oxidize too dark, orange, etc. The color is perfect. I was a little surprised by the coverage. It evened out my skintone beautifully and even covered my blemishes pretty good. It's a light coverage and can be layered easily to medium coverage. The finish is a lovely illuminating satin. I'm wearing it right now and it still looks great after almost 7 hours, with the exception that my chin and nose has become a little shiny.

Really loving it so far - and I'm pretty confident that I'll be purchasing it for my summer foundation! I'll have a FULL review to come later!

FACE: DDF Ultra-lite Oil Free Moisturizing Dew

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer in Light & Medium (mixed 50/50) applied under my eyes

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B30 applied with my Sigma F80 Brush

Chanel Bronze Universel/Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzer applied with my Coastal Scents Tapered Duo Fiber Brush

BROWS:

MAC Espresso Eyeshadow

ELF Eyebrow Treat and Tame in Medium

EYES:

Urban Decay Naked Palette ("Naked" and "Buck" blended in my crease and smoked outward, darkened my outer V with "Smog") 

Nars Coconut Grove Eyeshadow lined my upper and lower lashline

Wet n Wild Silent Treatment Trio applied the pink browbone shade to my lid

Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Eyeshadow applied on my lid over the Wet n Wild shadow, and my inner corners

MAC Blackline Pearlglide Eyeliner on my waterline 

Covergirl Lash Perfection Mascara

Revlon Beyond Natural #91169 False Eyelashes snipped in half

LIPS:

MAKE UP FOREVER Aqua Lipliner in #4C

OCC Lip Tars - Divine and Hush mixed 50/50

Sally Hansen Lip Inflation Extreme Lipgloss (clear)

Hope you all have a wonderful night! And, if you haven't already, please check out my giveaway HERE!

Chanel Mica Glossimer + Photos & Swatches!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION  

Gorgeous shimmer and a high-shine glow is delivered effortlessly to lips with just one stroke of this best-selling lip gloss. A wide range of shades, from sheer and natural to sparkling and rich, look beautiful on their own, or over your favorite lipstick. Equally beautiful: the conditioning formula's comfort and long wear.

-May be used over favorite lipstick formula to enhance shimmer and high-shine glow. 

-May be used on its own for an ultra-glossy and comfortably hydrated result.

 I'm not actually sure how many shades there are in total in the permanent Glossimer color range, but currently on the website there are 38 shades divided into categories of Brown, Red, Pink and Beige.

I originally went to the Chanel counter to purchase Vitalumiere and try a sample of Vitalumiere Aqua, but when the Sales Associate asked me if I'll be needing anything else, my eyes went directly to the Glossimers. After swatching several on my hand and rotating my wrist back and forth to view which glitter I liked the best, Mica was the one I decided on.

Chanel Mica is a very sheer pink with fine bright pink, purple and green sparkles. It reminds me a little bit of MAC Like Venus Dazzleglass, but it's more subtle and warm. Even though the formula is very glittery, it's not at all over-the-top. The glitters are so fine, that it doesn't scream glitter and it catches the sunlight beautifully. I'm a fan of anything that glistens (with the exception of MAC Dazzleglasses - hate the formula), so this was a winner for me. The color is sheer, but can be built easily. When worn alone, it's not at all drying to my lips - in fact, it's fairly moisturizing. It's a great shade to layer over any peach, beige or pink lipstick.

My favorite combo right now is a thin layer of MAC Creme Cup with Mica on top. 

In both photos, my lips are lightly outlined with Laura Mercier Naked Lip Liner. Left: Applied to Bare Lips, Right: Applied over MAC Creme Cup Lipstick.

Laura Mercier Naked Lip Liner, MAC Creme Cup Lipstick & Chanel Mica Glossimer.

What's your favorite Glossimer?

Review: Testing out Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation! (Swatches, FOTD)

Chanel Vitalumiere is a foundation I've been interested in for ages. So, last month when purchasing Chanel's Double Perfection Compact, I figured I'd ask for a sample of Vitalumiere.

I was matched to Beige 40, which seems to match my skintone well. I would say it's a good NC35-37 match. Based on reviews, Beige 40 has worked for those in the MAC NC30-NC40 color range.

If you're familiar with Chanel products, many of them share the same scent (exactly like Chanel Bronze Universel/Soleil Tan De Chanel). It's a light, refreshing scent - if you sniff hard enough (lol) you can detect the chemical smell that's covered up with fragrance.

I first applied a very light moisturizer to my face (DDF Oil Free Moisturizing Dew) and with my Sigma F60 Foundation Brush I applied this foundation to my whole face, with light, short strokes. With thinner consistency foundations, I find that a standard foundation brush works the best, or a dense synthetic brush. I didn't care for using my MAC 131 (Duo Fibre) with this.

The way I categorize the coverage of foundations goes as: Light, Medium Light, Medium, Medium Full and Full. I consider this to be a Medium Light. It is definitely buildable, and doesn't look heavy once it's built up a bit. Some may find it necessary to apply a concealer over any blemishes, as this foundation may not cover the redness 100%. Before application, I dotted Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer on any areas that needed it. The result with this foundation is skin that actually looks like skin, but more even and radiant. I love how this makes my skin "glow". I'd compare it to Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (but with less coverage than GA) and MAKE UP FOREVER Face & Body Foundation (but with more luminosity, more natural). I much prefer this foundation over MUFE F&B, which I find has a "tacky" feeling after application, not to mention the "globby" texture. Application with both is very similar. 

I didn't blot my face because I wanted to see how well the foundation wears on its own. After around 3 hours I noticed a bit of shine on my t-zone. I still didn't blot, because I wanted to see how oily it would get. After around 6 hours, it didn't seem to get much more oily than it did at hour 3, but the foundation had worn off the tip of my nose, as well as the area around my mouth. Everything else was pretty much in tact.

I wouldn't consider this foundation to be long-wearing, as it looks it's best the first 2-3 hours and seems to budge a little after that. I think it's a great foundation for the summer, special occasions, a night out, etc. To those that prefer a foundation that won't budge through a 8-9 hour work shift, this may fall under your expectations. The sales associate actually recommended I use Chanel Double Perfection Compact (powder foundation) over Vitalumiere to prolong the wear. Double Perfection isn't a dull powder, so it wouldn't take away from the finish of Vitalumiere. I haven't tried that though, but I will next time I wear Vitalumiere, as I know now that it's necessary for me to use a setting powder. I'll let you know how that goes. (Sorry for trailing off) Many reviewers have agreed that this foundation is awesome for dry skin, as it doesn't accentuate dry patches, it's moisturizing and it is dewy. I have pretty normal to combination skin (although it seems to be more normal lately) and I think it worked well for me, as it didn't get awfully oily. When I say "awfully", I'm saying, my eyebrows looking shiny & wearing off around the edges, which some foundations will do. Those with oily skin, may want to have a look at Mat Lumiere.

As far as purchasing goes, I'm not sure if this is a product I'll be purchasing anytime soon. I've been preferring Guerlain Parure Extreme lately - and it has actually climbed up to my favorite foundations list.

Chanel Vitalumiere in Beige 40 swatched on my hand

Top: Chanel Vitalumiere Beige 40, Bottom: MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC40

Compared to MAC SFF in NC40, they are similar in depth, but MAC is noticeable more yellow.
 

Even though you can't see my makeup in close detail, I figured I'd give a break down anyway of what I'm wearing.

Face:

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer in Medium applied under my eyes and to blemishes

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 20 applied under my eyes to better suit my skintone

Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation in 40 Beige

YSL Touche Eclat in #1 in the corners of my eyes to brighten

NYC Sunny Bronzer to contour

MAC Pleasureful Blushcreme to cheeks

Hard Candy Living Doll Blush applied very lightly over Pleasureful for a pink glow

Eyes:

Dior 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow in Crush Glow

NARS Coconut Grove Eyeshadow used as liner

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara in Blackest Black

Brows:

MAKE UP FOREVER Eyebrow Corrector in #3

MAC Brow Set in Girl/Boy

Lips:

Bobbi Brown Petal Lip liner (discontinued)

MAC Shygirl Lipstick

Essense Nude Kiss Lipgloss

Du Juan, Emma Pei, Shu Pei, Sun Fei Fei & Sonny Zhou at the Chanel Paris-Shanghai Pre-Fall 2010 Show

Karl Lagerfeld showed his Chanel, Pre-Fall 2010 collection in Beijing Shanghai earlier this week. Some of the top Chinese models were invited to walk for the show. Interestingly enough, Liu Wen is missing from the line-up. Maybe she's still in NYC following her Victoria Secret show.

Can someone help me ID the three models at the bottom?

Models: Du Juan (IMG), Emma Pei (IMG), Shu Pei (Next), Sun Fei Fei (Elite London), Sonny Zhou (IMG), Miao (Wilhelmina), Lily Zhi (IMG) and Unknown 3
Designer: Chanel Paris-Beijing, Pre-Fall 2010

Source: Style.com