Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet and Soleil Tan De Chanel

Where I got it

These are my first ever Chanel products. I have walked passed their stand numerous times and I have never bought anything from them. Nor did I ever get really excited about a certain product of theirs. I was always under the impression that Chanel products are really expensive and not really worth the money. To be honest, their packaging is beautiful, chic and sophisticated, but they don’t exactly feel expensive if you know what I mean. The liquid foundation I bought was in a black plastic squeeze bottle with a twist off cap.

Anyway, I finally went up to the counter and asked the lady to recommend me a foundation for my skin type. She didn’t seem very interested and didn’t really ask me any questions on what skin type I have, what kind of finish I wanted, what coverage I’m after, etc. I basically told her I want a liquid and she just tried a couple of shades on the back of my hand and looked at my face a little.

After choosing a foundation, I also asked for the Bronzing Makeup Base which wasn’t really on display, but she did say a lot of people were asking for it. The foundation was $98, and the bronzing cream is $84. I do get Farmers points so that pretty much got me a $20 voucher (I had existing points). She also gave me some skincare samples.

What I got

These are the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Foundation (30ml) and the Bronzing Makeup Base (30g – aka Soleil Tan De Chanel). The foundation only comes in 8 shades and the bronzing makeup is only 1 shade. These came in the signature Chanel black and gold packaging.

How I find it

Perfection Lumiere Velvet SPF15 – shade 50 Beige (30ml). PERFECTION LUMIÈRE VELVET is a lightweight second-skin foundation. It naturally smoothes and evens out the complexion for a velvety matte makeup result. The lightweight texture of PERFECTION LUMIÈRE VELVET makes it perfect for normal and combination to oily skin. This ultra-soft emulsion instantly becomes one with the skin, transforming into a natural powdery matte finish that disappears onto the skin.

This foundation liquid does feel really nice and looks really nice on my skin. I have combination-oily skin, but usually, areas around my chin and mouth can get really funky – like not really dry and flakey, but dehydrated. So I always use a primer and I can use a couple of different ones around my face (problem with combination skin with redness, etc.). I use a hydrating one around my chin and mouth area and my forehead, a pore-filling or blurring primer to my cheeks and nose and between my brows. Some days I will use a colour-correcting one (green or lavender is my favourite) around my face to combat redness and yellow-tones.

Anyway, back to this foundation. Even though there is SPF15, it is never ever enough to use SPF from a foundation to protect your face from the sun. I always use a separate sunscreen underneath my primer (min SFP30). I squeeze the foundation on the back of my hand, distribute this around my fave with my fingers, then I use either a beauty sponge or a dense synthetic brush to buff and blend the foundation out.

The shade does match my skin, albeit a little darker than my face, but it matches my neck which I always forget about. The finish is really beautiful – velvety soft without looking too matte and never cakey. The coverage is sheer to medium which I think you can build to a high medium since the texture is so nice and thin. However, I really like the light layer, soft look that it gives. Almost like your own skin and super weightless as well.

Soleil Tan De Chanel (30g). A cream-gel bronzer that glides on to leave a velvety finish. Sun-kissed and natural this can be worn either over or under your usual CHANEL foundation. A gel-powder texture composed of mineral waxes for ease of application and mineral powders for a mattifying result.

 

The bronzing cream is so interesting! It’s not a soft cream, but more like a butter-balm. I like to use a dense round top brush for this product and I just use a dabbing motion to pick up the product, and then I also dab and blend the product onto my face.

Predominating using this as a cream bronzer instead of a primer. However, with this texture and consistency, you can almost use this on its own without foundation to create an illusion of really sun-kissed no-makeup look. This tub of cream bronzer will last a very long time and if you replace the plastic cover every time you use it, it won’t dry out.

Overall

So both of these products did live up to my expectations and I do not regret purchasing these despite their hefty price tag. However, I am certain there are more affordable options out there that do very much the same for both products. With the increasing product options and new technologies out there, it is not difficult to find something that gives the same results. Chanel is a big brand and they put a lot of money into marketing, etc. therefore buying Chanel makeup you are also paying for the name of the brand (the products do look great for display, I can use these for Instagram fly lays).