Chanel Water Fresh Complexion Touch

Where I got it 

Recently I visited the Chanel beauty boutique at Britomart to see the new Le Lift Pro skincare range and also to get a mini facial by my SA Julia. As usual, I get there and I was offered a bottle of still or sparkling water, or a choice of hot drink from Miann next door. This has been a special treat from Julia recently and I always as for green tea. I sat down on one of the mirror stations and she proceeds to remove any of my makeup and applied these lovely products on my skin. She showed me the cute stainless steel massage (gua sha) tool in a velvet sleeve, but I was also told it was around $110 which I did not purchase on the day. The range did not really tickle my fancy, but she did send me away with some samples.

After the mini facial, I was also given a quick makeup application using some of the new products available – Complexion Touch and the Water Fresh blush.  Initially, I wanted to pick up the Le Lift Eye cream and the Camellia cuticle oil, but unfortunately, they were BOTH out of stock. So I ended up picking up two nail polish shades ($50) as well as the Complexion Touch in B20 ($130). When this first launched overseas, I thought I would not pick this up because I love the Water Fresh Tint already and I didn’t need a higher coverage version of something similar. However, when I was at Chanel and Julia used this on me in shade B20, I realized B30/medium would be a bit too dark on me now. So I decided to give this B20 a go so I would try the Complexion Touch in the meantime and see how it goes.

I was sent home with a gift with purchase and a handful of samples of skincare (I have a pretty good collection of Sublimage and Le Lift samples already, lol). The gift with purchase was actually a round pink pouch with a silver CC logo on the top. It reminds me of the Chance perfumes and inside it has that silver insulated lunch-bag material. Interesting little thing, but I’m actually not too excited about it because it’s pink and it is round. Looks like a kid’s bag.

What I got

Anyway, I picked up the Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch in B20 (20ml), as well as two new nail polish shades in 135 Immortelle and 131 Cavalier Seul. Complexion Touch comes in 16 shades (AU website) which is significantly more than the original Water Fresh Tint. However, at the Britomart boutique, there was only a handful of shades available, I suppose they don’t bring in all available shades as deeper shades are less commonly sold in New Zealand.

Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch in B20. A first-of-its-kind versatile face makeup formula infused with ultra-concentrated micro-droplet pigments. A refreshing, lightweight texture and a formula that keeps skin hydrated and protected all throughout the day. Customisable application: pinpoint concealing or a perfecting veil of coverage, for an incredibly natural flawless finish. 3 times more pigment*, for fuller coverage and a flawless makeup look. A lightweight gel texture composed of approximately 60% water, for a unique cooling sensation. Antioxidant-rich active ingredients, including jasmine extract, which protect skin from pollution and other environmental aggressors. A formula enriched in emollients such as tamarind extract, known for its hydrating properties. Leaves skin plump and delivers a fresh complexion that appears well-rested.

*Compared to LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH TINT.

Ingredients: AQUA (WATER) • CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE • HEXYL LAURATE • GLYCERIN • BUTYLENE GLYCOL • DIGLYCERIN • JASMINUM GRANDIFLORUM (JASMINE) STEM EXTRACT • CASTOR OIL/IDI COPOLYMER • AMODIMETHICONE • PENTYLENE GLYCOL • CHLORPHENESIN • CAPRYLYL GLYCOL • CARBOMER • ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE • POLYGLYCERIN-3 • SODIUM LAUROYL GLUTAMATE • TRISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINE DISUCCINATE • SODIUM HYALURONATE • PROPANEDIOL • TAMARINDUS INDICA SEED GUM • SODIUM HYDROXIDE • LYSINE • MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE • ALCALIGENES POLYSACCHARIDES • GLUCOSE • CITRIC ACID [/- (MAY CONTAIN) CI 77007 (ULTRAMARINES) • CI 77491, CI 77492, Cl 77499 (IRON OXIDES) • CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE) • MICA]

REFORMULATED Le Vernis Nail Colour (13ml) – Protective and long-lasting, LE VERNIS by CHANEL is designed to make vibrant colours dazzle, for beautiful nails. A new formula—featuring a higher concentration of pigment and enriched with camellia eco-ceramides, a naturally derived ingredient developed for CHANEL—provides an ultra-shiny, perfectly even lacquered finish with every fine, long-wearing coat. A new flat, wide brush makes for easy and precise application.

How I find it

The day after I took these goodies home, I tried it on with the Glow Cream underneath. I used a dense brush to apply the Glow Cream all over my face, and then I used a good 2 pumps of the Complexion Touch. I pumped it on the back of my hand and then mixed the formula out with my fingertips as much as I can. Then I used my own stippling brush to apply the skin tint. By using a stippling brush, I was able to retain the maximum amount of glow from the water-based tint and have a nice sheer-medium coverage. If I were to use the little brush that comes with it, I would get better coverage in a concentrated area – like a concealer.

It is interesting to mix the water base with the pigment, but it can also be a bit of a hassle. There is an extra step of mixing the formula before you can apply it to the skin. With pigment concentration this high (compared to the Water Fresh Tint), I need to make sure the pigment is well mixed before I apply it to my face because it can look a little streaky.

B20 actually looked really nice on my skin since I have been quite good with my brightening skincare and staying out of the sun as much as I can. The Complexion Touch has a good few hours of longevity and visibly higher coverage than the Water Fresh Tint. I would also say that I can also feel that this is less hydrating than the original. Nonetheless, I still like to apply a setting powder over areas that I don’t want to look too dewy – nose, forehead and chin. Sometimes when the areas are too dewy, it can look like I’m sweating (lol). I usually wait for a good few minutes for the foundation to settle down before I apply anything else over this. Then I will use either the water fresh blush or a cream blush over this to keep that cheekbone area glowy and lifted without the use of a highlighter.

The two shades that I picked from the new formula are colours that I don’t have in my collection. 131 Cavalier Seul is a muted teal and 135 Immortelle is a beautiful soft lavender. What you can see below is a single layer of the Camelia Base Coat, one coat of the nail colour and then one coat of Gel Top Coat. The pigment is solid and there are hardly any streaks and the application was even and 100% done at home. The wide brush was also a bonus to allow for an easy 3-4 strokes to cover the entire nail. I would say 135 Immortelle was slightly thin and you can see a little bit of unevenness when I look at my nails with sunlight behind them. I could apply another layer of polish to make the nails really opaque.

A single coat dried in a reasonable amount of time and the gel top coat was applied without any dragging. I think my nails were ready within 20 minutes from the base coat to the fully dried top coat. My nails lasted a good 5 days before I started seeing chips on the sides of my nails and I do housework every single day. Thanks to the top coat, there were minimal scratches on the surface and it remained glossy and shiny until the day I removed it (day 6). I did learn a good tip to seal the free edge of the nails with nail polish so that it wouldn’t start chipping so fast and that tip worked really well.

Overall

I couldn’t say I fell in love with the Complexion Touch, I still think I prefer to Water Fresh Tint over this one purely because of how refreshing, hydrating and sheer the original one is. I actually love the Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation if I want more coverage.  However, the size of this bottle means that I would definitely be taking this when I go on a family holiday where I would only ever need medium coverage at most. This isn’t the most convenient product to use – I can use pump it on the back of my hand and dot the foundation all over my face and just blend. I have to mix it up at the back of the hand, and then apply it on my face. The blending has to be light and I find tapping motion works best for me.

I have to use a tiny bit of setting powder on my forehead, nose and chin area because these areas would make me look very greasy and appear sweaty if it is dewy/glowy. My Water Fresh Blush and other cream blushes go on without any issues.

The photo below of me wearing the Les Beiges Glow Cream all over, then a bit of Chanel Longwear Concealer in B20 just for my dark circles. Then the Complexion Touch B20 was all over my face. Water Fresh Blush in Warm Pink on my cheeks. Oversize Healthy Glow Sun-kissed in Medium as a bronzer and the Les Beiges Eyeshadow palette in Tender. I have skipped highlighter here because the complexion touch has given me just enough glow around my face.