Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation & Le Blanc de Chanel

Chanel recently launched a couple of base products that I’m loving immensely. Unlike their seasonal offerings, Chanel seems to have a practice of quietly releasing permanent products to very little fanfare (so different from their competitors!). I would have missed them completely if not for a very enlightening workshop which I attended recently.

First up, Le Blanc de Chanel Multi-Use Illuminating Base is actually a relaunch of an existing product. Previously named Le Blanc de Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base, the new product comes in a pump dispenser bottle (so much better!) but pretty much the same ingredients. It is a fluid primer base, which looks white when pumped out from the bottle, but disappears into the skin when applied.

Not to be confused with the other Le Blanc Light Revealing Brightening Makeup Base, which comes with SPF30 and a plastic bottle with white cap. The Le Blanc de Chanel did not break me out unlike the other, and gives a more satin-matte finish. It smoothes out my pores and blurs away redness and undereye darkness, despite being otherwise invisible. It also helps hold my makeup and prevents shine from creeping out on my t-zone.

Named multi-use because this nifty little product works not only on the face as a makeup base, it may also be applied to the neck and other exposed parts of the body to give a healthy luminous, flawless smooth look. My neck has been neglected way too much in the past, and it is now a different shade and texture from my face. And I’ve experimented with applying base products down to my neck in the past, but they all ended up looking disastrous and stained my clothing. However, since acquiring Le Blanc de Chanel, I’ve tried it and it looked my skin but so much better! I’m tempted to smear this all over my arms and legs too but that would be a real decadence best saved for special occasions.

However, despite all its fantastic powers, I found Le Blanc de Chanel to be somewhat thick compared to my HG Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer (reviewed here) although much better than many others.  But because it is Chanel, the standards are far higher.  I found this not as smooth, and prone to pilling if too much is applied.  Also, it did not seem to layer well with the thicker foundations that were recently launched, e.g. Diorskin Star (reviewed here) and Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation (reviewed here).

The other new base offering is the Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation. This is the latest extension to their very successful Vitalumiere base collection, and is in an interesting loose powder form. It also comes packaged with a mini kabuki brush, which is made of the same synthetic fibers as their retractable kabuki (see here), although the latter has been used and washed several times hence it looks somewhat different in the picture below. It is as soft as synthetic brushes go, and incredibly cute with its tiny handle. The brush head itself is almost as large as the retractable kabuki which is priced at USD70… in comparison the “free” mini makes the loose powder foundation seem very worthwhile!

Back to the actual product at hand, the Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation is packaged in a plastic jar with an elastic net opening which allows you to gently dip your brush into the powder and pick up just the right amount without kicking up a cloud of powder.

The powder itself is very fine, and envelops the face like loose powders, giving it a layer of sheer coverage. It has a light floral fragrance which is similar to the Les Beiges Healthy Sheer Glow Powder, and contains a golden pigment that diffuses the light so it is softer and more flattering around the face. I found it rather mattifying, so I generally prefer to buff it into the skin in very light layers, over a sheer creamy BB base like the Shiseido Maquillage Perfect Multi Base (reviewed here). This gives me the additional coverage which I need and provides something for the powder to adhere to without drying out my skin. The resultant combo lasts me well throughout the day with just a hint of shine peeking out from my nose at mid-day. I’ve enjoyed using this combination for fuss-free days, when i’m in a terrible hurry or when I know I’ll be out in the sun.  You can also use it with a big fluffy powder brush to set your liquid foundation. Whichever the case, you do need to moisturize well beforehand, as typical of powder foundations, this may be slightly drying or less forgiving on dry skin.