Foundation Friday for Over 50s | #8 | Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet

Foundation Friday for Over 50s

This is the 8th post in my series “Foundation Friday for Over 50s” in which I’m testing foundations to find one that works on my over 50 year-old-skin! 

Older skin comes with it’s own set of problems like dullness, uneven tone, age spots, enlarged pores, surface roughness and wrinkles, and I’m sad to say I’ve got them all. So the ideal foundation would help to disguise those things and maybe even make my skin look better than it really is! So check back every friday to see if I’ve found the elusive “holy grail” foundation yet. . .

Today’s foundation is Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup* ~ $47 for 1 oz., comes in 9 shades, SPF 15

The Chanel website has this to say about the product: “Perfection has met its matte. Lightweight and oil-free, the unique formula of this fluid foundation provides a long-lasting, matte-velvet finish. Soft-focus pigments smooth and perfect the skin for a flawless look that lasts all day.”

Lumiere Velvet is an ultra light fluid foundation that provides SPF 15 sun protection from octinoxate and titanium dioxide. It’s an oil-free, water based formula that does contain alcohol (7th on the list), fragrance, and a tiny amount of vitamin e. It doesn’t rely heavily on silicones for it’s smooth feel so it’s not slippery. It is specifically formulated for normal to oily skin so it may not work for those with very dry skin.

It comes in a chic black plastic container with drip spout. The foundation must be shaken vigorously before using to blend the ingredients. I got a sample in the shade 30 Beige, which was a little too light for me, so when I went back to purchase it, I got it in Beige 40. I don’t usually buy many of the high-end foundations I try (I’m a big fan of sampling), but (spoiler alert. . . ) this IS HOLY GRAIL level makeup!

This foundation was recommended to me by my new friend Arnaud who watches Hot&Flashy and is a makeup artist based in Paris. Arnaud did Sharon Stone’s makeup for Dior for 5 years so he knows his way around the “mature” face! He saw me struggling to find a great foundation and emailed me his suggestion, and I’m so glad he did. Arnaud had mentioned in the email that it’s best applied with the fingertips so that’s how I tried it first.

I tried the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet on 3 days trying primers, concealers, brushes and sponges with it. What I found out is that Arnaud was right, it is best applied with fingers and it doesn’t really need lots of other products to help it perform well.

Day 1: Applied with Fingers over sunscreen

I used the wand (in the sample tube) to dab the foundation around my face and then blended it in with my fingers. The foundation feels silky and disappears into the skin making it easy to apply. I had some slight pilling with the sunscreen I wore under it, but they were easily brushed away and didn’t affect the overall look or performance. This was by far the best application method (which I love)!!

I put on a pretty thin coat so the coverage is very sheer, but it did a good job of evening out my skin-tone while still looking natural.

5 Hour Check-In:

It showed signs of wear on my nose and chin after 5 hours, and became more luminous and less matte.

10 Hour Check-In:

It really didn’t deteriorate too much more after the 5 hour mark and overall looked really good all day. It never settled into my pores or wrinkles and felt dry and velvety even though it was 90 degrees out!

Over the course of the day, it did wear off a bit and get a little shiny, but even as it was wearing off, it still looked good! The “shine” was kept to a soft diffuse glow that looked really nice from a conversational distance. It didn’t do anything weird, or become patchy, or peely.

Day 2: Applied with a Kabuki Brush over Mattifying Primer

For day 2 I decided to use a mattifying primer to get the foundation to last longer and stay “matte” longer. I used Becca Ever-Matte which is a silicone-based primer, and a domed kabuki brush to apply. This application method turned a terrific foundation in to a not-so-good foundation. It didn’t blend into the skin because of the primer and just sat on the surface looking powdery and splotchy. The primer dried out my skin and the foundation stuck to the dry spots and wore off unevenly. I didn’t come back to take more pictures because it just didn’t look good.

Day 3: Applied with a Sponge over a Smoothing Primer

I should have learned from yesterday’s mistake not to use a silicone based primer, but I hadn’t figured out that the primer was causing the problem. . .  so I had similar results to the previous day only slightly improved. The sponge application was a mixed bag. The foundation went on smoothly, but the sponge absorbed so much of the foundation that I could only get the sheerest coverage and just seemed to waste a lot of the product.

 

 

Day 4: Back to Basics = The Best Application

It took me way too long to figure it out (senior moment??), but this foundation just doesn’t play well with silicone based products, but at least I finally got it! Today I used a water based sunscreen (Josie Marin Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47 Protect + Perfect*) and my fingers to apply and I had the perfect result! The foundation was able to bind with my skin instead of floating on top of silicone and it went on easily, could be built-up to medium coverage seamlessly, and wore flawlessly!

(After I published this post I also tried layering a water based primer over my silicone based sunscreen and that worked very well, eliminated the “balling” from the sunscreen and improved the coverage. I layered Laura Mercier Foundation Primer* over Hydropeptide Solar Defense SPF 30 Sunscreen*)

It looked just as good close-up as it did from a distance.

It still looked great at the 10 hour check-in! Even close-up!!

Yes, you still see my pores and wrinkles in the close-up, but what you don’t see is the makeup making them look worse – because it doesn’t look cakey, or dry, or polka-dotty, or uneven!

Coverage:

This is a sheer to medium coverage foundation that does a good job at evening out skin tone and blurring spots and imperfections from a conversational distance. It can be built-up without looking cakey or heavy. Those looking for full coverage will find this too sheer.

Finish:

Perfection Lumiere Velvet has a flattering semi-matte finish that doesn’t need additional products like mattifying primer or setting powder to look it’s best. The “soft-focus pigments” do provide a slight softening effect that helps the skin look smoother from arm’s length. It looks very natural on the skin and only got slightly radiant later in the day, but it was a soft glow that didn’t look shiny or greasy. All 4 days I showed here were over 86 degrees and I spent time outdoors but I never blotted or powdered over the Chanel because I liked the soft glow.

Pores:

It did NOT settle into pores! It didn’t erase them, but at least they didn’t look worse. Applying the foundation over a water based primer (something I finally tried after I wrote this post) helped pores look smaller and less noticeable.

Wrinkles:

It did NOT settle into wrinkles!! It didn’t erase them, but they didn’t look worse.

Wear:

The wear was good on it’s own and improved with a water-based primer (I used Laura Mercier Foundation Primer*). It was still in place at 10 hours and didn’t slide around in the heat and humidity. It wore off very naturally without becoming dry and patchy or weirdly spotty.

Feel: 

I’m absolutely IN LOVE with the feel of this! It’s so weightless and comfortable, but the best part is how dry and velvety it feels. I couldn’t stop petting my face because it didn’t feel tacky or slippery even in the heat. It feels smooth and silky.

Phone Test:

Virtually NO phone transfer!

Flash Photography: 

No flash back!

The Verdict:

Hands down the BEST so far in the Foundation Friday series. This is an awesome foundation that improves the look of older skin in a natural way that’s neither dry looking nor overly dewey and never cakey. I’m going to go as far as saying this is the Holy Grail foundation for me!!

It’s everything I’ve been searching for for the last 3 years and have been told doesn’t exist, or is unrealistic to expect. I can apply with my fingers, it doesn’t need primer or setting powder, it looks natural, it covers well. It makes my skin look better than it is!! Thanks Arnaud <3

 

Shopping Links for Featured Products:

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup*

Josie Marin Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47 Protect + Perfect*

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer*

Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien Pink*

Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Eyeshadow Palette*

Rapid Lash Eyelash Enhancing Serum*

Hydropeptide Solar Defense SPF 30 Sunscreen*

* Marked links are affiliate links. If you click the link and buy something, I receive a commission for the sale, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. If you do choose to use the link, thank you for supporting the blog!