Samantha's Secret | Chanel Perfection Lumiere

Since Chanel discontinued their infamous Matt Lumiere and Pro Lumiere, this foundation 'Perfection Lumiere' was brought out as the replacement to both. It was met with slight indifference, with some indignant that it could ever replace their favourite Chanel foundations.

I have been trying this foundation for about a week. I had a sample and since I am getting on with Project Sample I thought I would trial it until it runs out. Now I'm really sad that it has as I will of course have to now go out and buy the full size!!

At first I was unimpressed, I found it hard to blend, a little too matte for my liking and the smell is quite overpowering. When I switched from a foundation brush to a Real Techniques stippling brush, I started to enjoy it a lot more. It does set quickly so you need to blend it quickly to avoid streaks and then it will set to  a medium coverage, lightly powdered finish.

I have combination/normal skin and generally go for a 'dewy' foundation such as Rimmel Wake Me Up (review here). A couple of weeks ago though, the weather here in Britain was rather hot and I felt I looked less 'dewy' and more 'oily'. I have been really loving having a more matte finish, I think that it lasts longer on my skin and can look a lot more polished. While it sounds odd, it does brighten your complexion even while semi-matte, hence the 'Lumiere' title. It also claims to be 'long-wear' which is definitely the case - for me anyway since it is matte- having moved onto this from more luminous foundations.

 I can suffer from dry patches around my nose, but this foundation did not cling to them or show them up. I do always moisturise before foundation though, and have been using a heavy-duty Oilatum moisturiser prior, as a mask to combat dryness - so if you do suffer from dryness I'm unsure if this foundation would dry your skin out too much. Some days I love the fresh scent, sometimes I find it really irritating, but it only lasts for as long as you are blending, you won't smell it all day! (It's a bit like bubble bath?! Not unlike the scent of Chanel skincare products.)

Photo from: Chanel.com

In general I think it's a great foundation, perhaps even better than Vitalumiere Aqua, though I would say it is more suited to the winter months than Aqua for the summer. It is also one of those foundations that I would say it requires good skin, as the coverage is not full and it sets to a powderish finish which I can't imagine would look great on blemishes. Perfection Lumiere sells for £36 and you can find it on the Debenhams website here.