Bonjour! Today, let’s talk about two of my holiest grail foundations. I bet they’re everyone’s favorite foundations too. They’re both made by Chanel. The Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet (now known as Ultra Le Teint Velvet) and the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. Such complicated names, but with such amazing quality. They’re both “lighter versions” of Chanel’s two best-selling makeup foundation and both have SPF 15.

What’s the difference between the two? In some sense, they’re both really similar, even the ingredients are similar, but they’re made for different purposes.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet (Ultra Le Teint Velvet) – This gives a soft velvety matte finish, that is very lightweight and oil-free. Supposed to be a “tint version” of Chanel’s long-wear fluid sunscreen foundation, the Perfection Lumiere. So expect this one to be also long-lasting like its predecessor. This one also gives full coverage, but not as full and thick as Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere. I consider this as my go-to foundation if I want to completely “change face”, ha! well, not completely, but good enough to make my face look blemish-free and anew. What I love about this is that you don’t need to put a lot on your face to get that full coverage. You don’t even need a special brush for this. Your fingertips will work just fine. Also, most matte foundations tend to make your face look flat, but this one doesn’t. It still gives your face definition while smoothing and covering the dark spots. A slight drawback is that you’re going be needing a lot of cotton balls or cotton pads to erase this product off your face. Even though it’s liquid and lightweight. It seems to be packed on pigments. When it comes to scent, this foundation has a slightly soapy scent compared to Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. Overall, I think this is the best matte makeup foundation that will still make your face look natural, and they last around 12 hours on my face without looking oily. As someone with somewhat oily skin, this one is definitely heaven-sent.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua – The lighter version of Chanel’s original and well-loved Vitalumiere. This is supposed to give a very light tint with a water-like texture. Although, I find that this formulation is very similar to Perfection Lumiere Velvet. They’re both very watery and have very similar scents. Perhaps this Vitalumiere Aqua has a little bit more of a floral scent. I prefer this foundation’s scent better than the one mentioned above. When it comes to coverage, at first I didn’t notice any difference. However, after a few hours, I noticed that my skin started to look oily compared to the one applied with Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere Velvet. For me, they last about 6 hours until I start to notice the oiliness. But I really like the look on my skin with this particular foundation. It kind of makes my skin look dewy or slightly luminous. So, if you’re going for that kind of look, try this foundation.

Overall, if you want a matte finish foundation without looking dull and flat, plus long-wearing and has exceptional oil-control, try the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet. If you want a more natural, dewy, strobing kind of look, and has average to really good oil control, try Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua.