Chanel is one of those brands which has always exuded style more than substance for me. Although the packaging is luxe, the price tag always leaves me with a sour aftertaste.

Count me intrigued, however, when my friend Diana recommended their new foundation — “Perfection Lumiere Velvet.”

It claims to be a lightweight foundation in the spirit of Giorgio Amani “Maestro” — but is unique due to a full coverage, matte finish.

The packaging is sleek and black, oozing the classy minimalism expected of Chanel.

The foundation’s consistency indeed proves lightweight, even runny, as this swatch demonstrates:

Nevertheless, the foundation’s coverage is impressive, with a matte and radiant finish, all the while maintaining its light feel upon the skin! Its lightness is very similar to that of L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Powder” foundation. See below (bare face –> foundation applied –> full face of makeup):

To my surprise, unlike L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Powder” foundation (reviewed here), this product lived up to most of its claims. The coverage, although not full as described, is indeed matte and kept oil at bay throughout most of the day. It also contains SPF 15, so fulfills its sunscreen requirement. As you can see, it also looks gorgeous in photographs!

I would give this foundation 5 stars except for one small detail — it costs an ungodly $45 bucks. For a foundation, that is ludicrous. Although I feel like this is a very lovely foundation, no makeup product is worth that much money. The price, I suspect, is based upon the Chanel name.

If you have money to burn, however, this is an option if you are on the hunt for a stellar foundation! 😉

Final Verdict: 4.5/5 Stars

Available at Dillard’s and Chanel.com for $45