Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua- My Holy Grail Foundation at Last

I realize that I have been absent from the blogging arena for a while now. Some things went down, but the dust has finally settled. Suffice it to say, the reviews, tips and makeup related posts will now a be a more frequent part of your feed.

Right, moving along... as you all know I am a self-professed makeup junkie, but among the makeup categories, foundation takes the prize. The wisdom of all top-makeup artists makes so much more sense; a flawless (or as flawless as can be) base, makes for the ideal canvas for the rest of the paraphernalia on your vanity. I should totally do a post on my humble vanity ( ahem ahem) sometime soon. But I digress.

This puppy has been in my stash all sealed for a while now. Come the dry winter months combined with my prior experience with the big sister of this foundation (find the review and dupe here), I gave it a go.

Setting Your Makeup

So after getting the perfect makeup for an event, you'll obviously want to set it so that it lasts you for a good six to eight hours. The best way to do that is to set it either with a translucent setting powder (white) or with a setting spray. The reason you don't want to set it with a pressed powder or colored loose powder is because all that hard work you put in to get the intensity of everything just right can change quite a bit by adding on more color at the end. Translucent powders will not do that, neither will setting sprays that are all the rave these days.

My go to:

The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist and Chanel Crystalline Powder

My Five Top Pink/Pinkish Lipsticks

Pink is such a versatile makeup color, and most used. It's pretty much a safe bet with most makeup looks.
These are my most versatile and loved pink/pinkish lipsticks in a wide range of shades. All of them are just classics and must haves.

From left to right:

1. Rimmel London Lipstick in 070 Airy Fairy

2. Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in 001 Lilac

3.Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in 70 Adorable

4. Boots No.7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in 30

5. Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick 02

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzing Base

Chanel's cult bronzer...one of the most expensive luxury products I own...but worth every penny. In all fairness, the price is close to economical compared to other brands because you get a whole 30 grams of product which is equal to most foundation bottles compared to 8-12 grams you get otherwise. So let's just get on with it....

The famous Chanel logo..

Chanel Vitalumiere (discontinued) Dupe

One of my first high end foundations and one I love to this day is the Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation which has sadly been discontinued. This is not the other version they have called Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation which is a more recent formulation.

I'm in the shade 15 Opaline

Its so sad they discontinued it since it was truly beautiful. But I just happened upon a foundation which is more or less the dupe of this foundation in terms of the final finish. The Chanel one gives a dewy and soft finish to the skin which I really love for the winter months when the skin is more drier. It has an SPF 15 which the dupe does not but both smell very nice, both are floral and kind of similar. The smell may bother some people who are sensitive to strong smells. But I personally love the smell of both. 

So what is the dupe?

My Go To Fall/Winter Cheek Look

You will have noticed that in this blog, I don’t put in the technical details of the products like where its made or what ingredients it has unless its relevant to the situation. These are just my opinions on the products I have in my stash which are a combination of all types of brands…mostly drugstore, but on occasion I enjoy a splurge product. In this particular case, I've been reaching for 3 splurge products which compromise my fall/winter cheek look.

And the unveiling:

Lancome Blush in Rose Boise

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bonzing Base

And the stick is Benefit's Watt's Up Highlighter