The Part Time Beauty Hall of Fame: Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup
Hello! Its been a while, hasn't it? Now I could hit you with a whole host of excuses — new relationship, studies ramping up, still trying to sell a business, etc. — but instead I am simply going to say sorry. After all, this is supposed to be Part Time Beauty, not half-arsed beauty, and I don't like to be half-arsed in anything that I approach in life. My original intention for the Part Time Beauty Hall of Fame was to add to it every other Friday, and thus be left with a list of about twenty-five stellar products by the end of the year. I evidently lost sight of this goal at some point but, as of today, we're back on track. And, in my humble opinion, today's inductee is an especially strong one.
This latest addition to the Part Time Beauty Hall of Fame has been a favourite of mine for a few years now and, although it wasn’t love at first sight, it is now held so highly in my esteem that I can’t imagine using anything else in place of it. Don’t just take my word for it though; this product is also beloved by a number of beauty ‘tastemakers’, including make-up artist Lisa Eldridge and blogger Madeleine Spencer of Madeleine Loves, to name but a few. And if you follow me on Instagram (I’m @PartTime_Beauty, on the off-chance that you don’t) the inclusion of this product will come as no surprise whatsoever.
I am of course talking about Chanel’s Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup, which I will henceforth be referring to simply as Vitalumière Aqua, because who can even cope with that many syllables? Vitalumière Aqua first came to my attention via the YouTube videos of the aforementioned Lisa Eldridge, who seemed to use it a lot, and on a lot of different faces, in her make-up tutorials. If memory serves, it also got a mention in a video round-up of her favourite foundations of all time, which only piqued my interest further. But, owing to cripplingly bad acne that made me cling helplessly to a certain Laura Mercier foundation for several years, I didn’t actually try Vitalumière Aqua for myself until about 2016.
As mentioned above, however, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. I initially purchased Vitalumière Aqua in a shade that was both too dark and too pink for my fair (but unusually warm-toned) complexion, and although I adored the product’s finish, there was no denying that the pinkness of my chosen shade made me look a bit…well…unwell. It was not a strong look. But when Chanel launched a number of new shades last year, I finally found my match in the form of Beige 21, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. In fact, I just purchased my second bottle a week or two ago.
So what’s so great about Vitalumière Aqua, I hear you ask? For starters, the formula is water-based, and it feels incredibly lightweight despite providing a generous amount of coverage. Also, you can build it up or sheer it out quite easily depending on what you choose to apply it with — I use a Zoeva buffing brush for a flawless, yet hopefully natural, finish. Furthermore, this is one of the few foundations out there that doesn’t break me out and, believe me, I’ve tried dozens. My skin is both acne-prone and highly sensitive, so after years of striking out with otherwise well-received formulas from Armani, Dior, Lancôme, MAC, NARS, and god knows who else, its a relief to say I’ve finally found ‘the one’.
So, does Chanel’s Vitalumière Aqua get your vote? Let us know in the comments, or via our Instagram page. :)
This piece was originally published on Part Time Beauty in 2019.