The Foundation That Fakes the Look of a Post-Facial Glow in Seconds

Let’s Just Get to the Point:
If you’re looking for a nonsticky, medium-coverage, full-radiance foundation (and an equally high number of questions of what aesthetician you go to), look no further than this skin-perfecting liquid you’ll soon call the best $50 you've ever spent.

If You Want to Know More:
In my oily-skinned, large-pored experience (sorry for the visual), most foundations frankly make skin look exactly like the skin you're trying to hide, but a bit more even-toned. No matter how much foundation I’d pile on, the same pores would still peek through, the oil would still surface before lunchtime would and I’d still be missing that whole “radiance” promise the new bottle of foundation I was testing claimed it’d deliver. To deal, I’ve learned to pile on as much primer as I do foundation—barely an exaggeration—to get the outcome I’m looking for, until I found this little black bottle that does it all for me.

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The Perfection Lumiére Velvet ($50) from Chanel is an oil-free mattifying liquid that makes you look like you got a facial once a week for the past year. Dramatic? Maybe. True? Absolutely.

Boasting a lower price point than many similar foundations on the market, just a few drops of the water-like liquid—it’s unlike any other foundation formula you’ve ever tried—delivers the right amount of coverage for your entire face (plus the glow a built-in highlighter would). As you blend—the brand suggests using your fingers, but I like using a damp sponge—the soft-focus pigments in the formula instantly smooth the look of fine lines, blur imperfections and boost your skin's natural luminosity (yes, it's there) for a flawless finish in just one product (you can even use it as a concealer). 

Sure, all of these beauty-boosting benefits are clear as day to an editor who tests multiple foundations a month, but what if someone who couldn't tell a beauty product from Adam said it was a game-changer? Enter: my sweet boyfriend who doesn’t notice skin-related anything (a huge plus when hormonal breakouts are in full force, but not the best when all you want is a compliment on your highlight). The first time I tried the foundation, I was immediately stared at like a lab rat as he tried to “figure out what I did” to my skin because it looked “crazy good" that day. (I didn't ask how it looked every other day.)

If that's not enough, the following month I sported the foundation again after testing a few others (which I now know was a waste of time) and our art director—you know, the one trained to notice aesthetically pleasing and displeasing things—apologized for focusing on my skin mid-conversation. "Why does it look so glowy? Did you just get a facial or something?" she asked, to which I replied, "No, but it's the next best thing."