I am heartbroken to report that this foundation breaks me out. I was in denial for a month there, because the finish is so beautiful. When I wear VAC, my skin looks very creamy and natural; not too matte, but not shiny or greasy either. Also, it's an absolute dream to apply. The product itself has the most gorgeous consistency, and I can apply it very easily with just my fingers. Because the coverage is high and the consistency is thick enough, this foundation can also double as a concealer, which is wonderful in a rush. Finally, the packaging is quite ingenious. Chanel went to great lengths to design a compact that would protect the product within while offering a sleek, functional piece that looks beautiful in any makeup bag or on any dresser.


So those are all the pros. In a perfect world, I could give this product 5 lippies and move on. Unfortunately, I can't get around the fact that the foundation makes my face break out in lots of little pimples. I rarely break out; I've never had acne, and even when I'm very hormonal, it's rare for me to get blemishes. I experimented by refraining from using VAC for a week and giving my skin time to clear up. This was after I broke out with a zit on my nose, of all places, and a few smaller ones on my cheek and chin. Yesterday I wore the foundation again and by the end of the day, new blemishes popped up on my jawline and cheeks!


So obviously I'm returning this product. I had a similar issue that I had with the VA fluid, which gave me cystic acne last summer. I was told by my SA that this product should be much more gentle for my dry skin, but it wasn't much better at all.


More info: I'm NW15 and had a match in Beige Rose 22. I am very dry with mild rosacea and this foundation visually corrected both of those problems quite easily, which is what made the realization that it was breaking me out that much more disappointing. This product was $58 at Macy's.

I have both the cream compact and the liquid versions of Vitalumiere Aqua now, and while I love them both, I think I'm beginning to prefer the cream. The liquid VA has a lot of alcohol and fragrance in it, which are irritating to my sensitive skin and I can't wear it every day. I also hate having to shake it so much to keep it from separating, and because of the high alcohol content, the dry-down is really fast, which makes blending it out a race against time. The cream compact VA solves all of those issues beautifully. No alcohol or fragrance, no shaking, and it applies and blends out effortlessly. The end result and finish are almost identical. I've seen that Chanel is offering refills for the compact in the UK, so hopefully we'll get those here in the US soon (haven't seen them yet). For a cream foundation it feels incredibly soft and skin-like to the touch, not tacky at all. It's just slightly hydrating and doesn't make me too oily, just like the liquid VA. A little bit goes a very long way. All in all it's an impressive product and just a bit more elegant in formulation, application and wear, than the liquid VA.

I have extremely dry skin but I'd heard so many great reviews about Chanel's vitalumiere aqua liquid foundation, but wanted just that little bit more coverage and moisturisation so I brought the compact. I hesitate to say that this product isn't really what I wanted. It's my first ever cream foundation and at the time I was pretty desperate for a nourishing foundation, and like a newbie makeup obsessed person I thought Chanel couldn't possibly have a single bad product. Again I hesitate to say that it's bad because it does indeed moisturise my face, and it's coverage is certainly thick enough to be a good evening foundation. However what I'm a little disappointed about with this product is that the finish is incredibly dewy, and no matter how much setting powder I put on it nothing seems to stop the near stickiness of my skin. So for that reason it has unfortunately been gathering dust. Also, I brought this at Myer for $100 which is an insane amount of money--I know. Again, I was desperate and needed something that would hydrate my dry-as-sand face, so I paid it and was all excited about having my one Chanel product--me! The hype quickly melted away when I discovered that through using the sponge that the product comes with my face looked identical with a human coloured mask. By the way I have this in 30 Beige. So as time went on I brought a foundation brush, and in my eyes this is what has saved this product. I threw away the sponge, which looked dirty no matter how many times I cleaned it, and have been applying this product with the brush which gives a much more sheer appearance.
However for the reasons of how much I actually paid for this product, and the fact that it is so dewy, I wouldn't use this unless I were in the dead of winter and in threat of looking like my face was falling apart with flakes. :C
The silver lining however may be is the packaging, which is black and chunky, but inside is a mirror, an individual lid which I think is so important with cream foundations as they have a tendency to dry out if you don't use them quickly, AND--here's the silver lining: you can actually purchase refills of this product. Yes, refills. So it's like an investment product, and that's really why I hesitate to mark this product too harshly. I chose "no" when asked if I would buy this product again, and to be honest? I guess only time will tell because I really want it to work.

I bought this foundation at duty free as purchasing it retail would cost me an arm and a leg!
This product is surprisingly fantastic on my skin. It leaves a beautiful soft finish. I tried the liquid version, but found it did not give me enough coverage. The compact version is more buildable.
I like applying it with a sponge, I have tried with a stipling brush, but with the sponge I got a more flawless finish. I also try using my fingers, but I still finding dabbing it with the sponge lightly to be best. Even with using a sponge, you don't need a lot of product! A little goes a long way.
The major con is the price of this product. The product claims to be refillable however after some research, the refils are only available for purchase in Asia and the UK/Europe.
I do love the finish it leaves on my skin, so despite the price I will repurchase. However I will save it for duty free or when I travel to the US or Asia as it is much cheaper than buying it in Australia.

Let me first just say I MUCH prefer this version of VA over its liquid counterpart. The coverage is better, staying power is longer, and it doesn't settle into my fine lines. It does tend to separate on my oily days (I'm combination...dry cheeks and chin, oily T-zone). I've found that a good mattifying primer solves that problem though. Application was tricky at first, the sponge provided in the compact gave a heavier, thick coverage...but then a flattop buffing brush did the trick! A regular flat foundation brush is not optimal for this formula, it makes for streaky and uneven application. I do have to set it with powder, but that's typical for my skin. Just make sure to have an SA match you if possible....I am a pale nc10 and ordered shade b10 as it was the lightest available. It seemed to match, but left "dots" on my face from sinking into my pores and after 20 minutes or so I looked almost sick and unhealthy. Frustrated, I drove 2 hours to the nearest Chanel counter and found that my shade was simply too light and once she matched me, the sallowness and paleness went away and I didn't have the pore problem anymore! The beige rose (BR22) was much better! I had previously avoided it because I was scared of the "rose" tones emphasizing the natural redness in my fair Irish skin...but it was a great match! I've found when it comes to Chanel foundations, trying to counteract redness with yellow tones never works for me! As for the compact, I'm still deciding if I'd repurchase. Like it much more than Vitalumiere Aqua liquid, but it's still not my favorite. Still hoping to fall in love with it though!

UPDATE: I took off a 1 lippie as this just doesn't provide the natural look Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra Light liquid does. That's my go-to makeup. --- I was looking for something in-between a liquid foundation (most block my pores to varying degrees) and a powder (most are too drying or too shiny). I am ghost pale with neutral undertones. Got this in the lightest shade: 10 Beige. The match is OK, but could be less yellow. It provides light coverage and leaves a uniform, dewy, plump look to the skin which makes me look a little younger. Definitely very natural looking, like wearing a tinted moisturizer so your skin just looks better and more even but not covered up. However, you do need to keep a light touch and not layer it too much. This hasn't clogged my pores. I would purchase again if I were to find a better matching shade.

I found this very expensive for the amount of product you get (even by Chanel standards!). Compared to the other recent Chanel foundation releases (Perfection Lumiere and Vitalumiere Aqua which I love, both for different reasons), this compact is just meh. No lasting power on my combination skin, feels heavy on the skin (I have applied it with both the pad in the compact and a Sigma F80), and is just disappointing overall. Will probably never finish the product in the compact and if that day ever comes, I will be happy to see it go and not repurchase!

This is my HG foundation. I am very very oily in the T zone but have dry flakey patches at times. I have tried every foundation ever made. I have hated them all. This foundation is amazing. It's easy to apply, I use the sponge that it came with. It's creamy and smooth, blends like a dream. Leaves skin glowing and dewy. I do use a setting powder of course. I fear that if I didn't, I would be far too dewy and that it would not set. This is not a deal breaker for me however, as I always use a setting powder. There is an undescribable glow that comes from this foundation, although, it's perfectly natural and soft looking. Coverage is medium. I guess I'm about NC25 and I purchased shade 32. So soft and lovely. I wish it wasn't so pricey, but alas, it is Chanell.

I sooo regret having got this. I went to a Chanel makeup event where I had a makeup artist apply this on me. I liked the finish (at the time) and the way the shade matched my skintone perfectly, so I purchased it. *Sigh*. After a couple of hours not only did my skin feel oily and look super shiny, but you could see every darn flake on my skin. I have tried to reapply it using different techniques but results seem to be the same. Awful waste of money. Would definitely NOT buy again.

I had high hopes for this product because I love Vitalumiere Aqua liquid and I have a great colormatch in the lightest US shade of it, 10 Beige. The finish of that is very natural and I'm happy with it overall but because of the high alcohol content, it can exacerbate my dry skin issues after several days of wear so I thought I would try this, hoping it would be the cream version of the liquid. Well it's nothing like it. I am NC15 and the shade 10 Beige was a poor match as it is very peachy-toned and I have strong yellow undertones. I thought the creamy texture of this would be nice for my dry skin but it didn't work at all. It highlighted every flake and looked very makeup-y as it sat on top of my skin and never blended in, no matter what kind of application I tried. It looked like Cover Girl foundation from the early 80s. I expected so much more for $70. I returned it after one use.