I Just Tried Chanel's New Foundation, and I Have Thoughts

There is no denying Chanel knows how to do foundation. Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF15 and Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation are both incredible, but now comes a new foundation, the Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch.

For me, foundation can make or break my whole makeup look. From a cakey mess to a ghastly oxidized finish, foundation is at the root of it all. One brand I have always been able to rely on is Chanel, and boy does it know how to create a great base product, and so when it released the Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch foundation, it went straight into my basket.

"The Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch sits somewhere between a foundation and a concealer. I pump the formula onto the back of my hand and break up the micro-droplet pigments using the brush that comes with it," says Chanel makeup artist Anna Payne. "I then use the formula to cover any redness around the T-zone, blending it outward towards the edges of the face. The formula melts into the skin and feels lightweight and nourishing while giving the perfect level of coverage."

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(Image credit: @zeynabmohamed_)

Before using Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch Foundation.

I am huge fan of the Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint, but as it is a sheer, lightweight formula, sometimes you need a little more coverage. And this foundation—or should I say foundation, concealer and highlighter hybrid—delivers. It’s the Water-Fresh Tint but with extra coverage. The promises don't stop there, though. Chanel proposes that the foundation is a first-of-its-kind versatile base product that also performs as a concealer, for pinpoint concealing, as well as a hydrating, highlighting product that nourishes the skin and leaves you with even skin tone and a glowing finish. What more could you want from a foundation? 

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(Image credit: @zeynabmohamed_)

After using Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch Foundation.

The foundation is formulated with concentrated micro-droplet pigments, which burst on contact with the skin. When it said three times more coverage, Chanel was not lying. One pump is enough to cover my whole face. Even with the fuller coverage, the formula remains incredibly lightweight and feels refreshing on the skin, which is down to the antioxidant-enriched ingredients such as jasmine extract and emollient-rich ingredients such as tamarind extract. It is definitely more than just a foundation. I found that it applied best with a foundation brush, as you really want to blend all those beads of pigment. You’re left with this gorgeous, light, natural-like finish. I am a big fan. Chanel can do no wrong when it comes to foundations.

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Freelance Beauty Journalist

Zeynab Mohamed is a London-based freelance beauty journalist, covering beauty, wellness, lifestyle and identity-related content. Her background in psychology and her identity as a Black woman has influenced a lot of her writing and has become a driving force to create engaging content that touches on a perspective that is often neglected and speaks to other Black women who love beauty as much as she does. She is inspired by how individuals engage with beauty and how beauty can make you feel but also how beauty holds the power to connect individuals across the globe to form communities. She began her career in beauty journalism with the British Vogue team, where she discovered that beauty isn’t just frivolous but can be a tool to empower individuals and give them a voice which they were not afforded.


Zeynab is currently a beauty contributor to Who What Wear. She has also written for Stylist, Elle, Refinery29 and Byrdie, building on her freelance portfolio and expanding on the type of content she creates in the hope of reaching diverse communities. When Zeynab is not writing and hunting down her next story, you can find her travelling the globe and tucked away with a good book.