{ Review } Chanel Le Teint Ultra Tenue

Chanel Le Teint Ultra Tenue Ultrawear Flawless Foundation, R900

What they say: Chanel creates Le Teint Ultra Tenue, a new generation of foundation designed to meet with the demands of active women: those who expect an impeccable complexion in all circumstances, from morning to evening.

With its silky texture so light that it blends perfectly with each contour of the face, so comfortable that it liberates your every move, Le Teint Ultra Tenue is every woman’s “must have”.

Chanel pushes back the limits of creation and technology, offering the perfect balance between translucency and coverage for an exquisite complexion and a luminous matte finish.

What I say: A quick look through my 23-product strong foundation collection reveals not one longwearing formula. Not one! Those of you who have normal, combination and oily skin might not know why, but those of you who have dry skin like me will know exactly why. Longwearing formulas are notoriously drying and have a knack of sitting in dry patches and accentuating every last line and wrinkle.

That was at least until number 24 joined the ranks. Chanel’s latest foundation launch is the unexpected find of the year for me. As you can imagine, I never get excited about longwearing foundations (even if they are from Chanel), as they always disappoint, but not this one.

It had tough competition from my beloved Vitalumiere Aqua – the foundation against which I measure all others. And, yes, I realise that VA is a lightweight moisturising formula, but it is still my yardstick, as if something doesn’t work as well on my skin, why bother?

Anyway, Le Teint Ultra Tenue is simply phenomenal! It looks flawless on the skin right from application (again, I find most longwearing formulas look terrible to begin with, then settle, and finally look horrendous after a few hours). It blends seamlessly, whether applied with a brush sponge or your fingers (another test I put all foundations through). The formula is medium coverage, but can be layered for a more solid finish, yet it is still comfortable, and you don’t feel like you’re wearing makeup at all, let alone a longwear version.

I’ve been wearing it for over a week now, and am amazed each day at how well it fairs. The best test of a longwear formula is to see how much of it you have to remove at the end of the day. This is pretty much all still there after 14 or 15 hours of wear! And, best of all, my skin is soft and hydrated underneath – unheard of with other formulas.

While I don’t think it’s quite managed to pip VA (I still prefer to wear lighter coverage foundations on a day to day basis), it is definitely quite comfortable in second position.