Chanel Les Beiges Now Comes in a Super-Sheer Foundation

I don't know about you, but I get the beauty butterflies every time Chanel releases new skin makeup. Every time.

This month, the new kid on the block is Les Beiges All-in-One Healthy Glow Fluid, an ultra-sheer foundation that's meant to even out the skin while giving it a luminous, healthy-looking glow. Hence the name.

Here's the outer packaging:

And obviously I had to snap a pic of these double-Cs all in a row:

They are the first three lightest shades in the collection, Nos. 10, 20 and 30; the collection also includes 40, 50 and 60, so you can choose from six shades altogether.

You probably remember last year's Les Beiges powder, a sheer, luminizing formula that we've seen a fair bit of on the red carpet (on Keira Knightley most recently). The Healthy Glow Fluid is along the same lines: it's also luminizing and has a soft-focus 'retouching' effect.

Even though the tube might look a bit small, you get 30 ml / 1 fl. oz., the standard foundation size.

I would describe the formula as a bit gel-like. Not as much as the Pixi H2O SkinTint (reviewed here), but definitely a lighter weight and less oily than maybe you're used to in a foundation. The dry-down is wonderful—not greasy at all.

Here's how the three lightest shades look on my skin:

Immediately, because I consider myself pale, I thought No. 10 was for me. But at a Chanel media event a few weeks back, I asked the brand's national makeup artist to shade-match me, and she recommended No. 20.

Hmmm. I'm wondering if this is because the product is intended to give you a hint of colour. After all, the press kit talks a lot about how it imparts “the subtle aura of the great outdoors on skin.” (You gotta love Chanel-language.) And didn't Coco Chanel make tanning cool?

Nevertheless, I personally prefer NOT to add colour with my foundation. I just didn't feel as comfortable in the 20 as I did with 10—I feel like 10 covers more redness, which is my main coverage concern, and I didn't want the extra colour of the 20.

So 10 it was. Here's how it looks blended out:

You can see that the coverage is VERY minimal. Definitely more minimal than the Chanel CC Cream (reviewed here). In fact, it's so minimal that I felt compelled to show you how this actually works on one's face.

On the left is my no-makeup photo (eeks!). As you can see, my skin is NOT flawless; I've got redness around the nose and chin, a couple blemishes and I also burnt myself on the forehead with a curling iron. Ahhh…

On the right, the only difference is I'm wearing Les Beiges Healthy Glow Fluid. I didn't use concealer on top because I wanted to show you what it can do on its own. I was pretty satisfied with how well it got rid of the redness—I'd probably only add a tiny extra amount of concealer around the nose, but could definitely get away without. You do still need to spot-conceal darker red marks, blemishes, etc.

And you know what? I am 100 percent okay with that. I always feel like it's better to choose the sheerest coverage you can get away with, and then do your concealing only in the spots where needed—versus wearing a higher-coverage formula all over, which tends to look and feel too heavy for day-to-day wear. Most of us think we have way worse skin than we really do, so consider that you don't need to hide it as much as you might think. (Of course, if you have a lot of imperfections to cover, I would recommend something like Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation instead.)

I also loved the luminous finish of this, which I feel is nicer than what you get with high-coverage foundations. It's subtle, but I think it makes a difference. Most importantly, I still felt like myself, not some person wearing a makeup mask. If you're the same, I think you'll love this.

Here's the lowdown on the ingredients:

There is a bit of fragrance in here, which is typical for Chanel products but may be off-putting for some. (I don't love it, but I can get used to it.)

Also note that the SPF 15 is mineral, woohoo! It's a titanium dioxide, although the word “nano” does give me pause…. At any rate, I wouldn't suggest relying on your makeup for sun protection; it's better to layer this over an antioxidant serum like Phloretin CF and your sunscreen product of choice. Right now, I'm loving Cyberderm Simply Zinc.

Would love to hear what you think!

Where to Buy

Find Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Fluid online at the following retailers:

• Canada: Hudson's Bay
• USA: Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Macy's

Have Your Say

Have you checked out the Healthy Glow Fluid yet?

Would you wear makeup that's this sheer?

Got any other light-coverage foundations to recommend?