Chanel recently reformulated two of their base products including the Ultra Le Teint Foundation ($60, available in 35 shades), Le Correcteur de Chanel ($43, available in 16 shades), and Le Correcteur de Chanel in a Color Corrector ($43, 4 shades).
I hauled the new foundation and concealer to put them to the test and have a closer look with swatches today.
Chanel Ultra Le Teint
The Chanel Ultra Le Teint Ultrawear All-Day Comfort Foundation is a soft matte finish foundation with a lightweight texture and medium buildable coverage. It’s been a while since I tried the original Ultra Le Teint so I can’t exactly recall what the old one was like, but I think I remember it being on the thicker heavy side. The new reformulation has a more fluid lightweight feel compared to the original. Compared to current Chanel matte/velvet bases it’s not thin and doesn’t have quite as much slip as the Ultra Le Teint Velvet (reviewed here).
Formula blends well for a soft demi-matte finish. I swatched a few at the counter and the sales associate agreed that I looked like I was in between shades B40/B50 possibly a BD41. The undertone of BD41 matched better for my yellow/olive/golden skintone but is just a tad too light. The next shade up BD51 was too deep and olive for me. If I were to get my exact match I’d probably be a mix of BD41 with B50.
Once on the skin it doesn’t really oxidize but I was surprised that it adjusts and blends out perfectly. Most matte foundations tend to darken once they dry on my skin and I was really pleased that this one does not.
Lasting power is pretty impressive. Finish can be a little streaky if you have dry skin, but this can be fixed with a good moisturizer underneath and some good blending. Overall I like it but I still prefer the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation for formula and how it looks on the skin.
A few swatch comparisons for reference. I’ll link my previous reviews to other formulas below:
- Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 6.5 and 7 (review here)
- Chanel CC Cream in 40 Beige (review here)
- Chanel Ultra Le Teint Velvet in B40 (review + swatches here)
- Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation in BD41 and B40 (more swatches here)
- Cle de Peau Radiant Fluid Matte in O40 (review here)
- NARS Natural Radiant Foundation in Vanuatu (review + swatches here)
- Comprehensive Foundation + Concealer Shade Guide for current formulas I’ve reviewed in my Foundation + Concealer Reference Guide for Medium Tan Skintones
Le Correcteur de Chanel Longwear Concealer
I’ve received a lot of questions over the years about the Chanel concealer and how it compares to other brands like Dior and NARS. To be frank, I’ve never been a super huge fan of the Chanel concealers. The formula isn’t bad, it’s just not what I prefer. Finish tends to be thin, not creamy enough and the colors have always been a little off for my skin. Either too pale, too dark or too pink in undertone. This round Chanel added more shades with their Le Correcteur de Chanel Longwear Concealer.
Formula is lightweight with a gel-based formula. It does the job at brightening and concealing the under eye. It won’t crease, it’s easy to blend, it has soft-focus pigments to diffuse light with a brightening effect (but has no shimmer/glow).
Overall it’s decent. It performs as described. I prefer formulas that are more creamy and emollient. I don’t think it has enough coverage for spot concealing although I did not try the color correctors to see if those work better. I just don’t think it’s the best out there. For a similar coverage I prefer the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer by far for the emollient texture and creamy feel. I like the color range in NARS better too.
For a color match, the first counter I went to was sold out of B40 so I went to another store nearby and didn’t realize until I got home that they sold me the old formula which is 40 Beige. So I have both the old and new 40 colors to swatch for you side by side. A few videos I watched on YouTube also showed that the old and new in the B20 color are also different. I suspect this might be the case across the board that the colors are slightly different.
I ordered the new B40 along with the B30 and BD31 to compare. I know a lot of you like one 1-2 shades lighter than your skintone for brightening. For me after testing all three, the best one for me is B40 but I think it’s still a bit too light and the next shade deeper is too dark.
Swatch comparisons to a few other brands:
- NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Macadamia, Ginger and Praline (formula is more creamy and easier to blend)
- Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion in 3N (more swatches here, formula is thicker and more emollient)
- Tarte Shape Tape in 35N Medium (formula is full coverage, thicker, more creamy, better for spot concealing)
Full below look wearing:
- Foundation Chanel Ultra Le Teint in BD41
- Concealer Chanel Le Correcteur de Chanel in B40
- Bronzer in Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Luminous in Deep (as a bronzer)
- Blush Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Initiale
- Eyeshadow Patrick Ta Major Dimension Eyeshadow Palette
- Eyeliner Chanel Stylo Yeux in Ebene
- Lipliner Chanel Le Crayon Levres in Rose Naturel (swatches of all liners here)
- Lipstick Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom in Dream (swatches of all colors here)
- Gloss Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in Noce Moscata (review here)
- Top Free People Ciara Layering Top
Overall I think the new foundation is a good basic semi-matte base that will offer medium natural coverage and last all day. The concealer is decent but compared to other brands I would say a pass.
Have you tried the new base products yet? What did you think?
Available at Chanel.com and all other Chanel counters.
