I was first introduced to Charlotte Tilbury makeup at a Selfridges London counter in 2015 and the whole experience floored me. I’d never come across a brand that was so consistent in everything from its marketing to the shop fit-outs, down to the products themselves. This brand is all about the details, with an emphasis on Old Hollywood glamour and elements that wouldn’t look out in a 1920s boudoir of sorts.
I was familiar with the brand and Charlotte’s work so my expectations for the products were high (on that day I bought my first of many bottles of Light Wonder, a Filmstar Bronze & Glow palette, Penelope Pink Lipstick and Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk) and to this day, Charlotte Tilbury is my most loved and reached-for beauty brand (at serious risk of ostracising all other brands).
I’d been an avid viewer of the brand’s YouTube channel for about a year prior and I still consider it one of the best brand channels I’ve seen, with Charlotte herself sharing tips on how to use every single product she releases and breaking everything down into really accessible tutorials.
This woman (*her marketing team) are infamous for making bold, fluffy claims- think “gorgeous, baby soft skin”, “the best complexion you’ve ever dreamt of”, “the juiciest lips on earth”, “bigger brighter eyes”, and repeated use of the word “darling.” I am MAD for fluffy language as long as the product is decidedly fluff-free and lives up to the claims and, for the most part, these products do.
To address the inevitable- in Australia, Charlotte Tilbury is only available online. I’ve purchased via the Charlotte Tilbury website, Net-A-Porter and in store in London, however I’ve been told it’s also available to Australian shoppers on Cult Beauty. This may pose a problem for anyone who wants to colour match their foundation, however I’ve found the online colour matching tool to be surprisingly accurate. When in doubt, my secret online shopping tool is Findation. Thank me later
SKIN
Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream has been a firm favourite of mine for three years, however I prefer it to prep the skin for makeup rather than as a twice daily moisturiser- this is because of both the price (this is too expensive for twice daily use) and to me it feels a bit more like “fluffy” skincare than anything active. I don’t mean that as a criticism, as this is a really beautiful moisturiser and it plumps the skin up for foundation like almost nothing else.
Given my love for Magic Cream, my expectations for Magic Night Cream were HIGH. This has had truly polarising reviews. I like it as my skin errs towards dry and I love waking up with residue on my face after using a night cream, but the texture is that of the stickiest moisturiser I have ever used. Again, I like it, but if you have even slightly oily skin or just don’t love the feeling of anything too heavy overnight, this isn’t the night cream for you.
A product I can’t see myself ever falling out of love with is the Goddess Skin Clay Mask. This is my ultimate pre-event, special occasion mask. I’ve used this repeatedly before big events since its launch a few years ago. I was used to clay masks extracting grime and oil and really detoxing the skin and, in turn, leaving it feeling a bit tight which doesn’t make for the ideal makeup base. This clay mask is like the anti-clay mask. It leaves bright, plump hydrated skin in its wake and makes everything look BETTER. If I want the sexiest skin possible I’ll follow this up with ye olde Magic Cream and Wonderglow, which I’ll get to in a moment.
COMPLEXION
Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation is, and has been for upwards of three years, my holy grail foundation. If you like full coverage and a matte finish, this is not for you. The coverage is medium but VERY easy to build (I find the best way to apply is to really buff it into the skin, then stipple some extra product over any areas where you want to build up coverage), and the finish is as dewy as dewy gets. A real “your skin but better” foundation. I find it to last for hours on end on my skin (if you follow me on Instagram, I chronicled a day during fashion week on which I applied my foundation at 3.30am, got on a plane, and still looked respectable at 8pm that night sans touch-ups) but if you have particularly oily skin I imagine you’ll need a really good setting powder. For reference, I use shade 4.
Conversely, the Unisex Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturiser is not for me. I thought I loved it at first as the coverage is what I want from a tinted moisturiser (and by that I mean next to no coverage, just a sheer wash of colour to even out the complexion), however in retrospect I just don’t love it. The formula looks white but contains little beads that burst with colour as you apply it- this makes the texture quite grainy, and it only comes in one shade so if you have very far or anything deeper than Mediterranean skin, this probably won’t work.
Two products that I love equally are the Wonderglow Primer and the Hollywood Flawless Filter. Both products are designed to give the skin a “lit from within” glow, and both deliver on that promise. Where they differ is in their texture. Wonderglow is very fluid and, while I’ve used it on top of foundation as a subtle highlight on a few occasions, the consistency really lends itself to use as either a primer or mixed in with foundation to add a glow and/or sheer it out. Wonderglow also claims to contain skincare benefits. I don’t know if this is true or not and frankly I don’t care because the product itself diffuses and blurs everything and that’s all I need. I’ve not needed to use this on top of foundation since Hollywood Flawless Filter launched as I find this to be the perfect subtle highlighter. This product was marketed for use as a primer, mixed in with foundation, on top of foundation or for use all over the skin for a wash of colour in place of foundation, but I find it FAR too shiny for the last option. My favourite way to use it has been to apply it to the two outer thirds of my face, where I don’t see any shine develop throughout the day, then apply a mattifying foundation down the centre of the face and blend them together.
CHEEKS
The Charlotte Tilbury product that seems to receive the most unanimously positive reviews is the Filmstar Bronze and Glow sculpting and highlighting palette. This is another product that I’d consider as a holy grail up there with Light Wonder. The pans are big so you get a decent amount of product in there (for reference I’ve had mine for three years and while I’ve hit pan on both sides, I won’t be needing a replacement any time soon), and the powders are so finely milled that they blend out like a dream. The bronze shade is neutral (neither orange nor ashy), and the highlighter is the perfect champagne hue. I can’t rave about this duo enough.
The Filmstar Bronze and Blush Glow palette came into my life a few months ago. The bronze is the very same colour and formula as in its Bronze and Glow counterpart so it’s just as impressive, and the blush is a lovely, universally flattering coral-pink flecked with subtle gold pigments, with colour payoff and texture just as impressive as the bronzer. This palette also comes with a brush. The brush is nice! It’s not the usual shape I reach for for a blush application, but it works a treat.
If you prefer a liquid contour and highlight, the Hollywood Contour Duo is equally impressive (I should have mentioned earlier on in the piece that I’ve been impressed with quite literally every CT cheek product I’ve tried, so if you were looking for a scathing review you may not be in the right place). You only need the tiniest amount of product when applying these, particularly the contour wand as it is DARK (even the light shade is very dark, so if you have fair skin you’ll really need to blend well and apply with a light hand. The applicator cushion is crap, but I just use it to dot the product onto my skin then blend out with a brush. I use these as often as I use the powder duo as the colours are really similar- the perfect neutral brown and pearlescent champagne.
I didn’t love the Beach Stick in Ibiza when I first tried it two or so years ago, but on reflection I think that was because I wasn’t very good at applying cream contour because today this is my most used on-the-go bronzer. Colour is slightly warmer than the aforementioned contouring products so it’s good for more of a naturally sun kissed finish as opposed to a contour. It has some shimmer in it, but I don’t find it too noticeable on my skin because I’m mad for some dew. They also say you can use the Beach Sticks on your lips. Don’t do it to yourself, they are too dry.
Similar in consistency but different in its delivery system is CT’s newest launch, the Pretty Youth Glow Filter cheek duo. This cream blush feels quite firm in the pan, and as I’m used to applying cream blush with my fingers (I find it easier to warm up a firm product this way) I was confused as to why a brush was supplied for application. It turns out that a professional makeup company knows more than I do (weird) and the Cheek Hug Brush distributes the PERFECT amount of product onto the skin. There’s two colours here- a rosy blush and a pink toned highlight, however the highlight wears as more of a very light blush on me.
I wasn’t sure which category to pop Instant Look in a Palette in, so here it is. I have the shade Natural Beauty, you get three eyeshadows, two blushes, a highlighter and a bronzer, the formulas are just as good as the regular Charlotte Tilbury powders and it’s the perfect travel companion.
EYES
The Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eye Palettes were amongst the products the brand was launched with, and I still think they’re some of the clever-est. Each palette ties into a signature “look,” with an accompanying tutorial available on the website and YouTube channel. These quads are the best example of “colour by numbers” eyeshadow I’ve ever used. I have the Vintage Vamp incarnation but have tried out a few of them- they all blend out beautifully and don’t crease with wear, and the “Pop” shade in each palette is formulated to be applied using the finger. I also have the Bigger, Brighter Eyes Exagger-eyes quad as part of the recently launched Beauty Filters collection, and I’ve found the formula of these shadows to be exactly the same despite a different name.
A limited edition holiday palette that I pray comes back into circulation is the Instant Eye Palette, because this is one of very few 12-pan-palettes in which I genuinely use all 12 shades (you know when you have a big palette and you only use the same three shades? That doesn’t happen here). Unfortunately these shadows are nowhere near as richly pigmented as the quads, but I read somewhere that this was intentional so that people who aren’t super confident with eyeshadow would be able to use this in sheer layers of colour, building up to a look they’re confident with.
As far as eyeshadows go, my equal favourite formula (equal with the quads) are the Eyes to Mesmerise pots. These are cream eyeshadows that can be blended out using either the fingers or a brush (I apply using my finger then buff out any harsh lines with a fluffy brush), and work equally well on their own or as a base for powders. Similarly, I like using the Colour Chameleon pencils as both an eyeshadow and a base, although the formula doesn’t have the “tack” that Eyes to Mesmerise does.
Legendary Brows is an AMAZING product, and while the gel itself is comparable to just about any good brow gel out there (I find that most brow products do essentially the same thing so I’m not fussy with them), what really sets this apart is the brush- it’s the finest brow gel brush I have ever seen, making it perfect for precision application and for anyone with thin, fine, sparse brows.
Mascara never really wows me, so I would describe my feelings towards both Full Fat Lashes and Legendary Lashes as “apathetic.” Legendary lashes is no longer in circulation as the brand has since launched Legendary Lashes Volume 2, which is really good! I find Full Fat Lashes a bit smudgy, which is not a problem I have with Legendary Vol 2.
LIPS
I know I’ve raved about more or less every Charlotte Tilbury product, but the lip products are my very favourites. I collect CT lipsticks, as you can see, and Penelope Pink is my all time favourite nude lipstick (although that’s not me saying you need to rush out and buy it necessarily- the right nude lipstick is about as personal as the right colour foundation, this colour just happens to be right for me). The Matte Revolution, K.I.S.S.I.N.G. and Hot Lips formulas are all equally long wearing and hydrating, and the colour range is spectacular. These are expensive as far as lipsticks go, but they really are beautiful and feel so comfortable on the lips. The Hollywood Lips matte liquid lipsticks are also among the best matte liquids I’ve ever tried. They last longer than anything ever, but do keep in mind if you are new to liquid lipsticks that a matte liquid formula is always going to be less hydrating than a cream formula from a bullet.
I usually dislike glosses (which I think anyone who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s will have in common), but the Lip Lustre have turned me right around. I started using them out of curiosity as one of last year’s holiday sets contained trios of gloss, lipstick and liner, formulated to be worn together, and who am I to argue with a holiday set. These are heavenly. Not sticky like 90s Bonne Bell, and they attract the light to make your lips look so much plumper and juicier. They’re the hero ingredient in any sexy lip recipe.
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat lip liners are genuinely the only lip liners I use. I don’t know what else to say about them. They’re long lasting, foolproof to use and the colour range is just as impressive as that of the lipsticks. The colour that stole my heart initially, and still has it, is Pillow Talk. Charlotte claims that this colour mimics your natural lip tone, so when you use it to slightly overdraw your lips the result is a naturally fuller looking pout. I don’t know if this is the truth, but what I do know is that this liner is the EXACT same hue as my lips so on me it works a charm.
As mentioned, Charlotte Tilbury products are only available online in Australia, but I will update this page if circumstances change.
