Jan
2018
Moviestar makeup: First impressions with Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics
If there’s one beauty brand that I’ve been wanting to try for a while, it’s Charlotte Tilbury.
Here’s the thing though, living in lowly ol’ Winnipeg, we actually don’t have a Charlotte Tilbury counter here in the city. I travel often and always make a point to go to Nordstrom, where they carry the brand, but when you have as much makeup as I do, it really comes down to “do I need anymore?” Do I need more eyeshadow palettes? Mascaras? Primers, lipsticks, you name it. The easy answer is “no”, but when you’re longing for something, then, yes, yes I do.
So thus I ended up with some Charlotte Tilbury. The brand was actually kind enough to send over some goodies to try out and I was more than happy to play around with it all. Like I said, I had never used the brand before, but had only heard great things about it. In case you didn’t know, Charlotte Tilbury is actually a British celebrity makeup artist and came out with her line a couple years back in 2014.
There are some majorly buzzed about products in her line, so I was super pumped to get to try some of them out. First up is the Airbrush Flawless Finish powder, which is a skin-perfecting finishing powder. This is meant to be applied over top of your foundation and concealer to set it and it includes ingredients to prevent excess shine and brighten your complexion. There are three shades available, fair, medium, and dark, and meaning that these don’t go on too opaque. Since I’m quite fair, I have the 01 Fair and found that this does make my skin look radiant. The powder is quite silky and I like applying this with a fluffy powder brush. The soft-focus micro powders from nano-particles blur away lines and imperfections, meanwhile the rose wax and almond oil hydrates skin throughout the day.
I have used this a fair number of times and do find that it does darken up my foundation by a smidgen, but it sort of acts like my Hourglass Dim Light powder does. It makes my skin look flawless, sets everything perfect, and my makeup stays put for much longer. This powder retails for C$58, which is quite expensive for a powder (although the Hourglass ones retail for around the same price). With that being said, it is quite a luxurious product, that will not only make your skin look flawless, but toss that rose gold compact in your clutch for a night out.
Next up is the Filmstar Bronze & Glow, a fact sculpting and highlight palette. Available in two shades, light to medium and medium to dark, this duo contains a bronzer with very fine micro-shimmer (not noticeable on the skin), as well as an iridescent highlight. The brand actually sent me the medium to dark version, which is best suited to deeper skin tones, but girl, when you get Charlotte Tilbury, you make it work.
The bronzer is a little deeper than what I would normally use, so therefore I have to go in with a light hand. Thankfully, a tap of my brush in the product is all I need. Even though this is a deeper bronzer, I don’t find that it is overwhelming, it’s actually still very flattering on my fair skin. The bronzer includes a blend of pearl and pigment, making contouring a breeze (and natural looking), it’s also very blendable and smooth. It doesn’t just go on your skin and stay there like other bronzers. The colour is soft and blends out nicely.
As for the highlight, this is an apricot colour, which as you can guess would not really suit my skintone. I’ve somehow managed to make it work, but again, I need to go in with a very light hand. Considering how the colour is so deep in the pan, I’m actually surprised that I’m able to use this at all.
Wrong colour aside, I really like this duo and it will definitely get more use in the summer when my skin is more tanned. Here’s the thing, it retails for C$80, which is very pricey (considering you can get a contour kit with six shades for less money), but it does work wonderfully (especially considering that this isn’t even my correct shade and I can use it).
Finally, for the eyes, the Eyes to Mesmerise cream eyeshadow is perfect to use on its own or as a base. I believe she has six shades of this and it’s an incredibly creamy eyeshadow that just glides on the lids. I’ve used this solo, as well as underneath powder shadows and it works phenomenally.
I received the colour Marie Antoinette, an antique oyster gold hue/shimmery light brown with gold undertones that is pretty universal for any skin tone. It comes housed in a pot, so you can apply this with your fingers or a brush. I’ve used this for a few months now and found it’s still incredibly creamy and a little goes a long way (seriously, you only need a dab of this product). Its water-infused formula has a cooling effect on the eyes so it’s quite nice to apply. It also glides on and sticks down nicly, leaving you with a nice sheen once it’s set.
I find this particular colour to be incredibly flattering and love pairing this with a darker brown in the crease, as well as a shimmery champagne in the inner corner. Like I said, this works wonders both as a base for your powder shadow, or just by itself. For the purposes of this review, I just left it as is on my lids in the photos, so you can see what it looks like applied (I also used it as a base for my lower lash line).
These retail for C$36 each, which I feel like isn’t too bad for a good cream shadow. This will also last you forever. If you are wondering how it looks on different skintones, Charlotte Tilbury’s site has a number of models on there, so you can see how it would look with your colouring.
So my final thoughts? Although I do find some of her products to be expensive, they really do live up to the hype. This is a department store luxury brand that I’ve only ever seen sold at Nordstrom or Holt Renfrew, so that’s telling you something. I also want to note that I love her packaging. The rose gold gets me every time and it’s just so luxurious, so you could carry some of these around with you in your purse (especially the powder for touchups throughout the day). If you are looking to splurge, definitely look into this brand.
Have you tried any Charlotte Tilbury products? What were your thoughts?
Please note, products provided by PR, all opinions are my own.
Like what you read? Check out these related posts: