Charlotte Tilbury, what a woman. A truly classy and inspirational British makeup artist, now with her own very successful brand of makeup and skincare products. Whenever I mention Charlotte in conversation I seem to get two very different responses. The first, ‘Charlotte who? I don’t think I have ever heard of her’ and the second, ‘OH MY GOODNESS, she is amazing! The rose gold packaging!’.
When I first heard that Charlotte was bringing out her own line, I couldn’t wait. She is an incredibly talented makeup artist and her clients include Cara Delevingne, Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and she has worked on campaigns such as Tom Ford and Michael Kors. In her YouTube videos she comes across as lovely and approachable, the kind of woman who you want to trust and invest in.
A lot of ‘celebrity’ makeup lines are failures before they have even launched, many seem to put their name on a bottle of perfume or a range of products these days and call them their own line. Charlotte Tilbury has not done that. She is involved in every single stage of the process and you can just tell by the way she talks about the products how passionate she is about them. Her famous ‘Magic Cream’ comes from her own concoction of products which she used to mix together to instantly boost the look of models skin when she was backstage on a shoot or fashion show. Charlotte has been in the industry for years starting her makeup career assisting another MUA when she was in her early teens.
It wasn’t until the beginning of 2014 when I finally went to visit her counter in Selfridges, London and make some purchases. I chose three things, just to experiment with and see how they faired as the line is quite luxurious and has a price tag to match!
The first item I chose was the ‘Luxury Palette’ in the shade Dolce Vita. It is essentially an eyeshadow quad with 3 shimmers and one incredibly glittery one which is almost like a pressed pigment. The thing I love most about Charlotte Tilbury is that all of her products come with easy to follow steps in how to apply whatever it is you have. There is a function for everything and Charlotte makes it very easy for you to get the effect you want with different products and techniques. For example, in the quads, the lightest shade is known as the ‘PRIME’ shadow, to be used as the base all over the lids. Secondly, the amber, coppery shade is known as ‘ENHANCE’, the shadow in the palette to apply most colour and give the look a certain edge. The last shimmery shadow is known as ‘SMOKE’, to add a smokey effect to the look. Finally, the glitter in the left hand corner is called ‘POP’, best applied with a finger to add an extra touch of glamour, making the eyes, you guessed it… POP! The whole quad is so beautifully put together and packaged and it includes a mirror too which is always handy!
Next, I knew I wanted one of her ‘Matte Revolution’ lipsticks after hearing so many good things about them. They come in stunning rose gold packaging, just like the rest of the range, which makes it look so expensive and elegant, I love getting it out off my handbag to reapply! The bullet is square which makes it much easier to apply when you don’t want to bother with a lip brush. I went for the shade Love Liberty as I was only getting one so I wanted a statement lip rather than a nude. They are lovely, I want all of them. It is matte without being drying on the lips and it has incredible lasting power. I love to pair this with my MAC Vino lip liner for a super vampy look.
The last item I picked up was the ‘Lip Cheat’ in Pillowtalk after hearing everyone and her dog talking about it! I can certainly see what the fuss it about, its a perfect ‘your lips but better’ colour and has a very soft, creamy texture therefore easy to apply. When using this, it is quite effortless to make my lips look fuller and also helps lipstick stay on longer too, although I do like to wear it on its own with a gloss over the top.
Charlotte Tilbury is a line which when compared to other high end brands isn’t too over the top price wise, and she just seems to have hit the nail on the head with all of her releases. I cannot wait to pick up more from the counter when I am next in London!
The line has expanded beautifully since it first launched in 2013 and is available at www.charlottetilbury.com and Selfridges.
Have you tried any of Charlotte Tilbury’s products? Is there anything you have your eye on?
ALF x
*All of the items featured were purchased by me.