After a recent trip to Limerick I picked up a few things in the Brown Thomas there. I was very excited to try out Charlotte Tilbury’s brand since (according to the logical harmony list) it’s cruelty-free and I consider it to be a high-end, luxury brand. I heard also that Charlotte Tilbury is coming to the Brown Thomas in Cork (mid- August I think), so I said that I would give my first impressions on the products I bought to see if they are worth the splurge for anyone interested for when the products come to Cork.
‘Magic Foundation’
The first thing I went for was the Charlotte Tilbury ‘Magic’ Foundation, I have seen a few reviews on this product and I really wanted to try out a full coverage foundation as I tend to stick to more light/medium coverage foundations. I got matched to Shade 2- Fair . It comes in shades 1-12 with a 3.5 ,4.5 and a 9.5 aswell.
So just quoting the claims on the back of the packaging this foundation is supposed to be:
- Full-coverage
- Demi-matte
- Long-lasting
And the skin is supposed to be:
- Moisturised
- Dewy
- With minimised pores
Also on the side of the packaging written is ‘Flawless,Poreless,Youthful looking skin everyday’.
One bottle has 1 fluid ounce (30ml) and has SPF 15.
Now I have to say that is a lot of claims for one foundation! I’m going to go through each one of the claims an give a little spiel on them.
On my bare skin with no primer, I used a flat top brush from wet and wild to apply the foundation on one side and a damp real techniques blending sponge on the other to compare how the foundation worked with both, and I used about a pump for each side.
Before:
No flash
Flash
- Full-coverage
When I used this for the very first time the coverage actually disappointed me a little, I kept looking in the mirror thinking ‘so this is it, this is what full-coverage looks like’, my freckles were still visable. The side I used the brush on gave me more of a fuller coverage than the side with the sponge, but I expected that anyway since sponges give more of a sheer coverage. When I asked my family what they thought some of them said ‘It’s very natural’ and others didn’t even know I was wearing any foundation. However then my friend thought that it did look full-coverage. So maybe it looked like a natural full-coverage? The coverage is more than a light/medium foundation, but I don’t know if it’s full full coverage. To be honest I’m still undecided on how I feel about the coverage, but you can judge for yourself with the pictures :’)
- Demi-matte
Yes, this is a true claim the foundation is not dewy it is definitely matte. That being said it did not dry out my skin, but at the moment since it’s summertime my dry skin doesn’t get as dry as it would in the wintertime. So for any dry skin people out there it seems to be okay for now but in the winter when my skin is more dry it could be a completely different story.
- Long-lasting
I feel like this means different things to different people, for me long lasting is a maintained coverage and performance of a foundation for maybe 5ish hours or however long I’m out, basically I still want it to be on my face after a long day. On the first day I tried this out at the end of the day it looked like I was wearing nothing, the difference between the foundation at the end of the day and my bare face was pretty much non-exsistant. But to be fair I had it on for around 9 hours that day and even with the claim of long lasting I did not expect it to last 9 hours. It lasts a decent amount of time though.
First Application
Around 9 hours later
- Moisturised skin
Once again, it did not dry out my skin. After removal my skin didn’t feel dry either. As for moisturised I didn’t really notice it if it was, but not being dry is good enough for me.
- Dewy skin
While wearing the foundation no, it did not make me look dewy. As for afterwards my face looked pretty much the same as every other time I remove my make-up.
- Minimised Pores
One thing I can say is that after applying I said to my friend ‘It kinda blurs the skin doesn’t it?’ so I’m not sure if it was my pores that were minimised or if it was just good at evening my skin tone, but either way I did think that it gave my skin a more even, flawless finish.
- Overall Thoughts
When I touched my skin it doesn’t feel tacky, so I think it does have more of a lightweight feel. When I heard it had SPF in it I was a bit worried about flashback, using my pictures you can judge for yourself, considering my skin is pale anyway, but I honestly can’t completely tell, close up it looks like it does but further away it doesn’t , I don’t know :’)
No flash
Flash 
On a personal note I don’t think this foundation is entirely suited to me. Considering I’m 17 I don’t think that full-coverage is for me and at the moment I prefer a dewy finish as opposed to matte. I will definitely use this foundation again though, I think this would preform well for an event such as a party or a wedding and overall I don’t regret buying this product. It blended out evenly with both brush and sponge. I thought it got a little cakey around my nose and upper lip area or maybe it oxidised a little bit more,so applying less here would help.
As for the price point it is €40. I think this is expensive to be honest, some of this I think goes into the packaging which definitely gives the product a luxury feel. I wouldn’t recommend this product to someone of my own age because I feel like it would be more suited for my skin in a few years time. If you’re looking for a matte foundation with good enough coverage and want to treat yourself this could be for you.
‘Matte Revolution – Hot Lips’
I was so excited to try a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick, it was one of those things that I imagined myself buying for the first time when I was 25 and it being the norm. After looking over all of the range I decided I wanted a more glossy, creme finish as opposed to matte. However after looking at a little separate stall with 12 lipsticks I fell in love with the concept that some of the money from the lipsticks bought could go to a charity . So instead I went for a matte in ‘Kidmans Kiss’.
It is 3.5g/0.12ounces.
I love a bold lip, so most of my lip colours are bright reds or deep purples so I went for just a simple pink.
Once again the lipstick claims to be :
- Cashmere cream in texture
- Soft- matte finish
This doesn’t have as many claims as the foundation and it lives up to both claims!
- Cashmere cream in texture
Cashmere I don’t know, but it feels so nice on the lips! It was so comfortable to wear, it felt soft, buttery and it does not dry out your lips at all. It applies very smoothly, and I had to stop myself from using too much just because it felt really nice to apply.
- Soft-matte finish
Yes this is a soft-matte in finish. This is not shiny or glossy.Once again, even though it is matte it does not dry out my lips.
- Overall Thoughts
The colour of the lipstick is lovely, I don’t know if it suits my skin-tone that well but I think I just need to get used to wearing pinks.This lipstick does transfer and will come off when eating/drinking. At the end of the day it was completely gone but then again I didn’t expect it to last 9 hours :’) I think this is the type of lipstick you would have to top up through out the day. As for colour bleeding I didn’t notice much. Also it smells so good!
The price of this lipstick is a whopping €30. Yes this so much money to spend on a lipstick. The packaging is once again very pretty and was one of the buying points for me to be honest. As for the formula, it is comfortable and the pigment is good but you can get comfortable formula and good pigment at the drugstore. This is not something I’ll be buying again soon just because the price point is steep. However I think this would be an amazing gift for a Christmas/Birthday present or just as a payday present to yourself, but don’t break the bank on one lipstick, well unless you want to 🙂
‘Lip Lustre’
This was more of an impulse buy for me. Before leaving Limerick the day after buying the foundation and the lipstick I just felt the need to try a gloss :’). I picked out a more nude toned colour called ‘Seduction’.
Gloss with lipstick underneath
On the packaging there were not many claims it was just described as a ‘luxe colour-lasting lip lacquer’. It has 3.5ml/0.12fluid ounces.
- Overall Thoughts
For a lipgloss I think the colour pigmentation is pretty good. It smells nice like the lipstick and it does give a glossy finish. I don’t feel like it lasts that long however it kind of goes off the lips quickly.
On bare lips
As for the price point it is €22. I think this is was a lot of money for a gloss. I don’t see myself repurchasing one again when you can get a drugstore gloss for €7 – €10. Save your money, and if you are going to splurge go for a lipstick instead.
Of what I tried of Charlotte Tilbury’s brand I think it is luxurious with good quality products and really nice packaging. The price-tag is a bit high and it makes it hard to justify spending the money then. It’s safe to say I will not be buying any make-up or anything for a while :’), but that being said I’m overall happy with the products and will enjoy using them and when I have an extra bit of money to spend I’m sure I will try out more!
Just as a final note, I just wanted to say that I think the beauty world hypes up products so much lately that a lot of the products I buy disappoint me. Everyone says ‘it’s amazing, you have to try it’, and often the product would be good but always leaves something to desire just because of the hype. So as a little buyer beware yes some make-up products are really nice but at the end of the day, it still is just make-up! So watch out for products that get hyped up a lot.
If you have made it to the end of this blog post congratulations, because this was so long. I wanted to give a really in depth review of how the products worked for me so that you all could see if you would be interested in them or not.
Let me know if you enjoy in-depth reviews or if I just ramble too much :’)
Thank you to Lauryn and my mom for taking a few pictures for me 😀
Have a fabulous day 🙂
Much love,
Laura x
littlemisslaur 