Niche Beauty Talk with Charlotte Tilbury
When did you know that you wanted a career in beauty?
As a teenager, I discovered the transformative power of makeup and would always love doing makeup on my friends at school. I realised that makeup could instill confidence in anyone and knew then that a career in beauty was written in the stars for me – although I had no idea that you could even become a makeup artist back then!
Starting out as a makeup artist in the nineties, I had the most fabulous time working backstage on countless fashion shows with iconic supermodels including Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, as well as creating red carpet looks on celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Sofia Vergara, Salma Hayek and more. People would always ask how they could get Kate Moss’s smokey rock chick eyes, film star cheekbones or gorgeous golden glow, so I just knew I had to bottle that celebrity DNA and share all my tips, tricks and secrets with the world so that everyone could get the gloss of Hollywood stars and airbrushed finish of the supermodels. I wanted to democratise and decodify beauty with incredible products that were easy-to-choose, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand, so that everyone could look and feel like the most beautiful, confident version of themselves!
What are your top 3 beauty rules?
Darling, when it comes to makeup, everyone should be able to follow their own rules. For me, makeup has always been about tapping into its transformative power, enhancing the features that make you uniquely beautiful and unlocking the confidence to conquer your own world!
Which is your forever favourite Charlotte Tilbury product, the one that makes everything instantly better? (And why?)
Darling, it is almost impossible to choose my favourite product – that is like making me choose a favourite child! But, if I had to, it would be my iconic, best-selling Magic Cream, my immediate skin revival moisturiser! It is infused with Cushion + Lift Mesh TechnologyTM, which softens and smooths the feel of skin and lifts the look of facial contours, perfectly priming the skin for makeup. I cannot live without it! It is the magic dew of youth and luminosity in a jar!
And, if I could choose just one more, it would have to be my iconic Pillow Talk Lip Cheat! When I launched my brand, I wanted to create a universally flattering shade that mimicked the tones we are naturally blessed with. I studied countless pigments and shades, identifying the dominant undertones in everyone’s lips to create a shade that enhances your natural beauty. Once I perfected the shade, I launched my Pillow Talk Lip Cheat, the perfect nude-pink hue that reshapes and resizes for fuller-looking lips. What I did for the lips, I have also done for the eyes and cheeks, innovating my whole beauty wardrobe of Pillow Talk to amplify everyone’s natural beauty! And, darling, I have also expanded the Pillow Talk world with additional shades for every complexion: two deeper, sweeter berry-rose tones with Pillow Talk Medium and Pillow Talk Intense, and cooler-toned, nuanced pink of Pillow Talk Fair! Pillow Talk amplifies everyone’s natural beauty and is everyone’s perfect shade!
What does your personal makeup routine look like? What’s your biggest beauty secret?
Darling, you cannot have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas, so I never do makeup without my award-winning Magic Cream! Not only does it hydrate, retexturise and strengthen your skin barrier, it is also infused with Cushion + Lift Mesh TechnologyTM, which softens, smooths and lifts the look of facial contours, perfectly priming the skin for makeup. Makeup glides on flawlessly and lasts longer with my Magic Cream!
For the best glow of my life, I always apply my viral sell-out sensation Hollywood Flawless Filter. My original multi-purpose liquid glow booster blurs, smooths and illuminates the look of your skin like Hollywood lights, and you can wear it alone, as a primer, mixed with foundation, or as a highlighter! I then conceal where I need any additional coverage with my Beautiful Skin Concealer and set with everyone’s favourite Airbrush Flawless Finish powder for that smoothing, blurring airbrush effect. To give me red-carpet cheekbones in seconds, I apply my Hollywood Contour Wand, then combine my viral Beauty Light Wands in the shades Pinkgasm and Spotlight to create the most beautiful, rosy, soft-focus glow on the high points of my face. It looks like you are being followed around with a spotlight!
Everyone knows me for my winged smokey eyes to hypnotise, and I love using rich russet, berry and wine tones as they make my green eyes pop! I start by applying my Eyes to Mesmerise cream eyeshadow in Walk of No Shame across my eyelids, followed by my Pillow Talk and Walk of No Shame Luxury Palettes to really emphasise and exaggerate my eyes. I then create my go-to wing along my upper and lower lash line using my Eye Colour Magic Liner Duo in Copper Charge, which completely transforms my eyes! Finally, I apply my new Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara, which is my secret to 28-hour exaggerated fast volume and curl and gives me bigger, thicker, longer lashes in seconds.
And of course, no look is complete without my iconic Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk! It is the most universally flattering nude-pink hue that mimics the pigments we are naturally blessed with and is my must-have for reshaping and resizing the lips! After lining my lips, I apply my hydrating K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Runway Royalty, which is this universally flattering taupe 90s rose with a dewy satin finish.
Finally, darling, I always set my look using my Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, the ultimate airbrush fix with a clinically proven waterproof formula that weightlessly sets your makeup for up to 16 hours**, with no melting, fading or creasing!
*Tested on 31 people.
**Tested on 30 people.
What about the biggest mistake you see women make when it comes to makeup?
One of the biggest makeup mistakes I see is when people do not prep their skin properly! You cannot have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas, which is why I never do makeup without my iconic Magic Cream!
My iconic Magic Cream was born out of necessity backstage to instantly revive the look of celebrities’ and supermodels’ skin. As a makeup artist, I would create the most iconic looks on the most beautiful people in the world, but noticed their skin was often dry, dull and exhausted from their busy schedules. At the time, there was nothing out there that could instantly transform the look of skin, so I worked with the best Swiss laboratories in the world to innovate Magic Cream. It instantly became a skin saviour for shoots, shows, red carpets and runways!
Now, over a decade later, my Magic Cream continues to be a bestseller. My immediate skin revival moisturiser instantly cushions for hydrated, smoother, firmer, plumper looking skin that glows, thanks to my Cushion + Lift Mesh TechnologyTM, a magic ratio blend of Rosehip Oil, Skin-cushioning Emollients and Oat Extract, which creates a smooth, soft cushioning layer and lifts the look of facial contours. Trust me darlings, with Magic Cream, your makeup will glide on smoother and look luminous all day long!
What’s always in your bag?
Darling, I always carry my Airbrush Flawless Finish powder in my handbag. My complexion-perfecting micro-powder is the secret to flawless, poreless looking skin that lasts! It soft-focuses, smooths and blurs in seconds, instantly mattifying and reducing the look of excess shine for up to 12 hours*, with a luminous matte finish that never looks flat. It is also infused with hydrating Rose Wax and Almond Oil, so it is never dusty or cakey and never sits in fine lines!
Airbrush Flawless Finish pairs perfectly with my Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, my clinically proven waterproof setting spray that primes and sets your makeup for up to 16 hours!* It creates a weightless veil for an airbrushed, perfected makeup look that lasts, without feeling tacky, sticky or drying! It contains flawless Film Formers, which keeps your makeup in place, as well as soothing Aloe Vera, hydrating Japanese Green Tea and Aromatic Resin, which blurs the appearance of pores. Once you have used this, your makeup will not melt, fade or crease and will look freshly applied. It is the ultimate airbrush fix!
*Tested on 30 people.
Thank you!
