The Strategist Guide to Shopping at Charlotte Tilbury
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When you shop as regularly as we do, you learn that many brands are just better at doing some things than they are at others — andCharlotte Tilbury, the namesake British beauty brand founded by makeup artist Tilbury, is no exception. To help you find the best skin care, setting products, and more, I’ve rounded up all of the Strategist staff’s favorite Charlotte Tilbury products as well as every single one recommended to us bycelebrities.
Face
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The Airbrush Flawlesssetting sprayis the Charlotte Tilbury product you’ll find most often in our writers’ makeup bags. Updates coordinator Najwa Jamal says it’s the only thing that can defeat the “villain to all things skin and makeup that is New York City in the summer” — a strong endorsement. Senior editorHilary Reidagrees; as well as making makeup last longer, the spray helps it actually sit better on the skin, she’s noticed. “It really does just keep everything in place in a way that looks natural and just very slightly dewy,” she says. “Especially after startingretinol, I found that myconcealerwould flake or get lines fairly easily, and when I use this spray that really just doesn’t happen.” Kitchen and dining writerEmma Wartzmanadds that while there are cheaper setting sprays, “this one is supremely lightweight and not at all tacky” — which is a rarity for sprays that have so much staying power.
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Wartzman also reaches for the setting power from the same line, Airbrush Flawless Finish. “This one somehow just blurs out just the areas that need extra attention like under my eyes and, when it’s hot out and I’m glistening more than usual, my forehead.” She also adds that it lets her skin breathe and never, ever looks cakey. It’s also conveniently purse size, ideal for touch-ups on the go.
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Flawless Filter is my buy-on-repeat Charlotte Tilbury product: I haven’t been without a bottle in five years. It’s so great because you can really use it for all sorts of functions: aprimer, ahighlighter, abronzer, ahighlighter, a replacement forfoundation. I use it mostly for the latter function; my daily makeup routine is down to ten minutes, and a light layer of Flawless Filter leaves me looking glowy and healthy but entirely natural (for the record, Iself-tanoften — if you don’t and want to use Flawless Filter as foundation, pick a light shade). Our resident beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton hasalso reliedon the Flawless Filter to help her “successfully emulate that dog-days-of-summer glow.”
Cheeks
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The brand doesn’t shy away from saucy shade names, as anyone who’s had to ask for its best-selling Pinkgasm blush in a noisy beauty hall will know. Glowgasm, a buildable gel highlighter, continues the trend. “I’m skeptical of any product that gets overly pushed on TikTok, but this highlighter really wowed me,” says Strategist writerKitty Guo. “The little puff applicator is so fun to use, and a little goes a very long way — so while it’s certainly pricey, I expect my tube will last me a long time.”
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Last year, noticing that people were really having blush again, Strategist beauty writers sat down fora roundtableon the topic. Among passing fads like sunset and boyfriend blush, we agreed that the slightly sunburnt look was, arguable, eternal. To achieve it, Strategist senior editorCrystal Martinuses a sheer blush from Charlotte Tilbury that also doubles up as a lip product. “It looks great for the sunburn look,” says Martin, who adds that for other areas (such as below the cheek), the product may be a tad too sheer.
Lips
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Pillow Talk is Charlotte Tilbury’s most iconic shade. Following the original lipstick, the brand has released the perfect nude-pink shade as blushes, glosses, and this lip liner that Strategist social media editorKathy Liuses to go out-out. “I don’t uselip lineron a daily basis, but if Iamdoing a full face of makeup, I’m reaching for this,” she says. “I’ll use it to line my lips and fill them in, and then I do a glossy balm on top. It feels less severe than lipstick and I like the way it fades, one layer at a time.” Li also appreciates the waxy wood finish of the pencil, saying that she can sharpen it without it becoming a sharp edge — making for easier, more natural application.
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ActressBrittany Snowis also a Pillow Talk enthusiast; she told us that the lip gloss is one of her can’t-live-without items. “Pillow Talk is the OGlip glossthat just sort of goes with everybody and everything. It’s not very overpowering — it’s a nude-y pink and kind of goes on top of everything and doesn’t compete with anything,” she says. “I truly believe that she’s got something figured out.”
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This dual-ended lip liner takes all the effort out of curating the perfect lip combo by simply doing it for you. Each side of the liner has a different shade, one darker for outlining, one lighter for filling in the bulk of the lip. Not only does it take the guesswork out of finding liner shades that won’t clash, but it allows any slight lip contouring to look far less harsh. I’ve been using it constantly this summer, it’s long lasting, and I like the fact that I don’t need to have several liners rattling around in my purse: Just one does the trick.
Eyes
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Guo calls this a great eye-shadow palette for traveling. “I bring it with me on short trips where I need to save room in my makeup bag but still want to be able to create different eye looks,” she says. “The colors are straightforward and flattering on all skin tones, easy to use and blend, and combine to allow for a variety of dimensional eye looks for everyday wear and nights out.” Svelte and shimmery, the palette also has a mirror for application on the go.
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I am all for ease of use, and this pencil is a smoky eye in one. The brown liner itself is creamy and buildable, and at the opposite end of the pencil is a built-in smudger. With a little patience, you can slowly layer the liner, smudging as you go, for an effortlessly smoky eye. I also like tight-lining my upper lash line with this on natural days to give some warm, subtle definition.
Skin
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Magic Cream is another one of Charlotte Tilbury’s cult-hero products: You’ve most definitely seen it on display in dozens of beauty stores. But what’s so great about it? “It is supremely glow-giving — the perfect moisturizing base for makeup,” says senior editor Ailbhe Malone, who says she’d buy it on repeat if money was no object. But it’s no mere prepper, either. “I like to use it on days when I’m not wearing any makeup too. It does for me what the Jones Road balm does for others — it gives a kind of sheeny plumpness,” adds Malone. It’s worth noting also that when weinterviewed Tilburyherself back in 2018, out of her entire line, Magic Cream was one of her standout products.
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The brand’s skin-care line came up again in a more recent interview with tennis playerEmma Raducanu. “I’ve been using eye patches twice a day as of late, which is probably extreme, but I get quite intense bags and puffiness under my eyes,” she says. “They cool my under-eyes and give me the feeling that it helps.” Raducanu says that she leaves them on for longer than ten minutes, though, to feel the full effect. And while there’s plenty of other similar hydrogelpatchesout there, as someone who’s tried dozens, the fact that they stay put long enough for Raducanu to nip out to grab coffee is a great endorsement (the really slimy ones are, in my opinion, more trouble than they’re worth).
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Speaking of non-slimy masks, Li highlights thissheet mask— which remains dry — as a Charlotte Tilbury standout. “Sitting there with a wet cloth on your face, disposing of it, and having to pat the excess into your skin is not relaxing or pampering to me, but in this dry mask you can walk around and go about your business while you’re wearing it (it is a little Michael Myers–esque, but I don’t mind that).” The mask, which can be reused up to three times, delivers niacinamide, peptides, shea and mango butters, and avocado oil into the skin. Li says it leaves her skin feeling moisturized with an almost velvety texture.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
