Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the last few months I can almost guarantee you’ve come across the recently launched Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation.
I was dying to get my hands on it after seeing everyone rave about it on social media. Yes, I’m easily led, what can I say. Charlotte Tilbury is probably one of the top players (if not THE top player) within the makeup industry right now – they never miss with outstanding new product releases time and time again. Spoiler alert: the Beautiful Skin Foundation is no exception to this.
Whether it’s the undeniably awesome Pillow Talk lipstick or the so-good-it’s-sold-out-everywhere liquid blush, Charlotte Tilbury pretty much has us all in a makeup choke hold right now. It was only right for me to join in in the hype and get involved with testing out this new release.
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation
After two years of being in and out of lockdowns due to COVID-19 and having no real reason to apply makeup, I found myself stirring away from the old full coverage foundations I once loved. It was time for me to branch out and find a foundation that enhanced my skin but didn’t make it feel cakey. All of a sudden my full coverage favouring days were over and it was time to enter the new age of natural looking makeup.
This is when I came across the Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation – it was hard not to as it was everywhere on social media! This foundation is advertised as a light coverage foundation that enhances your complexion to a natural, even, and glowing base, just what I was looking for and with masses upon masses of positive reviews it seemed like a no brainer to buy.
I wasted no time and like the follower I seem to be, I raced to every online makeup retailer that sold Charlotte Tilbury to try and bag a shade that could work for my skin tone.
Buying the foundation
I hadn’t previously ever purchased any other foundation from Charlotte Tilbury so I wasn’t completely sure which shade would matched me. Luckily, after a browse through the website and scrolling through the pictures displayed for each foundation shade match myself to a tone I believed would work was fairly easy.
Along with the shade options you also get an image of the colour swatch and the shade being modelled on the skin, this is an effective tool for matching your own skin tone to the models to work out which shade is for you. A big first tick for my Charlotte Tilbury online shopping experience.
Of course, nothing can ever go too smoothly. It turned out the shade that I was looking for was a pretty popular shade and seemingly sold out absolutely everywhere. I wouldn’t allow myself to be defeated by the small issue of the correct shade being out of stock, so instead, I was determined to find another colour that could work with my skin.
Finding my matching shade
I ended up choosing a product one shade darker than my original option but in the cool tone in hopes it would lighten the tone slightly and then be a pretty close match. The product arrived and hallelujah the shade worked on my skin!
Moral of the story, if you’re struggling to get your hands on the shade you think is the perfect match it’s pretty likely another colour could also work for your skin. This foundation being a light coverage means the tone isn’t too pigmented and matching it perfectly is less important. If you do find you’ve made a slight error with your choice there are also some useful methods to alter foundation tones slightly so that they match your skin better.
The Packaging
It is a well-known fact to never judge a book by its cover but of course we’re always more drawn to things that look more appealing, that’s just human nature.
You can tell a Charlotte Tilbury product from a mile away and the Beautiful Skin Foundation is no exception showcasing the iconic gold colour used on all of the brand packaging, this product sits nicely alongside all the other products Charlotte Tilbury has to offer.
The bottle itself has a pump lid which makes it easy to retrieve the foundation. None of these screw top lids where you have to tip the foundation out the bottle, honestly, who likes those?
The bottle is made plastic and not glass like many other foundation bottles. I’m not completely clued up on the recyclability of this but for practicality I don’t mind it’s plastic tube. Travelling with glass can sometimes end in catastrophe so it’s nice to know I’m less likely to smash this being as prone to disaster as I am when it comes to makeup explosions.
All in all, I’d say it’s a good-looking, easy-to-use bottle that does the job. Ultimately though, it’s what’s on the inside that matters the most, so let’s get into it.
The Formula
As expected from a lightweight, liquid formula this foundation feels on the thinner side in comparison to higher coverage foundations. It’s not overly watery but does have a slightly runny consistency; for me this is a positive. As someone with dry skin I’m usually looking for a liquid foundation that feels smooth and hydrating on the skin and you certainly get this from the Beautiful Skin Foundation.
Even though this formula works well on dry skin types I would suggest moisturizing your face before application. I have noticed the product congregate around ultra-dry patches on my skin before; for the best possible results stick to your skin care routine before applying.
If you’re like me and have dry skin that needs a hydrating formula; love a dewy finish to your foundation and don’t want your face to feel caked in foundation, then I suggest you give this one a go!
Staying power
The longevity of this foundation is pretty good but not the best I’ve ever seen. I do find that foundations with less coverage don’t tend to stand up against full coverage foundations on the longevity front. However, I would recommend it for day-to-day wear; if you’re looking for something extra longwearing to take you from day right into the early hours of the next morning then you may be better looking elsewhere.
The light coverage nature of this foundation means that it can disappear into the skin if you wear it for longer than about 8 hours, so I would recommend setting the product down with a powder to keep it from disappearing too quickly. If you’re looking for extra coverage concealers layer beautifully over this foundation too. My favourites are the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away concealer and the Too Faced Born This Way concealer; both still leave that glazed skin finish while adding extra coverage.
Final thoughts
Is it worth the hype? As long as it matches the type of foundation your skin needs then yes, I’d say the formula is a perfect match for my own particular needs and because of this it’s definitely worked its way into my top three foundation picks.
Keep in mind it’s not going to work for everyone, because everyone seems to be raving about this foundation doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the one for you. When purchasing a new foundation always read over the description to get an idea of the skin type the product is created for, this way you won’t be disappointed with your purchase.
