Charlotte Tilbury Launched at Sephora and I am HERE FOR IT!
The legendary makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury, and her much-coveted makeup and skincare products have gained cult status at a rapid speed over the last few years so naturally I was on Cloud 9 when Sephora announced it will now be carrying the CT brand. Purely coincidental that the launch happened to coincide with a recent trip to Calgary, where the Sephora in Chinook Mall rivals the square footage of my own home and houses a fully-stocked Tilbury display so I could sample and play with products before committing to any purchases. Off I went to see what all the fuss was about!
I’ve been following the CT cult craze since the launch of her personal line in 2013, plus I follow beauty hubs like Into the Gloss, Vogue Beauty, Byrdie and Fat Mascara religiously, so I had a pretty good idea of which products were going to be a home run before I even stepped up to the plate. I zeroed in on those quickly before playing with any “just for fun” or “maaaaybe this” products, which garnered me the Wonderglow Face Primer, the Hollywood Contour Wand and the Hollywood Beauty Highlighter Wand (natural, glowing skin is always the name of my game). I could have gone FULL TILT with the Flawless Filter foundation, the Full Fat mascara, a few lippies, Charlotte’s Magic Cream, or one of the carefully curated Look Sets, but I wanted to experiment with a few Kool-aid shots rather than downing a full pitcher, if you know what I mean.
To really give these products a proper test drive and assess their reputation for flawless beauty I decided to pack them in my purse when I was running out the door bare-faced for a hair appointment. I knew I’d have some solid mirror time ahead of me while my roots processed — and those salon lights can be ultra harsh — so these products had their work cut out for them!
My skin was already freshly cleansed, toned and moisturized so it was primed and ready for application. So I started with the Wonderglow face primer — a dot on my forehead, one on each cheek, blend blend blend — and it definitely gave me a soft, even glow that was fresh yet subtle and I still felt fully moisturized. Next I busted out the Contour Wand and did some haphazard dotting around my hairline, cheek hollows, jaw line and eye crease, blending each area out before dotting the next, and was REALLY stoked on those results. Nowhere near “Kardashian kontour” level, it was just a soft shadow that created a hint of depth and color. It obviously has the ability to build into something stronger if so desired but keeping it a bare hint was what I was aiming for at noon on a Wednesday. Last up was the Highlight Wand which was every bit as easy to use as the Contour Wand, with its Bingo dabber vibes, and just as lovely too. It placed a beautiful sheen along my cheekbones, down my nose and across my cupid’s bow, plus I placed a few small dots directly on my eyelid, blending towards the inner corner. Followed up with a couple swipes of mascara to bring the whole look together and I was loving the skin that was glowing back at me in the mirror. It looked natural and super fresh, like me on a really good skin day, and I am all about that life.
The only disappointment was that I forgot to bring my Bar of Gold Highlighter Trio, the one CT product I allowed myself to order online at 6:00 a.m. on launch day just in case it sold out really fast and/or wasn’t stocked in a Sephora store near me. BUT I have since given them a try and they are incredibly gorgeous highlighters so consider me a hardcore CT convert: this Kool-aid is divine!
