Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation Review

I’ve been intending to write a review of this product for ages but I just couldn’t quite decide what I actually thought about it. I’ve finished the bottle now and I’m still not 100% sure!

Firstly, something which I think tainted my enjoyment of this foundation was that the shade was a bit off for me. I bought Shade 3 online, hoping for the best, and it was a bit dark. The shade matcher tool on her website I didn’t find very helpful.

It is a thick, creamy foundation and I generally used 2-3 full pumps to achieve a coverage I was happy with. This meant I got through it quickly which is not ideal when it’s an expensive foundation. It is described as a full coverage foundation but I applied it with a Beauty Blender sponge which I think did lighten the coverage. I could still see some of my reddest blemishes through it and could not build it up to cover completely. If you used a brush, as is recommended on the packaging, maybe you could achieve full coverage. I wish I’d tried it with a brush to see if it made a difference but I’m so used to using a sponge now!

The finish is described as demi-matte and it is definitely a matte foundation that still has a pretty, healthy glow to it. The packaging is very pretty with a frosted glass bottle, rose gold lid and an excellent controllable pump. It has been formulated to have skincare benefits which may be why the consistency reminds me of a thick moisturiser. It is meant to help create a flawless, poreless complexion but I don’t think it did my pores any favours.

The main drawback for me and the thing that put me off reaching for this product was it’s wear time. When I wore this I found it often melted and looked cakey on my T-Zone after a few hours. I’m not one who can really be bothered with makeup touch ups (except lip products). I have pretty normal skin so I expect my foundation to be able to cope with any normal oiliness throughout the day and this foundation was unreliable. I always set my whole face with powder but it still broke down much sooner than I would expect. This, combined with the colour not being a perfect match, meant I just didn’t ever really warm to this foundation.

The packaging is nice, when freshly applied it looks pretty and the coverage is very good but if a foundation can’t last on a standard kind of day on my normal skin, then it’s a deal breaker. I wanted to like this but I just never fell in love!

Love Nicole xxxx