Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation

So this is the post I started writing earlier in the week but then I took off on a wild (but logical) tangent about the benefits of Hyaluronic Acid – and you’ll see why as you read on. A while ago I did a series on a few of the top, most popular high-end foundations. The result of my favourite was between Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk and Make Up For Ever’s HD Foundation. But forget all that, there is a new wonder foundation that blows those out the water! From the magician of the makeup world, Charlotte Tilbury, and her love of all things “magic,” comes her second foundation called Magic Foundation which has been 4 years in the making! FOUR YEARS! I think the thing that sets this foundation apart from all the others I’ve certainly tried, is that this one is packed full of anti-ageing, skincare ingredients. It’s like it started off as a skincare product and evolved into a makeup product. Genius!

Charlotte Tilbury is quite literally the makeup artist to the biggest stars and has named many of her makeup products after the most iconic celebrities, from both present and past. I follow her on social media and as soon as I saw her YouTube clips on this new foundation, I had to take myself down to Brown Thomas ASAP and try it out! I only meant to get a sample, but this stuff is literally magical, and unlike anything I’ve used on my skin before; so I couldn’t possibly leave without a bottle of my own – beauty blogger problems! This Magic Foundation is causing a real stir at the makeup counters, the Charlotte Tilbury stand was crazy, with bottles of this stuff literally flying out the boxes, never mind the shelves! There was no time to even stack them, they were selling so quick! Now, my skin is in pretty good shape, so I won’t be able to show you just how transforming this foundation can be, so I’ve used the before and afters from Charlotte’s videos for this foundation, on 8 real women, all with different skincare issues and concerns.

So, what does it claim to do? Well, this Magic Foundation is meant to give you flawless, long-lasting coverage with an SPF of 15 in it, resulting in flawless, poreless, youthful-looking skin. It’s a full coverage, demi-matte foundation that has hyaluronic acid, laricyl and vitamin c in it. If you haven’t already subscribed to her YouTube channel, you should check it out as Charlotte is doing a whole series of skincare issues, demonstrated on 8 real women – it really is amazing what this foundation can do, correcting and concealing everything from redness, rosacea, birth marks, age spots, severe acne, enlarged or visible pores…the list goes on and there are uploads every few days so definitely check it out. For those of you who want a serious, in-depth look at this foundation, I recommend you watch the full series of these videos and then have a good look around her website.

Key Ingredients and what they do: First up here is the Hyaluronic Acid and you can see my previous post to find out all the details on this miracle ingredient, but in short, it floods (and retains) the skin with moisture, Hyaluronic Acid is capable of absorbing up to 1,000 times its weight in water! So by having this incorporated into the foundation, it means it is not drying on the skin and it plumps the skin out, reducing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dry patches, keeping it moisturised throughout the day. Next up we have Laricyl, this tightens the pores and smoothes over the skin, effectively “re-texturising” it (as Charlotte puts it) so that it gives your skin a much smoother, poreless and flawless appearance. Finally, Vitamin C – this is just a fantastic, all-round anti-ageing product. It promotes collagen production within the skin – hello firmer skin! It’s also a great anti-oxident and prevents or slows down the effects of free-radicals – think sun damage, pollution, etc. And if all that wasn’t enough, it also reduces the appearance of brown spots, uneven pigmentation, inflammation, irritation and those pesky scars after an acne break out!

I absolutely adore this foundation and it is hands down, no competition, my all-time favourite foundation, ever! It is so lightweight, breathable and weightless you would never know you were wearing anything on your face at all; the coverage is fantastic for such a lightweight product and it has a very natural looking, demi-matte finish to it. I like putting products on my skin, but I don’t like feeling like I’ve got products on my skin, bizarrely! I love that it’s buildable too, so you don’t have to pack it on everywhere on your face, but if you need a bit of extra coverage in a few areas, then you can apply more and it blends in seamlessly! I’ve been wearing this foundation almost every day since I got it just over a week ago, it lasts all day, looks great and doesn’t settle into any fine lines, wrinkles or dry patches. For an ultimate poreless, smooth-as-a-baby’s-bum looking face, I sweep some of Charlotte’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Skin Perfecting Micro-Powder over the foundation and I am good to go! I am shade 4.5 which is a Golden/Yellow base for Light to Medium Skin Tones with Warm Golden Undertones. I’ve been applying it using my damp Beauty Blender, but I am intrigued by the Magic Complexion Foundation Brush Charlotte uses in her videos, so that might be my next blow-out purchase. I also tried going back to my Make Up For Ever ULTRA HD Foundation for one day, and immediately I was like, “Nope! Gimme back my Magic Foundation!!” But wait, I haven’t even told you about the best part yet, it’s only €35!! That’s a whole €10 cheaper than the Giorgio Armani and Make Up For Ever ULTRA HD Foundations!!! Charlotte – clever business woman – has marketed this to knock the much-loved Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation off it’s perch and my oh my doesn’t it just!

I really hope you enjoyed this post and I’ve convinced you to try this miracle, Magic Foundation out. I cannot think of a more perfect foundation for a bride that will leave you looking youthful and glowing, and will see you through right the way from the morning makeup application to the bridal suite at the end of what is a very long day!

Gabriella x