Makeup Is Forever

Charlotte Tilbury believes that a woman in the right makeup can conquer the world. We explore why.

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Limited is a revolutionary, award-winning range of red-carpet skincare and makeup secrets made easy. Voted Women’s Health Beauty Awards 2017 Best Face Mask; Glamour Power List 2017 The Perfect Pink; CEW Best New Brand of the Year 2015; CEW Best British Brand of the Year 2015 and 2016; Walpole Best British Brand 2016 and Best B2C Ebusiness Project for CharlotteTilbury.com. The brand has won over 120 global awards to date.

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How did you get started?

My ambition and journey as a makeup artist started back when I was growing up in Ibiza, it is such a magical, bohemian place, I was constantly surrounded by a melting pot of creatives and visionaries who sparked my own creativity. I was always walking a path towards makeup artistry – my talented father, Lance, as a painter in Ibiza, gave me an amazing root in colours, tonality and contrasts.

Where did you learn your craft?

I am incredibly proud of my path to this brand & my history as a makeup artist. I trained at the Glauca Rossi Makeup School and then assisted my mentor, Mary Greenwell, who was a family friend from Ibiza. I started out in the early 90s – the era of ultimate glamour and excess. I have such incredible memories of being towered over by these Amazonian models, looking fabulous and incredible. They understood the power of makeup to completely enhance their assets and morph into character. My first few years in the industry was during the iconic Supermodel era with Naomi, Christy, Linda, Cindy – it was an incredible time to start out.

What urged you to open your own business?

I always knew I wanted to create my own brand. I started dreaming it up at school as a young girl. I would always give my friends makeovers, advise them on what clothes to wear, the colours that suited their hair colour, and eye colour…How to make themselves the most BEAUTIFUL versions of themselves! Through-out my 20 years as a Make-Up Artist I have pioneered creative product development for many high-end brands, from Helena Rubinstein, Mac, Armani, Chanel, MyFace and Tom Ford. This lead me to wanting to create my own LIMITLESS MAKEUP REVOLUTION and make ALL women, from 18-80 feel like the most beautiful versions of themselves.

Where do you find creative inspiration?

Inspiration comes to me in many different ways. I have a mix of creatives, visionaries and rule breakers that I look to for inspiration. From Helena Rubinstein, Coco Chanel and Walt Disney, to Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill and Estee Lauder…the list goes on. I also always get inspired by NEED – necessity is the mother of all invention.

Who was your beauty icon growing up?

I can’t choose just one! From a young age I had Marilyn Monroe posters up on my wall and bought loads of reference books about the silver screens icons – Audrey, Elizabeth, Marlene etc and studied their faces. My entire collection is centred around past and present icons who inspire me from Kate Moss and Brigitte Bardot for The Rock Chick to Penelope Cruz and Sophia Loren for The Dolce Vita.

What is your earliest beauty memory?

I discovered make-up & became fascinated by its Power when I was 13 - it changed my life. I went to boarding school and I started wearing mascara - overnight everyone from 7-70 reacted to me in a very different way – I was instantly more EMPOWERED, Magnetic and mesmerising - I felt ENRICHED WITH CONFIDENCE. Whilst at first it seemed like a depressing, superficial realization – I soon realized that make-up is incredibly powerful – it’s every woman’s secret weapon – when you look good, you feel good and exude confidence – the World reacts to you in a powerful way. Ever since, no one has ever seen me without make-up on! Not even my husband! I definitely wouldn’t have the life and career I have without it.

Most defining beauty moments according to you

One of my all-time favourite beauty moments was creating Kate Moss’ incredible makeup look for Vogue’s Castaway shoot in June 2002. It was shot by the amazing duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and it kick-started a new beauty trend for bronzed, beautiful skin! I gave Kate a sun-kissed, radiant look using glow-giving formulas for the ultimate healthy tan! It was all about youth-boosted skin, fresh-faced freckles and a nude lip.

Can you share a story about one of your major clients?

I remember when I first met Kate Moss on a shoot when we were both about 19, it was in the 90s and we became friends very quickly. We bonded as our careers took off at the same time, and friendship was instant and easy, at a very exciting time in fashion. I was instantly struck by her magnetism when I first met her - Kate felt like an icon before she reached Iconic status. She is incredibly talented, beautiful and has an innate sense of style and is a consummate professional so doing a shoot with her never feels like work! Kate is one of my best friends and the godmother to my two children– we always have a lot of fun together.

Do you really sleep with makeup on? Why?

I live in my makeup. I always wear a smoky eye to bed, that’s where the expression ‘smoky eye til I die!’ originates from! My husband will never EVER see me without makeup, I always look good, feel good, and a little eye makeup at night keeps the magic alive.

What are your must-have products of the moment?

My Hollywood Flawless Filter!! A brand-new category in makeup… It’s the ultimate high gloss, high glow celebrity-skin-filter-a-bottle! It has the versatility of a primer, the mega-watt glow of a highlighter, and the perfecting properties of your favourite digital filter. With my NEW! ‘FF’ you can wear it under foundation, instead of foundation, or on top of foundation in the areas where you want to glow the most.

My Brightening Youth Glow is an anti-ageing brightening skin solution with colour-correcting, anti-shadow and glow boosting super powers to treat and transform your complexion – even after first use!! With an anti-shadow erase filter to soften and blur tired under-eye bags, colour-cancelling pigments for radiant healthy skin tone and Chlorella, a healthy happy green algae extract to stimulate even pigment distribution!

As a make-up artist, I’ve always been wary of talc-heavy powders that create a “cakey-skin” finish that makes women look old before their time. I have created not a powder, but a micro-powder that is like the most finely-milled, highest thread-count cashmere. Airbrush Flawless Finish doesn’t sit in lines but optically blurs them away, whilst giving the skin an ultra-luxe luminosity for a high definition result.

Your secret weapon in the vanity kit?

I never ever go anywhere without my award-winning, miracle working Magic Cream. It is my secret weapon for dream skin! Magic Cream was how this brand came to life! I had been the celebrities my MAGIC trick, mixing and perfecting the cream for years backstage at shoots and shows. Supermodels and celebrities became totally obsessed with it, so I decided to share it with everyone. It’s like an instant miracle working cream for the skin and has become a cult favourite around the world. It contains Camelia oil, Rosehip oil, Bio-Nymph Peptides and Hyaluronic acid – instantly flooding the skin with moisture. I never apply makeup without it; it gives me the perfect glowing base. It has really become a worldwide favourite, a little pot of the magic dew of youth and luminosity.

How do you prep your skin?

Skincare is so important – Skin should always look YOUTHFUL, GLOWING and RADIANT! From the very beginning of my career I was known for amazing skin before amazing makeup. You can’t have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas!

A beauty hack every woman should know?

Always use lash curlers – they are like a push-up bra for the eyes. And layer several coats of mascara for full fluttering bambi lashes. I spent years searching for The One and used to cocktail up to 5 mascaras to create the effect I desired: curl, length, volume, separation and drama. This is why I created Full Fat Lashes – it ticks all boxes and has a five-grooved brush to deposit mascara right at the root of the lashes.

Best beauty advice you received?

It’s not strictly beauty advice, but as I was starting out as a makeup artist I once received a letter from a beauty editor motivating me to continue as starting out as a makeup artist can be very tough! She wrote – knock it to them Charlotte, you will be a star! This advice really gave me motivation when I was cold calling for jobs and struggling, it made me realise that I just had to believe in myself. Because of this you will find a hand drawn star all over my brand and on the packaging.

Most common mistakes women make in makeup?

One of the most common mistakes women often make is to choose the wrong shade of foundation. The most important thing when choosing the right shade of foundation is to test out the colour in a natural light to get your perfect match. If the light is too dark, it’s likely that your foundation will be too dark.

How is it different working with the Kardashians?

Kim Kardashian has a great face for makeup, she is beautiful and she loves to experiment with different looks. Kim was fantastic to work with, a true professional; she was incredibly friendly and fun to be around.

One person you would love to work with?

The Queen!