I adore a good foundation because it’s a blank canvas on which I can experiment with any blush shade or contouring method I can think of, in a variety of coverages and finishes to change things up every day. And Charlotte Tilbury would be my top choice if I had to choose only one foundation brand. (You can rely on a redhead to build foundations for pale people.) Every product’s attributes meet all of my requirements, and every launch improves on the one before it.
Finding a shade can be more challenging if you have deeper skin (we’ll talk more about it below), but her most recent releases have expanded their ranges to be much more inclusive and considerate, so it’s worth trying the formulations.
All four of Charlotte’s foundation formulas have gone viral, whether it was at original introduction or with TikTok’s renewed interest. This evaluation will outline the benefits and drawbacks of each formula based on coverage, finish, hues, or performance, and assist you in selecting the one that best suits your skin type and makeup preferences.
Hollywood Flawless Filter, Light Wonder, Beautiful Skin, and Airbrush Flawless Foundation are all reviewed by Charlotte Tilbury below.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter
How does Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter qualify as a foundation? I consider the product to be more of a mix-in even though it falls under the foundation category. Although it doesn’t have enough pigment or coverage to be a genuine foundation, it can alter the appearance of any product applied before or after it. I prefer to apply this before foundation to give my complexion that lit-from-within glow, or I like to pair it with a more matte foundation to add some radiance.
Although it can be difficult to locate your hue in stock, the shades are customizable, and this product got extremely viral on social media. Additionally, it’s amazing that this highlighting powder comes in 12 hues.
Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation
Light Wonder by Charlotte Tilbury is a base makeup product that works well for both coverage and finishing. It is neither heavy nor noticeable on the skin, and it offers just enough coverage for Zoom meetings and running errands. The shades are versatile and sheer; I was able to make shade 3 work just as well even if my real shade 1 was sold out. If the SPF factor was greater than 30 (it is SPF 15), I would give it almost a perfect score. As it stands, I apply a different sunscreen before using this one, but a real one-and-done product is ideal.
Launched back in 2013, the shade range does leave something to be desired. It has nice options for fair, light, and medium tones, but dark and deep shades are non-existent. This is my plea to Charlotte herself to expand the line—I love the formula and want more people to be able to enjoy it.
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Liquid Foundation
After great consideration (and maybe some tears), if I had to choose just one item from my collection, it would be the Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation. It provides medium, buildable, complete coverage in a lovely, radiant finish that falls in between matte and dewy. The combination keeps skin moisturized and supple all day long because it contains hyaluronic acid and certain fruit liquids.
Although, as usual, more deep tones would be preferred, the shade selection is very wide. Notably, dimethicone, a component in this composition that gives the cream its smooth texture, can irritate people who are sensitive to it or allergic to it.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation
The epitome of full coverage foundation is Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation. The product doesn’t look or feel overly dry thanks to skin-loving elements like peptides and Charlotte’s proprietary blends, and the formula is matte but not flat. This product is my favorite for weddings and other large gatherings because it is waterproof, sweat-, humidity-, and transfer-resistant. You can be sure that it won’t budge until you apply a cleansing balm.
Additionally, this foundation offers the widest selection of shades, from dark to fair, as well as the best distribution of undertones. Dimethicone and fragrance are both present in the composition, which could irritate you if you have a sensitivity to any of them.
Coverage: A range from tinted to total coverage
Hollywood Flawless Filter is classified as a primer or makeup-free option. Although it doesn’t offer much coverage on its own, it gives the skin or any product applied over it a lovely glow.
In my opinion, Light Wonder is the perfect skin tone because it is sheer and covers redness just enough without overpowering your features. Anyone who has tried a CC cream or tinted moisturizer and been let down when it turns out to be a foundation with more coverage understands what I mean.
With the addition of more product, Beautiful Skin’s medium coverage foundation can be increased to a reasonably full coverage. On the other hand, when I want to seem flawless and free of dark spots and pimples, I use Airbrush Flawless Foundation. This bottle has a tiny amount of magic that offers you a very smooth, even canvas and removes texture and discolouration with a single stroke. The image below illustrates the coverage range with Flawless Filter on the right and Airbrush Flawless on the left.
Finish: The full spectrum from gleaming to matte
As its name suggests, Hollywood Flawless Filter is the Instagram equivalent of Paris. Unlike many products on the market, it has an incredibly beautiful sheen without any discernible shimmer or glitter. With its dewy yet not greasy finish, Light Wonder is a step down on the glow-o-meter for my combination-oily skin.
Airbrush Flawless and Beautiful Skin are at the natural to matte end of the spectrum. Airbrush Flawless is matte, whereas Beautiful Skin, which is also well titled, has a glowing, skin-like finish.
Skin Type: A formula for all—from dry to oily
A lot of foundation depends on personal preference; do you want more coverage, a skin tint, or a matte or glowing finish? But when choosing, don’t forget to consider your skin type. For dry skin, the matte finish of Airbrush Flawless Foundation may feel or look powdered, while Hollywood Flawless Filter alone may be too glowing for oily face. This problem might be resolved with the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, a hyaluronic acid-based product that hydrates skin deeply to avoid cakiness and gives it a dewy sheen.
Because some of these foundations contain typical irritants, such as scent, more sensitive skin types should also pay attention to ingredient lists.
Value: The special sauce justifies the cost
For about one ounce of product, each of the four Charlotte Tilbury foundations costs $46. All of these formulas, in my opinion, are well worth the investment. Your skin is nourished throughout the day by the skin-friendly components included in the cosmetics, such as hyaluronic acid, peptides, and oils.
Undertones and colors from both the dark and fair sides of the spectrum are still absent from many drugstore items. The greater price is justified when I locate a brand that offers a perfect match in addition to a decent shade. Additionally, Charlotte Tilbury foundations oxidize very little or not at all over time, maintaining their color. “Aka” The Oompa Loompa orange foundation effect that I unintentionally sported through the early 2000s is something I can avoid.
Since one pump is sufficient to cover your face and neck, the greater coverage products will last you longer. You can run out of tubes considerably faster if you use Light Wonder or Hollywood Flawless Filter on a daily basis.
What You Can Expect to Pay
The winners of our lab’s test of the best liquid foundations ranged in price from $13 to $70. Located right in the center of that range, Charlotte Tilbury foundations are of a caliber commensurate with their cost. The coverage, the frequency of use, and the formula elements that are most important to you should all be taken into consideration when setting your budget.
