There has been a lot of talk surrounding the new Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation. Many are hailing it as the new must have foundation, while for others it has fallen a little flat. It has taken me a while to write this review, not for any other reason except I couldn’t make my mind up as to how I really felt about the foundation. You see the problem was the samples I tried we incredible on my skin, but when I bought the full bottle I felt it just wasn’t applying the same way!!!
Shade Range: There is a really good shade range available in this foundation. With 12 shades to pick from, Ms Tilbury caters for both pale and dark skinned ladies. I wear shade 6 and find it is a good colour for the day time, but I would prefer it to be a fraction darker on my skin, as it is a little on the pale side. I probably should have tried a few more shades, but I did rush into this one a little as I really was very taken with how the sample wore on my skin.
Packaging: The foundation comes in a 30ml glass bottle with a plastic pump and rose gold lid. The packaging is absolutely beautiful and looks gorgeous on any makeup table, but the white pump is a little impractical and as you can see from the picture below, it gets very dirty through use. The pump is good, but product does tend to get stuck in the spout.
Texture: I think this is where my problems with the Magic Foundation begin. The texture of the Magic Foundation is quite thick and heavy on the skin and when applied I found it a little hard to buff into the skin. It set very quickly and I had to work extra hard to get the foundation to apply evenly to the skin and not clump in areas. For me it was far too thick on the skin.
Skin Type: As always, I will begin by saying it is hard to judge what skin type a foundation is suited to without trying it out on different peoples skin. I initially thought that this was going to be the ideal foundation for oily skinned ladies, but from talking with a few different people who have tried it out, I am not exactly sure what skin type it would suit! My advice is to get a sample as I feel that this foundation suits an individuals skin type rather than a typically oily, dry etc skin.
Finish: When I tried the sample of this foundation I found it left my skin looking like silk an felt fabulous on my skin, but with the bottle it is a whole other ball game. This sits in clumps on top of my skin, it doesn’t blend in, highlights pores and just looks like my face is dirty. I really don’t like how this looks on my skin at all, but even with all of the above, don’t be put off, because I have seen this look beautiful on other people.
Coverage: This is definitely a medium to full coverage foundation. I found the coverage to be great but needed to be built to get your desired level of coverage.
Lasting Power: I didn’t find the lasting power on my skin to be great. Within in an hour of application it began to breakdown on me. Yet, when I put a picture up on Facebook there were others saying they found the lasting power to be fantastic!!
Price: This is on the high end at €40 . You can buy it in Brown Thomas Grafton street, Brown Thomas Dundrum and from their online store.
Do I think this is a bad foundation? Absolutely not. In fact I feel that this has the potential to be a really beautiful foundation, but only on the right skin type. What skin type it suits is hard to say because it seems to act differently on everyone. What I will say though, is it is worth going into Brown Thomas and asking for a sample because there is a good chance that this could be holy grail for you as it has been for others I have spoken to.The Charlotte Tilbury counters in both Brown Thomas Grafton Street and the Dundrum counter have lots of samples, that they are only too willing to give out. My advice, grab a few and see if this is going to be a hit for you.
I really wanted this foundation to work for me, but I am sorry to say, I really didn’t like it! It feels too heavy, the coverage is too patchy and it didn’t wear well. I have since given it to my mother to see if she has better luck with it. Please don’t let how it worked for me put you off trying it out, as I know this has become a favourite for so many out there and really can look beautiful when it works.
